Glenn Beck Called Out By All Christian Denominations

[eustace scrubb]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/christians-urged-to-boycott-glenn-beck

March 11, 2010, 4:05 pm
[b][size="3"]Christians Urged to Boycott Glenn Beck[/size][/b]
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

4:51 p.m. | Updated Last week, the conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck called on Christians to leave their churches if they heard any preaching about social or economic justice because, he claimed, those were slogans affiliated with Nazism and Communism.

[b]This week, the Rev. Jim Wallis, a liberal evangelical leader in Washington, D.C., called on Christians to leave Glenn Beck.

“What he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith, and Christians should no longer watch his show,” Mr. Wallis, who heads the antipoverty group Sojourners, wrote on his “God’s Politics” blog. “His show should now be in the same category as Howard Stern.”[/b]

[b]Mr. Beck, in vilifying churches that promote “social justice,” managed to insult just about every mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, African-American, Hispanic and Asian congregation in the country — not to mention plenty of evangelical ones.[/b]

[b]Even Mormon scholars in Mr. Beck’s own church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in interviews that Mr. Beck seemed ignorant of just how central social justice teaching was to Mormonism.[/b]

The controversy began when Mr. Beck said on his radio show: “I beg you, look for the words ’social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words.

[b]“Am I advising people to leave their church? Yes! If I am going to Jeremiah Wright’s church,” he said, referring to the incendiary black pastor who led the church attended by the Obama family members when they lived in Chicago. “If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish. Go alert your bishop and tell them, ‘Excuse me, are you down with this whole social justice thing?’ ”

Religious bloggers, from the Rev. James Martin, an editor at the liberal Jesuit magazine America, to Joe Carter, at the conservative magazine First Things, took Mr. Beck’s decree as possibly an attack on Catholic teaching, and definitely an affront to Christianity.[/b]

[b]Father Martin wrote on the Huffington Post: “It is not enough simply to help the poor, one must address the structures that keep them that way. Standing up for the rights of the poor is not being a Nazi, it’s being Christian. And Communist, as Mr. Beck suggests? [/b][b]It’s hard not to think of the retort of the great apostle of social justice, Dom Helder Camara, archbishop of Recife, ‘When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.’ ”[/b]

Mr. Beck himself is a convert to Mormonism, a faith that identifies itself as part of the Christian family, but which is nevertheless rejected by many Christians. Two Mormon scholars said in interviews that social justice is integral to Mormon teaching too.

[b]Kent P. Jackson, associate dean of religion at Brigham Young University, said in an interview: “My own experience as a believing Latter-day Saint over the course of 60 years is that I have seen social justice in practice in every L.D.S. congregation I’ve been in. People endeavor with all of our frailties and shortcomings to love one another and to lift up other people. So if that’s Beck’s definition of social justice, he and I are definitely not on the same team.”[/b]

Philip Barlow, the Arrington Professor of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University, said: “One way to read the Book of Mormon is that it’s a vast tract on social justice. It’s ubiquitous in the Book of Mormon to have the prophetic figures, much like in the Hebrew Bible, calling out those who are insensitive to injustices.
[b]“A lot of Latter-day Saints would think that Beck was asking them to leave their own church.”[/b]

[b]Mr. Barlow said that Mr. Beck’s comments were particularly ill-timed because just this year, the church’s highest authority, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, issued a new “Handbook of Instructions” to church leaders in which they revised the church’s “three-fold mission” and added a fourth mission statement: care for the poor.[/b]

[Thy Geekdom Come]

I'm convinced that Glenn Beck is 99% correct in his theories and political opinions.

I must also say that the Catholic Church's teachings on social justice are very strongly in support of his views. I just hope that the false view he's had of social justice from liberal Christians doesn't lead him to broad generalizations.

[Marie-Therese]

I am a big fan of Glenn Beck. Knowing what I know about his stance on social issues, I highly doubt that his argument had anything to do with the fundamental Christian precept of providing for the material needs of the poor. I have heard him advocate for the needy on several occasions. I did not hear these particular comments but I am sure that he was referring to churches which advocate radical socialist-type positions from the pulpit. The ideas of "social justice" and "economic justice" that he was referring to in the quotes you provided have to deal with historically liberal redistributionist economic theory that mirrors the Communist philosophy...not in the basic Christian ideals of providing for the needs of the impoverished.

For example, Beck's self-professed mentor and "hero" Jon Huntsman is a self-made multi-millionaire who is a prominent philanthropist. His whole philosophy is based on giving his wealth away. I highly doubt that this is what was talking about.

[Vincent Vega]

"Religious bloggers, from the Rev. James Martin, an editor at the liberal Jesuit magazine America..."
And that's when the credibility left.

Edited March 13, 2010 by USAirwaysIHS

[Winchester]

Government handouts are not the same as social justice.

[Ephrem Augustine]

Well Glenn Beck is making some sweeping statements. Too bad he doesn't make the distinctions that most of you people already understand.
He is also contributing to the adversarial attitudes that keep politicians opposed, and don't allow people to understand the importance of compromise in the political system.

[Winchester]

Politicians don't need Beck to be opposed.

[Brother Adam]

It is sad no one is taking him in context which shows the idiocy of it all. The catholic league completely defended beck today and explained what he said in context.

[Jesus_lol]

Glen Beck is probably my least favourite person on TV, and ive sat through some terrible "reality" television

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Jesus_lol' date='12 March 2010 - 11:14 PM' timestamp='1268453692' post='2072203']
Glen Beck is probably my least favourite person on TV, and ive sat through some terrible "reality" television
[/quote]
I really don't understand this. It seems so clear to me that what he's saying is correct. Here we have the government no longer serving the citizens, but trying to dominate us, tell us how to do everything. The government exists in order to secure and defend the freedoms of the individual and the family. The US Government is like a crazy haywire robot convinced it knows what's best for us but doesn't realize that we're human and we know what we need. Just leave us alone, you stupid politicians! We'll take care of it ourselves!

[Veridicus]

I agree with pretty much everyone's opinion on this. I think Glenn Beck is a bit nutty at times, but often he's chillingly accurate in his observations. He definitely loves his country and its constitution.

Sorry, Jlol, but I'm just ignoring your opinion because you're Canadian.

[Winchester]

But Odin's Raven that's a sweet hat.

[Jesus_lol]

[quote name='Raphael' date='12 March 2010 - 08:33 PM' timestamp='1268454813' post='2072212']
I really don't understand this. It seems so clear to me that what he's saying is correct. Here we have the government no longer serving the citizens, but trying to dominate us, tell us how to do everything. The government exists in order to secure and defend the freedoms of the individual and the family. The US Government is like a crazy haywire robot convinced it knows what's best for us but doesn't realize that we're human and we know what we need. Just leave us alone, you stupid politicians! We'll take care of it ourselves!
[/quote]

?? he hardly complained about all this when it was happening before Obama got in. His decidedly fake "crocodile tears" he gets make me lol though.
mostly though, he is just blatantly dishonest.

[quote name='Veridicus' date='12 March 2010 - 09:45 PM' timestamp='1268459125' post='2072241']
I agree with pretty much everyone's opinion on this. I think Glenn Beck is a bit nutty at times, but often he's chillingly accurate in his observations. He definitely loves his country and its constitution.

Sorry, Jlol, but I'm just ignoring your opinion because you're Canadian.
[/quote]
understandable.

(though this means you should probably ignore Glen Beck when he speaks on the canadian health care system. as he isnt canadian either )


[quote name='Winchester' date='12 March 2010 - 09:47 PM' timestamp='1268459226' post='2072242']
But Odin's Raven that's a sweet hat.
[/quote]


This old thing?

[Winchester]

I don't see a reason to discuss Beck with that hat in the room.

[Saint Therese]

I've heartd him say basically the same thing on his radio show, and I think his comments were taken out of context. I agree with his point in substance if not in execution. Among mainline protestant churches and even some Catholic churches/organizations "social justice" has often become a codeword for Marxist philosophy. It is a false Gospel to think or believe that happiness can be acheived in this world through redistributing wealth to the poor.