“My view of Christianity is such … that I think no man can consistently profess it without throwing the whole weight of his being against this monstrous system of injustice that lies at the foundation of all our society; and if need be, by sacrificing himself in the battle.” These words in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin are quite orthodox even though the character who utters them is not a Christian. Rather, Augustine St. Clare he is an unbeliever and a slave-owner in the antebellum South who is critical of his culture and yet disappointingly not willing to stand against it. He continues, “I mean I could not be a Christian otherwise, though I have certainly had intercourse with a great many enlightened and Christian people who did no such thing; and I confess that the apathy of religious people on this subject, their want of perception of wrongs that filled me with horror, have engendered in me more skepticism than any other thing.” (321-22)

Stowe’s words still apply today. Thirty million men, women and children are enslaved throughout the world, some right here in the United States. Ten million children die of starvation each year. Millions of women are subject to life-threatening beatings, rape, or death just for being a woman. And the list goes on and on. When considering such atrocities, Gary Haugen, the director of the International Justice Mission, has said that he used to ask “Where is God?” But eventually he started asking instead “Where is the church?” For the Bible clearly teaches that true faith will compel us to stand against such atrocities.

The character St. Clare was horrified and turned off by the apathy he saw in Christians toward the plight of the American slaves and knew that their apathy was inconsistent with the faith they professed. Sadly, many people I know similarly turn away from belief in Christ because of the indifference and inaction they perceive in the church today in the face of injustice. Truth be told there are many Christians fighting hard for the cause of justice but I pray that the church will become more and more known for her stand against oppression. Christ has gone on ahead of us. May He find us faithful to join us there and may the world know anew the answer to the question, “Where is the church?”