Written by Daniel J. Samet |
Monday, November 13, 2023
Sowell makes it clear that the state should reject the social justice vision and its agenda. The natural end point, he states, is “having government empower surrogate decision-makers to rescue victims of various forms of mistreatment by taking many decisions out of other people’s hands” (82). Our ever-growing administrative state is full of people convinced that others cannot be trusted to do what is best for themselves. We’re left with policies putting the lie to the world envisioned by social justice advocates. Sowell points out “the painful reality . . . that no human being has either the vast range of consequential knowledge, or the overwhelming power, required to make the social justice ideal become a reality” (127). 
         
Another year, another book by Thomas Sowell. It is astonishing that Sowell, 93 years young, scarcely appears to be slowing down. No public intellectual of his generation has been this prolific for this long, save perhaps Henry Kissinger. He’s a veritable national treasure.        
Social Justice Fallacies is classic Sowell. There are no graphs or tables, nor even any cover art. The one and only attraction of the book is Sowell’s air-tight reasoning. It alone justifies the price tag.  
Within its pages is his salvo in our culture war du jour. At a time when activists, scholars, and politicians trot out slogans like “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and “systemic bias,” Sowell has a biting retort. He argues that the social justice agenda they champion is mistaken. It is based on flawed premises and conclusions, inevitably leading to social policies that harm the people they’re supposed to help.        
“You’re entitled to your own opinion,” reads the book’s epigraph, a quote from the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “but you’re not entitled to your own facts.” That’s one way to describe the essence of Sowell’s writing. He does not assert anything without evidence in its defense. If only peddlers of social justice pieties could do the same. To rebut Sowell’s arguments, they will need many facts: facts that do not seem to be in abundance, to put it mildly.   
Take their view that there would be equal outcomes in a world of equal chances, which is the subject of the book’s first chapter. “At the heart of the social justice vision is the assumption that, because economic and other disparities among human beings greatly exceed any differences in their innate capacities, these disparities are evidence or proof of the effects of such human vices as exploitation and discrimination,” Sowell writes (2).
Do human vices explain why NHL players from Canada outnumber those from the United States, despite the fact that Canada has under 1/8th the population of the United States? Why Germans have for centuries been world leaders in beer production? Why Asian Americans have more PhDs in engineering than blacks and Hispanics combined? Why first-born and only children are more likely than other children to reach the highest rungs of the professional ladder as adults? Sowell shows that much else besides exploitation and discrimination accounts for inequality of outcome.
Advocates of social justice deploy flashy terms to justify their agenda, but not hard evidence. “We can read reams of social justice literature without encountering a single example of the proportional representation of different groups in endeavors open to competition— in any country in the world today, or at any time over thousands of years of recorded history,” observes Sowell (2–3). He, however, deploys many past and present examples of the reverse from places as varied as Italy, Malaysia, and South Africa.
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When the lusts of the world are conceived they deceive many to carry out sin. Sin when it brings forth fruit leads to death. Millions upon millions of children have died and are still dying because parents and abortion providers have been deceived by lies of the wicked one and are acting out those lies in the murder and killing of their own and others’ children.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days… (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NKJV).
The American Thinker recently posted an article republished on many Christian websites titled “What Hath Roe Wrought?” The author notes reasons abortion clinics are closing and Americans are turning against abortion. The reasons include studies documenting harm to many women from abortion; too many abortions driven by designer baby goals; and the profit generated through abortion. Recently at an Atlanta abortion clinic as a pregnant woman entered for an abortion, a woman standing against abortion called out, “You are a great mom! This procedure will hurt you because many women regret their abortion.” Many today are rightfully hoping and praying for abortion to end, but the way it is being opposed is with wisdom of this world rather than wisdom from the Lord.
The Lord does not call abortion one of the seven things He hates (1) because of the documented harm to the mothers who murder their own children – the Lord hates abortion because it is an abomination to Him. Christians oppose abortion because we are in a spiritual warfare against sin and abortion is sin. The articles that follow seek to frame abortion in its true context, that is the biblical context, so that the people of God might be thoroughly equipped in their prayer lives and evangelism to those on the road to death. In this manner, the Word of God will go out faithfully, and men and women will be saved for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Abortion: Its Roots
“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15 KJV)
These words of the Lord written by James trace the origins of all sin. Sin is conceived by lust and therefore the root of abortion is lust (2).
Lust of the Flesh
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines bloodlust as the “desire for bloodshed.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “enjoyment of being violent or watching other people be violent.” At some risk of lowering the level of scholarship, perhaps the Urban Dictionary defines the term most accurately in our context: “an uncontrollable desire to kill people.” The bloodlust of abortion is the insatiable appetite for the shedding of innocent blood. We often see this bloodlust in politicians and abortion promoters who speak so cruelly of children being killed. Rather than crying out, “Enough, enough,” they cry out “More, more!”
The recent U.S. house bill H.R. 3755 (dubbed by some the Unrestricted Warfare on Children Act) includes this line: “Access to equitable reproductive health care, including abortion services, has always been deficient in the United States for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) and their families.”
In Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, and many other cities, more African American children are murdered by abortion than are born alive. A large portion of politicians believe murdering half of all Black babies is not enough, it is deficient!
There are three things that are never satisfied, four never say, “Enough!” The grave, the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water – and the fire never says, “Enough!” (Proverbs 30:15-16)
A devouring fire is never satisfied. Burning half the fuel is not enough – it wants more! A fire seeks to burn all and only goes out by reason of loss of fuel. So are those who hate innocent life. One half of minority children being slaughtered is “deficient.” When will it be enough? There is only one way – when all are consumed and there are no more to murder.
Lust of the Eyes
The concept of devouring fire and abortion is not a new idea. In ancient Canaan, there was a horrific idol named Molech.
God warned His people Israel against engaging in the barbaric idolatry of Molech in several places including Leviticus 18:21 and 20:3-5. And yet, the people quickly fell into the sin of worshipping Molech along with the Baals, Chemosh, and Ashteroths who seem to have utilized overlapping practices of requiring blood at the hands of their worshippers (3).
In I Kings 11:7, Solomon in his multiplication of wives built a high place for Molech outside Jerusalem. In II Kings 21:6 King Manasseh of Judah offered his son through fire as a sacrifice to false gods. Molech, required the shedding of the innocent blood of children at the hands of their parents. The blood was shed by burning the child alive in the devouring fire of the idol.
12th century Rabbi Schlomo Yitzchak wrote a commentary on Topheth (Molech) who is mentioned in Jeremiah 7:31 and gave this description of the practice:
“Topheth is Moloch, which was made of brass; and they heated him from his lower parts; and his hands being stretched out, and made hot, they put the child between his hands, and it was burnt; when it vehemently cried out; but the priests beat a drum, that the father might not hear the voice of his son, and his heart might not be moved.”
This horrific practice of which the Lord says, “I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart,” was one of the primary reasons that Judah was destroyed by Babylon. The lust of the eyes towards the idols of the world and their worship always comes with the shedding of innocent blood, one of the seven things the Lord hates (Proverbs 6:16-17). Similar practices are recorded throughout history in places such as Carthage and portions of the Roman empire.
Today, as children are sacrificed to the gods of this world, their parents turn up loud music in their cars or on their headphones to drown out the words of God presented by Christians on the street warning them of the cries of their little ones that call to for their parents and their Creator for help and protection! So it was many years ago as the babies screamed in the flaming arms of the idol Molech that the priests beat the drums and blew the trumpets drowning out the cries of agony.
Pride of Life 
“Reproductive justice!” “Bodily autonomy!” “International human rights!” “Women’s health!” Such are the rallying cries of the wicked as they lead their followers to murder their own flesh and blood. Like the “Answer to the Jewish Question” of Hitler’s Nazi Germany, so the euphemisms of our day are the death sentences of millions of innocents. Why?
“The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor” (Psalm 10:2 NKJV).
Lord willing we will consider Psalm 10 in more detail in future articles but to introduce the chapter and its teaching, the wicked in their pride think God doesn’t know, see, or care what they do and through vain words they carry out atrocities on the innocent. This foolish pride is a root of the sin of abortion.
Abortions: Its Cause
When lust conceives it brings forth sin. When sin is finished it brings death. The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life have conceived together to bring forth sin in the form of abortion. Their fruit has largely been born through deceit.
In my experience at several Atlanta abortion mills, few if any parents enroute to murder their children have ever thought about shedding innocent blood. They have never thought about minority abortions as a percentage of the minority population. They may have never heard of “bodily autonomy,” and in the many conversations with folks, I have never heard that term used in their own defense. What they have said are things like this:

If the life in the womb seems to be an inconvenience then the right thing to do is to abort.
There is no moral issue with abortion as the baby is not “viable.”
The mom’s choice to abort is a valid choice.
God understands their difficult decision and will accept or at least forgive them if it is wrong.
It is better to end the baby’s life than to lose friendships over pregnancy.
It is better to abort the child than to raise the child without a father.
No one can judge their decision, as God says, “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

What these ideas have in common is that each is false. Those who believe these things and practice their belief have been deceived by the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus said,
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44 NKJV).
When the lusts of the world are conceived they deceive many to carry out sin. Sin when it brings forth fruit leads to death. Millions upon millions of children have died and are still dying because parents and abortion providers have been deceived by lies of the wicked one and are acting out those lies in the murder and killing of their own and others’ children.
This is what the devil subtly came to do: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Those that participate in such murder are demonstrating two things: 1) They are children of their father the devil; and 2) They do not have eternal life abiding in them, for murderers “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).
Abortion: Its Defeat
And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (I Corinthians 6:11 NKJV).
There are many individuals and groups today that call themselves “pro life.” Some mean by this that they are for laws that limit and restrict abortion. Others mean that they want mothers to know that they have other options besides abortion. Still others consider mothers to be victims of abortion and want to help rescue them. None of these ideas will hinder the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. They will not defeat Satan, his deceit, and his deceived children from bearing forth the fruit of their sin, which is death. There is only one way that sin is defeated and it is not found in politicians, laws, or slogans. Sin is defeated by a person whose name is Jesus Christ.
To those who are living in sin and murder, deceiving and being deceived, the Lord calls out from Heaven:
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 1:16-20).
The defeat of abortion and all sin comes from the one who bore my sin on the cross and shed His blood for me, even Jesus Christ. God has made “Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21). Christ Jesus came to save the murderer. The one who was a captive to Satan and sin Christ came to set him free.
Christ did not sugarcoat sin or tell people their sin was ok as so many are apt to do today, but He came telling them it was evil, of their father the devil, and He could set them free. How can sinners, murderers, evil men and women be set free? By repenting of their sins and believing in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. For this reason Jesus came into the world, to set the prisoner free!
The faithful proclamation of the full counsel of God and of His holiness, righteousness, perfection, glory, sacrifice, redemption, and salvation – in other words, the gospel of Jesus Christ – will defeat abortion. As the gospel goes out, lost souls are saved. As lost souls are saved, the day of the Lord is hastened. As lost souls are saved, they and their children live. As children live, the abortion doctors have no more work to carry out. Sin is defeated by Christ and His glorious gospel.
Go Ye Therefore!
Many people view the proclamation of Christ and His Word to the lost and dying at abortion mills as folly. Just before Christmas I was surrounded by a group from another religion who told me, “God’s Word that you’re reading cuts people to their hearts. We don’t want to do that. We want to show them love.” A group then exceeding thirty people stood on the sidewalk and sang Jingle Bells and the 12 Days of Christmas as mothers carried their children into the modern day temple of Molech to pour out their blood a sacrifice to their own idols and lusts.
Let us not be deceived, the world and its religions, even sadly, many in various pro-life movements, are no friends of the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are no friends of preaching when it is preaching of the cross. They consider it foolish and powerless. Instead they desire men’s wisdom. Fifty years of men’s wisdom later, abortion is alive and well. It is high time for the gospel of Jesus Christ (4) to be preached and to give no quarter to those who would seek to stop it.
Christ sent us into the world not with wisdom of words but to preach the gospel!
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (I Corinthians 1:18-25 NKJV).
The Kingdom of Heaven has come, Satan is bound, Christ is ruling, all power in Heaven and on earth has been given unto Him, He is destroying sin and setting free those who are slaves to sin, and He is doing it by the proclamation of His Word and by His Holy Spirit. Here is how abortion is defeated – by Jesus Christ the Lord and giver of life. Go out to the fortresses of Satan and proclaim freedom to the prisoners through that everlasting Word that cuts to the heart of men for their salvation. Christ is for you in this! Who can be against you? Make Christ known, call all to repentance and faith, and Christ will be glorified, wickedness will subside, souls will be saved, and children on the path to death will live.

“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood…” Proverbs 6:16-17
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” I John 2:15-17
See I Kings 18:25-29 as the prophets of Baal cut and butchered themselves over their altar. See also II Kings 2:26-27 when the Moabites who worshipped Chemosh were in a fix in battle the king offered up his oldest son as an offering spilling his blood all around.
The gospel message can be read of further here, here, and here. The gospel call can be read here and listened to here (Spurgeon) and here.

Ben Stahl is a member of Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Doraville, Ga. This article is used with permission.

Christian theology is a means of knowing the triune God: the Father in His eternal love, the Son in His saving grace, and the Holy Spirit in the sweet fellowship He gives us with God and each other (2 Cor. 13:14). The knowledge of the Lord is worth more than all human wisdom, power, and wealth (Jer. 9:23–24). God uses His Word to set us free and make us holy, as He is holy (John 8:31–32; John 17:17).

I remember a meeting I had some years ago with a couple of brothers in Christ. We needed to find a speaker for a men’s retreat. One man said, “The last thing we want is theology. We need something practical.” Too often, that’s the assumption: theology is not helpful. But when the retreat was done, the speaker proved to be quite helpful precisely because he was theological. He taught the doctrines of God’s Word with clarity, conviction, and a call to respond.
What is Helpful Theology?
Theology is serious thinking about Christian doctrine. The doctrines of the faith summarize and explain the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible commends “sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1), which means healthy teaching.
Systematic theology is the study of what the whole Bible teaches about a given doctrine and its connection to other doctrines. For example, how can a sinner be justified or counted righteous by God? What does justification show us about God, Christ, and ourselves?
The purpose of systematic theology, like all Christian teaching, is not to cause arguments but to strengthen faith and godliness (1 Tim. 1:4–5). As Reformed theologians have said, “Theology is the doctrine of living to God by Christ.”
But that does not mean that all theology is helpful. When I opened the first systematic theology I ever read, I thought, “This is great! The author is thinking deeply about the faith.” But in that book, the author said that it is absurd to talk about the resurrection of Christ’s physical body from the dead. The author was an unbeliever. Needless to say, I put that book down.
Systematic theology is only helpful if it is faithful to the Word of God, especially the gospel that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3–4). Therefore, we should exercise discernment. We can learn something from virtually anyone, even unbelievers. But when we study doctrine and theology, we must choose our teachers wisely.
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