We are called to live for a great cause, not just a great comfort, as we move toward need in this world. We do this as justice pursuers who are directed by the gospel, as gospel people who pursue the gospel’s outcome—justice! In other words, those of us who know and follow Jesus Christ should pursue justice.
Since our series on justice has become quite long and has dealt with many subjects so far, it is helpful to revisit a definition of justice that reflects biblical teaching. We have written: “Justice identifies the moral standard by which God measures human conduct…[his own character as reflected in his moral will]…. Biblical justice, therefore, is the equitable and impartial application of the rule of God’s moral law in society…the understanding and application of God’s moral law within the social realm.”[1]
What we take up in this post is the topic of justice and race. We want to see what the Bible teaches about how to pursue “the equitable and impartial application of the rule of God’s moral law in society…the understanding and application of God’s moral law within relationships between people of different races or ethnic backgrounds.
Before going on, I will provide definitions. “Race” refers to “a distinct group of people, the members of which share certain inherited physical characteristics [such as] skin color, form of the hair, etc., and transmit them.”[2] “Ethnic” connotes that which is “of or relating to a people whose unity rests on racial, linguistic, religious or cultural ties.”[3] So, for the purposes of this post, I will use “race” or “racial” as having to do primarily with physical characteristics (such as skin color, eyes, and hair form). You can have the same or similar characteristics but be of different ethnicity. I will use “ethnic” to refer more to either current or previous cultural and linguistic ties. I will not give a lot of emphasis to distinctions between the two terms. What I am trying to address is how to pursue justice in regard to all kinds of distinctions people have: Skin color and other physical characteristics, cultural background, and even what a person’s first language might be.
I propose that if we are to pursue biblical justice in regard to race and ethnicity, there are at least six truths involved.
1. Followers Of Jesus Christ Should Pursue Justice In Regard To Race And Ethnicity.
We need to see that the pursuit of justice in regard to race and ethnicity is not something unimportant or merely “tacked on” to Christianity by some extreme people. It is truly a worthy goal for all followers of Jesus.
I want us to see this primarily in Ephesians 2:11-22. Paul seemingly wrote this letter not so much to deal with specific problems among its readers, but to give them strong and general instruction for how their new life in Jesus Christ should impact their ethical behavior, not the least of which is their relationships with one another. The way Paul goes about this is he highlights in the first three chapters “spiritual blessing[s]” we have in Jesus Christ (cf. 1:3). Then, in the last three chapters he highlights the ethical outcomes that should emerge from all we have in Christ. So, for example, we can pursue humble oneness (4:3-4), put away all divisiveness (4:25-5:2), and love in all our different kinds of relationships (5:21-6:9) because of what Christ has done in us.
One of the amazing things that Christ has done in those of us who have been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (2:1-10) is that he has also brought us together in Christ and given us all we need to overcome our divisions. Consider what he writes in 2:11-22:
Therefore
remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the
uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh
by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who
once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he
himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh
the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments
expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place
of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body
through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached
peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through
him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and
members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole
structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In
him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the
Spirit.
Here the specific distinction Paul has in mind is that of Jew and Gentile. In Christ both of these groups have equal access to God in Christ and so both have been made “one” (14), “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (19), “a holy temple in the Lord” (21), and “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (22). Those who know Jesus Christ have all they need to live as one, to overcome differences. If this is the case for Jews and Gentiles, then it is also the case for all Gentiles (all the different kinds of races and ethnic groups in the world). In fact, we are told in Rev. 5:9 that Jesus Christ redeemed people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” and so there will be people together in heaven worshipping and serving God together “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7:9), thus highlighting the power of God’s grace. God, who “made from one man every nation of mankind” (Acts 17:26) and so made us one and in harmony, is also bringing back together mankind who has been divided because of sin (e.g. Gen. 3:12, 16; 4:8). Created in the image of God to love and be in unity, that part of mankind who is being redeemed should display that the image of God in them is being restored (Eph. 4:22-24). So, we can define the church in this way: “God chooses and preserves for himself a community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. God sends out this community to proclaim the gospel and prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the quality of their life together and their love for one another.”[4]
Christians of all races, ethnic distinctions, and regardless of differences are to “prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the quality of their life together and their love for one another.”
What the church is called to do, then, is to live out the power of God’s grace in us and show to the world that in Christ unity within diversity is possible. “The credibility of the gospel around the world hangs in part on this dimension of our witness.”[5]
And yet, because the church so often fails at this and has even in past times promoted racial and ethnic division, we have lacked the witness to God’s power in this area that we should have given and the world has lacked the needed model. “It is my contention that the fundamental cause of racial problems in America lies squarely with the church’s failure to come to grips with this issue from a biblical perspective…. It is the contention of this book that what has been lacking in American Christianity is the church’s failure to clearly understand and function from a kingdom perspective.”[6]
In fact, we can go as far as to ask ourselves, as John would imply in 1 John 4:7-21: “How can we truly love God when we do not truly love our brothers and sisters, even if they are different than us?”
Christians should actively pursue “biblical racial reconciliation,” which can be defined in this way: “Addressing the sin that caused the divide for the purpose of bonding together across racial lines based on a shared commitment to Jesus Christ with the goal of service to others.”[7] And yet, the reconciliation is not an end in itself. In the same way that genuine salvation is to redound to God’s glory (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14), so also the resultant new life is ultimately for God’s glory. “…the purpose of reconciliation goes further than merely being able to articulate that we are one. Reconciliation is not an end in itself. It is a means toward the greater end of bringing glory to God through seeking to advance His kingdom in a lost world.”[8]
How, then, does this purpose connect to the justice of God? As we have seen over and over, justice involves applying God’s will, righteous behavior to which he calls us, to our relations with others and to the public arena. Therefore, we agree with Tony Evans who has wisely written: “The goal of the church should be to glorify God by reflecting the values of God among the people of God through letting the truth of God be the standard by which we measure right and wrong and the way we accept skin color, class, and culture.”[9] We must remember that “…oneness is the preeminent vehicle through which God displays not only His power and His presence but also His glory.”[10]
Though all of what we have just said is true, we know that displaying unity through diversity and differences is not easy. Where do we find the strength and resources for this? We have already touched on the answer, but need to focus on it in greater detail. It is our second truth.
2. We Must Be Directed And Empowered By The
Gospel In Our Pursuit of Justice in Racial and Ethnic Matters.
In our previous point we looked at Ephesians 2:11-22, where
we discover that all in Christ—Jews, Gentiles and, by implication, all kinds of
Gentiles—have been given all we need to overcome division and live in unity.
The larger context of Ephesians reminds us that we have been saved by grace
alone through faith alone in Christ alone (2:6-9) and so we have been forgiven
of our sins (1:7), redeemed (1:7), that is, recreated for good works (2:10).
That recreation for good works is possible since we have the Holy Spirit to
apply the person, presence, power, and work of Christ in us (1:13-14; 5:18).
That larger context also tells us that what Christ has done in us (chapters
1-3) makes possible new ethical behavior, including the pursuit of unity
(4:1-6), as well as the ability to love one another in the face of differences (5:1-2,
21-6:9). There are a number of things that result from being directed and empowered by the gospel.
- If we have been guilty of prejudice and an unwillingness to pursue racial reconciliation, we know we are forgiven in Christ (Eph. 1:7; 1 Jn. 1:7) and we can confess that sin for the restoration of fellowship with God (Eph. 4:26b-27; 1 Jn 1:9).
- We are assured that we have all we need to work through differences, so we can pray about this, pursue this, work toward this—all with God’s help (Eph. 4:1-6:18; James 4:8), and when we fail turn to Christ, knowing we have forgiveness (Eph. 1:7). This gives us the certainty we can keep trying and move on, rather than giving into the lies that we are not good enough, there is no use trying (Rom. 15:13; Rev. 12:11).
- If we are hurt as the result of racial prejudice against us (or any other prejudice or injustice), we can turn to Christ for healing and hope in our hurts (Mt. 11:28-30; Eph. 2:1-10), so we can have the strength to go on and so we can forgive (Eph. 4:29-32).
- If we have been made to feel inferior because of our race and/or our ethnicity, we can be encouraged and strengthened by the reality that we all have not only been created in the image of God and all races and ethnicities are important to God (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:5-6; Acts 17:26-27 [see also below]), but God has redeemed people from every race and ethnicity, made them one in Christ, and has purposed his own glory and their benefit from this unity in diversity (Eph. 2:11-22; Rev. 5:9; 7:9). Rejoice, you are whom God made you to be and that is a good thing!
- It has been Satan’s mode of operation from the beginning of history to lead humans to disobey God and to be divided from each other (Gen. 3-4), which is the very opposite of the God-glorifying unity that images the Trinity (Gen. 1:26-28). He continues to lead people away from righteousness (Eph. 6:14), which would include racial division, so that the church does not display God-glorifying unity. The reality of the gospel lets us know we can “be strong in the Lord and in the strength that comes from his might” (Eph. 6:10, my translation) and we can practice righteousness as a result (Eph. 6:14), which protects us from Satan’s destructive division.
- We will probably never pursue racial reconciliation perfectly. But we can pursue it in Christ, knowing he can forgive, heal, empower, and keep us moving forward toward it.
- Those who have suffered from racial prejudice can pursue justice without being hateful and vengeful (Eph. 4:29-32; James 3:13-18).
- Being directed and empowered by the gospel also gives us the freedom to acknowledge there has been progress in both individual and structural race relations in our country, but also to acknowledge there is much still to be done-especially among the church of Jesus Christ.
The other way the gospel directs and empowers us in the pursuit of racial reconciliation is to give us the courage and freedom to be with and to do life with those different than us. “Authentic oneness comes as an outgrowth of shared lives, not simply through a cross-cultural experience here or there…[and it] is more than tolerance…. Tolerating each other does not mean we have reconciled…. We remain relationally separated most of the time, coming together for a schedule event….”[12]
3. Pursuing Justice In Regard
to Race And Ethnicity Must See That God Does Not Value One Over The Other, Nor
Should We.
“Racism is an explicit or implicit belief or practice that
qualitatively distinguishes or values one race over other races.”[13] We have already demonstrated ample evidence from the Bible to show our valuing one race over others or devaluing different races or ethnicities is wrong. It is wrong from the perspective of how God created the world, how he has saved the world, and where he is taking the world.
This is also seen in the fact that even though God’s choice of and promises to the true Israel are irrevocable (Rom. 11:28-29), the focus of God primarily on one nation and race as Israel or his people was intended to be temporary from the beginning (cf. Gal. 3:15-27). They were intended to be a light to the other nations (Is. 42:6; 49:6), to draw people to God, to prepare for the coming of Messiah, and to point to that Messiah, the true son and Israel of God (Mt. 2:13-15; Gal. 3:16). God had always intended to make people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people group part of his people (Is. 56; Rom. 2:29; Gal. 3:28-29; Rev. 5:9; 7:9).
What is more, we see the beauty of the different races and ethnicities in the reality that the genealogy of Jesus not only displays he had people of different races, ethnicities, and genders in his ancestry, but that he himself was “mestizo—a person of mixed ancestry.”[14] “Of the five women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy (Mt. 1:1-16), four are of Hamatic descent [and so were black]—Tamar, Rahab, Bethsheba, and Ruth.”[15] Given the reality also of his strong Jewish ancestry, this assessment is accurate.[16]
To devalue and be prejudiced against other races and ethnicities is sin and unjust behavior.
4. Pursuing Justice in Racial
and Ethnic Relationships Must Address Both The Individual And The Structural
Problems.
Throughout our study on biblical justice we
have focused on the four foundational relationships that people need to
flourish: God, self, creation, and others. All four of these are broken because
of sin and need to be redeemed. We highlighted in dealing with economics and
government that when it comes to others, it is not just relationships with other
individuals that needs to be addressed, but also structures or systems. The
same is true when pursuing justice in racial and ethnic relationships.[17] In Ephesians Paul shows the need to address both the individual and structural when he addresses how husbands and wives relate as a result of the gospel (5:22-32); how children and parents relate (6:1-4); and how employers and employees (6:5-9). He is not merely teaching this is a matter of personal relationships. He is also implying that views toward the very structures themselves should be transformed, and that Christians ought to go about these differently—righteously—than do their non-Christian neighbors.
Tony Evans agrees with the need to address both and words it in terms of righteousness and justice:
…at
the core of the problem of racial disunity in America is the failure to
understand and execute a kingdom-based theology on both righteousness and
justice. A balance between the two is absolutely critical since it is from
God’s kingdom throne that both righteousness and justice originate (Ps. 89:14).
…White Christianity, with all its strengths, often focuses on personal
righteousness at the exclusion of biblical justice. However, there exists
within that scope a limited definition of personal righteousness, since the
practice of biblical justice is an essential part of living a life of personal
righteousness…. African-American Christianity sometimes emphasizes social
justice at the expense of personal responsibility…. When either side,
righteousness or justice, is missed or reduced in significance, then the
individual, family, church, and society will be out of balance.”[18]
More specifically, Evans is addressing personal righteousness and public justice, but the public justice does take in structural matters.
It seems that evangelical Christians are aware of the individual aspects of racism and the need for personal responsibility. Are they aware of the structural? “Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith, in their book Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion And The Problem Of Race in America, argue that, for the main part, evangelical Christians are blind to these structural dimensions of what they call the racialization of America.”[19]
I will provide three examples of what I mean by structural racism.
The first comes from history education.
Just over a year before the Liberty Bell rang out calling
all to come hear the Declaration of Independence, a young Paul Revere took his
well-known Midnight Ride. Few of us who have been raised under the tutelage of
our country are unaware of this ride. Yet how many of us know that on the very
same night, a black man, Wentworth Chesell, the freed grandson of a slave, also
rode a Midnight ride? Cheswell was the first black judge elected, in 1768, a
devoted husband, church member, father of thirteen children, and for forty-nine
years he served our nation in some form of public office such as auditor,
assessor, moderator, and “town father.”
Chewell’s commission as messenger, given him by the
Committee of Safety, was the same as that given to Revere. Wentworth Cheswell
rode north. Paul Revere rode west. Both had a part to play in the fight for the
American Revolution. Cheswell’s alerting those in the north to make haste and
organize themselves to head sought for the imminent conflict with the British
served our country just as well. Yet Wentworth Cheswell is virtually nowhere to
be found in our historical accounts.[20]
I don’t pretend to know certainly why Cheswell was left out of the historical accounts of our country. But I cannot help but ask could it have been due to racism that simply overlooked the contributions of blacks? Whatever the causes of such oversights, the effect is to suggest to all that the contributions of Blacks in our country’s founding or its subsequent development and flourishing are non-existent. This can perpetuate feelings of inferiority among Blacks and also a skewed vision of Blacks by other races.
The second example comes from the evangelical church itself. Sadly evangelical churches (in some cases) and institutions (in most cases) had an equal, but separate view of Blacks until late in the civil rights movement. What this means, for example, is that some prominent churches did not allow Blacks to attend their services until late in the sixties or beyond. Additionally, many evangelical Bible colleges and seminaries did not admit Blacks into their courses of study until the same timeframe.[21] What this means, for example is that a young Martin Luther King, Jr. had no open doors to him within evangelical institutions. This was a structural racism.
This structural racism has been perpetuated in more subtle, but also significant ways in the evangelical church.
Last
summer, [a major Christian publisher] distributed a vacation Bible school curriculum called Far-out Far East Rickshaw Rally. Sadly,
the content played to every stereotype imaginable about Asian culture.
The
theme song headlines like, ‘Wax on was off, get your rickshaw ready’—stuff
straight out of the Karate Kid. It had nothing to do with the reality of Asian
culture. It showed images of little white girls in kimonos with chopsticks in
their hair. Some activity suggestions are to have kids dress up in inflatable
sumo outfits and wrestle each other. The stereotypes and caricatures are without
shame. And this was not 1955 or 1971. It was 2004.
If
you’re a socially conscious, young Asian-American, why would you ever want to
step foot in a church where you would encounter people with that kind of
worldview? You’ll want to stay with your own.[22]
What is exemplified here are racial and ethnic stereotypes that can perpetuate the structural injustice that certain races or ethnicities do not have equal contributions to make or are not to be taken all that seriously.
The final example comes from the area of economics and has already been alluded to when we covered that subject. It has to do with the assumption that large pour cross-sections of our society located within some races or ethnicities (e.g. Native Americans, Blacks, or Hispanics) cannot be part of the solutions to problems facing them. Instead, because they have been victimized in the past and because they simply need to be helped (implied: and can’t make progress by themselves), the solutions have: By-passed work; ignored the importance of family and faith in those solutions; encouraged fatherlessness in families; led to rampant crime, drug abuse, and alcoholism; and taken away in large measure a sense of human dignity—in many cases leaving people hopeless. Here, the structural solution is not to treat people as victims or to encourage them to view themselves as victims. It is, on the one hand, to work toward the goal that all have an opportunity to pursue success, but on the other hand, to encourage the value and dignity of earned success.
Tony Evans rightly acknowledges both the systemic causes of racism and those that arise from personal responsibility, but also highlights that some of our approaches to addressing the structural have removed a sense of personal responsibility:
While some of the
challenges we face in the black community truly emanate from the past and its
personal and systemic aftermath, there are also many challenges that stem from
our failure to properly take responsibility for and be held accountable to our
actions, morality, families, the quality of services that we provide as well as
the proper management of our human and financial resources. Wrong is to be
judged and changed, not applauded and excused with no consequences.
“While not seeking to
diminish the impact of racism upon culture, I also want us to recognize that
illegitimate or continual cries of racism are self-limiting and self-defeating.
They simply foster a victim mentality that reinforces a pathology of
dependency. Victimology can be defined as nurturing
an unfocused strain of resentment rooted in a defeatist identity through which
all realities are filtered, rather than viewing challenges as opportunities to
overcome.”[23]
After addressing an over-emphasis on the systemic causes to the exclusion of the personal causes and vice versa, Evans writes: “The effect is a stronghold on both groups, that keep pockets of society chained within a prescribed framework, creating pathologies that continue and are reinforced generationally.”[24]
5. We Must Not Only Speak Of Rights But Also Responsibilities.
One of the characteristics of Christians who are directed by Christ and the change he has brought in us is that we should love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us (Eph. 5:1-2) and so we consider the needs of others, not merely our own (Phil. 2:4). What this means is that those who have been wronged merely because of the color of their skin or their ethnicity should pursue justice in ways that are loving toward others. This means they do not hate because of the injustice and they do not justify the lack of love for others simply because they have been wronged. For they forgive and seek to respond in ways that build up, not tear down (Eph. 4:29-32).
One of the reasons this is true is because there are good works that flow from genuine saving faith (Eph. 2:10), that is, obedience of God (Rom. 1:5) and love for others (Gal. 5:6). Russian novelist and outspoken critic of the Soviet Union, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the 1980’s “compared “America’s obsession with rights to a person trying to breathe with only one lung. ‘There is another lung,” says Solzhenitsyn, “and it is called duty.’ People with one lung have high mortality rates. And so it is for societies in which individuals abandon their sense of duty, refusing to deny themselves for the common good and for the sake of others….”[25] Unfortunately this self-centered view has only multiplied since then.
Tony Evans agrees and also explains the benefit that can come, even to those who have experienced racism:
Black
evangelicalism emphasizes personal, family, church, and community
responsibilities. Rights belong to God. Responsibilities belong to the people.
These should not be lessened in light of systemic issues that make the
implementation of wise life choices more difficult for many more blacks than
whites in America. What the African-American community needs to understand is
that while racism is a problem and a challenge that must be ultimately
addressed, it is not our chief adversary. If we would seriously take
responsibilities for the things we do control, then racism’s negative impact
would be greatly limited, and we would flourish as a community. …We must stop
excusing errant behavior in the name of racism. Even though racism was and is a
major contributing factor to the decline of the black community structures, it
is still our responsibility to take ownership for the things that are within
our power to control. We cannot expect others to take us any more seriously
than we are taking ourselves in addressing our needs.
If
a Super Bowl champion team complained when they took the field that there were
eleven other men on the other side of the ball trying to stop them, or if
Michael Jordan had whined each time he took the court that there was always
someone in his face trying to block his shot, neither would have reached the
goal they had set before them. While God is a God of liberation, God is also a
God who divinely used opposition as a tool that, when responded to correctly,
develops perseverance, strength, determination, compassion, faith, and even, at
times, greater and more personally satisfying opportunities than what would
have been granted without it.
Jesus
Christ does not guarantee freedom from racism, classism, sexism, or oppression
while we still live in a sinful world. What He does promise is freedom from
personal sin and strongholds coupled with the provision of the power to
overcome…. What good is it to gain freedom from others and still be a slave to
yourself?[26]
Part of the structural injustice at this point is the opposite of what many assume. We assume that since people have been mistreated due to racial or ethnic reasons that they should be entitled to be angry, to do wrong, or they should be entitled to be favored so things can be made equal. However, this not only can prove toxic to their own hearts, it also brings about several other problems:
- It forgets God’s wisdom that justice is to be blind and is to treat all people equally in accordance with God’s righteous standards. To do anything else creates ongoing injustice. “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”[27] (Lev. 19:15)
- To think we must treat a class of people differently so they can succeed (affirmative action) suggests to those persons they cannot succeed on their own and may prevent them from the joy and dignity of earned success.[28] Columnist Andree Seu Peterson, in a piece titled “Standing In Place,” World (June 30, 2018): 63, also illustrates the negative impact this can have on all involved.
Loving
your neighbor, and thus fulfilling the Great Commandment, requires the proper
diagnosis. If your neighbor is hungry, give him food (James 2:15-16). If he is
idle, admonish him (1 Thessalonians 5:14). If he is fainthearted, encourage him
(5:14). If he is weak, help him (5:14). If he is doing good, commend him (2
Corinthians 12:11).
I
rehearse these basics as a preface to discussing a four-minute viral video sent
to me, which at first blush seems like love, until you question the diagnosis.
“Life
of Privilege Explained in a $100 Race” will choke you up with tears. But
caution: The late Canadian professor Marshall McLuhan rightly noted that the
medium is not neutral; the medium itself plays a role in the message and shapes
the message in subtle and powerful ways. Everything about this short production
is calculated for a particular effect. This is not a controversial observation:
Why else would the creator create if not to produce a desired effect?
At
first blush the video’s message seems like love, until you question the
diagnosis.
The
morning after, if your abiding desire is to think Biblically and to “test the
spirits” (1 John 4:1), you will ask yourself if the video has the proper
diagnosis on two fronts: First, does it analyze the problem correctly? Second,
does its widespread dissemination tend to heal or tend to exacerbate our
nation’s societal problems?
The
setting is a college foot race, in which students are lined up and offered a
$100 bill to the winner. But before the signal to go, the instructor reveals
that this race will proceed according to specific instructions, which he now
begins to announce: “Take two steps forward if both your parents are still
married.” (A winnowing begins, as a handful of students, notably dark-skinned
ones, stay put.) “Take two steps forward if you grew up with a father figure at
home.” (More fragmenting of the line after some take giant steps and others,
mostly black, don’t budge.) “Take two steps forward if you never had to worry
about your cell phone being turned off.” You get the drift.
At
this point the instructor tells the white kids at the head of the group to turn
around and look back at the starting line. He begins lecturing them: “Every
statement I’ve made has nothing to do with anything any of you have done. … We all know these people up here have a better
opportunity to win this hundred dollars. Does this mean these people back here
can’t
race? No. We would be foolish not to realize we’ve been given more opportunity. We don’t want to recognize that we’ve been given a head start. But the
reality is we have. … Whoever wins this hundred dollars, I
think it would be extremely foolish of you not to utilize that in learning more
about somebody else’s story. Because the reality is, if this was a fair race … I guarantee you some of these black
dudes would smoke all of you. And it’s only because you have this big head
start that you’re possibly going to win this race called life. Nothing you’ve
done has put you in the lead.”
But
who is this man to say to any student that “nothing you’ve done has put you in
the lead”? And who is he to judge anyone’s heart and assert, “We don’t want to
recognize that we’ve been given a head start”? And what kind of divisive racism
is it to say that some of the black students would “smoke all of you [white
students]” if it were a fair race?
So
the white students are made to feel guilty and ashamed. And the black students
are made to feel forever the victim who cannot possibly be expected to do
anything. And how, pray tell, does this love anybody well?
One
commenter posts: “Take two steps forward if you grew up in a two-parent
household. Take two steps backward if your parents fought every night. Take two
steps forward if your father didn’t abandon you. Take two steps backward if he
set forth unreasonable, unattainable, and demoralizing expectations.” Everyone
has obstacles.
What
I personally take from the video is that if you want your kids to flourish,
work hard, save childbearing for marriage, and stay married.
Whether
you’re black, white, or green.
- Such a way of thinking can create a mentality of victimization, which can hurt all involved. “While not seeking to diminish the impact of racism upon culture, I also want us to recognize that illegitimate or continual cries of racism are self-limiting and self-defeating. They simply foster a victim mentality that reinforces a pathology of dependency. Victimology can be defined as nurturing an unfocused strain of resentment rooted in a defeatist identity through which all realities are filtered, rather than viewing challenges as opportunities to overcome.”[29]
6. We Must Teach The Next Generation Of
Believers How To Pursue Justice in Racial and Ethnic Matters.
In each of the topics we are looking at in this justice
study we are highlighting the importance of teaching the next generation. This
is important not only because we are called to teach and disciple the next
generation of believers, which includes children and grandchildren (Dt. 6:4-9;
Prov. 22:6; Mt. 28;19-20; Eph. 6:4), we also know that when the next generation
is not taught and guided in areas of justice, it is easy for them to be
misdirected by false views of justice (Eph. 4:14). In regard to racial and ethnic issues, this teaching can include at least the following:
- The five truths we have set forth in our discussion about race and ethnicity.
- We need to teach our children and the next generation of believers about racism and its history in our country and why a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be killed. We might read to them or tell them about the “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King—giving perspective on whether or not the African American should act or just be passive.[30]
- We should teach the contributions that people of color have made to both our country and to the church. One example we mentioned above when telling the story of Wentworth Cheswell, the fellow midnight rider with Paul Revere. We could tell also about James Armistead, another black man who,
…at
great personal risk, …posed as a runaway slave and pretended to be a British
spy, all the while gaining the confidence of General Benedict Arnold and
General Charles Cornwallis…. Armistead’s reports documented the movements of
the British, giving General [George] Washington all that he needed to bring
about a swift end to the war, saving scores of American lives not only in Yorktown,
but in future battles that did not have to be fought.[31]
Conclusion
In his Introduction (“William Wilberforce: The Importance Of Doctrine And ‘Coronary’ Commitment”) to Part Two (“God’s Word: The Power Of The Gospel”) in Bloodlines John Piper writes:
One
of the ways I think about the aim of this book, and the aim of my ministry, is
that I labor to multiply a certain kind of person—persons who are committed to
live for a great biblical cause, not a great earthly comfort. Over the years I
have tried to wave this banner: to be a Christian is to move toward need, not
comfort. Christian life means to get up in the morning and go to bed at night
dreaming not about how to advance my comforts but how to advance some great
God-centered cause.
This has been the overarching aim of our study on justice. May it become the overarching aim of our life as we pursue justice together—including racial and ethnic matters.
Joyfully Pursuing Justice With You,
Tom
[1] All but the bracketed
clause and the last clause of this definition is taken from Tony Evans, Oneness Embraced: Reconciliation, The
Kingdom, And How We Are Stronger Together (Chicago: Moody, 2011), 260.
[2] The New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary of The English
Language (New
York, Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1989), 822.
[3] Ibid., 324.
Steven C. Hawthorne, “Mandate on the Mountain,” in Ralph D. Winter, Steven C. Hawthorne, Ed’s., Perspectives On The World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena, Ca.: William Carey Library, 2009, 4th ed.), 128, defines the word ethnos (which stands behind ethnic) as peoples groups and then says: “Linguistic, cultural, social, economic, geographic, religious, and political factors can each be part of what gives formation to the peoples of the earth.”
Steven C. Hawthorne, “Mandate on the Mountain,” in Ralph D. Winter, Steven C. Hawthorne, Ed’s., Perspectives On The World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena, Ca.: William Carey Library, 2009, 4th ed.), 128, defines the word ethnos (which stands behind ethnic) as peoples groups and then says: “Linguistic, cultural, social, economic, geographic, religious, and political factors can each be part of what gives formation to the peoples of the earth.”
[4] The New City Catechism #48. See Mt. 5:16; 6:33; John
13:34-35; 17:21-23; Phil. 2:14-15; 2 Thes. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:10 for confirmation.
[5] John Piper, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, And The
Christian (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011, Kindle version), ch. 2.
[6]Tony Evans, Oneness
Embraced: Reconciliation, The Kingdom, And How We Are Stronger Together (Chicago:
Moody, 2011), 18.
[7] Evans, Oneness, 32.
[8] Evans, Oneness, 19.
[9] Evans, Oneness, 27.
[10] Evans, Oneness, 33. Thabiti
Anyabwile, “The Supremacy Of Christ In Ethnic Distinctions And Identities,” in
Sam Storms, Justin Taylor, Eds, For
The Fame Of God’s Name: Essays In Honor Of John Piper (Wheaton: Crossway,
2010), 299f, brings to light that it is not only that God created all diversity
in the beginning, but also that he has redeemed people from every tribe,
tongue, nation, and people group who will worship him together for all eternity
that will glorify him. Given these two book ends of history and God’s purpose,
we also should pursue God’s glory in oneness now! He adds (300): “The church,
then, becomes a foretaste of that consummated age to come when the nations,
assembled around the throne of God, praise the Lamb in eternal song…. This is
the end for which the nations are made: to glorify God as one new people
through faith and union in his Son. The ethnic and language distinctions remain,
but there comes into view an overarching unity in praise and worship of the
sovereign redeeming God and Lamb.” He goes on (301ff.) to write: “The supremacy
of Jesus Christ over ethnic identities may be seen in several ways. First, God
assigns to all individuals their particular nation with the aim that they might
by that very appointment come to find him…Acs 17:26-27…. Second, the cross-work
of Christ creates a new spiritual ethnicity, a new man, which ends our
hostilities and alienation…Eph. 2:13-16…. Third, the new spiritual ethnicity
created in Christ makes natural ethnic identities secondary…Gal. 3:27-28…1 Cor.
12:13…. Fourth,…in Christ we are being renewed to the image of God—not made a
more pristine ethnic person…2 Cor. 3:18…Col. 1:15…Col. 3:10…Eph. 4:22, 24….”
Finally, Anyabwile (305-6) highlights that the way forward in race relations is not to downplay or dummy down doctrine. Instead, it is to be theologically precise.
Finally, Anyabwile (305-6) highlights that the way forward in race relations is not to downplay or dummy down doctrine. Instead, it is to be theologically precise.
[11] Evans, Oneness, 44. Evans also
adds (106): “It is my uncompromising contention that the only proper
perspective is the divine perspective; the only proper agenda is the kingdom
agenda.”
[12] Evans, Oneness, 23.
[13] Piper, “A Note To The
Reader on Race And Racism,” in Bloodlines.
[16] Both Piper, Appendix
Four, in Bloodlines,
and Evans, Oneness,
92ff., dispel the thinking that the so-called “curse of Ham,” i.e. the curse
upon Canaan, a descendant of Ham, the son of Noah who witnessed Noah’s
nakedness (Gen. 9:22-27) led to black people being cursed. At least two things
need to be said: The curse was not upon Ham, but upon Canaan and so it could
not be upon black people. The curse is not irrevocable, as if such descendants
would always be cursed, have no hope of salvation, and/or would be considered
inferior in the eyes of God.
[17] Piper,
Bloodlines, in ch. 5 (“Personal
Responsibility And Systemic Intervention”),
calls attention to both the place of personal responsibility and also
systemic causation and that both need to be addressed in alleviation. The
presence of brokenness in both are results of sin.
[18] Evans, Oneness, 22.
[20] Evans, Oneness, 35.
[21] See Evans, Oneness, 186-88, 234-35.
[22] Piper, Bloodlines, ch. 2.
This quote is from a 2005 interview with Soong-Chan Rah, a senior pastor of
Cambridge Community Fellowship Church in Massachusetts.
[23] Evans, Oneness, 21-22.
[24] Evans, Oneness, 34.
[25] Charles Colson, The God Of Stones And Spiders: Letters
To A Church In Exile (Wheaton: Crossway, 1990), 22.
[26] Evans, Oneness, 213-14.
[27] Herein is the origin of
the idea that justice is to be “blind.” It is not to favor one person over the
other in decisions about what is right and wrong. We might add we should not
favor one person over the other in regard to the opportunities to flourish. It
is to deal with people (as does God, which is why righteousness is mentioned
here) in ways that genuinely measure up to and fit with what they have done. In
other words, justice is dispensing what is due that measures up to and fits both
with love for God and people, and with what is true. At the same time we
remember love for God and people will not overlook the dispensing of penalties
and discipline (e.g. Prov. 3:11-12).
[29] Evans, Oneness, 21-22.
[30] Piper, Bloodlines, Introduction.
[31] Evans, Oneness,
35-36.
He also writes (36): “Similarly, the contributions of the black church have often been neglected or marginalized.”
In Part 2 of the book Evans looks at black history, the history of black evangelicalism, and dispels the myth of black inferiority. Chapter 6 covers “The Black Presence In The Bible;” chapter 9 “The Role Of The Black Preacher;” chapter 10 “The Black Church, Black Power, And Black Theology” (where he covers the reality that conservative Bible schools and seminaries excluded blacks—being very slow to change in this!); and chapter 11 “The Rise Of Black Evangelicalism.”
He also writes (36): “Similarly, the contributions of the black church have often been neglected or marginalized.”
In Part 2 of the book Evans looks at black history, the history of black evangelicalism, and dispels the myth of black inferiority. Chapter 6 covers “The Black Presence In The Bible;” chapter 9 “The Role Of The Black Preacher;” chapter 10 “The Black Church, Black Power, And Black Theology” (where he covers the reality that conservative Bible schools and seminaries excluded blacks—being very slow to change in this!); and chapter 11 “The Rise Of Black Evangelicalism.”
