justice and the Bible

[jenk]

I saw this over on Slacktivist, and I'm only quoting a portion here:

[Wednesday, Glenn] Beck told his radio listeners to "look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. ... If you find [them], run as fast as you can. ... They are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"

As Joe Carter noted at First Things, taking Beck's advice would require all Roman Catholics to leave that church, since "Social Justice" is -- for Catholics as for almost every longstanding Christian denomination -- an integral aspect of the church's teaching. ("Social Justice" is, in fact, the title of Section One, Chapter Two, Article 3 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.) 

Glenn Beck continued his attack on "social justice" [Thursday], arguing that it entails "a perversion of the gospel" and is "not what Jesus would say" (MediaMatters has the audio).

This is an astonishing claim to anyone who's ever had a Bible and their eyes open at the same time. Justice is an inescapable, relentless, pervasive, nearly omnipresent theme of that entire volume. It is impossible to read the law and the prophets, the Gospels and epistles, the histories, wisdom literature and apocalypse without being confronted incessantly with the theme of justice, justice, justice, justice, justice, justice, justice.

Searching for "justice" in online versions of the Bible: NIV, NASB, The Message - just the word, not the theme.  Some of the results:

1. Exodus 23:6
   "When there is a dispute concerning your poor, don't tamper with the justice due them.
   
2. Leviticus 19:15
   "Don't pervert justice. Don't show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right.
3. Proverbs 31:8
   "Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!"
4. Luke 11:42
   " But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Yes, I know (and have attended) churches that talk about social justice and seek to practice it through education, voter registration, sponsoring immigrants, welcoming gays and lesbians, hosting homeless shelters, Amnesty International, AA, providing tax help, and so forth. But the biggie is building a culture where fairness and justice actually prevail.  Is it too much to hope that Beck is going to get people thinking about this stuff again?