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This Month's Scripture Verse:

1 But false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep..
II Peter 2:1-3

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Showing posts with label Black Lives Matter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Lives Matter. Show all posts

Monday, December 4, 2017

ONIM For December 4, 2017


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Friday, October 27, 2017

Where Can We Find Racial Reconciliation?

Samuel Sey (click here for his bio) has good intentions as he writes about racial reconciliation from religiously conservative Christian point of view. His point is that if reconciliation was humanly possible, then we would have seen it by now after legislation such as in the Emancipation Proclamation, after the Civil Rights Movement, and after Obama's Presidency. But since we don't see that reconciliation, then he reasons that racial reconciliation can only exist in Christ and what He did on the cross. That racial reconciliation was solved theologically in that believers are reconciled to each other and God through what Christ did for us. We just have to "remember" and "live like" that is true (click here for the article).

His intentions are good, but we might want to ask about what follows his premise. For example, if racial reconciliation can only be accomplished theologically, does it follow that we should pass no laws that protect the equality of all regardless of race? If racial reconciliation can only be accomplished theologically, should we expel from our natoinall who do not believe in Christ? If racial reconciliation can only be accomplished theologically, can we expect the absence of racism in a nation filled with Christians?

Before answering those questions, we need to ask ourselves what we mean by racial reconciliation? Do we mean a state of being where there is equality for everyone regardless of race including peace and harmony between the races? Are we expecting the age of Aquarius here? Or is racial reconciliation a process that we will always be working for until the end of time?

To define racial reconciliation in ideal terms is to condemn it to failure even among Christians. We should note that when America could be consider more of a Christian nation, we saw a Christianity that was based on white supremacy. European Christian settlers and later American Christians  took land from Native Americans because they assumed that, because of their religion and race, the land was theirs to take. In addition, American Christians owned slaves in a race-based slavery system and they used the Bible to defend Jim Crow and other forms of discrimination. Why doesn't that cause Sey to conclude then that there has been no theological racial reconciliation just as he used history to show that neither legislation nor activism to accomplish racial reconciliation? Why does his theological reconciliation get a bye here when other ways of achieving racial reconciliation did not?

The racial reconciliation of which Sey speaks shows a confusion of racial reconciliation that is defined as a state of being and that which is defined as a process. And the same kind of difference between those two definitions is similar to the difference between the justification of a Christian their sanctification. We who believe have been reconciled to God in Christ and have been justified because Jesus Christ's righteousness has been credited to us and He has taken away our sins. But such does not imply that we are always living that way. And we will never reach a perfect sinless state in living for God this side of the grave. Our attempts to resist sin and live lives more pleasing to God is called sanctification. While justification can be considered complete in the here and now, sanctification cannot. And this is why it is important that we determine whether racial reconciliation is a state of being that we have accomplished or not or whether it is a process for which we should always participate this side of the grave. For if we define racial reconciliation as a state of being, then it is like justification in that it is either complete or incomplete. However, if racial reconciliation is a process, then, like sanctification, it is something that we should always be working toward knowing that we will never fully achieve it.

What Sey has done in his analysis is to judge racial reconciliation as a state of being as it can be completed either politically or through activism. But he is inconsistent in terms of applying the same standards when speaking about racial reconciliation occurring through theological events. For though the state of racial reconciliation has not been completed in the lives of Christians, he counts it as being completed anyway because of how Christ has reconciled those of us who believe. In addition, though he says that all we have to do is live like Christ has accomplished far more than racial reconciliation for us, that we don't live like it enough shows, according to how he judged political and activist attempts at achieving racial reconciliation, that he is not applying the same standards to theological attempts at reaching racial reconciliation as he did with its non-theological means.

Also, in light of the fact that once we call ourselves Christians, all that we do and not do becomes associated with the Gospel, how should Christians approach racial reconciliation in society? This is an important question because we share society with unbelievers. Should we make no effort to support political and/or activist means of achieving racial reconciliation? And we might ask if just because we don't see a complete racial reconciliation in society through political and activist means, does that mean that no degree of racial reconciliation in society has occurred? And if some has occurred, then should we consider political and activist means at attempting racial reconciliation as having some value?

One final issue needs to be resolved here. Sey accuses Black Lives Matter as preaching Black Supremacy. The reason for his accusation is that some individual leaders have espoused Black Supremacy; but it is questionable as to whether they have done so as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Thus, it seems that Sey has much more work to do  in order to make his accusation stick.


 
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Monday, August 7, 2017

ONIM For August 7, 2017

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Tuesday, December 6, 2016

People Of Color Are Showing Us The Way Again

While flying halfway across the country immediately following the election, I had a conversation with a Trump voter. While commenting on activism, this voter claimed that conservative activists behaved better than nonconservative activists because they are conservative. 

Of course, that is what this person wanted to believe about their group and why not? Such a belief rather flattering because it means means that this person's group is superior to others. But I really wonder about that. For example, how would conservative protesters who defend their notion of the 2nd Amendment respond to the dog attacks and the fire hoses that were unleashed on both Martin Luther King's followers as well as the water protectors who are protesting  DAPL? Would they use their guns at the next protest to protect themselves? And how would they respond to the selective law enforcement and shootings by the police which too many minority individuals must face in today's America? How many conservatives would not shoot back at those who represented either the pipeline company or the authorities who used mace or rubber bullets? How many would use their guns during the next protest if after being arrested, they were incarcerated for several hours in dog kennels? And how many would tolerate the spraying that those protesting DAPL allegedly experienced by crop duster planes with an unknown substance?

Or we could even include, though to a lesser degree, how people of color are leading the way in the Black Lives Matter Movement. Even though there has been some violence during their protests as well as verbal abuse of the police, we should note that those practicing the violence were not really representing the Black Lives Matter Movement and those using verbal abuse were not all or even the majority of those in the movement. In addition, the use of verbal abuse is not part of the tenets of the movement.  However, because many of us Whites are sensitive about charges that we still have a racist society, we prefer to attribute to the whole movement the actions and words of some. And if the movement we were attributing the words and action of a few to was a particular race, we would rightly be called racists.

This is what we need to realize. Whether we are talking about Native Americans or Blacks who are taking part in activism today or those who took part in the past, they have and still are showing us how to speak out in the right way. And they seem to be able to do that without having to be conservative.  This brings me back to the beginning of this article. The proud conservative with whom I was conversing was claiming a position of moral superiority over those outside their group. And as long as any of us try to claim moral superiority over others, not only do we deceive ourselves as the Pharisee from the parable of the two men praying deceived himself, we will prolong conflicts with others until we are either defeated or we conquer the other side. And it is this idea of having to conquer others which is causing so much  injustice and pain in the world.


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Monday, September 12, 2016

ONIM For September 12, 2016

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Monday, August 22, 2016

ONIM For August 22, 2016

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