Surviving A Dark, White Thanksgiving

What is a dark, white Thanksgiving? It occurs when a snowstorm knocks out the power at the place you are staying for Thanksgiving. And that is what occurred to our three families as we were celebrating Thanksgiving in New York. And I survived that Thanksgiving with no thanks to me. When things like the power going off for a prolonged period of time, it was 28 hours for us, I turn into an Oscar The Grouch Curmudgeon. So as the wife, the sister in-law of the East, and her husband did a wonderful job at cooking Thanksgiving dinner using a charcoal grill and a propane fueled camper cooker, I remained quietly skeptical.

However, the lights came back Thanksgiving night and we could prepare for our next day in the city. That would feature a concert at Carnegie Hall with the nephew's orchestra and a young people's, ages from 10 to 21, string orchestra from Brazil. The nephew's orchestra played very well, but a very pleasant surprise came when the orchestra from Brazil played. Their name was the Orquestra Instituto GPA (click here for the event) and they combined humor, choreographic playings of stringed instruments, vocals, and, last but not least, passion and they put that into their playing of several forms of music from classical to pop. What they did was to go outside rigid definitions of how to musically perform in order to play music the way it should be played.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Carnegie Hall, we ran into protesters expressing solidarity with the residents of Ferguson and with all who suffer abuse at the hands of our authorities. Our first encounter with them was at Times Square where they were demonstrating at a bit of a distance from us. But after dinner, as we were walking to Carnegie Hall, the protesters joined us on the sidewalk we were traveling on so that, in essence, we were walking with the protesters because they joined us.

It is unfortunate that many of my Reformed Christian friends were not there to talk with these protesters. Because in talking with them, they might learn more about why the failure to indict Darren Wilson caused them to take to the streets. In one sense, this is unfortunate because things were framed so that Wilson had to be indicted for some of the people from Ferguson and America to feel that their grievances were being heard. Such a situation robs Wilson of a chance for a fair trial. But, then again, if the shooting of Michael Brown was an isolated incident of an unarmed Black man being shot by police, the failure to indict Wilson would not have caused ruckus.  The shooting of Michael Brown is one of many times unarmed Blacks have been shot by the police. And there are other ways in which some police have abused their power.

So perhaps, the way to address Ferguson's grievances, as well as the complaints of many minorities across the nation, is not to write about it from the comfort of one's own home or office. Perhaps, just perhaps, the way to find a solution here is to go to the people of Ferguson and communities like it to listen to the people's grievances. But that is something that many Conservative Christians, especially those from the Reformed  Faith, refuse to do.

Why do they refuse to listen to the people most affected by bigotry and police abuse? It is because too many of us Conservative Christians have too often applied a Mathematical approach to Practical Theological issues so that we use our readings and sacred formulas to determine what the people in communities like Ferguson experience and what should be done to remedy their situation. It is us outsiders who are telling the people of Ferguson what they must do to solve their problems without even listening to their side of the story. We could call the overuse of a Mathematical approach to Practical Theology 'Theomatics.' It is based on the idea that the Scriptures trump experience in interpreting reality. But our problem becomes that it isn't just the Scriptures that obtain such authority, so do all of our pet theories and theologies as well. And the more we practice Theomatics, the less need we feel to talk with and listen to others regarding what is happening in the world. After all, if not only the Scriptures, but all of our theories and theologies can be used to interpret reality, then what need do we have to listen to others? In fact, why do we need to experience life ourselves when our theologies and theories can explain it? 

Yes, the Scriptures do interpret life and reality better than our experiences do. But the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, weren't written in a way so that we could write a specific, concrete rule for each situation and decision. So to think otherwise pushes one to attempt to write a New Testament version of the book of Leviticus.

Just as my preconceived notions on how turkeys could and could not be cooked was proven wrong by experience and the skill of my brother in-law who is an excellent cook. And just as a preconceived, classical approach to playing music could never enable the Orquestra Instituto GPA of Brazil from playing all kinds of music in a fuller way. So our Theomatics can neither tell us what the people in communities like Ferguson are experiencing nor how to address their grievances. Rather, before we deductively calculate our solutions for Ferguson and others, we need to listen its residents. Then just perhaps, together we can find some solutions.

ONIM For December 1, 2014

Christian News

• Hobby Lobby's Bible Course Is Cancelled By Oklahoma School District -- Christian Today (UK)
• Pope Francis Prays In Mosque During Trip To Turkey -- Christian Today (UK)
• Church Member Denied Funeral Due To Non-Payment Of Tithes -- Christian Today (UK)
• Read Why David Robertson Is Wishing For A "White Christmas" -- Christian Today (UK)
• Can Wheaton College Require ROTC Program Be Run By Christians? -- Christianity Today
• The End Times Are Here And Began With The Reestablishment Of Israel, Says David Jeremiah -- The Christian Post
• Happy Progressive Thanksgiving: How 'Gospel Progressives' Transformed American Culture -- The Christian Post
• America's Racist God Meets Miss Celie: Darren Wilson Not Indicted -- Religion Dispatches
• Hagee Calls Obama "The Most Anti-Semitic President Ever" -- Religion Dispatches
• What Ferguson Protests Mean For Religious Progressive Activism -- Religion Dispatches

World News

• Here's What Happens To Police Officers Who Shoot Unarmed Black Men -- Mother Jones
• No Indictment For Darren Wilson Is No Surprise -- The Guardian
• Protesters Shut Down New York Bridges Over Ferguson Decision -- Business Insider
• 41 Men Targeted But 1,147 Killed: US Drone Strikes--The Facts On The Ground -- The Guardian
• US Increases Number Of Troops In Afghanistan Yet Again -- RT
• My Struggle With Black Rage And Fear After Ferguson -- Salon
• Darren Wilson Tells ABC He Has A 'Clean Conscience,' And He Would Shoot Michael Brown Again -- Raw Story
• Employers Keep Shifting Costs Under Affordable Care Act -- ZNet
• US To Send 3,000 Smart Bombs To Israel -- Middle East Monitor
• Guiliani: Michael Brown Death Should Have Never Gone To A Grand Jury -- Yahoo News
• Cleveland Police Officers Waited Minutes To Give First Aid To Tamir Rice -- Cleveland.Com
• Report: Walmart Workers Cost Tax Payers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance -- Forbes
• White Supremacy So Deeply American That We Don't Even See It -- Raw Story
• JP Morgan CFO Admits $7 Billion Of DOJ Settlement Is Tax-Deductable -- Buzz Flash
• Did Police Set Autos On Fire During Ferguson Protests? -- Popular Resistance
• America The Beautiful, America The Violent -- Christianity Today

Pick(s) Of The Litter

• Why It's So Hard For Whites To Understand Ferguson -- ZNet
• Black Reality And White Denial In America -- ZNet
• Against Thanksgiving -- ZNet

A Word About Ferguson

There are two conclusions we can draw from the public reaction to the decision not to indict Darren Wilson for his shooting of Michael Brown. First, the reaction indicates that it would have been very difficult for Wilson to get a fair trial. Second, the reaction shows that we have a very serious problem with racism along with an abuse of power problem. As one internet writer stated, the police shooting of unarmed Blacks has become the new form of lynching. And that would make our time period another Jim Crow. This has already been stated by Michelle Alexander in her book, The New Jim Crow. And when we look at the disproportionate incarceration rates based on race and the life after incarceration many are forced to live, the shooting of unarmed Blacks by police, and the attempts to inhibit Black voting, comparisons with our racist past gain a disturbing and growing certainty.

But we also have a growing abuse of power problem. Those in authority are obtaining more and more power while shedding more and more accountability. This of course started at the top where our President feels he can force his decisions on people while having no one to be accountable to. Conservatives will assume that I am talking about President Obama. I am not referring to him though I could. The current growing problem with the abuse of power started with President George W. Bush and his decision to invade Iraq. And it is not that he is the first president to abuse the powers of his office.  But combining that immoral decision with the Patriot Act renewed a precedent for American Presidents and gave a big non-Colbert bump to the authoritarian mindset that said those with power are accountable only to themselves.

Those with power in our nation have already decided to ignore the peaceful protests of the Occupy Movement. Will they also ignore the current reaction to the decision not to indict Darren Wilson? And if so, what will it take for them to repent? And what will it take for the rest of us to end our desire to dominate those who are different simply because they are different?