#BlackHeartsMatter: Getting Our Hearts Right

This blog article originated partly from a social media exchange and partly from a phone conversation.  Both were related to our current national response to the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, on May 25.  During the phone conversation, my friend noted that one or more of her friends had been called “racist” for not including #BlackLivesMatter in their social media posts.

Watching Our Words and Hashtags
My first thought was to remember my own current blend of emotions over Floyd’s death and the passion now on display across America—the mixture of grief, disgust, anger, hate, hopelessness, etc.  These emotions have also embroiled social media.  Even well-meaning posts can erupt into exchanges that express the dark side of our hearts. 

I hope not to add to the tensions that already exist among people online.  But I am trying to make sense of what is being reported in the media, and through conversations I have had recently.  Forgive me, but it helps to write out my thoughts—hopefully, I am not worthlessly “spewing.”

First off, we may agree that virtual conversations involving brief repeated exchanges can easily be misunderstood by our inaccurate wording.  Even well worded sentences do not convey the tone of voice or facial expressions we normally see in real-time, face-to-face conversations.  On top of this, add a “hashtag” and suddenly, a well-meaning statement can become a flaming arrow with a life of its own, ricocheting about and stabbing into hearts of readers.

Today, “#BlackLivesMatter” is a potentially incendiary hashtag that carries with it much of the hurt, grief, passion, anger, and disgust that is driving both peaceful demonstrations and accompanying looting and violence.  I am honestly trying to be sensitive to these emotions.  I also believe there is justification for prolonged expression of these emotions along with respectful, impassioned calls for justice and reform.  However, it is also evident from the instance I cited at the beginning of this article that the use of #BlackLivesMatter (or other similar expressions--e.g. #BLM, the phrase “Black Lives Matter”), because of the connotations it carries, can easily squelch constructive conversation as well as legitimate public demonstrations.

Evaluating #BlackLivesMatter
As I am trying to understand some of the incendiary nature of #BlackLifesMatter, it seems to me that some who use this slogan have given in to the temptation to appoint themselves as the standard for how all others ought to think and act toward “Blacks” (or other ethnic minorities).  With all due respect, they seem to be the self-appointed “high priests of ‘blackness’.”  Therefore, to them, because I am “White” (or “white”), nothing I am writing here carries value or authority.  Neither am I perceived as one who understands or empathizes with Blacks, Black cultural heritage, or the current struggles of Blacks.

Because of my ethic background and my personal experience, I will admit that I have trouble understanding and empathizing with Black Americans.  Nor do I currently experience the kinds of ongoing, subtle or outright emotional and physical causes of anxiety, suffering, and death that have been or are currently being experienced by Blacks.  But then, who is worthy to represent Black lives and to define its mission?  And who possesses the authority to decide when the #BlackLivesMatter mission is accomplished?  And what will the area now occupied by the United States of America look like when the mission is accomplished?  The answers to these questions are not obvious to me but they would appear to be at least somewhat elusive.  In fact, many people wonder whether the Black Lives Matter movement has any consensus as to its actual mission and desired outcome.  For example, here are several points I’ve been pondering.

Biology and Politics of “Black”
First, we would assume “the worthy” person or persons of #BlackLivesMatter ought to be “Black.”  But how “Black?”  Biologically speaking, I have explained elsewhere that humankind is of one race, not many.  How black must a person’s skin be in order to be “Black?”  Or how “White” in order to be disqualified?  According to D. J. Witherspoon, S. Wooding, et al. publishing in the journal, Genetics (176: 351–359 May, 2007), “…most human genetic variation is found within populations, not between them.”  Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall, both at the American Museum of Natural History, conclude, “race is a totally inadequate way of characterizing diverse humankind or even of helping understand humanity’s glorious variety.” [See “Black History 3:  Bible and Biology Erase Racism”].
 

There are many Blacks such as Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson), Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO), and Jack Brewer (@JackBrewerBSI) who disagree with the tenants of Black Lives Matter.  Therefore, some in #BlackLivesMatter dismiss these Blacks because they are not really “Black.”  Legitimate voices from both “Blacks” and “Whites” are rejected or silenced, often by both #BlackLivesMatter and some media outlets, if they do not meet the standard of “the worthy.”  But what constitutes the “standard” for being among “the worthy?”

Individual versus Institutional Sin
Turning our attention to a major source of the passionate cry for justice, our law enforcement officials across the nation, it is clear in at least some cases that there is need for reform, greater accountability, and justice to those who are proven guilty of abuse of their authority.  George Floyd would likely be alive today if Derek Chauvin had been held accountable for multiple earlier violations of proper police guidelines.  But, while it seems clear that Chauvin and his colleagues who were complicit in the murder of George Floyd should be charged and sentenced for their grievous crime, some in #BlackLivesMatter claim that all police regardless of ethnicity, professional record, or character are unworthy to be our protectors or enforcers of the law.  In fact, #DisbandPolice movements are emerging in major cities on the premise that all police are unworthy. 

If Black Lives really Matter, how can anyone who cares about Black Lives support dismissal of entire police departments and leave some of the most vulnerable communities including Black communities vulnerable to what will undoubtedly become vigilante law?  Here we can see the illogic of “throwing out the whole barrel of apples” when one or two “bad apples” are discovered.  It is both biblically and legally justified to condemn individuals who commit acts that clearly stem from bigotry.  It is also right to identify and reform institutions guilty of “institutional racism”—i.e. where one or few “bad apples” have spread their “rot” to the point of corrupting the mission and purpose of the institution.  However, it cannot be either biblically or legally justified to condemn a whole institution for the actions of one or a few.  This point brings us to the social media exchange I noted at the beginning.

Church Discipline or Demolition?
The following is a Facebook post from my friend followed by a response from one of his/her friends:
FRIEND:  The decline of Christianity in Europe and North America, whatever its proximate causes may be, is ultimately God saving the Church from white supremacy.  God can, in his time, rebuild what he tears down. But now is a time for tearing down (Ecclesiastes 3:3).  Let us not be found opposing God’s will.  I’m sure others have already said this, and I confess I am late in seeing it clearly.

RESPONSE:  Yes!!  Thank you, __ (name)!  The church has been one of, if not THE main agent in perpetuating white supremacy.

I love my friend and his/her family.  We have been friends for many years.  I do not know his/her friend.  I also understand and respect his/her genuine concern and desire for the Church to flourish in all of her roles on Earth to proclaim the good news of salvation, release to the captives held by sin’s bonds, to bring man sons to glory, and to glorify our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  But I also understand the tremendous diversity that exists within the true Church and within Bible-based local churches.  Therefore, I resist the pessimism that many seem to have.

Some local churches are almost entirely Caucasian, others are a mix of many ethnic groups, and some are almost entirely Black.  Our church is largely Caucasian.  Therefore, we may be unknowingly naïve or ignorant of ethnic diversity and struggles.  Ignorance is not sin unless we are not teachable and allow it to lead to wrong judgments.  We are fortunate to have a godly Black man who is married to a lovely Caucasian wife who serve on our pastoral staff.  We can learn from their example and teaching, first as our brother and sister in Christ, and secondly from the insights on cultural diversity which they bring to us.  But most of all, where the Scriptures are taught and sincerely followed, and where even biology is understood, there ought not to be a hint of bigotry or white supremacy.

Here, we must return to our question, “Who is Worthy?”  Specifically, who among #BlackLivesMatter is worthy to pass judgment on a local church, or upon “the Church” worldwide?  For those who reject the authority of God and His inspired Word in Scripture, nothing beyond this point in the article will be agreeable to you—I understand your rejection for reasons you can find taught in the New Testament.  If you are currently choosing to reject the teachings of the Bible, please consider what Jesus Himself taught in His parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8: 5-15) and what the Apostle Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16.  Personally, neither can I discern these truths apart from God’s love and His grace that opened my eyes spiritually.  Regardless of our personal choices, we must be assured of this:  All men and women are created to live under authority—the question is which authority will we choose or allow?  If not our government and our local justice system, then who?   And will that authority have our good interests in mind?  Sadly, anarchist views are being directed toward both local police and toward our children to incite them to defy their parents.  

Church Discipline and Restoration
Based on the authority of Scripture, I also find no teaching in Scripture that licenses an individual to judge a local church or “the Church (worldwide).”  That right is reserved for God Himself and His Son Jesus Christ who condemned proud, corrupt religious leaders (e.g. Matthew 23).  He wept out loud over His holy city (Matthew 23: 37; Luke 19:41-44) and promised stern judgment against apostate and lukewarm local churches (Revelation 2 and 3).

But what if there are indications of bigotry among God’s people in a local church today?  The Scriptures teach the individual born-again believer how to interact in the body of Christ.  We find particularly in Paul’s Epistles instruction for right living for husbands, wives, children, employees, church leaders, etc. The focus is on individual responsibility and accountability before God for how we conduct ourselves in relation to God and toward our neighbor, whether they are a brother or sister in Christ or an unsaved person-- and we are to make no distinction between ethnic groups (1 Corinthians 12: 13; Galatians 3: 28 and Colossians 3: 1-17, especially v. 11).  Bigotry is a sin against God and our neighbor!

The Scriptures give clear instructions that it is the responsibility of mature Christ-followers to confront a brother or sister in Christ who is believed to be living in sin.  Galatians 2: 1-2 states, Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ [which, see Gal. 5: 14, is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves].  Jesus outlined our responsibility as individuals if we are offended to go directly to the offender privately (Matthew 18: 15) and if he or she doesn’t repent and turn from the sin, bring one or two others with you and confront again (v. 16).  If he or she still refuses, then the whole church membership should hear the matter and if there is still no repentance, the offender is to be dismissed from the local membership as a step toward their repentance and loving restoration when that occurs.  When local churches practice godly discipline, individual sin of any kind does not become “institutional sin.”

The question remains, “Who is Worthy?”  Answer?  None of us is ultimately worthy to judge his or her neighbor, regardless of ethnicity or spiritual condition for the purpose of condemnation.  Nor are we worthy to condemn our parents (Exodus 20: 12, the fifth Commandment), our churches, the Church, or our institutions of government for God has placed rulers in authority over us for our good (Romans 13).  Instead of pessimistically judging and condemning individuals and institutions, we are to exercise stewardship, living as salt and light to others—one at a time (Matthew 5: 10-16), even in our dutiful confrontation where necessary.

The Life and Death that Matters Most
In all of these claims, my authority is the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered the most unjust and horrible death imaginable, and He alone is with without any sin.  Read carefully Isaiah 53 and allow God’s Word to speak truth into your heart—Jesus died not only for your sin and mine, but also for our sorrow, our grief, our frustration.  Let us look into our own “black hearts” which can so easily express the fallen tendency of our sinful nature (Galatians 5: 16-21).  At the foot of Christ’s Cross, we see how much He suffered to take away sin from us (1 John 3: 5).  Praise God!  May God help us to adopt a lifestyle of repentance of our sin and arise in new life, yielded daily to the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  He alone can produce the Fruit pleasing to God and a blessing to our neighbor—Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, etc. (Galatians 5: 22-26). 

How About You and I?

Do you and I need to “call ourselves out” to repentance (James 1: 19-27)?  

If we do, repentance will help us rightly discern the error in the spirit behind #BlackLivesMatter.  Perhaps we will be directed to live by #BlackHeartsMatter, being among those who look first into our own hearts, taking the log out of our own eye first before pointing to sin in our brother or sister (Matthew 7: 3-5).  Above all, we must never forget that no one is truly Worthy except our Savior, our Redeemer, our Counselor, and our Friend.  Why not take time, as I want to do again, to read carefully the Scriptures I have cited in this article, especially Colossians 3: 1-17. Let's allow God’s Spirit to speak His Truth to our hearts?  I would recommend while you read, to listen to Chris Tomlin’s lovely song, “He is Worthy.”  Indeed, only Christ is Worthy!

Are There Lessons for America from the 1950’s?

Reminders of the era of the 1950's.

I am a member of the “baby boomers,” representing children born from roughly the end of World War II to the period of the early 1960’s.  While American culture in this era was not without need of moral and spiritual revival, many would consider the 1940’s and 1950’s as one of the most favorable times in which to grow up as a child in America.   For the sake of brevity, I will refer to this era, which encompassed my elementary school years, as “the 1950’s.”

So, I was interested to learn that two university professors have published an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer entitled, “Paying the price for breakdown of the country's bourgeois culture.”  Amy Wax is the Robert Mundheim professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and, Larry Alexander is the Warren distinguished professor at the University of San Diego School of Law.

Wax and Alexander open their article with what many of us would agree is a pretty accurate summary of the current state of socio-economic affairs in America today:

Too few Americans are qualified for the jobs available. Male working-age labor-force participation is at Depression-era lows. Opioid abuse is widespread. Homicidal violence plagues inner cities. Almost half of all children are born out of wedlock, and even more are raised by single mothers. Many college students lack basic skills, and high school students rank below those from two dozen other countries. 

"I don't shrink from the word 'superior'." -- Dr. Amy Wax 

The authors admit that the ”causes of these phenomena are multiple and complex, but implicated in these and other maladies is the breakdown of the country’s bourgeois culture.”  Although the term “bourgeois” generally means “middle class,” it can also suggest values of materialism, pro-capitalism, and anti-communism.  Wax and Alexander may be using the term “bourgeois” in their title to grab attention, but their intent is to call readers to consider the merits of “1950’s middle-class values” which they outline as follows:

Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard, and avoid idleness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime.

Evidence of moral decline in America.

According to the two law professors, these cultural values “reigned” in the era of the 1950’s for two reasons.  They “could be followed by people of all backgrounds and abilities,” and they were “backed up by almost universal endorsement.”  The principle assertion of the authors is that adherence to these values and disciplines “was a major contributor to the productivity, educational gains, and social coherence of that period.”

As if to anticipate the skepticism and pessimism of our divided culture, Wax and Alexander quickly admit that not everyone of the 1950’s era adhered to these values: 

There are always rebels--and hypocrites, those who publicly endorse the norms but transgress them. But…even the deviants rarely disavowed or openly disparaged the prevailing expectations.  Was everything perfect during the period of bourgeois cultural hegemony?  Of course not.  There was racial discrimination, limited sex roles, and pockets of anti-Semitism.  However, steady improvements for women and minorities were underway even when bourgeois norms reigned.  Banishing discrimination and expanding opportunity does not require the demise of bourgeois culture.  Quite the opposite: The loss of bourgeois habits seriously impeded the progress of disadvantaged groups.  That trend also accelerated the destructive consequences of the growing welfare state, which, by taking over financial support of families, reduced the need for two parents.  A strong pro-marriage norm might have blunted this effect. Instead, the number of single parents grew astronomically, producing children more prone to academic failure, addiction, idleness, crime, and poverty.

Whether or not you agree with Wax and Alexander, most readers will not be surprised at the harsh manner in which their article was received.  And if it were not enough for the authors to laud the values the values of the 1950’s, they also claim that “All cultures are not equal. Or at least they are not equal in preparing people to be productive in an advanced economy.” 

Note that the authors are not saying one culture is better than another--only better at preparing human beings to have productive lives in the cultural context within which they will live.  Nevertheless, in several articles, including articles in the U. Penn student newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, the authors are accused of using “hate speech” and preaching “white supremacy.”  One of these articles, entitled “Notions of 'bourgeois' cultural superiority are based on bad history,” was written by five of Amy Wax’s own law faculty colleagues at U. Penn.  Imagine that occurring to you as a professor at the beginning of a new academic year. 

Professor Dorothy E. Roberts and colleagues consider Wax and Alexander’s “nostalgia for the 1950’s ‘bourgeois’ culture” to be “bad history” and compare it to a defense of Confederate statues that promote white supremacy.   They add that, “nostalgia for 1950’s ‘bourgeois’ culture erases its historical context and serves as a thinly veiled argument for… Anglo-Protestant superiority….”

In defense of Amy Wax and “1950’s values,” Heather Mac Donald, asks readers of National Review:

Were you planning to instruct your child about the value of hard work and civility?  Not so fast!  According to a current uproar at the University of Pennsylvania, advocacy of such bourgeois virtues is “hate speech.”  

Mac Donald then points out the flawed and biased approach of Roberts et al and other liberal progressives who view “1950’s values” with disdain and who accuse Wax and Alexander of promoting cultural bias and racial supremacy.  Mac Donald summarizes by putting her finger on what she calls the “primary sin” of Wax and Alexander—the need to change human behavior with emphasis on individual responsibility:

The op-ed’s primary sin was to talk about behavior. The founding idea of contemporary progressivism is that structural and individual racism lies behind socioeconomic inequalities. Discussing bad behavioral choices and maladaptive culture is out of bounds and will be punished mercilessly by slinging at the offender the usual fusillade of “isms” (to be supplemented, post-Charlottesville, with frequent mentions of “white supremacy”).  The fact that underclass behaviors are increasingly common among lower-class whites, and not at all limited to poor blacks and Hispanics, might have made it possible to address personal responsibility.  That does not appear to be the case.

Some of my readers will question the notion that America ought to consider returning to the values of the 1950’s.  Questioning is a good thing--if accompanied by an objective analysis.  I hope my article does not discourage readers from doing just that. 

Some of you who may be skeptical of the Wax-Alexander assertions are not “baby boomers.” Others, like me were not yet adults during the 1950’s.  I was an elementary schoolboy who had seen little of the wider world outside my rural, farm community.  I have great memories of those years, but I was not immune from learning of moral and ethical transgressions within our family and our community.  Thankfully, God was already showing me His provision through Christ to forgive my sin, make me His child, and teach me to understand the world and His plan for me.

So, let no reader think that I look back on the 1950’s with a fog of nostalgia or with colored glasses.  Rather, I believe the articles I have cited and others are affording our nation with the opportunity to have a polite discussion and debate about what is good and redeemable about American culture of past and present, and where changes are needed.  I hope you will read the assertions of the Wax-Alexander article and of opposing articles such as Roberts et al; and, critiques such as that of Mac Donald.  I am not optimistic that a “polite discussion” will or even can happen without a moral and spiritual revival.  As long as we choose to view our history with an arrogant disdain that refuses to acknowledge the importance of individual responsibility for moral and ethical choices, there is little hope.

The Book of Proverbs teaches the connection between wise discernment by the individual and the corporate benefit of individual righteousness to the nation as a whole:

Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning;
 it is known even in the heart of fools.
Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a disgrace to any people.
                               Prov. 14: 33-34 (NET Bible)

We must realize that “individual righteousness” is not “self-righteousness.”  The Bible says that all of our self-righteousness is but filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6).  Therefore, God instructs us in Titus 2:  12-14 to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us [give us right standing before a Holy God] from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

Heather Mac Donald does not offer much optimism for American culture.  She concludes her article asking,

What if the progressive analysis of inequality is wrong, however, and a cultural analysis is closest to the truth?  If confronting the need to change behavior is punishable “hate speech,” then it is hard to see how the country can resolve its social problems.

When I read the progressive liberal critique that considers  the mention of timeless, multicultural values like hard work, moral uprightness, and civility as “hate speech,” I am reminded of the Prophet Isaiah’s warning of coming judgment:

Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge;
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
                                                        -- Isaiah 5: 13a, 20

What About You?   Do you have good memories of the 1950’s or of reading about that era?  Do you agree with authors Amy Wax and Larry Alexander that America would benefit if we were to return to some of the values the 1950’s?   What is your answer to the hope for America as a nation, and more broadly for human civilization?

Extremist Protests: A Monumental Opportunity

Most people who have been following national news for the past two decades agree that America has become deeply divided morally and politically.  Last week’s violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia sparked yet another angry reaction, this time between white nationalists and those who oppose the notion of white supremacy.  This disturbing series of events poses both a challenge and an opportunity for Christians.

Making history, yet ignorant of its lessons.

The challenge of the Church is to respond in truth and in love because true Christ-followers live in daily awareness of the grace and forgiveness of God.  If the Church is to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5: 13) in this troubled world, Christ-followers must remember both human history and His-story (God’s inspired account of creation, human corruption, and redemption recorded in inspired Scripture).

Ignorance of Human History

Both far-right white supremacists and the far-left opposition (the “Antifa” or “anti-fascists”) are acting as if they are ignorant of the history of America and of Christianity.  Racial discrimination and slavery have been a blot on American history and have involved not only Black Americans but Native Americans, Orientals, Hispanics, et cetera.  American history is stained with blood spilled over enslavement, particularly of African people and their descendants, culminating in the Civil War.  The war opened the way to emancipation followed by another century of slow progress toward federal legislation of civil rights for ethnic minorities in America.

Abraham Lincoln, 186

But street protesters on the extreme right and left seem to recognize neither the costly loss of human life in the Civil War nor the role of Christianity in the healing of America that began under the leadership of men and women on both sides at the end of the conflict.  All Americans ought to re-read Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address including the following excerpt (emphasis mine), 

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Memorials are intended to remind us of our history so we can learn from both our triumphs and mistakes. Destruction of memorials to men like Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee ignores how much both men contributed to the unifying of the United States of America?  Although General Lee led the military campaign of the confederate Army of Northern Virginia, he was a devout Christian and was instrumental in agreeing to a rightful surrender at Appomattox, Virginia.  R. David Cox, in The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee (Eerdmans, 2017) writes, according to Marvin Olasky in WORLD, that Lee’s “strong belief in God’s sovereignty… influenced his strong opposition to confederate Gen. Edward Alexander when this subordinate suggested the army “’scatter like rabbits & partridges in the woods’ and begin guerilla warfare.”  Lee challenged Alexander with these words

Robert E. Lee

God has given the victory to the Yankees…As Christian men, Gen. Alexander, you & I have no right to think for one moment of our personal feelings or affairs.  We must consider only the effect which our actions will have upon the country at large...

The extremists of the Antifa who have destroyed monuments to General Lee seemingly wish to erase the memory this man of great integrity.  Lee wrote that slavery is “a moral and political evil” and said he would gladly give up his slaves to avoid civil war. 

Protesting extremists may also be ignorant of 20^th century history.  Prior to the middle of that century, many allied nations fought in World War II to deliver the world from Nazism and Fascism.  They may also be unaware that racism and the philosophy of white supremacy are rooted in a false belief in naturalistic evolution which suggests that humans, particularly whites, occupy the top rung of an “evolutionary ladder” as a result of random changes through mutations and natural selection.  For more discussion of the connection between Darwinian evolution and Nazi Germany’s eugenics experiments aimed at exterminating Jews in favor the Aryan race, please consult a previous article, “World History Without HIS Story.” 

Today, “scientific racism,” the notion that science affirms the existence of racial superiority, is denied by most scientists even though the theory that all of life originated by evolution is still viewed as “settled science.”  Yet, if all humans originated simply by random material processes and not by divinely ordered creation, then our moral standards are baseless and civil law is seen as arbitrary.  The outcome of this logic is evident in the crumbling institutions of marriage and family, the growing disrespect for law and order, and the acceptance of abortion which is partly justified by those who support human eugenics in the tradition of Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood.

Finally, white supremacists seem to be ignorant or have forgotten the great progress of the civil rights movement and the preaching of Martin L. King who said,

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Ignorance of His-story, “God’s Story”

Those who are ignorant of human history are in even greater danger if they are ignorant of “God’s story” of the creation and redemption of mankind.  According to the Bible, God loves all of His creation.  His love extends especially to humans of all ethnic backgrounds because he made man and woman in His image with unique rational and emotional capacities to share relationships with one another and with Him.

The Bible has been called “God’s love letter” to mankind.  Beginning in Genesis following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God promised a Savior Who would one day come and “bruise the head of Satan” the tempter (Genesis 3: 15).  Although the Bible teaches that all have all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23), and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6: 23a), the good news (“the Gospel”) is that the free gift of God is eternal life (by faith) in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6: 23b).  

Amazingly, God did not simply send His “love gift.”  God came as that gift as prophesied centuries earlier (see Isaiah 9: 1-7) through His own incarnation when a Jewish girl named Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus Christ.  Christ, the Savior of mankind, had been promised centuries earlier when God spoke to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, saying (emphasis mine), I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.  And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12: 3).

God had chosen to reveal His salvation through the Jewish nation, Israel.  To avoid their being drawn away by heathen gods, God warned His “chosen people” not to intermarry with “foreigners.” But, it was never God’s intention to limit his forgiveness of sin to the Jews alone.  The Old Testament records many instances in which God’s mercy was extended to “foreigners.”  Indeed, the human lineage of Jesus beginning from Abraham, includes several ethnic groups.  Two examples are Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute (Joshua 6) and mother of Boaz who married Ruth, a Moabite woman, who became the great-grandmother of King David (Ruth 4:13-22). 

How fitting that the blood of Jesus shed from His cross which takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29; Colossians 1: 20) should have a multi-ethnic lineage.  Yet, as God promised to Abraham, salvation would come through the Jews.  Jesus’ earthly ministry as well as His instructions to His disciples during their training focused on His countrymen and the Samaritans who were half-Jews (John 4: 4).

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, His instruction to His disciples was to wait in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of His promise that the Holy Spirit would come.  He said (emphasis mine), but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth (Acts 1: 8).  The Apostle Peter’s Spirit-empowered sermon on the Day of Pentecost was supernaturally translated into the languages of over a dozen different ethnic groups representing Asia, Mesopotamia, and Africa (Acts 2: 9-11).  Within weeks, one of the original deacons, Philip, was commanded to go to the desert where he met an Ethiopian on his way back to Africa.  The Ethiopian’s conversion likely allowed him to be among the first to spread the Gospel of Christ into Africa. 

Within a relatively few years after Christ’s resurrection, the Gospel had spread across much of Asia, northern Africa, and Europe.  The accounts of the New Testament provide clear evidence that Jesus Christ is Savior of the world, and not just whites or other specific ethnic groups.  The closing book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation (5:9), points to a future scene in heaven in which multitudes of the redeemed are worshiping Jesus Christ, singing (emphasis mine),

Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals;
for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood
men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

God’s aim is that members of every tribe and tongue and people and nation be redeemed from sin through faith in Christ.  The redeemed in Christ are united as one into His body, the Church, by faith in His shed blood.  Therefore, the philosophy of human supremacy based on blood lines or ethnicity is in direct opposition to God’s plan to unite people from every tribe into One (atonement) by faith in Christ’s blood.  To claim ethnic superiority in the Name of Christ, is false, idolatrous, and even blasphemous.

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has written an article published in the Washington Post entitled, “White supremacy angers Jesus, but does it anger his church?”  He writes,

White supremacy does not merely attack our society (though it does) and the ideals of our nation (though it does); white supremacy attacks the image of Jesus Christ himself. White supremacy exalts the creature over the Creator, and the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against it. Later Moore concludes,

The church should call white supremacy what it is: terrorism, but more than terrorism. White supremacy is Satanism. Even worse, white supremacy is a devil-worship that often pretends that it is speaking for God.  White supremacy angers Jesus of Nazareth. The question is: Does it anger his church?

How Will Christians Respond?

Although I agree with the case Moore makes for “the wrath of God” against acts of hate, evil, and lawlessness, I question his notion of an “angry Jesus.” I disagree that God’s redeemed people should beangry at white supremacists and the Antifa, or angry at any sinner for that matter.  Granted, the white supremacists and their opponents have seemingly forgotten their history and His-story (God’s story) of man’s creation, corruption, and regeneration.  But, while Christ-followers ought to be deeply concerned, the deep divisions in America and the destructions of institutions and monuments should be no surprise.  For decades, we witnessed efforts to remove spiritual monuments like The Ten Commandments and Christian crosses from public display. Regardless of whether the freedom to display these monuments continues, Christ-followers have no reason to be overcome with evil, but rather, to overcome evil with good (Romans 12: 21).   Yes, Truth and Good will triumph over Error and Evil.

Here we should pause--you and I.  Chew it over and over—“meditate” on what I have just written.  If you are a Christ-follower, meditate on the amazing Truth that you and I are God’s children by faith (John 1: 12).  And, even our faith to believe is a gift of God (Ephesians 2: 8).  By faith, I look through my “mind’s eye” upon the Cross, that monument to the utter depravity of humankind of every tribe and nation.   The Cross of Christ is a monument to the horror of what humans did to the perfect Lamb of God.  Centuries before Christ was slain on that Roman cross, the Prophet Isaiah described sinful mankind (me included) and how “God’s Lamb” would respond to the weight of all human sin (mine included) heaped upon Him on that dark day outside Jerusalem (Isaiah 53: 6-7):

All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep
that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.

I will admit to responding at times with resentment and anger.  But, when I remember the Cross and the Empty Tomb as two much greater monuments of God’s love, forgiveness, and hope, I can begin to view the hate-filled mob in a different light. 

Granted, some rioters overcome with hate and evil.  But I see others who have joined in the mob with well meaning intentions.  Some of the protesters have the false hope of producing atonement, a “perfect oneness and unity,” that only God can provide.  Perhaps they believe that if they can only get all human pride, hate, and bigotry out on the public square, including all names, symbols, and monuments they associate with them, they can somehow make atonement.  Yet even well meaning efforts to rectify a history of human sin and depravity are an affront to a Holy God.  When people refuse to repent and bow before the Cross of Christ, everything else in human history becomes an unbearable weight.  What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

In the light of the Cross and Empty Tomb, this dark hour can be a time of great opportunity for the Body of Christ.  As the Apostle Peter teaches, repentance and obedience must begin with the household of God (1 Peter 4: 17).  Christians must heed the challenge of Christ’s half-brother, James, who challenges lukewarm and carnal Christians to humbly pursue heavenly wisdom, not earthly, demonic wisdom (James 3: 14-16; 4: 6-10):

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing…

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

How will we respond as God’s blood-bought children, to the divisions in America, most recently evident in Charlottesville and elsewhere?  When I remember how Christians around the world are courageously responding to hatred and evil, I am ashamed of how I sometimes tend to react.  Then, I remember the verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 that Christ-followers have been increasingly turning to in recent years.   May these words of be our unfailing guide:

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.