A few weeks ago, radio personality Glenn Beck, advised people to flee their churches if their churches had a commitment to social justice. From the accounts and transcripts that I have read, I'm not sure I understand what Mr. Beck was trying to say or urge his listeners to do. His remarks generated a fair amount of conversation. Because I'm not sure what Mr. Beck is advocating, I will not respond to him directly, but instead offer a brief positive word.

I believe that Christians ought to carefully consider and participate in the political process. I believe that churches and denominations have a perfectly legitimate role in helping to form both the conscience and particular policy judgments of its members and legislators and political leaders. Since the time of Moses God has raised up people to influence governmental actions. The Hebrew prophets denounced the abuse of the poor by the rich and spoke up against unjust economic practices. This is part of biblical religion.

Because political issues are complex and often involve competing interests which cannot all be satisfied, we may well disagree about what particular laws or policies will promote social justice. It is just because these matters are complicated that conversations about them are so important. We need help to see these issues in the context of a commitment to God's vision of justice that takes particular account of the poor and the weak.

God expects us to be committed to social justice. Christian and other religious leaders have a responsibility to help people understand what social justice means in particular situations. Many churches and other religious organizations are committed to providing resources to help us do that. We may not always agree with each other on what is socially just with respect to any given issue, but that doesn't mean that religious leaders should ignore these questions.