A Reading List for those Contemplating Social Justice
I've been a political junkie since 1991. When I became enamored with American history, government, campaigns, the law, economics, etc. My Father encouraged me to read widely, not just from one wing of the political spectrum. Now with the dust up over social justice among Christian leaders, I have thought about the pertinent books and essays that I've studied over the last twenty-seven years. For those truly committed to learning about the issues surrounding the proper role of social justice in the church and life of individual Christians, I would propose the following tomes from both the right, the left and in-between:
From the Right
"The Closing of the American Mind" by Alan Bloom
"A Conservative and Compassionate Approach to Immigration Reform" by Alberto Gonzalez, David Strange and Gordon Bakken.
"Politics According to the Bible" by Wayne Grudem
"A History of the American People" by Paul Johnson
"On the Origins of War" by Donald Kagan
"The Case for Life" by Scot Klusendorf
"The Skeptical Environmentalist" by Bjorn Lomborg
"The Heritage Guide to the Constitution" Edited by Ed Meese
"Health Care Reform" by P.J. O'Rourke in "Don't Vote--It Just Encourages the B@#%^*ds" (I know it's a profane title but the little article is the best, concise analysis of the problem of health care from the right.
"The War Against Boys" by Christina Hoff Sommers
"Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell
"Race and Culture" by Thomas Sowell
"Same-Sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God's Design for Marriage" by John Stonestreet and Sean McDowell
From the Left
"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander
"Active Liberty" by Stephen Breyer
"Critical Race Theory: An Introduction" by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefanic
"Nickel and Dime: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
"The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan
"After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90's" by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen
"Peddling Prosperity" by Paul Krugman
"Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions" by Valeria Luiselli
"Eearth: Making Life on a Tough New Planet" by Bill McKibben
"Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights" by Katha Pollitt
"The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care" by T.R. Reid
"God's Politics" by Jim Wallis
"The Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder
"A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn
I could add to this list but the above should give you a strong basis on which to make decisions about various issues. Of course, most Christians with an evangelical bent would add works on the left by Shane Claiborne, Ron Sider, Sojourner and Tony Campolo and works on the right by the Acton Institute, my former colleague David French, Dennis Prager, Ben Shapiro, etc.
Other works that are also important are "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett, "Toxic Charity" by Robert Lupton and "Under the Overpass" by Mike Yankoski. I'll begin commenting on these works and how they cohere with Scripture next week. Happy reading and God bless.