Review of Confronting Injustice without Compromising Turth
Confronting injustice without compromising truth by Thaddeus J. Williams
I really enjoyed this book. It came highly recommended, and from John Perkin’s forward on, it did not disappoint. After reading the contents, I started with the appendixes, which are a vast and great resources. I would like to add to the discussion on race, from that specific appendix (Appendix B).
The author (correctly) focuses on the term “racism” and how it has changed, in the 70s, to “racial prejudice with power.” The book points out the benefit of this, and then also the dangers of this. I agree, but want to add one important note that has made a difference to me: I do think it is important to note the difference between “racial prejudice with power” versus “racial prejudice without power.” But both (I repeat, both) are sin. Both need to be repented of. The difference is in the possible (not always accomplished) scope of the intended/unintended consequence of that racial prejudice with or without power.
Step away from the loaded racial tones to something different: running a stoplight is illegal. But there is a difference in the scope of consequence when you run that light and no one is around versus when you run that light and you hit someone. The action (and maybe even the motivation) was the same- and it was wrong/against the law. But the results can be completely different.
That said, I appreciated the author’s explanation of the danger of the focus on power. Who then decides who has the power in a situation? Was I the victim of racism in Brazil when I was the only American on a college campus and treated differently? That is a dangerous game to play, and one that as Christians, is not healthy, and is not what we are called to. We are specifically called to surrender power.
I found this book helpful as a white person who got “shook up” between 2014-2020, and realized things needed to happen/ change around our views and actions of racial restoration. It was helpful especially for a white person who then saw the pendulum swing to “silence is violence” and “white is wrong” in 2020-2024 and wondered “Is that really the answer? Is that Biblical?” We all need people to constantly remind us to stop and look to Jesus because otherwise we just ride this pendulum to extremes, and that is what this book does well: reminds us to stop and look to Jesus.
Unfortunately, as someone who lives and works with mostly conservative Republican Christians, a big reality that I saw was those around me knuckle down from 2014-2020 against the idea that anything needed to be talked about/changed around racial restoration. I was told I was wrong/anti-Christian to be worried about it, talking about it, trying to do something different. I continued to watch those same people go nuts about CRT from 2020-2024, banning books about Rosa Parks (and things similar), and shutting down conversations just as I saw people shutting down conversations on the other end of the spectrum. The pendulum swung the OTHER direction for them. I appreciated this note in the book:
“When we hear someone express concern about the way blacks or women are treated, we must be especially careful not to immediately lump them into the Social Justice B category. As I have repeated throughout this book, there is real, sinful racism and sexism in the world. Assuming that a brother or sister who draws our attention to such injustice is automatically a Social Justice B advocate is hardly a way to advance church unity or true justice in the world.” This has been my personal experience, being accused of things that are not true because it is hard to look at hot topic issues as being complex, multi-faceted, and maybe not entirely in line with partisan politics.
This book specifically says it is not to be used as a blunger for those who are “Social Justice type B” (read the book for that important distinction), but I am slightly critical that those on the red (versus blue) side of the pendulum will not take heed to that warning. As this blog from Christianity Today put so well, “Williams’s book will help Christian social justice activates proceed more carefully and biblically. But I doubt it will do much to convict those who are not convinced there’s a problem in the first place…too many (evangelicals) are accustomed to dismissing concerns about race, immigration, poverty, or the refugee crisis as trap doors for Social Justice B.”
But to end on a good note: I highly recommend this book to any Christian who has been on any kind of “Racial learning journey.” If you are not on a “Racial learning journey,” you will probably think this book unnecessary. If you are not a Christian, the call to look to Jesus and find Biblical answers for hot topics labeled “Social Justice” may not call to you, but to those of us who are, it certainly should.