When Will They Ever Listen?

When I went to seminary, there was a joy in knowing that intellectual rigor was one of the requirements. This seminary taught Reformed Theology. And intellectual rigor was needed to battle the challenges from liberal theology and elsewhere.

So I have had some high expectations when I started to read what some Reformed theologians said about racism. The one I will review here is written by Brian Najapfour (see short paragraph on him at the end of the article). Najapfour's article was posted on the Reformation 21 website and is called: 8 Reflections On Racism And Riots.

Before reading  Najapfour's article, I had read an article by a Reformed Theologian who teaches at a seminary. His article wasn't as much an article but a list of resources Christians could read to learn more about social justice and racism. But none of sources in that article's list of resources came from a Black person who could share with those of us who are white on their experiences with racism. Thus, going to that article for references to help a Christian respond to racism is like going to a priest for marriage counseling.

Thus, I read Najapfour's article (click here for the article) in hopes of listening to at least some Black Christian voices on racism. I was disappointed. Apparently, some Reformed theologians believe that listening to the experiences of those most impacted by an issue is not necessary because of the Scriptures and our theology.

What were the 8 reflections? 2 of those reflections included statements about the suffering of others besides Black Americans. The question is why? The suffering of others consisted of the Nigerian Christians who are being attacked and killed by Boko Haram in Nigeria and aborted babies. Though both of those issues are extremely important, it just was not appropriate when talking about the protests against a 4 century long practice and belief in white supremacy here in the U.S.

What were the reflections? They were:

1. There is only one race, Adam's race.
2. We all belong to Adam's race so no race is superior to another.
3. No matter what color (a.k.a., race) one is, everyone is made in God's image.
4. All lives are equal.
5. Everyone's life is sacred because each of us are made in God's image.
6. We have the freedom to peacefully protest. But no one has the right to riot.
7. Racism is alive and we should oppose it with the same strength that we oppose abortion and same-sex marriage.
8. The only hope or cure for racism is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Regarding the first reflection, we should consider the context of the issue at hand. Yes, there is only one race when speaking about Adam. But race can also refer to the color of one's skin. We should note that the color of one's skin was not an important issue during Greek and Roman times, but it is important now both on the negative side and the positive side. It is an important issue on the negative side because of the centuries in which the people of a particular oppressed and committed horrible atrocities against the people of other races. And which race is the victim and which one is the victimizer can be subject to one's location in the world.

On the positive side, we have Black history month to help offset the past and present racial injustices. So because we all belong to Adam's race, do we want to eliminate the positive side of distinguishing one's race?

Regarding the second reflection, here we see two different uses of the word race in the same issue which seems to contradict or make unnecessary the first point made. But the general statement of equality is important.

Regarding the third reflection, that everyone is made in the image of God, everyone is important regardless of race. And so that is simply stating what should be obvious to all.

Regarding the fourth reflection, because all lives are made in God's image, all lives are equal. Certainly everyone should agree with that. But at this point, a PSA in Najapfour's discussion on all live being equal was made on behalf the Nigerian Christians who are being hunted and murdered by Boko Haram. Is that an extremely important issue? Certainly. But is the time to mention it when trying to rectify 400 years of white supremacy with many of those years consisting of atrocities against and extremely harsh treatment of Blacks in America?

Regarding the fifth reflection, because all of us are made in the image of God and because God's image is sacred, so is everyone made in his image. First, we are sacred in value but not in person since we all sin. But with the discussion of each life being sacred is a PSA that opposes abortion. Again, when trying to rectify 400 years of white supremacy, is this the time and place to mention abortion?

Regarding the sixth reflection, we have First Amendment rights in this nation that gives us the right to protest. But has Najapfour watched the news and how the right to protest for many were severely infringed on by law enforcement in several U.S. cities? What wasn't that mentioned?

Also, yes, the violence, looting, and rioting is immoral. But if Najapfour has used sources from American Blacks he might have also quoted Martin Luther King Jr. who said: 'a riot is the language of the unheard.' King both opposed the riots and violence of his day while giving some recognition to those who were rioting. What King's statement implies is that society and/or the state shares a certain degree of responsibility for the riots when they are conducted by the marginalized. The suffering of the marginalized doesn't excuse the riots, but just like a poor person stealing bread to eat, that suffering shows that the riots are understandable. And if Najapfour had read Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's article on how the protests are by people who have been pushed to the edge, he might have struck a more nuanced tone when discussing the violence and looting (click here for Abdul-Jabbar's article). The neglect to tap the voices of Blacks in America leaves statements about racism deficient and weak.

Regarding the seventh reflection, certainly racism is still strongly with us. But note that he states that the Christian should oppose abortion and same-sex marriage as the Christian opposes racism. And here is a problem. Should we oppose same-sex marriage in society at all let alone with the same force with which we oppose racism? Hasn't the LGBT community also suffered marginalization here. So sexual issues allows us to marginalize a certain group of people?

If only Najapfour had said that we must preach against abortion and same-sex marriage with the same strength as we preach against racism, the most we could charge him with is the untimely reference to other issues when we are focused on the brutal marginalization of Blacks in America. but he didn't.

Regarding the eighth reflection, in the Reformed Faith, there are other remedies to racism than the Gospel. The Reformed doctrine of common grace states that God changes people using common grace which refers to the grace God gives us as we live with others in society.

But we should note that history isn't the ally of us Reformed Christians. The history of our nation alone shows how many Christians supported white supremacy by their support for slavery in the first couple centuries of our nation's history and Jim Crow and other discriminatory practices afterwards. Our nation's history makes the last reflection look very bad.