The Sinking Ship of White Fragility

This is the 2nd post in a series in which we are addressing Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, & the ideological framework that these ideas support & promote. The ideas posed & presented in the book, White Fragility, are an extension of this worldview. 

In 2018, Robin Diangelo finally assembled & published the thoughts & ideologies behind the phrase she had coined just a few years earlier, White Fragility. While the book was moderately successful at first, the resurgence of racial tension in America following George Floyd’s death sent the popularity of the book through the roof. Not only has the book’s influence grown, the ideas within have taken a foothold with many Christians, churches, & even denominations. (The United Methodist Church even has a video series led by Diangelo on White Fragility.) As a pastor, having many people within our church asking about the book, being told they should read the book, or having already read the book, I have felt a great need to address the ideas, implications, & substance of what is presented within its pages.

Before I go any further, I feel I need to add some caveats, asterisks, & prefaces to what I'm about to say. In the midst of this cancel culture we live in - where you completely write someone off & consider everything they say & think as discredited or untrustworthy because you disagree with them on a single point or issue - I am not writing Diangelo off, suggesting that nothing she has to say is worth consideration. There are some points & issues she raises that are definitely worth discussing & working to reconcile. However, as you'll read moving forward, I don't find many. And the overall foundation of her work crumbles beneath those singular issues. With that said, here we go.  

I want to begin by being straightforward: I read a lot. And over the last few years, I have made concerted efforts to read varying viewpoints, dissenters, authors, & ideas that I know challenge or even oppose what I think or believe. I’ve even changed my mind every now & then (maybe). Here’s the straightforward part: I could barely make it through this book. I felt like I was trying to row a boat with holes in it the size of footballs. I really wanted to row, but I was so distracted by the water coming in the holes that I couldn’t seem to get anywhere. In that vein, Danny Slavich entitled his review & critique of White Fragility (on Christianity Today's website) “Eat the Meat; Spit Out the Bones.” To be honest, I felt like every time I began chewing on what I thought was meat, it turned out to be grissel. But I kept chewing & swallowing. Here’s what I digested.

As Diangelo spent years leading diversity training & teaching at the university level, she argues that she saw a consistent response on the part of white people becoming defensive toward the topic of racism. This led her to establish the belief that this defense mechanism has been inherently woven into the fabric of “whiteness” (her term, not mine). She begins the book by asserting that there are 2 overarching ideologies that foster racism within white people: Individuality & Objectivity. Here is some of what she has to say:

"Individualism is a story line that creates, communicates, reproduces, and reinforces the concept that each of us is a unique individual and that our group memberships, such as race, class, or gender, are irrelevant to our opportunities." (p.10)

"We are taught to think about racism only as discrete acts committed by individual people, rather than as a complex, interconnected system." (p.3)

“For many white people, the mere title of this book will cause resistance because I am breaking a cardinal rule of individualism—I am generalizing.” (p.11)

"Objectivity tells us that it is possible to be free of all bias. These ideologies make it very difficult for white people to explore the collective aspects of the white experience." (p.9)

First off, individuality does not imply that our relationship to (or) the influence of our race, class or gender are irrelevant. It means that, within that context, I am aware that God has created me to be a unique individual. (Psalm 139 speaks nothing of race, class, gender, or nationality.)

Along these same lines, objectivity does not tell us that it's possible to be "free of all bias." To be objective is to be aware of your biases & to be able to look past them to a degree.

Finally, this supposed idea of the "white experience" (not just here but throughout the book) implies that every white person has the same experience. This, of course, is ridiculous, considering the comparison of a white man raised in poverty in the Appalachain Mountains of West Virginia with a white woman brought up in wealth & privilege in Manhattan or Chicago. These 2 individuals are almost from 2 completely different planets. His white experience will potentially look nothing like her white experience.

From Chapter 1 on, there are presuppositions being laid down & argued that don't hold water. So as I said, the foundation is already crumbling. The boat's already sinking.

As the book unfolds, what Diangelo is arguing & submitting is that each of us, as white people, are born into a system that - having nothing to do with our own individual circumstances, but because we are white - affords us opportunities, while also passing down an inherent ignorance to the system itself. She asserts that the only way for me to correct this is to take time to objectively determine (after already arguing that we really have no objectivity) where, when, & how the system has benefitted me (&) where my ignorance is rooted so that I can go back & (essentially) repent. [In present-day language, I need to be woke.] For instance, if I'm ignorant to my own racism because I don't know enough about racism, then I need to educate myself. If I'm completely oblivious to my racism because I don't have very many black friends, then I need to have more black friends. And so on. 

In regards to that last assertion, can you think of a scenario that more feeds the idea of having a "token" black friend than this one? Or that should be more insulting to a black person? I can't. And an enormous number of black people seem to share that thought.

George Yancey (an author & professor at Baylor University who happens to be black) said in his article Not White Fragility - Mutual Responsibility on The Gospel Coalition website: "As an African American who has not only done academic work on these issues but had to navigate the issues of racism personally, I recognize the irony of reviewing a book by a white woman. But as a professor in the social sciences, I believe she provides little empirical work to support her assertions. The work on implicit bias is questionable at best. Implicit bias may be real, but it doesn’t seem a major factor in why people discriminate against others. Another empirical problem is her lack of research for the unique defensiveness of white people. Where’s the cross-racial research indicating fragility is unique to them?

How can we test for white fragility? As far as I can tell, the only way a white person can’t be “fragile” is if they agree with the accusations brought against them. Any reaction other than compliance is taken as evidence of white fragility. This is not useful as a conceptual tool for hypothesis-testing.

What about the empirical results of anti-racism techniques? The type of diversity training that emerges from such efforts has been shown to have little long-term effect on prejudice. Further, focusing on privilege can actually decrease sympathy for poor white people while not raising the overall sympathy for black people. Research seems to indicate that taking the route of DiAngelo is not lessening our racial hostility—but it may be making that hostility worse.

The concept of white fragility is an academic way to tell white people to be quiet and listen. Bottling up the expressions of white people, though, is not the path to addressing our society’s racial alienation. Indeed, it’s a path that will continue to frustrate attempts at correcting racism’s genuine effects." (italics mine)

John McWhorter (Professor at Columbia University, contributing writer at The Atlantic, who also happens to be black) reviewed Diangelo’s book in an article The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility. I highly recommend reading his article in full. He concluded his critique by saying, "White Fragility is, in the end, a book about how to make certain educated white readers feel better about themselves. DiAngelo’s outlook rests upon a depiction of Black people as endlessly delicate poster children within this self-gratifying fantasy about how white America needs to think—or, better, stop thinking. Her answer to white fragility, in other words, entails an elaborate and pitilessly dehumanizing condescension toward Black people. The sad truth is that anyone falling under the sway of this blinkered, self-satisfied, punitive stunt of a primer has been taught, by a well-intentioned but tragically misguided pastor, how to be racist in a whole new way." 

Those are the thoughts of critical thinking, educated black men.

At this point, I believe the most important thing for me to do (as Yancey & McWhorter have done) is to address & confront the overall implications of the book & the flaws in this ideology.

Let's start with scripture. And let's start at the beginning.

In the Garden of Eden, sin came into the world. As a result, when I entered into this world through my mother's womb, sin was inevitably going to be in my veins. In fact, more than my veins, it was going to seize the throne of my heart. Yours as well. And this had nothing to do with the color of my skin. That dose of melanin, however great or small it was, sadly had no effect on the condition of my heart. We are all created in the image of God. We are all knit together in our mother's womb by our Creator. We all enter this world with a heart bent toward our own exaltation. We are all dead in our sin. But thankfully, there is one who has rectified the situation, restored the beauty, & reconciled our relationships - to our heavenly Father & to one another. His name is Jesus. 

In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul gives us this brilliant parallel between how death & sin entered the world through one man (Adam), but life & salvation came from the other man (Jesus). "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men."

One trespass. That's all it took. Sin. Death.

One act of righteousness. That's all it took. Forgiveness. Reconciliation.

If you claim to be a Christ-follower, you have to come to the reckoning of whether or not you believe that "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works...." 

I've been asked: How is Critical Race Theory antithetical to the gospel? How are the ideas presented in White Fragility at odds with the gospel? Well, remember: While Jesus saved us from sin, death, & separation from the Father, he also saved us to life, holiness, reconciliation, & good works. The whole ideology presented in White Fragility says there are good works that I can only find & figure out through being enlightened or woke. In other words, no - White Fragility is not trying to replace what I've been saved from, but it is most certainly altering what I've been saved to. Also, if it's a system that's the source or cause of something like racism, this (in effect & to a degree) let's me off the hook for my own individual responsibility. It's no longer about my sin, it's about the system. That is antithetical to the gospel.

You have to decide whether or not you believe:

"God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another." (1 Corinthians 12:24b-25) 

Did I erase those divisions? No. Jesus did. 

Do I have to personally walk in this truth & work to tear anything down that would try & rebuild those walls of hostility? Absolutely.

That begins with my own sin. That's the starting point. White Fragility says otherwise.

As a Christ-follower, I have to determine whether or not I believe:

"Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male & female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:25-28)

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 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, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:13-22)

So how does all of this have any relevance to the subject & how is it that White Fragility is in any way in conflict with the Word of God?

To put it simply, it distracts & leads us away from the true SOURCE of the problem, & therefore, continues on in pointing us to the wrong SOLUTIONS to the problem.

As I said in my post entitled, The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation: "We have to be clear about this: SIN is the source of racism. SIN is the source of abuse. SIN is the source of entitlement. And SIN is the source of the spirit that attempts to cover over these things as well."

I challenge you to take all of this into account & prayerfully consider: How is this not antithetical to the work of the gospel?

Allow me to pose another question: What does White Fragility accomplish, defeat, or address that is not accomplished, defeated, or overcome through the power of Jesus Christ working in & through the lives of His people, through the power of His Spirit, & upon the truth of His Word? Where is the gospel lacking or insufficient?

Friends, this book (& the ideas within it) are possibly the greatest conglomeration of cultish nonsense I have read in quite some time. I believe it is condescending & insulting to black people, defeating & degrading for white people, & not only does nothing to repair the harm of racism, it actually ties our hands behind our backs & leaves us all with no hope that things can be made right, rectified, or restored. It's a sinking ship. Do not get on board!

The False Gospel of Critical Race Theory

As recently as 18-20 months ago, I had never even heard of Critical Race Theory & had no idea what Intersectionality was. Over the last year, I have not only become aware of it, but I have seen the evidence that it is exploding into our culture. 

Over the next days & weeks, I want to expose that these ideas - specifically Critical Race Theory - are not only contrary to the gospel, but are on their own a works-based worldview of enlightenment. They are a false gospel.

Let's begin with the overarching question: What is Critical Theory? 

Critical Theory is a worldview that believes there are power dynamics present in terms of social relationships.

The object of CT is to expose that the power brokers (the OPPRESSORS) carry certain assumptions & biases (&) they funnel & cement those biases into the systems they create without even realizing they’re doing it. 

The job or role of CT is for the OPPRESSED to uncover those biases & assumptions so they can be critiqued, exposed, dismantled & overthrown. The task is for the OPPRESSED to overthrow the OPPRESSORS.

As an example, in Marxism, the oppressor is the Capitalist or the Bourgeoisie. Karl Marx proposed through his famous Communist Manifesto. As the British Library website explains, Karl Marx "was a revolutionary German economist and philosopher, and the founder of the Communist movement. Marx was writing against a backdrop of great industrial change. Overcrowded, newly industrialised cities were expanding, and much of the working class lived in great poverty. Marx saw history as the story of class struggles, in which the oppressed fight against their oppressors. According to Marx, as history unfolded, the victory of one class would pave the way for the future freedom of the rest of society." When Marx's assertion didn't come true, an Italian Marxist named Antonio Gramsci proposed the idea of the Cultural Hegemony, which said the powerful classes in society set the way everyone is supposed to think & everyone else unknowingly buys into it.

I know your question at this point is possibly: Who cares? Why is this important?

The answer is simple: This worldview is no longer creeping or sneaking it's way into our society; it has become a full-fledged raging monster. And the main avenue for it's invasion into the west is through Critical Race Theory. So, we need to specifically dive deeper into understanding it.

Monique Duson, Director of The Center for Biblical Unity, explains that in CRT, white people are the oppressors & black people are the oppressed. As a white person, CRT asserts that you probably don't see your own racist tendencies or thoughts because - as Critical Theory in general suggests - the oppressors are unaware of their own biases & impositions on the rest of society. This is the source & root of all "systemic racism" present in a culture or society. Further, as an oppressor, not only are you not supposed to be a racist, you have to be an anti-racist. There are certain things you must do & say, & certain ways you must do & say them, to prove that you've been enlightened of your problem & to show evidence that you're actively working to dismantle the problem, beginning with yourself.

If you're brain hurts & you're already exhausted from trying to grasp all of this, there's good reason for that. This framework & worldview is totally works based. It’s cultural gnosticism. Critical Race Theory says: You're lost & your only hope of salvation is to be WOKE.

Critical Race Theory undermines the gospel. It predetermines that there isn’t enough grace to cover sin.

Critical Race Theory places the seed & root of sin on a group or race, rather than the individual. That's not what the Bible teaches. 

Critical Race Theory doesn’t actually speak to the oppression of or discrimination against black people. In fact, it actually works against exposing the heart that would attempt to affirm racism. It's burning down a straw man.

And to speak to where & how CRT is invading our culture, you need to understand that this is the prime doctrine & ideology that the Black Lives Matter organization is founded upon. In a brief 2-minute video several months ago, attempting to appeal to Southern Baptists to make a visible effort at eradicating racism, J. D. Greear (President of the SBC) made the assertion that this thinking had "crept into the ranks of BLM", rather than acknowledging or understanding that, in contrast, the entire organization & movement are built on these principles & this worldview. You cannot separate the BLM organization & movement from cultural Marxism & Critical Theory. They are one and the same.

Make no mistake: Critical Race Theory is an attack on the gospel & is an enemy to the reconciliation of grace that can only come from & through the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are a Christ-follower, you need to work to understand it so that you can be ready to confront it. It's not headed this way; it's here.

To further understand CT, CRT, Intersectionality, & the vast array of deceptive ideologies that accompany them, here are several other resources from people who are much smarter than I am:

The Trojan Horse - This is an interview Sovereign Nations Founder Michael O’Fallon and the co-founders of New Discourses, Dr. Peter Boghossian and Dr. James Lindsay, discuss the current tools of societal and institutional deconstruction being introduced throughout civilization under the banner of “Social Justice.” These, they discuss, are presented in a manner not unlike the legendary Trojan Horse.

Race, Injustice, & the Gospel of Critical Race Theory - Alisa Childers interviews Monique Duson to discuss racism, biblical justice, and some of the words and phrases we're seeing in our social media newsfeeds like "white fragility," "whiteness," and "social justice." 

Critical Race Theory - This is an entire catalog of articles, blogposts, interviews, & videos addressing & exposing CRT.

The Trojan Horse, Episode 3 - O'Fallon's interview with Boghossian & Lindsay (an Atheist & an Agnostic) continues, diving deeper & more specifically into the origins and core concepts of critical race theory in plain language, so that it and its terms can be more clearly understood.

By What Standard? - Tom Ascol & Founders Ministries produced this documentary exposing how CRT is already slipping into the ranks of the Southern Baptist Convention. This effort became blatantly obvious & exposed at the 2019 gathering of the SBC as it was pushed through in Resolution 9. 

Defend & Confirm Podcast - My friend Russell Berger & fellow pastor Sean DeMars have several episodes defining, addressing, confronting, and deconstructing the false ideology of CRT.

More to come....

Where Else Would We Go?

The 6th chapter of the Gospel of John is long. It’s intense. It’s packed with human desperation & divine intervention. Jesus feeds 10,000 plus people with 2 fish & 5 loaves of bread. He walks on water. Peter walks on water! It’s a pretty packed couple of days. Then Jesus gets to Capernaum & begins to teach them, wanting them to learn from what they’ve just seen & experienced. Answering their questions, Jesus explains that he has the words of life. He says, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit & life.” (Bill Klein, one of our elders at The Brook, preached through this text yesterday.) Just before this, as Jesus gives the famous (& very hard to understand in the moment) you must “eat my flesh & drink my blood” discourse, he is using a physical illustration to communicate a spiritual truth. (Bill made this point in his sermon.) Jesus is saying that he is enough; his life will be the example for us to follow & his blood will be enough for our atonement. But as he says all of this, John tells us that “many turned back & no longer followed him.” He then turns to his disciples & asks them the hard question, “Are you going to leave me, too?”

Think on that question for a moment. 

Are you going to walk away from Jesus? 

Are you going to go & search for the words of life somewhere else? From someone else?

Prayerfully consider the question for a moment.

It should only take a moment. That’s how long it took Peter.

Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” Peter asks Jesus a rhetorical question that still bears all the weight it did at just that moment. “Lord, where would we go? Who else would we turn to? You have the words of life! You are the Son of God!”

While I know many of us as Christ-followers hear Peter’s question & response (&) feel the stirring of our Spirit & emotions over the implications, the fact is, we sometimes ask this question...while walking away from Jesus.

Where else would we go? Where else would we turn?

We turn to the news. We put our head in the echo chamber.

We go to the latest self-help book. Maybe this new way of thinking will change everything.

We look to the mirror, in vain affirmation or with loathing disappointment.

We listen to our feelings; our lying, ever-changing, deceitful emotions & feelings.

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he alone holds the words of life; yet, we often seem to be determined to look — to even run — anywhere & everywhere other than to him to feed us, to fill us, & to guide us.

David knew who to run to. In Psalm 18 he declares: “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock & my fortress & my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge.” He continues: “This God — his way if perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” (v.1-2, 30)

The psalmists knew. 

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

"My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!" Psalm 119:25

"This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” Psalm 119:50

King Solomon knew.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe." Proverbs 18:10

We can not only listen to the Lord; we can cry out to him. We can bring all our burdens & lay them at his feet. We find rest in him. Only in him!

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary & heavy burdened, & I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

When persecution began in the New Testament church, they didn’t consult men, they cried out to God. (Acts 4:23-31)

Paul knew who to run to. Who to turn to. 

He implores us: “…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer & supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:5) In other words: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything!

Jesus is truth. He is the way. He is peace. He is hope & joy & rest. He is life!

You know this, right? 

So, why would we go anywhere else? Why would we turn to anyone else? 

Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, & we have believed, & have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God!”  

For the Sake of Others

Not long after I arrived in India in 2014, we were driving out of the city and into a village when I noticed this all-too-familiar symbol painted on the side of a building. I was dumbfounded. But I didn’t say anything. As we drove a bit further I noticed 2 or 3 more apparent swastikas on buildings, walls, and signs. I couldn’t sit there any longer wondering. I asked my translator, “Why in the world are there swastikas everywhere? What kind of sick people would put those up?” Without hesitating or blinking an eye, Robin (my Indian translator) informed me, “Oh, Hitler stole the swastika from us.”

All I remember thinking was, “What? How on earth have I never heard this before?”

For whatever reason, I became a bit fascinated with this. How could one of the most profoundly powerful symbols of the 20th century actually been hijacked? Stolen? If this was true, how on earth did Hitler and the Third Reich land on this particular work of art to become the brand of their brutal regime and their perverted ideologies? How did this happen?

Here’s what I discovered.

"In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, swastika means "well-being". The symbol has been used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains for millennia and is commonly assumed to be an Indian sign.

Early Western travellers to Asia were inspired by its positive and ancient associations and started using it back home. By the beginning of the 20th Century there was a huge fad for the swastika as a benign good luck symbol.

In his book The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption? US graphic design writer Steven Heller shows how it was enthusiastically adopted in the West as an architectural motif, on advertising and product design.”

"Coca-Cola used it. Carlsberg used it on their beer bottles. The Boy Scouts adopted it and the Girls' Club of America called their magazine Swastika. They would even send out swastika badges to their young readers as a prize for selling copies of the magazine," he says.

It was used by American military units during World War One and it could be seen on RAF planes as late as 1939. Most of these benign uses came to a halt in the 1930s as the Nazis rose to power in Germany.

The Nazi use of the swastika stems from the work of 19th Century German scholars translating old Indian texts, who noticed similarities between their own language and Sanskrit. They concluded that Indians and Germans must have had a shared ancestry and imagined a race of white god-like warriors they called Aryans.

This idea was seized upon by anti-Semitic nationalist groups who appropriated the swastika as an Aryan symbol to boost a sense of ancient lineage for the Germanic people.

The black straight-armed hakenkreuz (hooked cross) on the distinctive white circle and red background of the Nazi flag would become the most hated symbol of the 20th Century, inextricably linked to the atrocities committed under the Third Reich.

"For the Jewish people the swastika is a symbol of fear, of suppression, and of extermination. It's a symbol that we will never ever be able to change," says 93-year-old Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller. "If they put the swastika on gravestones or synagogues, it puts a fear into us. Surely it shouldn't happen again.”

The swastika was banned in Germany at the end of the war and Germany tried unsuccessfully to introduce an EU-wide ban in 2007.

The irony is that the swastika is more European in origin than most people realise. Archaeological finds have long demonstrated that the swastika is a very old symbol, but ancient examples are by no means limited to India. It was used by the Ancient Greeks, Celts, and Anglo-Saxons and some of the oldest examples have been found in Eastern Europe, from the Baltic to the Balkans.

[Excerpt from How the World Loved the Swastika — Until Hitler Stole It, by Mukti Jain Campion, 2014]

As I said above, when Robin first shared this unknown bit of history with me, my first thought was, “How on earth have I never heard this before?” I have come to believe that the answer to that question actually leads to another question we — as Americans — should be asking. To put if simply: How is it that some of our symbols have managed to not only survive, but continue to be celebrated?

I truly believe that the answer to my question — as to how I had never heard about the origins of the swastika — is that most people throughout Europe, Asia, and around the world have readily allowed this symbol to go the way of the evil, brutal, and horrific plague it came to represent: the Nazi party and the Jewish Holocaust. To dawn that symbol or flag today evokes a level of hate and horror that is still almost incomparable. And no one questions why. Pure and simple, it’s because of what this image came to be associated with: fascism and murder.

Fast forward.

As an eight-year-old boy, the confederate flag was first and foremost a symbol of the two greatest rebel rousing outlaws I knew of: Bo and Luke Duke. It shined atop that bright orange beauty of an automobile, The General Lee, which (much like the flag) at that point in my life was not a person, but a car. It was all very innocent. But then, I went to school. I began learning things. I became a huge fan of history (probably somewhat because I hated math & science). And as I learned more and more about the history, conflicts, and struggles our ancestors battled through to get us where we were, I gained perspective. I had to come to grips with the fact that — fair or unfair, right or wrong — for many, the confederate flag still evokes images, thoughts, and even memories of hate and horror that beg to be forgotten. And no one should question why. Pure and simple, it’s because of what this image came to be associate with: racism and slavery.

But this is where it all gets dicey. It seems as though many who would never for a moment suggest we repurpose the swastika, moreover the Nazi flag, can’t seem to let go of the battle flag of the south. Why is this? 

What is it about the confederacy that’s so valuable that we refuse to let go of a symbol that overtly commemorates times of slavery, racism, and segregation? Can someone answer that question? 

This is not the removal of a monument; this is the surrender of a symbol. The symbol, in many people's minds, that represents one of the darkest movements and ideologies in our country's history. To bring this flag down is not revisionist; it's repentant. 

My real question is this: If we know the wounds, the baggage, and the burdens this symbol and flag still drags along behind it, can we not just give it up once and for all for the sake of others?  

The Inseperability of Truth & Justice

If you're my age or older, you may remember that Superman’s catchphrase was as recognized as his red cape; He fought for truth, justice, and the American way! Maybe you’ve noticed, Superman doesn’t say that anymore.

It’s interesting to me that such spiritual insight could seep from a comic book super hero, possibly without any intention whatsoever. The spiritual insight I’m referring to is the inseparable connection between truth and justice. To be clear, they cannot exist independent of one another. And this is one of the greatest struggles we are currently facing in America - the quest and pursuit of justice alongside the complete abandonment and demand for truth.

Many people say they want justice, but they don’t want the truth.

Many people expect me to want justice and fight for justice, but not if it demands the truth.

And many people hide behind the veil and shroud of what they’re calling justice in order to push their own motives and agendas. Those folks want justice about as much as my dog wants a bath.

The same goes for love. 

Love embraces the truth; it doesn’t run from it or cover over it.

Love and truth go together. Justice and mercy go together. Read Psalm 40.

David cries out, “Lord, do not withhold your mercy from me…may your love and truth always protect me.”

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 12: 

“Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.”

The Lord himself speaks through the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 59:

“Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself prey.”

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 

That’s what Isaiah says next.

Many today would declare, “I’m with the Lord! I want justice!” Well, not if you don’t want truth.

Allow me to give an example.

A man is falsely accused of murder. There is no credible or eyewitness evidence of his guilt, only circumstantial evidence and corroboration from someone who thinks they saw this or that, but that man winds up going to prison based on falsehoods. While the family of the victim may feel like they’ve gotten justice, they’ve really just been handed a lie. It’s all a placebo affect. But in those moments, we sometimes want and need someone to blame so badly that we’ll just about take whatever or whoever sounds the most worthy of our disdain or scorn. Our “justice”. 

The problem is, that’s not justice.

In those moments, justice is actually "turned back, and righteousness stands far away." Why? Because "truth has stumbled in the public square." Truth was suppressed. Truth was substituted. Truth was forfeited.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Without truth there is no life.

Spiritually, without understanding and accepting the truth that you are dead in your sin, you will never see your brokenness and need for a savior. The truth of the bad news of our sin and hopelessness leads us to the truth of the good news of the gospel of Jesus. 

Paul says in Romans 2 that “God’s kindness is meant to lead you repentance.” How is that possible? What does that mean? When you read Romans 1 & 2 in context, you understand that Paul is exposing the truth about us — that our hearts are set against God. But God, in his kindness and patience and mercy and love, has given us an opportunity to walk from darkness to light — to go from sin and death to freedom and life. This can and will only happen if and when we walk in the truth. Jesus is the truth.

Back to justice.

In the book and movie, Just Mercy, Brian Stevenson tells the story of spending his life fighting for men who have been wrongly imprisoned and unfairly represented. If you watch this movie or read Brian’s story, you will see very clearly that the chief weapon to fight for justice is truth. The only way to free someone who’s been wrongly condemned or imprisoned is by unearthing, facing, and accepting the truth. Truth and justice are not just linked; they are inseparable. 

Friends, many people today say they want justice. I believe they really think they do. But that’s not what they’re really longing for deep down. What they want is a sugar pill. They want the appearance of justice without the pursuit of the truth. There is no such thing. 

So when you see a narrative being presented on the news or by a politician or celebrity or athlete about “justice this or justice that”, I encourage you (as the Apostle John does) to examine the spirits. Test the spirits. Seek the truth. In the words of the lyrical gangster, Chuck D, don’t believe the hype. Don’t get sucked into the vortex of emotionally stirred irrationality. Test the spirits.

Right this moment, many people who claim to want “justice” for George Floyd (who was killed by a police officer last week) are rioting and looting. There are white people with masks on, spray painting buildings, throwing bricks at police officers, destroying property, upending people’s lives, all in the name of what they call “justice”. They pretend to be for racial equality. They are actually working toward racial division. There are black people confronting them, telling them, “This isn’t what we want! Go home!” They don’t listen.

There are black people who see and know about black people killed by other black people almost constantly. The city of Chicago sees this almost nonstop. But Chicago isn't alone. In the US in 2018, when the homicide victim was black, so was the suspected killer 88% of the time. And this is not an exception to the rule. From 1976 to 2005, 94% of black victims were killed by other African Americans. Those folks who are rioting right now never say a word the other 94% of the time. But the moment a black person is killed by a white person…they want “justice”. Why is this? 

George Floyd’s brother, Terrence, traveled from his home in Brooklyn to Minneapolis — he went to the epicenter of the rioting and looting, right where his brother had been killed — and stood before a crowd of protesters and declared, “This will not bring my brother back.” He made it very clear that destruction is not what his brother would have wanted or how he would have protested. 

Did the rioters listen? Did the looting stop? No.

Why not? 

Because “justice” is not really what those folks are after. They’ve abandoned the truth. In fact, if you go back to Isaiah 59, he says something quite powerful: "Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself prey.” Did you grasp that last part? The Lord is saying that those who abandon truth — those who become incensed by hate or by lust or by anger or even simply by their own emotions — will actually come after those who cling to truth. In the midst of evil, those who seek the truth become prey. You are witnessing it firsthand. 

The Lord has told you what is good. He has told us what is required of you: to love mercy, to do justly, and to walk humbly with your God.

Love and mercy. Truth and justice. 

Jesus says, “In my Kingdom, they cannot be separated."

I'll leave you with one example of what this might look like for a Bible In One Year reading:

When Nelson Mandela left prison after twenty-seven years and became South Africa’s first democratically elected president, he called upon his old friend, Desmond Tutu, to chair The Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  This commission was a series of hearings – some of them public – in which both victims and perpetrators gave testimony about their experiences and actions during apartheid.

At one of the hearings, a policeman called van de Broek told of how he and his fellow officers shot an eighteen-year-old youth, then burnt the body.  Eight years later they went back, took the father and forced his wife to watch as he was incinerated.  She was in court to hear this confession and was asked by the judge what she wanted.  She said she wanted van de Broek to go to the place where they had buried her husband’s body and gather up the dust so that she could give him a decent burial.  Van de Broek agreed. 

She then added a further request.  ‘Mr van de Broek took all my family away from me, and I still have a lot of love to give.  Twice a month I would like for him to come to the ghetto and spend a day with me so that I can be a mother to him.  And I would like Mr van de Broek to know that he is forgiven by God, and that I forgive him too.  I would like to embrace him so he can know that my forgiveness is real.’  Spontaneously, some in the courtroom began singing ‘Amazing Grace’ as the elderly woman made her way to the witness stand.  But van de Broek did not hear the hymn, he had fainted, overwhelmed.

In this story, truth and justice, love and mercy flow together.  The same is true of God.  ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:16) but he is also the God of truth and the God of justice.  Jesus personified God’s love but he also said, ‘I am … the truth’ (John 14:6).  The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5) and is also the Spirit of truth (John 15:26).  Truth and justice are not opposed to love; they are part of love.  And so Paul tells us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 

The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation

When I saw the images of George Floyd laying on the ground with that officer’s knee driving him into the pavement, I thought I was going to be sick. There was a clear cry of desperation on George’s face. There also seemed to be a hazy disconnect on Dennis Chauvin’s face, almost like he was waiting on the bus to come or for his lunch to heat up in the microwave. His knee was on Floyd’s throat while his hand was in his pocket. To witness this act was paralyzing. I have spent days trying to prayerfully discern what to say or where to begin.

George Floyd’s death - the absolute tragedy and senselessness of it - is enough to infuriate anyone with decency. But the fact that George Floyd is a black man and that Dennis Chauvin is a white police officer turns this house fire into a blazing inferno. The problem with this blaze is that it’s flames are being strengthened by more than one source of fuel. To put out a fire you often need to know what started it and what’s fueling it.

Let’s identify some of the sources of this firestorm here in America.

• Whether you accept it or believe it or not, racism still exists here. 
• Police brutality appears to continue to go unchecked.
• Discrimination is now harder to identify because it’s shrouded in political correctness.
• A sense of entitlement and a lack of respect for authority are not only being fostered, but affirmed & rewarded.
• People with agendas manipulate, hijack, politicize, and capitalize on any and every opportunity to kick the embers, pour on more fuel, and keep the fire going. 

And there’s a common thread to all these problems and issues we face: PRIDE & SIN.

We have to be clear about this: SIN is the source of racism. SIN is the source of abuse. SIN is the source of entitlement. And SIN is the source of the spirit that attempts to cover over these things as well.

And so...we have issues. BIG issues. 

The question is, “What are we to do?”

There is so much to be said and done. As Christians, I know many of us wonder, “What can I do?” At this moment I find myself asking the Lord - and my brothers in Christ - to help me understand. 

As followers of Jesus, there are some fundamental truths that must guide us in finding the answers to these questions and to extinguish this fire.

First of all, we need to understand racism. I highly recommend you listen to or read this sermon that Voddie Bauchum preached last year, Irreconcilible Views of Reconciliation. As usual, his insight and exposition are worth consideration. To expound on what Voddie says, God did not invent or create races; we did. Ethnicities? Yes. Nationalities? Of course. But races? No. 

As Voddie explains, “Oftentimes we talk about distinctions and we talk about being distinct from one another in terms of our race. Race is actually a social construct. The concept of race is not a biblical concept, it’s not a biblical idea, it is a constructed idea. You won’t find the idea of races in the Bible unless you find it in the proper historical context where we see, number one, that we are all the race of Adam. Amen? One race, one blood. We are all the race of Adam. There is less than a 0.2 percent genetic difference between any of us in this regard.” He continues. "In fact, we’re not even different colors. Amen. Technically, from a genetic perspective, from a biochemistry perspective, we’re all actually the same color. Our color comes from our melanin. We’ve all got melanin, just at differing degrees. So it’s not that some of us are this color, some of this are that color. No, we’re just different shades of the same color; some of us just have more melanin than others. And I want you to listen to me on this, listen to me! Just because you don’t have as much melanin as I do, don’t you dare think God doesn’t love you as much as He loves me because He gave me more. You learn to be satisfied with the little you have.”

The point: the only noticeable difference between me and my black friends is our skin. That’s it.

To continue on Voddie’s point, the actual biblical distinction that the Bible not only acknowledges, but the Lord actually instituted, is Jew and Gentile. And all you Gentiles (like myself) were in a world of hurt. We weren’t covenant people. I wasn’t in the line of Abraham. At least not by blood. I was dead in sin and separated from God. But…

That word seems to be interjected at just the right moments. Especially in Paul’s letters. 

In Ephesians 2, after Paul reminds us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, he says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love…made us alive in Christ.” From death to life. That’s the part of Ephesians 2 we all know. We really should keep reading more often. Let’s go a bit further.

In verse 11 Paul now moves into reminding them that as Gentiles they were “separated from Christ…strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Well, that’s not good. Not good at all. But….

There it is again. But...

“But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 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, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Italics mine)

Jesus divides the wall of hostility between us. Jesus kills the hostility between us! 

Now back to Voddie for a moment.

"There are different cultural distinctions among us and other things that distinguish us: our languages and things of this nature. But that’s different than saying we have real legitimate things that separate us. Why is this important? Because if the things that we believe separate us are made up and we see in this text that a real separation that God created is overcome by the blood of Christ; if the blood of Jesus can obliterate a real distinction that God Himself created, then how much more can it get rid of artificial distinctions that fallen men created.”

Friends, allow me to get to the point.

There is NO PLACE FOR RACISM in the Body of Christ or the Kingdom of God.

But also know this: THE CURE FOR RACISM is found at the Cross of Jesus. The gospel doesn’t just demand reconciliation; the gospel is the reconciler. The Apostle Paul very clearly tells us that Jesus not only died for our salvation, but for our reconciliation. We are not only reconciled back to the Father, we are reconciled to one another. And through the power of the Spirit of God, we are now ministers of reconciliation. 

I repeat: WE ARE MINISTERS OF RECONCILIATION.

Reconciliation takes work. It’s hard. It’s humbling. It empties us of ourselves. It’s what Jesus did.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8

When you think and feel that everything seems hopelessly out of control, always remember: But God...

We were dead in our sin. But God...

We were divided and separated. But God...

I close with words that my friend Johnny posted today. I believe they are humble, practical, straightforward, and speak to the heart of the humility we need in this crucial moment.

"I’m reading all the posts and comments. Listening to the president and the politicians and the news media. Everyone - at every level - is saying the exact same things, word for word for word, that were said 55 years ago. It’s just in real time and with multimedia. All I can say is: Look at history. Immerse yourself in it. We’ve been here before. And we are doing and feeling and saying the exact same things that did not work then. And because we didn’t resolve it then, we’re reliving it now. Everyone on all sides cannot get entrenched in fear and pain. Survival mode will not end well for any of us. We have to have creative solutions, new responses, and greater wisdom this time. We have the ability to communicate instantly with everyone we know, anywhere. We don’t have to huddle in a foxhole with a handful of people who look like us and ride it out. I’m not talking about posting memes and quotes. Have you not noticed most of the people who like your posts already agree with you and everyone else is silent? I’m saying reach out...to your friends who don’t look like you. Today. Don’t preach. Don’t scold. Don’t drop hints. Don’t generalize. Just listen and talk about your feelings, not other’s faults. Pray with them. Look at this as a second chance. We got a do-over. Do. It. Different. This. Time. Where our forebears zigged, we must zag. It is utterly imperative that we do. I cannot stress that enough."