By Davis Carlton

Joel McDurmon never misses an opportunity to be wrong on virtually any relevant topic. It’s quite astonishing how McDurmon manages to face plant on issues that should be easy to get right. A recent example is a brief response he gave to James White who commented on a blasphemous “communion service” intended to commemorate the “Crucifixion” of Trayvon Martin! White commented in response to a tweet showcasing this blasphemous commemoration of a fake martyr: “Want to see how ‘social justice’ replaces the heart of the Christian faith with something else? Here’s quite the example.”

McDurmon’s response can be read on his public Facebook page. McDurmon believes that White is being overly simplistic in attributing this kind of blasphemy and apostasy to the concept of “social justice.” Dr. White has failed to define what he means by social justice and thus he has over-generalized and straw-manned proponents of social justice. Here is my three point response.

1) McDurmon’s preening is the quintessence of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. McDurmon begins by stating that he has no intention of defending the indefensible, but it is entirely White’s response that draws his ire. McDurmon asks, “Isn’t it more shameful to erect a huge straw man out of it?” No. No, it isn’t, Joel. Creating a blasphemous imitation of Holy Communion to commemorate anyone let alone a fake martyr like Trayvon Martin is far worse than anything that James White has done. Even if we grant that the rest of McDurmon’s commentary is correct, he would still be quibbling to an extent that would cause even the most intransigent Pharisees to cringe.

In a response to a comment on Facebook complaining of this very issue McDurmon states that he would join White in calling this “communion” a sacrilege while avoiding the “logical sacrilege” of White by associating this with social justice in general before doubling down on his ridiculous assertion that James White’s statement was “just as bad if not worse” than the actual sacrilege of defiling communion! This only reinforces how right James White is to associate social justice with apostasy, sacrilege, and blasphemy.

2) McDurmon complains that “these guys refuse to define Social Justice before making their senseless and irrational attacks on it. That lack of definition allows them to pull stunts like this.” This is hilarious coming from one who is quick to hurl the undefined sin of “racism” at so many of his opponents. I would argue that it is the responsibility of those promoting “social justice” to actually define what they are talking about. For example, GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) provides tips on promoting transgender equality and describes The National Center For Transgender Equality as a “social justice organization.” A Google search on “social justice organizations” reveals a similar collection of far left advocacy groups. These aren’t outliers. These are mainstream sources that confirm that James White understands social justice correctly.

The casual definition of “social justice” used by its proponents is that which leads to ever greater social, political, and economic equality between the various races, ethnicities, and genders (real or imagined). That which makes people more equal in society advances “social justice.” McDurmon is free to dispute this if he desires but he’d be hard-pressed to demonstrate that this isn’t how the concept is trafficked by the vast majority of SJWs.

3) Finally and most importantly, the point that James White makes is correct. The concept of “social justice” as it is commonly understood and expounded today is thoroughly at odds with Christian orthodoxy. “Social justice” is not Biblical justice, and it stands in direct opposition to many Biblical precepts. There are many examples of how the pursuit of “social justice” brings about an abandonment of Christian principles. A prime example is the baptism of the egalitarian “civil rights movement” of MLK by supposedly Bible-believing Christians who organized the MLK50 Conference. The social justice obsessed Southern Baptist Convention recently endorsed Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality as interpretative frameworks for understanding social issues.

The more someone presses egalitarianism and “social justice” the less that person will adhere to Christian orthodoxy. Not everyone goes as far as “Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD” but she represents the logical end of “social justice” thinking. To left-wing former theonomists like Joel McDurmon the proper response is to turn a blind eye to the most egregious outrages done in the name of “social justice.” The worst sin is to take notice of their absurdity, because that would create “animosity and division” between us and these poor oppressed apostates.