Social Justice Handbook

Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World
Mae Elise Cannon
InterVarsity Press 2009

Reviewed by Kevin Book-Satterlee

Christmas is the time of year where compassion conflicts with high commercialism. The cynic states that charitable giving is up during the holidays because it is at the end of the year and much needed tax breaks are looming, needing to get in by December 31st. Those who know the magic of Christmas, and especially those who have come to understand the generous grace of the Incarnation of Christ, understand that giving is up this time of year because we respond to compassion.

Social Justice awareness is growing and becoming part of the regular vernacular in Evangelical circles. There are some that might still have the bad taste of social gospel wars from decades back, but one thing is for certain, Evangelicals are engaging in social justice in practice and thought and care must be brought to engage thoughtfully.

Mae Elise Cannon takes on the task with her new book published by InterVarsity. Cannon’s book is an excellent and informative primer on social justice issues and Evangelical involvement. She breaks the part into two sections, first giving a reason for understanding justice and the roots of justice in the Church and secondly she provides an encyclopedia of justice issues.

The historical survey that Cannon provides, while not exhausting the issue is fairly comprehensive. The small articles break the information up well allowing for easy linear reading or a topical search. She takes on the Biblical and social background for justice and makes for an easy study for a youth group or Bible study.
Her second section is an alphabetical encyclopedia of many issues in social justice. While none of the articles are comprehensive, they do a great job in creating an introduction to the issue.

Most valuable in her book are the “Take Action” and “Awareness Exercise” pieces for further experiential learning regarding each topic. These are simple actions but require initiative on behalf of the reader to go beyond reading and truly engage in a specific issue, or at least dabble in it. Each article also has an accompanying list of further study books and materials, allowing an reader interested in a specific area to delve deeper. The only problem with these added pieces is the ease of which the reader can skip over them and the lack of some crucial, authoritative books on certain topics.

Cannon is unapologetic at calling out the Evangelical Church where it has failed, but is incredibly encouraging as throughout the book are stories of Evangelical people and organizations engaging in a variety of social justice issues. Partisanship does not seem to be a huge factor in her writing, and if her voice leans to one side, she is careful to couch criticisms in praises, making this book accessible to much of the Evangelical population.

This is a survey book, but can be very good for a youth group or Bible study interested in beginning to explore social justice issues. It is a great book to have on the shelf for those who might have recurring influence with Evangelicals, such a pastor, campus minister or church leader. A suggested purpose for the book would be for an exploration and an opportunity to see what issues a group or individual could actually begin to dig further down on. Reading some of the issues may or may not touch a person, but inevitably something will, and this book can be a great launching point for this social justice endeavor.

Christmas is coming. Awareness only of social justice issues doesn’t go far enough, however this book would make a good gift and can be the sending point in changing a person’s life to engage the Biblical justice that Christ became incarnate for and demonstrated to us. Charitable giving and awareness in a time like Christmas can have the lasting effect of creating Christians who truly engage in God’s social justice.