Theologian, economist, and WORLDmag.com contributor Anthony Bradley has as his goal nothing less than redefining a term he believes has been hijacked by liberation theology—especially among black theologians and activists such as Cornel West and Jesse Jackson. That term is “social justice.”

Bradley said “social justice” has been reduced to mean merely those social programs aimed at improving the material well being of the lower class. He argues that social justice is and should be a much bigger idea, and one that ensures that a person “is being treated with dignity as someone created in the image of God.”

Bradley shared his thoughts last month at The King’s College in New York as part of the school’s Distinguished Visitor Series.

As an African-American growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Bradley first heard black liberation theology preached at his home church, though he did not immediately recognize it. He became a “full-time nerd” and “retro-progressive” in college when he was introduced to Reformed theology and discovered that man’s identity ultimately rests in his status as “imago Dei,” or being “created in the image of God.” His intellectual transformation led him to seriously question black liberation theology and modern understandings of social justice.

Bradley’s new book, Liberating Black Theology, due out in February 2010, explains how social justice should be redefined. He said black liberation theology “has to be liberated from itself” because its fundamental starting point is that “the human person is victim of social oppression.” This starting point, Bradley said, leads to “nothing more than a socio-political theology” and short sighted solutions. To find lasting solutions to social issues, he wants to “switch the conversation” from humans as “victims” to humans as “created in the image of God.”

Matthias Clock is a student at The King’s College in New York City.