The Alpha course pioneer and former leader of HTB has been accused of promoting communism and unbiblical ideas after he called Spirit-filled Christians to fight inequality. Tommy Sharpe says he’s shocked at the comments. Confronting injustice is a deeply biblical mandate, he says
When Nicky Gumbel recently posted on his Instagram: “Those indwelt by the Holy Spirit should be at the forefront of the fight for gender, racial, and social equality”, it hardly seemed like a controversial statement for a Christian leader to make.
We find ourselves living in the midst of an epidemic of violence against women and girls, surges in racially and religiously motivated hate crime, and astonishing growth in the wealth of the ultra-rich. Surely Christians should be making a stand against this sort of inequality and injustice?
Yet, as I scrolled through the comments, I was shocked by some of the responses:
“What intern posted this nonsense. Do you know what is meant by these terms? The current definitions? This is asinine nonsense.”
“Stop conflating Christians with Communists - This is sly guilt-tripping of Christians to work toward Communist goals thinking they work for Jesus.”
“😬 feeling the wokeness ooze through my screen 😑”
“False. Not biblical.”
The prophets and the poor
By using the language of “guilt-tripping”, “wokeness”, and accusations of communism, basic ideas of social justice are being drawn into our modern culture wars; crafted into a political football that one ‘side’ can use to label, minimise, and disregard the other “side”.
As much as I would like to spend the rest of this piece unpacking “stop conflating Christians with communists”, I am particularly keen to offer a different perspective on the notion that fighting gender, racial, and social inequality is “not biblical”. From my reading and study, social justice and the Bible are inextricably linked. In fact, I would argue that the Bible provides a stronger argument for social justice than any other text or teaching.
If Christians miss the truth that fighting for justice is part of who we are, we will lose something critical about the Bible and, therefore, about God.
The biblical fight against gender, racial, and social inequality begins within its first chapter. God makes mankind in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). This foundational truth instills inherent and equal dignity and value in every human being, whatever their gender, race or social status. The fight continues throughout the Pentateuch with laws like the jubilee laws which are specifically designed to restore economic and social balance in Israelite society (Leviticus 25:8-12).
The prophets take things to the next level. Amos famously writes “ let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24) – righteousness being the Hebrew word tzedakah which means the religious obligation to do what is just (far firmer than the West’s voluntary approach to charitable giving).
And Jesus, the image of our invisible God, spends much of His life teaching that His followers should demonstrate radical and sacrificial love for their neighbours (Mark 12:31) – and living this out by seeking out the victims of societal oppression like lepers (Luke 17:11-19).
The God of justice
The fight against injustice and inequality is a deeply biblical one.
From Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s fight against apartheid, to Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights, to the activism and service of Dorothy Day, to the many Catholic saints who chose lives of poverty to stand alongside the poor, Christians have often found their faith propelling them to the forefront of social justice movements.
Many social justice movements are firmly laid on biblical foundations, sometimes without realising it. Take the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. This movement was partially led by Christians who believed that every human has inherent and equal dignity and, therefore, a person’s race should not determine their democratic and social freedoms.
This is still true today. Last weekend, I spent time with a Baptist minister who is building a community home for her family to share with eight homeless individuals. The week before, I met a Christian campaigning for safe routes and a compassionate environment for asylum seekers and refugees.
Alternatively, take the Make Poverty History Campaign which advocated for increased international aid, trade justice and debt relief. This campaign found its roots in the Christian Jubilee 2000 campaign, unsurprisingly built off the jubilee laws in Leviticus, and required a radical love for our global neighbours. If Christians miss the truth that fighting for justice is part of who we are, we will lose something critical about the Bible and, therefore, about God Himself.
As Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matthew 23:23).
I’m glad a figure as influential as Nicky Gumbel has publicly acknowledged the weightier matters of the law. I believe it is biblical to do so.
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