Keller’s analysis of Christian justice vs. secular justice is the best short treatise on justice in the BLM era that you’ll find. Evangelicals, however, likely won’t understand it because it’s neither Pauline nor “Great Commission” centric. It’s a biblical theological appraoch. https://twitter.com/timkellernyc/status/1290384889733414913

Notice the method: lots of Old Testamant as presently authoritative without having to reference something Paul said nor arbitrarily attach an evangelistic end. The way the Old Testament is used speaks to a covenant theology approach.

His essay exposes a problem that I’ve been talking about for years: unlike Catholics, Reformed evangelicals don’t have (and Presbyterians don’t use) any clearly defined social thought principles. So many are left, then, Christianizing secular categories on the right & the left.

Trying force people to accept “critical race theory” or throwing Thomas Sowell in someone’s face, exposes the pathetic absence of social principles. Even more useless is trying to make “the gospel” a social thought principle. Where’s the Calvinist list? https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/1998/10/31/10-building-blocks-catholic-social-teaching

If you like Tim Keller’s approach and want more of this method, David Jones, has this approach in book form. David Jones taught ethics at Seminary Covenant almost 40 years & it should be listed at the PCA’s denominational ethics book. https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Christian-Ethics-David-Clyde/dp/0801052289

When I taught ethics at Covenant Seminary, Jones was one of my main ethics textbooks & we also use it now here at King’s. The work that evangelicals need to do is to develop with own social thought principles and stop chasing the left/right offerings like immature puppies.

I use a personalist approach to social issues, and I’ve been trying to introduce personalism throughout my career to various audiences, because it’s 1000x superior to the profound evangelical voids & weaknesses. These are the 7 principles I’ve always used: https://www.acton.org/about/mission 

As a personalist, with these 7 social thought principles, I don’t need to waste time trying to defend (like the principle-lacking tribe) nor attack(like the neo-fundamentalists) BLM, critical theory, etc. to do analysis or offer prescriptions. I use them as descriptive as needed.

For ex, The Missouri-Synod Lutherans genuiously put this method on display when they reflect on racism & the church. There is no evangelical document on race that even comes close to this. They show how the Reformation improves racial thinking. https://files.lcms.org/wl/?id=2ZSjBpgjY39Eo1lH1vqCgI79YUGmfrve

For racial justice, Presbyterians and Lutherans can start with Confessions of Faith that are binding & provide ordination & pastoral accountability to frame discussions from centries of non-American thinking. Evangelicals have nothing of the sort. http://www.whyblacklivesmatter.com/a-theological-account

In conclusion, with 2020 evangelicalism don’t expect good thinking nor principled action because their tool box is empty. Without a social thought canon of principles, people are wasting time fighting about which secular categories to use b/c they don’t have any Christian ones.

What Keller does here is sort of a “third rail.”