Timothy Keller has always been a favorite author of mine, and his book Generous Justice is one of his best. I read this book on the heels of finishing Richard Stearns’ book The Hole in Our Gospel, so it’s difficult not to compare the two. They are both worth reading but I was drawn to Keller’s book because it goes deeper and offers new insights.
Keller argues that people of faith must embrace social justice and strongly argues that our faith is not complete if we are not advancing social justice. He lays out a brilliant theological argument for this and then packs the book with stories of real world situations. What I love about the book is how he weaves a holistic approach into the book. He doesn’t duck philosophical questions, political issues, social values or cultural nuances. He dismantles the conservative/fundamentalist arguments that evangelism is of paramount importance while also fully embracing the Biblical call to such evangelism. He corrects the secular arguments that the Bible is a hindrance to social justice and instead builds the case that most social justice is in fact based on Biblical principles. I love the balance in the book on so many levels. Here’s the highest praise I can offer a book of this nature: I learned a lot when I read it. Seldom do I say that about a book about justice and Scripture.
Stearn’s book is very good (you can read my review here) but Keller goes deeper in his thinking. The two are writing to different audiences — Stearn attempts to reach the broadest audience whereas Keller is writing a thesis that will appeal to people who want more than the surface level of thought. Plus Stearn has more stories of global poverty whereas Keller spends as much time on domestic issues as he does on international challenges. Both books are needed and valuable. God knows the world needs to listen.
