Christianity and Denial Cannot Co-Exist
Photo by Clay Banks
We sustain divisions in our society by denying they exist. Some months ago, I discovered a Christian website splattered with blog posts proclaiming any focus on racism opposes our faith. “God does not see color” they argued, and neither should we as the body of Christ. I sat in front of the computer, my mind pacing with counter questions -
How could a God who doesn’t see color create the array of beautiful hues we witness daily?
Why is Christianity continually lifted up as a pathway to avoid engaging with the terror racism creates, the wounds it continues to exact upon the bodies of BlPOC folk?
In The Politics Of Jesus: Rediscovering The True Revolutionary Nature Of Jesus' Teachings And How They Have Been Corrupted, Obery Hendricks writes: “It is true that it is part of every minister’s calling to be a pastor to his or her parishioners, to be a spiritual leader and teacher and a comforter of the sick at heart and those afflicted in mind, soul, spirit, or body. Ministers of the Gospel must comfort the afflicted, but they also have the prophet’s duty to afflict the comfortable.”
God calls us to awaken to oppression and injustice, not defend it. How can you say you are my brother, my sister, or fellow believer if you refuse to lament racial violence which spans colonization, enslavement, and laws that continue to shape how differently you and I experience this country?
Instead of understanding Bible passages through the lens of compassion, the words become a fortress in this endless war of us vs. them. It’s why Hungarian President Victor Orban could speak at CPAC in Dallas, Texas and say: “Don’t worry, a Christian politician cannot be racist,” while previously railing against mixing of the races, and have “Christian” conservatives come to his defense.
There are “leaders” in this country who call themselves “religious ” and “Christian” yet have no problem blaming the poor for rising economic inequality even as scripture says: “But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?” James 2:6, denying our responsibility to care for the planet (“You shall not pollute the land in which you live…” Numbers 35:33), or pushing immigrants on buses and planes to “liberal cities” (We see you Governor Abbott, Texas and Governor DeSantis, Florida), rather than welcoming them humanely (“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35).
They self righteously proclaim boundaries for God’s love - who receives it and who doesn’t, even as Amos the prophet reminded us centuries ago rhetoric cannot replace intimacy with God or collective liberation and justice: “Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river,righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:23-24).
When religion and dogma prevent you from building your relationship with God, faith becomes an act of performance, a vehicle for power. Scriptures tell us to speak up for those who are treated unjustly ( Proverbs 31:8-9) not embrace spiritual bypsssing because it makes us comfortable.
Holy one,
May we learn to release the illusion of comfort + embrace courage… abandoning apathy, bring us towards embodying daily actions which lift up “the least of these…” for your word says “the first shall be last, and last shall be first.”
-
How are you using your voice to confront inequality and racism in the faith, in your church?