I did only read it once, so I may have not fully understood
all that was written. What struck me was
how the post was devoid of any biblical perspective, even though the author
seemed to be leaning on the name of her father, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. I was expecting something with a bit of gospel flavor.
I saw nothing of a redeeming gospel nature in the post. It
was, in the true sense of the word, ‘God-less’.
The authors of the PCA paper on racial reconciliation were
very strong on the need for a biblically grounded perspective. I recently read
over that paper and found that it offered some very helpful insights and Biblical
guidance that are needed in the current conversations. The authors offer the
following Affirmations and Denials:
-We
affirm the image of God reflected in all people –
(Would that also apply to President Trump or
any president, or politician, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, etc? That post
did not give me that impression. To ‘”refuse to speak his name” is a way of
dehumanizing someone. It is a way of denying the image of God in someone. Seeking
to “not speak his name, but associate all Republicans with him” is a way of
dehumanizing –denying the Imago Dei – of a sizeable percentage of our
population. Slavery, the Nazis and abortion have shown us what happens when we
dehumanize a person or a group of people. As believers, we don’t have that option,
even of those with whom we disagree.)
-We
affirm that for the Christian, all human identities must be subordinate to
identity in Christ.
(The current spirit of the age is all about
identity politics that puts us at the center rather than God. It encourages an
autonomy of self where we define who we are based on our likes, dislikes,
desires, or inclinations. That violates the Creator/Creature distinction
discussed early on in the Position Paper.)
-We
affirm that biblical righteousness has dimensions of both piety and justice.
(A pursuit of ‘justice’ is not an excuse for
ignoring basic biblical piety of love for God and our neighbor, even a
Samaritan i.e. Republicans in today’s culture.)
-We
reject Marxism and Socialism, and all ideologies based on either one or both.
(I don’t know what the author of the post has
in mind for the future, but if it is BLM related then it has Marxism at its core.
Their website is clear).
-We
reject as inadequate any analysis of racism that does not recognize sin and the
fall of mankind as its root.
(If there’s
no biblical diagnosis of the problem – “all have sinned…”, then there won’t be
a biblically redemptive reconciliation. The church and the world need biblical
voices that understand the root of the problem and the spiritual solution that
is needed. That is one of the strongest elements of the Position Paper.
