Christians & Justice in Society

Photo Credit: Cikd

As I process the results of the presidential election, the following words written by Tim Keller were brought to my mind. Keller points to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dietrich Bonhoeffer as admirable models who sought to bring about a just society in God-honoring ways, even to the point of death.

Keller says this:

"When Martin Luther King, Jr. confronted racism in the white church in the South, he did not call on Southern churches to become more secular. Read his sermons and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and see how he argued. He invoked God's moral law and the Scripture. He called white Christians to be more true to their own beliefs and to realize what the Bible really teaches. He did not say "Truth is relative and everyone is free to determine what is right or wrong for them." If everything is relative, there would have been no incentive for white people in the South to give up their power. Rather, Dr. King invoked the prophet Amos, who said, "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream" (Amos 5:24). The greatest champion of justice in our era knew the antidote to racism was not less Christianity but a deeper and truer Christianity. 

The famous Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer was pastoring two German-speaking churches in London when Hitler came to power. He refused to stay at a safe distance and returned to his country to head an illegal seminary for the Confessing Church, the Christian congregations that refused to sign an oath of allegiance to the Nazis. 

Bonhoeffer wrote the classic The Cost of Discipleship, in which he critiqued the religion and church of his day. In echoes of Jesus and the prophets, Bonhoeffer revealed the spiritual deadness and self-satisfied complacency that made it possible for so many to cooperate with Hitler and turn a blind eye to those being systematically marginalized and destroyed by the Nazis. Bonhoeffer was eventually arrested and hanged. 

In his last letters from prison, Bonhoeffer reveals how his Christian faith gave him the resources to give up everything for the sake of others. Marx argued that if you believe in a life after this one you won't be concerned about making this world a better place. You can also argue the opposite. If this world is all there is, and if the goods of this world are the only love, comfort, and wealth I will ever have, why should I sacrifice them for others? Bonhoeffer, however, had a joy and hope in God that made it possible for him to do what he did."

Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Role of the Church in Pursuing Justice

Photo Credit: caboindex

Taken from "Letter from a Birmingham Jail":

"In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists. 

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' 

But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. 

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are. 

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust. 

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. 

But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. 

But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation -and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands."

To read the complete letter, please click here.

Selma: A Movie Worth Seeing

Photo Credit: Sahil Khan

My wife and I saw Ava DuVernay's Selma last night. Focused on the voting rights efforts that took place in a small Alabama town in 1965, Selma provides a powerful glimpse into the leadership of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement that transformed our country.

One of the things that I appreciated most about the movie was that Dr. King was not presented as a perfect, Messiah-type of figure. DuVernay shows us King as the noble leader that he was but doesn't ignore some of the more unsavory aspects of his personal life of which many modern day Americans are unaware.

Similar to towering figures of the Bible such as King David or Simon Peter, Dr. King was an imperfect person that made himself available for God to do great things through him. Though obviously gifted as an orator and leader, Dr. King was just a man. But he was a man that was willing to sacrifice his personal comfort -- and eventually his life -- so that freedom and dignity could come to all women and men.

In focusing on King's humanity, Selma demonstrates the difference that fallen people can make in our world when submitted to God's service.

One of the scenes that I found most moving took place fairly early on in the film. King (played brilliantly by the talented David Oyelowo) finds himself alone late at night in the family kitchen. It is obvious that he is feeling the weight of his call while dealing with the stresses of family life in the midst of preparing to leave for yet another march. He slowly walks to the phone and places a call to the noted gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson. He asks her to sing for him over the phone. Though she had been in a deep sleep just seconds before, she breaks into a powerful chorus of "Precious Lord Take My Hand":

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

Just like us, Dr. King needed God's strength to do what God had called him to do. As we prepare to celebrate the MLK federal holiday this weekend, Selma provides a fitting reminder of how far our country has come...and how far we still have to go.

Jason Cook has provided a fuller review of the movie on The Gospel Coalition website. Here's a highlight:

"Selma does not cower away from the physical and emotional brutality of the struggle for African American voting rights in Selma, Alabama, during a three-month period in 1965. By concentrating on this historical vignette, Selma shines. 

Rather than approaching this biopic as a quest to compile the highlights of a venerated figure’s life, Selma director Ava DuVernay focuses on a tiny window of history that changed history. SCLC uniforms (black suits, white shirts, and thin black ties) and scarred stoic faces juxtaposed against the pressed and unkempt uniforms of police officers and state troopers as they clash throughout the film in raw and ugly dispute. 

Further, Selma does not cower from exposing the moral failings of Dr. Martin Luther King. While the impact of Dr. King’s leadership of the Civil Rights movement is magnanimous and will rightly reverberate into history, he suffered from the common condition of profound creaturliness. This fellowship with mere mortals is a surprising strength of the film. Dr. King appears, well, human. 

Throughout Selma he’s tired from long nights, distracted by threats to his family, fearful for the lives of the faithful, and doubtful concerning the ultimate end of the movement—a side of “Doc” we seldom see in grainy microfiche. The film tastefully addresses his smoking habit, his insatiable appetite for food, and his covert sexual promiscuity. Raw and honest, DuVernay portrays a terrestrial Dr. King who is pedestrian at worst and valiant at best—all the while honoring him as a towering historical figure worthy of remembrance."

To read the full review, please click here.

I highly encourage you to see this film. To find tickets for your local theater, please visit here. The dream lives on.

Remembering The March On Washington 50 Years Later

It was fifty years ago today that one of the most pivotal events in the history of the United States took place. "The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" occurred on August 28, 1963 and gathered approximately 250,000 people together who believed in the inherent equality and dignity of all human beings. The reverberations from this event are still being felt today.

Although a number of speakers and musicians were present at the March on Washington, history has shown that the most memorable aspect was the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered by a 34-year-old Baptist preacher by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King's speech paints a picture of what it might look like for Americans to live together no longer divided by racial hatred but to gather at the table of brotherhood. It is generally regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history and it still sends chills down my spine whenever I hear it.

I've posted the entire "I Have a Dream" speech below for your viewing. Enjoy.

The Beatitudes, Gandhi & MLK

Photo Credit: Dean Ayres

Pointing to the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., author Philip Yancey offers a challenging perspective on what living out the instructions of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) might look like:

"The movie Gandhi contains a fine scene in which Gandhi tries to explain his philosophy to the Presbyterian missionary Charlie Andrews. Walking together in a South African city, the two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs. The Reverend Andrews takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decides to run for it. Gandhi stops him. "Doesn't the New Testament say if an enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?" Andrews mumbles that he thought the phrase was used metaphorically. "I'm not so sure," Gandhi replies. "I suspect he meant you must show courage—be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work." 

Years later an American minister, Martin Luther King Jr., studied Gandhi's tactics and decided to put them into practice in the United States. Many blacks abandoned King over the issue of nonviolence and drifted toward "black power" rhetoric. After you've been hit on the head with a policeman's nightstick for the dozenth time and received yet another jolt from a jailer's cattle prod, you begin to question the effectiveness of nonviolence. But King himself never wavered. 

As riots broke out in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Harlem, King traveled from city to city trying to cool tempers, forcefully reminding demonstrators that moral change is not accomplished through immoral means. He had learned that principle from the Sermon on the Mount and from Gandhi, and almost all his speeches reiterated the message. "Christianity," he said, "has always insisted that the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear. To be a Christian one must take up his cross, with all its difficulties and agonizing and tension-packed content, and carry it until that very cross leaves its mark upon us and redeems us to that more excellent way which comes only through suffering." 

Martin Luther King Jr. had some weaknesses, but one thing he got right. Against all odds, against all instincts of self-preservation, he stayed true to the principle of peacemaking. He did not strike back. Where others called for revenge, he called for love. The civil rights marchers put their bodies on the line before sheriffs with nightsticks and fire hoses and snarling German shepherds. That, in fact, was what brought them the victory they had been seeking so long. Historians point to one event as the single moment in which the movement attained a critical mass of public support for its cause. It occurred on a bridge outside Selma, Alabama, when Sheriff Jim Clark turned his policemen loose on unarmed black demonstrators. The American public, horrified by the scene of violent injustice, at last gave assent to passage of a civil rights bill. 

I grew up in Atlanta, across town from Martin Luther King Jr., and I confess with some shame that while he was leading marches in places like Selma and Montgomery and Memphis, I was on the side of the white sheriffs with the nightsticks and German shepherds. I was quick to pounce on his moral flaws and slow to recognize my own blind sin. But because he stayed faithful, by offering his body as a tar-get but never as a weapon, he broke through my moral calluses. 

The real goal, King used to say, was not to defeat the white man, but "to awaken a sense of shame within the oppressor and challenge his false sense of superiority. . . . The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community." And that is what Martin Luther King Jr. finally set into motion, even in racists like me."

(Excerpt taken from Yancey's 1995 book, The Jesus I Never Knew.)

Who Are The 20 Most Influential Americans Ever?

Photo Credit: History Rewound

TIME Magazine has come up with what it feels are the twenty most influential Americans of all-time.

Here is its list:

1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Sacagawea, Meriwether Lewis & William Clark
6. Abraham Lincoln
7. Sitting Bull
8. Alexander Graham Bell
9. Thomas Edison
10. Henry Ford
11. Orville & Wilbur Wright
13. Margaret Sanger
14. Albert Einstein
15. Franklin D. Roosevelt
16. Louis Armstrong
17. James Watson
18. Martin Luther King, Jr.
19. Muhammad Ali
20. Steve Jobs

Overall, I think this is a good list (although there are a few entries I might disagree with). From my perspective, some other people that immediately come to mind that could have been included are Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony, Jackie Robinson, Billy Graham and John F. Kennedy.

What are your thoughts? Who might you have included?

Celebrating the King Holiday

Tomorrow we celebrate the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday. For some Americans this holiday holds great significance. For others it doesn't seem to be of relevance. Though it may be hard to believe, the King holiday was actually first signed into law by President Reagan in 1983 and was first celebrated on a national scale over 20 years ago -- in 1986.

When this holiday was first proposed, there was much resistance to it. Some felt that Dr. King should not be recognized when other "more deserving" individuals did not have their own holiday. Only two others had been recognized with their own holiday, George Washington, and another individual that was not even an American, Christopher Columbus. Others were concerned that we already had enough holidays and didn't need another. And, sadly, some were against it simply because they did not believe that any African American should be worthy of such an honor. But even if you're a racist, being against the holiday doesn't make sense. Look at what comedian Chris Rock has to say about it:

"Now if you don't like black people, that's one thing, but what I can't understand is why people ...wouldn't want a day off work. It's not like you have to do something black on that day. You don't have to ready Ebony magazine, you don't have to watch Soul Train, all you have to do is NOT WORK."

The reason why I support the holiday is because it does not just honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Although I believe his accomplishments are worthy of recognition. I challenge you to think of another American that was a non-elected official (i.e. a private citizen) that had a greater impact on the 20th century and beyond. I'm supportive of the holiday because it acknowledges all those in our country's history that have been oppressed, mistreated, and disenfranchised. It remembers King's values of courage, sacrifice, humility, love, compassion and service.

Dr. King was imperfect and was a flawed man (just like me). He had his shortcomings, but he did lead a significant movement of change in a pivotal time in American history. The King holiday should just not be celebrated by African Americans or those that feel they are outside the mainstream. This holiday should be celebrated by all Americans so that we can somberly remember our past and hopefully look towards the future.

I hope you're able to do something this weekend in honor of the King holiday. Go to a parade. Watch a civil rights documentary on PBS. Serve at a homeless shelter. Buy dinner for a single mom. Spend some time with a child. Share the gospel with someone that looks different than you. Do something that might help in displaying God's love to those that need it most.

Glenn Beck, Al Sharpton & A Divided America

Photo Caption: Kevin Burkett

This past weekend marked the 47th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" but the nation's attention was drawn to two very different rallies with two very different objectives.  The "Restoring Honor" rally, led by conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck, took place on the National Mall while the "Reclaim the Dream" rally, held at a high school and moved to the future site of the MLK memorial, was initiated by Rev. Al Sharpton.

Without going into the details of what was covered at each of the rallies, I do think that their existence should give us pause as we consider the implications for our nation.  While Beck's rally was primarily attended by white people, Sharpton's gathering was mostly made up of blacks.  Both rallies had a high proportion of individuals that would identify themselves as Christians in attendance.

How is it that people who claim to know and serve the same God can view the world so differently?  If we do, in fact, read from the same Bible, how can we have such radically different perspectives on the role of government in our lives, how to treat the rich and poor and the place of God in the public square?

There is no doubt that there is a growing division among Christians that is reflected in our political preferences.  If we were to place the average politically conservative, white Christian in a room with the average politically liberal, black Christian, there would likely be few things that they would agree on if the conversation turned towards politics.

As one that lives in both these worlds, I am honestly concerned for the witness of the Christian church in America.  But I am not necessarily concerned that we do not see eye-to-eye politically.  Jesus never said we had to agree on health care reform or on government spending.  What I am concerned about is the animosity that exists among members of God's family and the venom that can be displayed toward one another over matters that, at times, aren't even mentioned in the Scriptures.

In a famous 1858 speech, soon-to-be president Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying that "a house divided against itself cannot stand."  Even though President Lincoln was referencing the divide that had been caused by slavery, it can certainly be applied to our modern times.  But more than that, it wasn't Lincoln who came up with this phrase.  It was Jesus himself who said these words in Matthew 12:25 in response to the religious leaders of his day who insisted that his works were from Satan.

In addition, shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed to God the Father for those of us that would believe in and follow Him.  This was his prayer:

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

In accordance with Jesus's desire for his followers to be unified, I'd like to offer some practical suggestions on how we can grow towards unity:

1.  Spend time together. Martin Luther King said,

"Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated."

Instead of listening to the media tell you how to feel about those that don't think like you, intentionally spend some time with those that hold different political beliefs or have a different cultural background.  Visit a different church and invite somebody new over for dinner. Spending time with someone's family over a meal (and they with yours) will go a long way.

2.  Seek to understand where they're coming from. So much of our political discussions these days are one-way shouting matches.  After learning that someone views politics differently than you, simply ask them, "That's an interesting perspective.  Why do you feel that way?  How did you come to hold that view?"  If you're a member of the Tea Party, it should concern you that some African Americans view that party as racist.  If you're a supporter of President Obama, it's important to understand that most disagreement with his policies is not because of his race.  In hearing another person's perspective, don't try to argue their points or try to prove where they're wrong.  You'll be amazed at how they might ask your opinion if you listen to them first.

3.  Look to find common ground.  Refuse to apply labels to one another.  It is all-too-easy to assume we know everything about someone because of their ethnicity or political affiliation.  Don't put people in a box just because you disagree with them over a single issue.  There are few things that are disappointing as being judged as something that you're not.  Look for that which you can agree on and build trust with one another.  Try to find good points that person makes and agree with them where you can.

4.  After building trust, respectfully disagree.  Even if you're able to form a friendship with someone, the issues that you disagree about aren't likely to go away.  To be friends with someone doesn't mean that you have to compromise your core convictions.  But if you've gotten to know them, you've listened well and you've sought to find common ground, the likelihood of having a healthy, productive conversation in which you disagree with one another without being disagreeable increases exponentially.  Political disagreements these days can so quickly devolve into arguments about petty, non-essential things.  Don't be like that.  

For those of us that are followers of Christ, we simply cannot allow our culture or our political affiliations to supersede our commitment to Jesus and his people.  We can be passionate about our views but we don't have to express them in a way that brings shame to Christ and distorts his purposes.  God's agenda is much bigger than any party platform and his plan is broader than what happens in our little country.  Yes, we can be bold in our convictions yet Christ-like in our humility.  And maybe, just maybe, if we begin to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ with more civility then maybe others might be attracted to the God we proclaim.

Christianity and Justice in Society

I am taking a seminary class this summer on the subject of Apologetics, which is essentially the defense of the Christian faith through rational thought. I've been reading a number of books and articles in conjunction with the class and one of the authors I've enjoyed the most is Rev. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York.

I appreciate Keller's thoughtful and sincere thinking as it pertains to doubts about the Christian faith and highly recommend his book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. I've already quoted him on this blog a couple of times recently but I just finished the chapter entitled, "The Church is Responsible For So Much Injustice," and appreciated Keller's response to this legitimate question.

Keller argues that the greatest critique of so-called Christians that have done evil in the name of Christ has not come from those outside the Church but has come directly from Christianity itself. In formulating his response to this question, Keller offers several examples of Christians who actively led in the crusade against the injustices of their day and even gave their lives as a result.

Notable are the models of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

"When Martin Luther King, Jr. confronted racism in the white church in the South, he did not call on Southern churches to become more secular. Read his sermons and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and see how he argued. He invoked God's moral law and the Scripture. He called white Christians to be more true to their own beliefs and to realize what the Bible really teaches. He did not say "Truth is relative and everyone is free to determine what is right or wrong for them." If everything is relative, there would have been no incentive for white people in the South to give up their power. Rather, Dr. King invoked the prophet Amos, who said, "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream" (Amos 5:24). The greatest champion of justice in our era knew the antidote to racism was not less Christianity but a deeper and truer Christianity."

"The famous Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer was pastoring two German-speaking churches in London when Hitler came to power. He refused to stay at a safe distance and returned to his country to head an illegal seminary for the Confessing Church, the Christian congregations that refused to sign an oath of allegiance to the Nazis. Bonhoeffer wrote the classic The Cost of Discipleship, in which he critiqued the religion and church of his day. In echoes of Jesus and the prophets, Bonhoeffer revealed the spiritual deadness and self-satisfied complacency that made it possible for so many to cooperate with Hitler and turn a blind eye to those being systematically marginalized and destroyed by the Nazis. Bonhoeffer was eventually arrested and hanged.

In his last letters from prison, Bonhoeffer reveals how his Christian faith gave him the resources to give up everything for the sake of others. Marx argued that if you believe in a life after this one you won't be concerned about making this world a better place. You can also argue the opposite. If this world is all there is, and if the goods of this world are the only love, comfort, and wealth I will ever have, why should I sacrifice them for others? Bonhoeffer, however, had a joy and hope in God that made it possible for him to do what he did."

In order for injustice to be addressed, we don't need Christianity to be abolished. What we need are more followers of Jesus that are fully devoted to living as He lived with love, truth, compassion, courage and grace. The Christian faith is not tied to a particular political party or the exclusive property of a specific ethnicity or culture. It is not a hateful, arrogant faith. Jesus himself said that others could tell who His true followers were by the fruit that was produced in their life. And the fruit that he said should be most evident? Love.

Giving "The Dream" New Life

Tomorrow millions of Americans will recognize the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King by celebrating the national holiday established in his honor. The holiday remembers the vision of Dr. King and the millions of people he represented in working for equality within America. As much as a visionary as he was, I doubt even Dr. King would have thought that just forty-some years after giving his "I Have a Dream" speech would the United States see its first president of African descent.

In honor of this historic week, I'm reprinting an article that my good friend, Dr. Charles Gilmer, wrote a number of years ago. For those that have previously read "Let's Give the Dream New Life," it has been recently updated to reflect current events . Enjoy.

"The lingering vestiges of America's racist past present a serious challenge to the hope that many hold for a nation that lives out its most cherished values - liberty and justice for all. Persistent recurrences of racial incidents such as Jena, La., remind us that hatred and animosity still fester. Suspicion lurks under the surface of many interactions. Even the government's response to Hurricane Katrina is often criticized as manifesting discernable racial discrepancies. Movies like Crash, and the news coverage of the Duke University lacrosse team sex-party debacle, and even the prospect of a Black presidential nominee in the 2008 elections remind us of the tenuous and fragile nature of racial harmony in the United States of America. 

We seem to live under an uneasy truce. It has been four and a half decades since the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered. Yet none of us can say we have fully lived up to Dr. King's vision of a land where each person would be judged by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin. Tensions continue, and weekly we hear of yet another incident somewhere in our country where race is presented as a precipitating factor. Things are different today than they were 45 years ago. Yet the questions remains, why has it been so difficult for us to embrace and consistently live out Dr. King's dream? 

In the wake of the civil rights movement in which Dr. King was so dramatically used, there came a flood of social programs that sought to address the causes and consequences of racism. Cultural education, cross cultural dialogue, and the current multi-culturalism all hearken back to the civil rights movement for their mandates. “Tolerance brings with it an implicit moral relativism. Who is to say what is right and what is wrong?” In the pursuit of the rights of various groups, under the civil rights umbrella, one thing has become clear. That which was called right by one group is often called wrong by another. Rather than resolving the differences, tolerance is championed as the appropriate response to the varying perspectives that have emerged. 

Yet tolerance has no cohesive nor healing power in society. It means little more than leaving one another alone. It leads to indifference, not understanding. Tolerance allows the gulfs between us to remain in place. In fact, there is little in the concept of tolerance to pull us away from racial isolation. Tolerance brings with it an implicit moral relativism. Who is to say what is right and what is wrong? Moral relativism suggests that there are no absolutes to which we can all be held accountable. Such a thing was far from the thinking of Martin Luther King. In one of his works Dr. King makes the following statements:

"At the center of the Christian faith is the affirmation that there is a God in the universe who is the ground and essence of all reality. A Being of infinite love and boundless power, God is the creator, sustainer, and conserver of values....In contrast to the ethical relativism of[totalitarianism], Christianity sets forth a system of absolute moral values and affirms that God has placed within the very structure of this universe certain moral principles that are fixed and immutable."

Dr. King did not speak in terms of tolerance. His ideal was love.

"Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." (Strength to Love, p. 51)

Yet, in current discussions of race relations the word love is seldom mentioned. Dr. King insisted love was the dominant or critical value by which we could overcome racial strife. The love he spoke of was a biblical love, one that is unconditional, unselfish and seeks the absolute good of another party. That kind of love is a tough love, one that confronts wrong and injustice with the truth -- absolute truth as decreed by an all powerful God and enables the individual to love their enemy. 

As we consider giving new life to "The Dream," we have to acknowledge that, in Dr. King's speaking and writing, "The Dream" does begin with God. For without God, there is no absolute transcendent truth on which to base a call to justice. Nor is there any source from which to draw the strength to love about which he spoke. A certain degree of skepticism about this perspective is understandable. Too often, those who claim to be Christians have failed to live in keeping with the clear teachings of the Christian Scriptures. These failures have frequently been in matters of race. It is clear from the Bible (and Dr. King affirmed) that the church ought to provide spiritual and moral leadership in society. 

However, as we observe the history of the American church, many parts of it have been passive, or even regressive, in matters of race. Even in the current era, the church speaks to the issues of the day with a fragmented voice. A case in point is the tendency for African-American clergy to align with Democratic candidates, while many white pastors align with Republicans. Yet, Dr. King implored people not to dismiss Christianity on the basis of these observations. 

Dr. King lived in an era when the leadership of the church in addressing racism was even less credible than it is today. Dr. King clearly understood that to often there was a difference between what Christianity taught in the Bible and the varieties of Christianity observed around him. His life was devoted to challenging this nation to live out a more consistent obedience to the moral absolutes of the Bible. His repeated plea was for men and women to enter into the kind of personal relationship with God that transcended that which could be seen and that which was being experienced. 

Hear Dr. King as he speaks to the man or woman who contends that God is unnecessary or irrelevant to our modern lives:

"At times we may feel that we do not need God, but on the day when the storms of disappointment rage, the winds of disaster blow, and the tidal waves of grief beat against our lives, if we do not have a deep and patient faith, our emotional lives will be ripped to shreds. There is so much frustration in the world because we have relied on gods rather than God. We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate. We have worshiped the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensations are short-lived. 

We have bowed before the god of money only to learn that there are such things as love and friendship that money cannot buy and that in a world of possible depressions, stock market crashes, and bad business investments, money is a rather uncertain deity. These transitory gods are not able to save us or bring happiness to the human heart. Only God is able. It is faith in him that we must rediscover. With this faith we can transform bleak and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of joy and bring new light into the dark caverns of pessimism." (Strength to Love, p. 51)

Are you discouraged about the prospect of us never overcoming the racial divisiveness that permeates this nation? Or are you frustrated by your inability to genuinely love others who are different from you? Martin Luther King recommended faith in Jesus of Nazareth as antidotes for both maladies.

"Evil can be cast out, not by man alone nor by a dictatorial God who invades our lives, but when we open the door and invite God through Christ to enter. 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' God is too courteous to break open the door, but when we open it in faith believing, a divine and human confrontation will transform our sin-ruined lives into radiant personalities." (Strength to Love, p. 126)

A relationship with God gives us the power to overcome whatever sin we may be struggling with, including the sin of racism. Racism stands not only as a barrier between people, but as an offense between us and God. The reason Dr. King could recommend Christ as a solution to the problem of racism is Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for all of our sins. He then rose from the dead and now offers us the forgiveness of God and the power to live new lives. Dr. King put it this way:

"Man is a sinner in need of God's forgiving grace. This is not deadening pessimism; it is Christian realism." (Strength to Love, p. 51)

Our need for Jesus is truly the great equalizer of the races. We all are sinners in need of a Savior. We all stand before God, not on the basis of one race's superiority over another, morally, culturally, financially, politically, or in any other way.

“Evil can be cast out, not by man alone nor by a dictatorial God who invades our lives, but when we open the door and invite God through Christ to enter.” —MLK

All the races of the world, all the cultures of the world, need the same Savior. His name is Jesus. What Martin Luther King described as our need for a "divine and human confrontation" is offered at God's initiative. It requires that we place our faith in what Jesus did as our own personal payment for sin, and inviting Him to enter our lives "when we open the door and invite God through Christ to enter." Dr. King's words still ring true today. We can give new life to "The Dream," following the path of Dr. King. Our path may not lead to martyrdom by an assassin's bullet as it did for Martin Luther King, but it does lead to dying to our selfish ways and self-sufficiency. Such a faith is not a weak-kneed, escapist religious exercise, but a courageous pursuit of that which is ultimately good, right and true.

"In his magnanimous love, God freely offers to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Our humble and openhearted acceptance is faith. So by faith we are saved. Man filled with God and God operating through man bring unbelievable changes in our individual and social lives." (Strength to Love, p. 51)

"The Dream" starts with God as revealed through His Son, Jesus Christ. Through a relationship with Him, we can be agents of healing in a world that is sick with racial and ethnic conflict. Won't you seriously consider placing your faith in Christ, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did? God offers us this relationship with Him, and we simply respond: Jesus Christ, I invite you to come into my life, to forgive me of my sin, to give me a new relationship with you. Bring into my heart your love and your power to love others. Thank you for transforming my life right now. If you have surrendered to Jesus Christ, pray for a life-changing faith and a growing dependence on Him. Only He can bring into our hearts His supernatural love and the power to love others. As God transforms our lives, we have the potential to embody that which Martin Luther King dreamed."

The King and I

The following was written by Willie Clark for the Orlando Sentinel...

On this MLK holiday, end King-baiting

King baiting is rampant these days. King-baiting?

I'm talking about the tried and true practice of invoking the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s name whenever someone wants to curry favor, assuage anger, rebut arguments or influence decisions by African-Americans. Regardless of political persuasion, King-baiting has become standard operating procedure in the past few years.Today, on the national holiday on which we honor the civil-rights icon, let's talk honestly about King-baiting.

For instance, when the media reported "allegedly racist" comments about blacks and welfare in his newsletter, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee responded, "Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks were my heroes." End of discussion. Hillary Clinton riled some African-Americans when she said. "Dr. King's dream of racial equality was only realized when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964." That seemed innocent enough, but many thought she suggested Johnson deserved more credit than King for the passage of civil-rights legislation. Clinton's example of King-bating backfired, too.

Memo to the world: African-Americans revere, celebrate and appreciate everything Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did for the advancement of our race. We honor the supreme sacrifice he made. However, we don't genuflect and comply at the mere mention of his name. King would not have wanted it that way. He fought and died so that all Americans, especially black people, would have the right to speak their mind and make their own decisions. That's something that whites and blacks alike too often forget.

King-baiters usually employ one of three quotes. We've heard them time and time again: "I have a dream," "the content of our character not the color of our skin," and "little black boys and little black girls join hands with little white boys and little white girls."

The endless repetition and focus on these three snippets of words have reduced one of the 20th century's great thinkers to a few lines from one speech. On this holiday honoring him, it would be beneficial to revisit some of the things he said beyond those in his landmark "I Have a Dream" speech:
"Peace is not just the absence of conflict but also the presence of justice." Many laud King's call for peace and nonviolence but, when it comes to the issue of justice, they fall short. In 2007, the Justice Policy Institute released a report detailing disparities in drug sentences for whites and blacks in Central Florida, despite the fact that both races use, sell and transport illegal drugs at roughly the same rate. Last year, the Jena Six, Genarlow Wilson and Shaquanda Cotton cases highlighted the inequities of our justice system in other regions of the country. Despite all of this, year after year, these discrepancies go unaddressed. Justice for all is the cornerstone of our democracy. Neither the United States nor Central Florida will be what it was intended to be until there is fairness in our courts.
"There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel they have no stake in it; who feel they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it." The carnage in our low-income communities is well-documented. The collateral damage is a loss of a sense of safety for the entire community, which takes its toll both emotionally and financially while diminishing our quality of life. There is an extreme sense of disconnect among residents in disadvantaged communities, particularly among the youth. Real or imagined, they believe our system is working against them. Our society needs new and innovative efforts to bring them into the fold both educationally and economically. We can and we must do more.
"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality...I believe unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." The large number of whites supporting Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton's enormous support among black women and the small but significant increase in the ranks of black Republicans are testaments to America's changing attitudes about race. In coming decades, the unenlightened minds that seek to keep us divided will become extinct. As King said, "We as a people will get to the promised land."

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The Myth of Being Colorblind

I've often heard it said from well-meaning individuals that they are "colorblind." The reality is that we live in an extremely race-conscious society in the United States. I honestly don't think it's possible for an individual to escape the legacy of race that has been passed down throughout our country's history and not be affected by it in some way. Many people may claim to be colorblind, but once their daughter brings home an African American date or they get lost in another part of town that is made up of those different than them, the "colorblindness" quickly fades to the back as their personal prejudices bubble to the surface.

In my experiences, I've found that there are two sorts of colorblindness that people refer to -- one of these is good, the other...not so much. First, there's the notion of being able to see beyond someone's race or ethnicity in order to treat them with fairness, justice and equality. This is a good thing. This is what Martin Luther King, Jr. Referred to in his "I Have a Dream" speech when he envisioned the day that his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." To treat individuals as individuals and not mistreat them based on stereotypes or racist notions is something that we should all strive for.

Secondly, there's the mindset of colorblindness where people claim to not notice someone's skin color. These are typically the same people who proudly proclaim that "there's only one race -- the human race -- and that's all I see." Because racism is seen as such a horrible sin in our culture, many white people do everything they can to distance themselves from any accusations of racism. Thus, the comments of "one of my best friends is black" or "I don't have a racist bone in my body" become the punchline lines for jokes in our ethnic communities because they hear these lines so often. It amazes me that evangelicals that firmly believe in the sinfulness of man, and can readily admit their own struggles with pride, lust, greed or jealously, cannot acknowledge even the remotest possibility that they may have personal prejudices towards ethnic minority groups.

The reality is that America has a wicked and atrocious history when it comes to race. Racism is an unfortunate part of our country's history...and it continues into today. Though we've made many strides, racism is certainly not a thing of the past. To assume that we have grown up in a country that has a history like ours and feel that we remain untouched by it personally is both delusional and naive.

Because of our history, white people can struggle with a superiority complex and those of ethnic minority groups can suffer from self-hatred. When a white person claims to be colorblind, that can be interpreted as wanting others to lose their distinctiveness and just become like them. This is why I don't like America being referred to as a melting pot. I much rather prefer to view America as a stew. You see, a stew is a dish with distinct ingredients that each have their own flavor. But when you put all these ingredients together, it tastes better. But a carrot is still a carrot; a piece of beef doesn't become an onion. Each ingredient retains its own qualities.

So, instead of us attempting to be "colorblind", we need to learn to do two things. First, we need to recognize, celebrate and esteem the diversity in our cultures. By not ignoring our differences, but by embracing them, we can appreciate one another's backgrounds and values. God made our people groups uniquely different and the ability to appreciate those different than us is a wonderful thing.

Second, while celebrating our cultures, we need to acknowledge that people are individuals and not assume that just because some is of a certain ethnicity that we can predict behavior or "pigeonhole" them based on stereotypes. Not all black people like hip-hop; not all Asians are proficient in karate; and Lord knows, I don't like country music. We can appreciate and value the differences between our cultures, yet still allow individuals be who God made them uniquely to be.

This combination of celebrating diversity and allowing people to be themselves can move us forward in helping to share the love of God with millions of people that need to meet the One who made them.