If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and you live in America, what happened in Charlottesville this past weekend ought to break your heart. Any kind of violence and favoritism should, especially racism.
Here’s what happened:
- A “Unite the Right” rally was planned for Friday August 11 to protest the removal of the statue of Confederate icon, General Robert E Lee.
- Described as one of the largest white supremacist events in recent US history, it was organized by Jason Kessler, a former journalist and a member of the Proud Boys, an ultra-nationalist group.
- Protesters gathered again on Saturday August 12 and clashed violently with counter-demonstrators.
- At 11:28am a local state of emergency was declared by the City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle.
- At 1:42pm a speeding car rammed into counter-demonstrators.
- The speeding car, a Dodge Challenger, fled the scene but was soon located and stopped by Police.
- Later in the afternoon, a police helicopter crashed while en route to the rally, though officials did not elaborate the details.
- 3 people died and 35 have been reported as injured as a result of the car-ramming, helicopter crash, and general violence from the demonstration*
Awakening to Reality
I have never personally witnessed this kind of egregious hatred. It’s hard for me to fathom that something like this happens in America. I grew up in small-town, Midwest USA. I knew a few Native American people and our local college often hosted African-American students from Louisiana and Alabama. But for the most part, my world growing up consisted of white people. And, for the most part, respectful white people. We didn’t have much violence in International Falls, Minnesota. At least, not the kind that made the front page of the newspaper.
I have since moved to Los Angeles, California, and live in a community where I, a white American, stick out like a sore thumb. Most of the world around me is Hispanic. And if someone in our neighborhood doesn’t come from Latin America, then they probably come from the Middle East or Asia.
In fact, I have spent a significant amount of time in Asia, since my early days in small-town, Midwestern America. I have experienced first-hand what it’s like to be the minority in a country. And while many people in Thailand are extremely friendly, I know a little bit of what it’s like to feel excluded and demeaned because… well, I’m not Thai.
So, regardless of my relatively naive upbringing in the realm of ethnic diversity, I have experienced quite a bit in my adult life. And while I still can’t fathom Charlottesville kind of racial violence, I know it happens. I know racism exists, even in the church. And I know that if you just had the thought, “Yeah, but not my church,” then you are the kind of church that is most susceptible to racism.
Entering the Conversation
I’ve had readers write me in the past asking me to write on racism, but I’ve always felt out of my league. I don’t feel knowledgeable or experienced enough in dealing with diverse groups of people to be able to add anything profound to the already bloated discussion of racial tensions. We need people who simply love well. That’s what I aim to do and be in life. Isn’t that enough? How can more words in this conversation motivate anyone else to be more loving? Let’s just live it out.
But as I’ve observed increasing racial tensions in the last year, and as I’ve watched and listened to what people, even friends, are saying, I’ve decided perhaps there is value in entering this conversation. Injustice makes me angry, whether it is seeing a kid at school ostracized because he simply isn’t “cool,” or whether it is mass groups of people belittled and excluded because of multi-generational feuds going back to the belief that some people are less human than others. I can’t sit quietly any longer.
Racism is far too complex to address in one or two or seventy-two posts. I am just entering the dialogue, so bear with me as I “catch up,” and please, feel free to share your observations and what you have learned, as well. Please keep it respectful. I have friends of many different ethnicities and I will delete comments that fail to express love for all groups of people.
In this post, I’d like to share six observations about Charlottesville we as Christians can (and need to) learn from.
What Christians Can Learn
Conservative Christianity has for too long aligned itself with the “Political Right.” Being Republican does not equal being Christian, but for too many generations that’s been the unspoken assumption. I don’t entirely understand the history behind this, although I know early political leaders, such as John Adams, saw it as their religious duty to protect the rights of humanity. Therefore, they waged political battles for the cause of religious duties.
I can agree that Christians are responsible for defending freedom, standing for God-given rights of humanity, and resisting evil. But Scripture gives no indication that politics is the front on which we fight these battles. There is no Biblically-compelling evidence that the Church should support one political party over another. The “Right” has just as many evils as the “Left” does. The Right and the Left both have values that resemble Gospel-values.
Furthermore, as Charlottesville exposes, white supremacism comes primarily from the Right. It’s time the Christian Church realigns itself with Jesus Christ (instead of the Right) and advances the Gospel and all causes that bear evidence to the Gospel. I believe that time has come. Change is happening. And we are seeing that in the response to Charlottesville.
Racism is anti-Gospel. At the heart of racism is the belief that I am better than you. That my ethnicity is better than yours. That you are less human than I am. In other words, it exalts myself above you.
Jesus Christ counted equality with God something not worth grabbing hold of (Phil 2:5). This is significant because Jesus is God. He could have stayed in Heaven and enjoyed the pleasures of painless life. He is God. Instead, He emptied Himself. He poured Himself out as a blood offering. God in flesh came to earth, got dirty with the stains and sin of this broken world, and gave His life so that humanity might have Life. Jesus conquered evil not through violence, but through suffering.
The story of Scripture is the narrative of the Cross. Everything points to Jesus and His sacrificial death and the New Life given through His resurrection. At the Cross, racial divisions were torn apart (Eph. 2). And in Christ, there is commonality and unity for all people.
The Philippian church serves as a primary example of how the Gospel brings together people of diverse ethnic, economic and political backgrounds. The church was started with a rich merchant woman interested in the Scriptures (Acts 16:11-15), a slave girl delivered from demon possession (Acts 16:16-24), and a veteran Roman soldier astounded by Paul and Silas’s behavior after an earthquake delivered them from jail (Acts 16:25-40). These people did not interact—ever—before coming to Christ. In Jesus, they found fellowship and equality. They became resilient Gospel-advancers in a church known for their “suffering together” (Phil. 1:25-30).
There is no room for racism in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
America has an ugly history of racism. Killing Native Americans, using African’s as slaves, refusing Jewish refugees in the middle of WWII—the list goes on. While we grow up learning about the melting pot, we fail to fully grasp the level of disdain America has given to other ethnicities.
The activities of white supremacists in Charlottesville would have been dubbed terrorism had it been done by Muslims or Mexican Drug Cartels. Yet, as it stands, the leaders of our nation could not be so blunt. They found it necessary to equate all the violence in this case (initiators and responders). There would have been no equating a counter protest to a Muslim uprising had that been the scene. The uprising (and careening into crowds of people) would have been dubbed terrorism.
I understand calling this kind of activity “terrorism” has implications no one wants to see in their hometown. But that just might be my point. Unless we can be consistent with diverse groups of people, we are not without racism.
The Church in America has too often advanced the message of racism instead of the message of equality. Simply not addressing a sin speaks in promotion of it. When we remain silent in the face of racist activities, we are essentially condoning it because not addressing it will let it advance. Some wrong beliefs and behaviors need ignored so they die. But racism doesn’t. Because it is anti-Gospel, there is a spiritual force wanting it advanced. As Christ-followers, we cannot let this happen.
We also advance the message of racism through our hesitancy to meaningful and trustingly engage and give responsibility to those of other ethnicities than our own. Even the way we champion the one or two non-white people in our churches exposes racism within us. Furthermore, we often view people of other ethnicities as needier than ourselves. We talk behind their backs, and do all the things that would make us feel excluded had we had them done to us.
White people have thoroughly violated non-white people; therefore, we should bend over backward as we pursue peace; not demand equality or our rights. In a way, we have forfeited our right to equality by abusing others. Thankfully, many African-Americans, Jews, Arabs, Native American’s, and so on, are gracious enough to want equality all around. Let’s be over-the-top gracious with those who react in bitterness to the generations of pain we have caused them.
Finally, we need to take this kind of violation seriously. We need to listen to people’s stories, hearing the hearts of those who have been broken for generations because of racism in our land. Instead of doing all the talking ourselves, let’s shut-up and listen to those who know first-hand what racism feels like. Let’s trust them. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt.
For more reading on this topic, I highly recommend checking out Dorcas Smucker’s blog post, Mennonites, Minorities, and Conversations at Costco.
I’m curious how many people attend an ethnically diverse church. Do you consider yours ethnically diverse? Share in the comments below.
