The Christian church doesn't have a social ethic as much as
it is a social ethic, called to respond to biblical mandates
like truth-telling, confronting injustice and pursuing peace. American churches
need to understand that, while charity seeks to alleviate the ill effects of
injustice, justice seeks to eliminate the causes. Charity preserves the status
quo; justice demands “liberty and justice for all”—a more democratic
egalitarian future for all citizens. And let's be clear: The goal of prophetic
theology, like the goal of biblical prophets, is not to chastise but rather to
heal; to enhance, not diminish, humanity, because, as the old church father
said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”(Irenaeus)