Marxism is often brought up when talking about progressive views of justice, but what are the secular concepts that shape conservative views of justice? Are they biblical? Corey Widmer, lead pastor of Third Church in Richmond, VA, tells his story of moving into, and out of, a neighborhood in the inner city of Richmond, and he talks with Amy Julia about race, white evangelicalism, faith, biblical justice, and whether or not Christians are afraid to talk about racism.

TRANSCRIPT

SHOW NOTES

Corey Widmer is the lead pastor of Third Church in Richmond, VA, where he is called, “along with the other elders to keep us true to the mission of God to restore all things, including our city.”

Connect Online:

• Third Church website: thirdrva.org
• Instagram: @thirdrva
• Facebook: @ThirdRVA
• Twitter: @coreywidmer and @ThirdRVA

On the Podcast:

• White Picket Fences and A Good and Perfect Gift by Amy Julia Becker
• Christian Community Development Association
• Don Coleman
• “A call for gentrification with justice” by Corey Widmer 
• Bob Lupton
• Urban Hope
• Book of Revelation
• Corey’s sermon series on Revelation
• Sermon series on Revelation by Rankin Wilbourne
• Revelation: The Triumph of Christ by John Stott
• Divided by Faith by Christian Smith and Michael O Emerson
• The Bible project series on justice
• Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
• Amy Julia’s podcast Interview with Esau McCaulley

Are Christians Afraid to Talk About Racism? episode quotes | Corey Widmer

“It’s very difficult to be faithful as a Christian, I think, in the public sphere because we’re just so prone to either removing ourselves or…compromising ourselves by giving our allegiance so deeply to a particular social and political grouping.”

“Sin has not just disconnected me from God. It has disintegrated this social, economic, and cultural fabric of the societies that we live in. And so as Christians, we’re called not just to preach good news of forgiveness but also the good news of the renovating and restoring and renewing work that the gospel can do for neighborhoods, communities, families, and societies.”

Marxism is not the only secular concept of justice. Actually, the typical view of justice that we have as Americans is also profoundly secular and was birthed out of the Enlightenment…it’s not just that progressive Christians are malformed by this Marxist view of justice. It’s that conservative Christians are really malformed by this libertarian and liberal view of justice that is not from the Bible.”

“A true biblical worldview and a true biblical teaching of justice is unlike anything that any of us probably have seen. And, therefore, you shouldn’t fit into any political category or any secular concept of justice.”

“Has our hope been in national greatness? Has our hope been in retaining cultural power? The first thing we always need to do is repent and to turn away from what we have allowed to falsely shape us. And then turn freshly to Jesus as the only hope of the world. But the hope of Jesus won’t be as beautiful and clear and wonderful if we don’t first recognize the ways that we have put so much of our hope into false idols that ultimately don’t deliver.”

Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.

Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.

To learn more with Amy Julia:

• Love is Stronger Than Fear | Season 4—Head, Heart, Hands
• S3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulley
• S4 E1 | How Do We Fight Racism? with Jemar Tisby
• S4 E5 | Healing the Harm of White Evangelicalism with Kristin Du Mez

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