Social Justice vs. Abortion

This week I wrote a blog on the charities American Idol was funding on its “Idol Gives Back” show, noting that at least two of these charities funded abortion directly and believe this funding is a basic human right in the cure for poverty. In the response, which was significant, a common argument arose and that is my concern about this whole issue . We have made it, at times in the church, even, into an either/or fallacy of logic. This logic is what is setting us up for a false social justice movement which compromises Jesus while using His name.

Since I have been involved with the fight against abortion I have had many discussions of this nature, and they usually end up with me being labeled an uncaring, insincere Christian if I bypass any opportunity at all to help the poor, even if the opportunity would support abortion.

In rhetoric, the either/or fallacy is when a writer or speaker states or suggests that there are only two alternatives; you either do this or you do that. Period. The fact is, the gospel is not about rhetoric; it’s about faith.

The idea that if I really love Jesus I have to fund organizations that feed the poor but fund abortion is, perhaps, one of the most bizarre arguments I have heard. It implies that somehow God would betray His own laws because the poor of the world need Him to change. He will never, and can never, change His holy ways to conform to an unholy society.

It is wrong that there are people starving and living in poverty. This is an absolute injustice. But what would be more of an injustice is if we fed them and clothed them and then sent them to hell because we did it outside of the gospel. This version of justice is humanistic. It eliminates heaven and hell for the sake of the present condition. It invalidates the ways of Jesus because it says He is not enough and we have to take out parts of it. It goes like this: Because people are suffering we must help them—and even though this place funds abortion, it helps feed the hungry and give them a chance. That’s more important.

That is not from the mind of Christ. Anything that denies any of who Jesus is not from the Spirit of God (I John 4:1-3). It might be controversial or sound “intolerant.” And it is. In our world system, tolerance is a value that is embraced, but Jesus never embraced tolerance. In no case did Jesus ever ignore sin and embrace all faiths in order to complete His mission. In fact, he even spoke out against those who claimed to be of His faith when they sinned. Tolerance and Jesus are not synonyms.

When we say that we must embrace a world system to do something we think follows the system of Heaven, we deceive ourselves and perpetuate injustice. We declare a lack of faith because we make these 70 or 80 years (Psalm 90) we have on earth the ultimate reality, when in actuality, the ultimate reality is an eternity in the presence of God.

Under no circumstances can we compromise from a false compassion or a love that isn’t the love of Jesus in order to fulfill a world system that betrays the principles He set forth in His Word. The ultimate authority for us is the Word of God. There are no exceptions in the Bible where it’s okay to fund the shedding of innocent blood, even though we are to feed the poor. There are organizations that do this without compromising the Gospel—that feed the poor and give life to their babies, and hope to their hearts.

Perhaps American Idol is aptly named if we let the charities it embraces cause us to look past what we know is truth. That is what idolatry is: setting something above God.

If there were only one organization in the world that fed the poor, this discussion could go deeper. And one day that will happen. It will be called antichrist rule. In that day, one man will stand and demand worship so that we can eat and the poor of the world can eat. One man will control it all. And those of us now who buy into logic like this either/or mentality are set up to receive and welcome the coming antichrist rule. Harsh? Not nearly as harsh as the man empowered by Satan.

“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:16-17).

Conflicts like the one this week between our world system and the rule of Christ are a test for us as believers to evaluate how deeply we believe. Is Jesus sufficient? Hebrews 2:1 says “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

Jesus is the only way and there is no justice apart from Him. We cannot compromise His word because He won’t. Make no mistake: the truest injustice that exists is sending someone to hell with a full stomach. Not only do we victimize the poor twice, but we deceive ourselves, as well.