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On his radio show today, Glenn Beck claimed that the concept of social justice is a perversion of the gospel, and that social justice is not something that Jesus would talk about. Beck said that social justice is, “a perversion of the gospel.” Beck’s point was that the gospel is really about capitalism and free market economics. According to Beck, Jesus was an anti-government conservative.

Here is the audio courtesy of Media Matters:

In response to a caller who is a Catholic that is upset about his church’s advocacy of social justice, Beck said, “I want you to know that even some members in my faith where I go church there are members that preach social justice as members, my faith doesn’t, but the members preach social justice all the time. It is a perversion of the gospel. Nowhere does Jesus say hey, if somebody asks for your shirt, give your coat to the government, and have the government give them a pair of slacks. That’s not what Jesus was saying. You want to help out. You help out. It changes you. That’s what the gospel is all about. You, you change it, not having the government dictate.”

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I am not an expert on the Bible, but the Jesus he is referring to is someone that I am not familiar with. I wasn’t aware that Jesus was a free market, anti-government conservative. I will leave it to others to post some relevant Bible quotes in the comment section that refute Beck. My question for Mr. Founding Father is when did the government become separate from the social contract? If the majority of people desire a form of social justice, whether it is civil rights, healthcare, or any other issue, according to the social contract which forms the foundation of our entire system, the government is obligated to carry out the will of the people.

It is interesting that a person of the Mormon faith would be calling out progressives for perverting the gospel when according people of other faith, the book of Mormon itself is a perversion of the gospel. (I have no dog in that fight, so please spare the angry emails and comments. I have no issues with anyone’s faith). Beck was doing nothing more than spewing the same Jesus and God were conservatives nonsense that he was probably brainwashed with years ago.

Contrary to what Beck believes, social justice is a good thing. Without social justice women may still not be allowed to vote, and segregation might still be in place. It is fascinating to me that conservatives use Jesus to argue the cruel position that people are not entitled to adequate healthcare. Turning their backs on the most needy in our society is a very un-Christian thing to do, and seems to contradict everything that Jesus stood for.