The Racism That Is Righteous

Racism is an ugly scourge in all societies that goes all the way back to the tower of Babel. Governments are foolish enough to believe that they can legislate it out of society while people remain in their sin. One of the most prominent ways that sin manifests itself is in our selfishness. And selfish people don't like people who are different. Is it really any surprise that racism exists?

Yet, at the core of all of this lies two shocking truths that escape almost everybody. Firstly, that God is a racist and secondly that there is only one race - the human race. We all descend from Adam and that is why we are all sinners.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)

All sinners are alienated from God and excluded from His Kingdom - the ultimate form of racial segregation! Furthermore, God's segregation is right and just! He is holy and we are not. He would be a corrupt judge if he were to ignore the sinful deeds of every member of Adamic race! God's justice demands that He must separate, segregate, and reprobate every member of the Adamic race! Unless . . . certain members of the Adamic race were to be reconciled to this Holy God via the wrath bearing work  of a sinless substitute in their place! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only solution to deal with all forms of racism - God's alienation from man and man's alienation from each other.

Voddie Baucham And Ethnic Gnosticism - ER Saga (Part 8)

This jaw dropping interview took place after the Elephant Room conference where James MacDonald interviews three African American pastors. And the reason for people who criticize TD Jakes is because of his heretical teaching? No!!! It would appear that Jakes' skin color gives him diplomatic immunity from theological scrutiny . . .



It is beyond me why James MacDonald would post this video. Amidst the true points made here there is a lot to be disturbed about. If James MacDonald really wants to help the African American community then a good place to start would be to stop affirming those who plunder this very community with their outrageously heretical prosperity teaching. How about sitting down and discussing the gospel they preach rather than the color of their skin. Is it just possible that the content of TD Jakes' teaching could have anything to do with those Christian leaders who are critical of him? It would seem that another elephant just entered the room.

I cannot think of a better combination than the combined apologetic superpowers of Dr. Voddie Baucham and Dr. James White to discuss this issue. This discussion is gold - please check it out!



Go On To Part 9
Go Back To Part 7
Go Back To Part 1

Racism in Reverse - Rick Warren's Prayer

On my previous blog entry I discussed Rick Warren's inauguration prayer for Barack Obama and in particular his mention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Some readers may argue that this blog is taking on a political bent. On the contrary I want to wrap this up today and, hopefully, show that the issues at stake here are far more theological than political.

When we reflect back on the life of Dr. King and the war he fought against racism in the USA there are several valuable things we can learn as they pertain to the Great Commission. This concerns the scope of government legislation in what it can achieve, and the battles that can only be fought in the realm of the human heart. The success that Dr. King achieved, at the cost of his own life, was achieved within the realm of government. Black Americans received the right to vote, to sit where they chose on a bus, and to study at the finest universities to name but a few. In short, African Americans gained legal access to participate in every sphere of American life with the exact same opportunities that all other Americans had - and this was undoubtedly a great achievement. But, as I mentioned in my last post, Dr. King had a "dream" and that dream went far beyond the changes that were made to American law. I belive his dream is best summised in this statement:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character".

That is interesting in the light of what Rick Warren said during his inauguration prayer for Barack Obama:

"We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven."

I believe that Warren was certainly implying that the election of Barack Obama as President was the realisation (at least in part) of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream. It is quite clear from the context of Rick Warren's statement that his assumption about this is based upon the color of Obama's skin and not on the content of his character. In reality, Warren's comment flies in the face of what Dr. King fought for. Though much has changed in American law, little has really changed at the coalface of American attitude (or human attitude) for that matter.

We just had an election where a wide variety of political aspirants brought brought a wide variety of political agendas before the American people. But polling and research reveals that when voting day came many black people voted for the black candidate because he was black with little or no knowledge of his political agenda or moral fibre. There were women who voted for the female candidate because she was a woman. People with a strong fear of a roundhouse kick to the head voted for Huckabee because Chuck Norris said so (I am definitely among that demographic).

So what are we to make of all this, Christian brother and sister? What am I driving at pointing this sad reality out? For one thing, the role of Gospel preaching in transforming society at the grassroots level. Why are we surprised that we cannot stamp out racism when we cannot stamp out sin? As I have often said the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. The Lord Jesus spoke of what flows out of this unregenerate human heart:

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander (Matthew 15:19).

With this in mind why are we surprised that people carry racist attitudes? I am contending here that the strongest weapon against racism is the strongest weapon against sin and that weapon is the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), a power so radical that it can change a wicked human heart to love God and obey His commandments:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

So utterly transforming that we can experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and become a new creature in Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:17). In short, no amount of legislation or social work can ever measure up to an encounter with the Living God! Something I believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had just prior to his tragic assasination . . .



Time is short - may your labor be in work that will ring through eternity.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (I Corinthians 1:21).

Go Back To Read My Previous Post On Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

Rick Warren's Prayer, Martin Luther King's Dream, and Barack Obama's Character

There has been lots of controversy and criticism coming from both sides concerning "America's pastor" Rick Warren accepting Barack Obama's invitation to pray at his inauguration. Do I think Rick Warren should have accepted the invitation - No! But that is not what I want to discuss here today. A lot of people a lot smarter than I am have made plenty of comment about this and I do not feel the need to go over ground already covered. For good biblical insight I recommend you read Al Mohler's article concerning Warren's invitation here.

Personally, I was stunned that Rick Warren didn't think Obama's inauguration was worthy of his best Hawaiin shirt. You may even notice that Rick Warren's voice strikes an uncanny resemblance to that of Dr. Evil (could they be one in the same . . . I've never seen them in a room together . . . c'mon Rick say "one million dollars" . . . naaahh!!). But what struck me even more was the content of Rick Warren's prayer. Thankfully, he didn't sissy boy out on praying in the name of Jesus (STOP PRESS - actually he did wimp out, see this post). But I want to zero in on another comment during the prayer that I believe reveals a lot about Rick Warren's theology and how it is informed by ideology rather than vice versa. Watch and see if you can spot it . . .



Did you notice Rick Warren's reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr?

"We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven."

Dr. King was a great activist who fought the unbiblical racial segregation in the USA during the 1960's. Probably the cornerstone of Dr. King's platform (and his most famous speech) was that he had "A Dream". What was his dream? The essence of it was summed up during that famous speech when he said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" (emphasis mine).

One would assume judging by Warren's statement "that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven" that he sees the election of Barack Obama as a realisation, at least in part, of Dr. King's dream. The context for Warren's claim (which he is in no position to make anyway - we only know that heaven rejoices over sinners who repent) is based upon Obama's African ancestry. Just stop and think about it for a moment - is it the realisation of Dr. King's dream? Is Warren basing his comment on the color of Obama's skin or the content of his character?

So we've just had an election where many black people voted for Barack Obama because he is black. Many women voted for Hillary Clinton because she is a woman. Many mormons voted for Romney because of his mormonism. Many soldiers voted for McCain because he is a war hero. And scores of people with less than a black belt in karate voted for Huckabee because Chuck Norris said so. Does modern America really evaluate people on the content of their character? Legislatively much has changed, but attitudes seem to be hard to sway through policy.

We can only speculate as to whether Martin Luther King would have endorsed Barack Obama as President. But we can at least examine this in the light of the creeds Dr. King professed. In 1963 writing from a jail in Birmingham Alabama he once wrote:

"A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law."

If Dr. King's evaluation of the content of a man's character was based upon men living by these stated values and furthermore as a champion of those who are oppressed and have no voice (black people were not allowed to vote at that time) then one can only hope that Dr. King would have also been a defender of the unborn. It is interesting to note that the niece of Dr. King (Dr. Alveda King) recently said:

"the killing of a quarter of the black population of the US has not been from the lynch mobs of her childhood days, but from abortionists, “who plant their killing centres in minority neighbourhoods and prey upon women who think they have no hope." “The great irony,” she said, “is that abortion has done what the Klan only dreamed of.”

Watch this video and ask yourself if the election of Barack Obama is the realisation of Dr. King's dream . . .



Go On To Read The Next Post On Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

Stop apologizing - It's not Always Wrong to be a "Single-issue" Advocate

By Joe Belz from World Magazine

It's become an increasingly frequent reminder to us evangelical Christians not to let our cultural identity be framed by "single issues."

It was a reminder implicitly included in the "Evangelical Manifesto," a document whose basic content we at WORLD have applauded but whose political direction I questioned in our last issue. Why are the Manifesto's backers so ready to join the cultural left in suggesting a guilt trip for those evangelicals who have been preoccupied with the evils of abortion and same-sex marriage?

And if some argue that the rising generation of younger evangelicals is a bit embarrassed by what they think is an out-of-balance focus by their elders, and thinks it's time to get equally exercised over issues like racism, economic justice, and the environment—well, if that's the case with our twentysomethings and our teenagers, then maybe we need to go to work and do a better job of explaining to them why we've put the emphasis where we have for the last generation and why we believe that it's time not to lower our voices.

Evangelicals shouldn't be embarrassed to say boldly and clearly: Abortion and same-sex marriage are uniquely heinous sins. They rattle the foundations of a civilized society. They take a culture in a dreadful direction. We haven't been wrong to say so. We aren't fanatics.

And I'm not referring here so much to the young women caught in the anguish of an unexpected pregnancy or folks bewildered by their sexual identity. I'm talking mostly about a society that goes all out to tell such people that what they're doing is just fine. There's forgiveness for individual sinners. There's judgment for societies that lead them astray.

It's true that we evangelicals sometimes haven't been as zealous as we ought in fighting racism, abuse of the environment, and poverty. But on all those fronts and more, we're at least facing the right direction. We're sometimes slow.

But here's the difference: What evangelical do you know who says insensitivity to the poor should be promoted? What evangelical leader is calling for more racism? Who advocates the uncontrolled plundering of the environment?

That is exactly the kind of cheerleading that is going on for abortion and same-sex marriage. Whole movements and organizations devote themselves to telling us how good abortion and same-sex marriage are for society. It now is expected that Barack Obama feature on his speaking schedule, as he did on June 26, a New York fundraising dinner for the Democratic Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council—where the news account reports casually that Obama helped the homosexual lobby raise $1 million in just one evening.

But here's the core of the matter. To be robustly and consistently anti-abortion is at the very same time to cast your vote for environmental sensitivity, against racism, and for economic justice. These are not independent, isolated packages.

It's hard to see how anyone can claim to be a protector of the environment and not put a high priority on the preservation of human babies. To defend a focus on the future of polar bears and whales, while asking evangelicals to get less noisy about infant humans, is an embarrassing contradiction.

Similarly, keep in mind that abortion is one of the most racist of all social causes in history. Minorities don't just happen incidentally to be targeted by the practice of abortion. The history of Planned Parenthood and similar organizations is racist to the core—as is their current practice.

And no economist can look at the loss of 50 million American babies over the last 45 years and not wince at the impact of such a drain on the economic vitality of our society. Today's poor Americans are poorer than they would have been if we'd taken care to preserve enough consumers—and workers—to fill a state one-and-a-half times as big as California. Tomorrow's elderly will worry about Social Security more than they would have with 50 million more contributors to the system.

So stop apologizing for having focused on a single issue. Don't let the "Evangelical Manifesto" or anyone else shame you into an overly narrow self-image. It's the folks promoting causes like abortion and same-sex marriage who are the real "single issue" fanatics, falsely teaching that you can mess with just one or two aspects of life without upsetting the balance God so wondrously installed in His creation order. We need to expose that lie for the tragic falsehood that it is—and to teach the next generation what a very bad bargain they have been asked to accept.

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14153