Want to join my voice to the beautiful expressions of sympathy and prayers for the people affected by the mass shooting in Charleston, SC. I wonder, though, if there is more that people who follow Jesus can and ought to do in the face of such a terrible act. Initial thoughts, worth as much as you paid for them:
--I think Christians need to focus very intentionally on becoming a community of peace. We need to resist the message that violence, either in deed or word, is the proper response to perceived wrongs. Early reports say the Charleston shooter thought the Black community was taking over the country and threatening white people. One could dismiss him as delusional and horribly mistaken, but maybe it should be said: Killing random strangers is not an acceptable action, regardless of the legitimacy of one's fears. I should also clarify that the previous sentence goes equally for the POTUS, Congress, and the United States military as it goes for disaffected citizens. In the book of Revelation, the ones faithful to God and to the Lamb overcome the forces of Satan and evil. Here's what God's people don't do: They never take up arms and resort to violent force against evil, even when those powers are slaughtering the saints. In fact, it is through their deaths that the saints are victorious.
--We desperately need to examine our hermeneutics, which is a fancy word for "the way we interpret texts, particularly sacred ones." It's not enough to say that an argument is "biblical"--the Bible says a lot of stuff, we have to pay attention to how those texts are being used and interpreted. The book of 1 John can be used to say "The fundamental character of God is love--and unconditional, universal love is how you show yourself a child of God," but can just as easily be used to say "Everyone who disagrees with us is being used by Satan, should be seen as anathema, and ejected from the community by any means necessary." Both of those are biblical positions, but only one is consistent with the revelation of God in Jesus Christ--*according to my interpretation.* So perhaps the primary question when attempting to determine whether a position is "godly" should not be "Can this be justified by Bible text(s)?" but rather "Who is presenting this position, what is their interpretive method, and who is being helped and/or hurt by this interpretation?"
--Joining the above two points: Christians need to be way more careful with their words, particularly when describing opponents as being "used by" or "deceived" by Satanic powers. That is violent language and immediately justifies any action taken against opponents.
--Everything I've said up to this point is aimed mostly at my own community, Seventh-day Adventists. We are way too eager to assign Satanic motives to anyone we perceive as being our theological opponents, which all too often has been "Everyone, including other Adventists." If it seems like SDAs would never get involved in violent acts against those we're afraid of, just look at how many of David Koresh's followers were ex-Adventists. Paranoia + self-righteousness = really scary potential.
--More on language: We need to think carefully how words are being used, particularly how words are used by the Powers That Be to shape our perceptions of the world and other people. Very few reports on the Charleston shooting described the shooting as a terrorist act or the shooter as a terrorist. I don't think the media would be quite so reserved had the shooter been Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent. Why is this important? It means that all Muslims are untrustworthy, outsiders, foreigners, evil--unless they prove otherwise. It also defines every act of violence committed by Muslims as political acts aimed at destabilizing our entire society. This shooter was white? It was the "incomprehensibly evil act of a disturbed person," not terrorism. According to early reports, this was a political act of violence designed to shock and inspire fear among the Black population--the very definition of terrorism. We'll see how the story unfolds and how the media defines the shooter and his actions.
--Not going to be naming the shooter. He'll be all over the news, I'm sure. Would rather focus on the people who lost their lives, their legacies, their loved ones. Short biographies of the nine victims:
http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/06/the_9_victims_of_the_charleston_south_carolina_church_massacre.html
--Could people of faith start leading some kind of productive conversation about gun violence in this country? Here's the thing: To these eyes, the political reality in America is that you will never be able to outright ban guns. The Constitution is standing in the way of that, and guns are simply too entrenched in American culture. When people talk like "Can we finally ban guns?" they may as well be saying "Can we ban violent movies?" or "Let's just make sexism illegal." It will never, ever happen, and the reasons are unfathomably complex and multifaceted. But pushing back against the notions that guns make us safe, guns assure our freedom, more guns = safer society? That might be productive. Maybe. From this Christian's perspective, the way some Americans talk about guns falls under the biblical definition of "idolatry." Note that I did say "some." I personally know people who are responsible about gun ownership and safety, enjoy shooting as a hobby, and keep guns around for self-defense. That's not idolatry, but crediting guns with ensuring safety, security, and freedom...?
--I waited to write this next part, because most of the above was written before the shooter was arrested and a lot of details have started to fill in. Turns out that yes, this was explicitly an act of terrorism aimed at the Black community. I strongly believe that as followers of Christ, we must face the still-active and very much alive evil of racism in this country and make sure we stand against it, even if that comes at a cost. Here's where I start to get uncomfortable and feel out of my depth, but I'm going to say this anyway: Resisting racism may come at the cost of relationships with friends or family, current or future employment, ease of living...but the call of Christ is a call to sacrifice. "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father or mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even life itself, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). This verse comes in the midst of Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of God and its cost. There is no racism or hierarchy in God's kingdom (Galatians 3:28-29, Luke 22:24-27) and some may have to give up relationships, privilege and advantages in this kingdom.
--Just how should we address and resist racism? I'm not the one to give answers to that. My suggestion is that we listen to the voices of oppressed people. Intentionally seek out women, people of color, LGBTQ people...and just listen. Even when they say things that might offend our Christian sensibilities. Even when they say things that make us uncomfortable or take aim at our privilege. Listen, and let their experiences deepen our resolve to resist the evils that still hurt and oppress people in our society.
Need a place to start? I'll confess that I live in a pretty insulated bubble, and I don't have a lot of Black folks or LGBTQ friends to call up and chat over lunch. Here are some places I go for different perspectives:
These sites report and analyze news from Black perspectives
http://www.colorlines.com
http://www.theroot.com
Katherine Cross is a trans woman of color whose writing I respect and enjoy
http://quinnae.com
I follow Austin Channing on Twitter. She writes from a black Christian perspective, and also hosts a website dedicated to racial justice and reconciliation.
Twitter: @austinchanning
austinchanning.com
Less Than Or Equal is a fantastic podcast promoting equality and voices of the marginalized. Hosted by Aleen Simms, who is an inspiring person with a passion for diversity and equality.
http://www.lessthanorequal.com
(Also can be searched on iTunes or other podcast apps. If you want a more detailed review, click on "Ratings and Reviews" in the iTunes page, then look for the entry from "CommaChameleon." That's me!)
--In addition to racism, it seems that something else fueled this terrorist attack: Toxic, deadly views of masculinity. There exist people and communities, connected and fueled by the Internet, which are promoting disgusting, incredibly bitter and angry ideas about women, femininity and feminism. Christians must reject every manifestation of sexism, gendered violence, gendered insults and harassment. Unfortunately, that's a really high hill to climb. Traditions of male headship and silencing of women run deep in Christianity. The SDA church is in the midst of a major debate over women occupying pastoral positions, and BOY HOWDY has it brought out the extreme arguments about male headship. Two prominent ministers in my own state of California have made the following arguments: 1) height is indicative of authority in the heavenly order, so men being taller than women indicates that God intended for men to have authority and 2) "Seminary" comes from the same root word as "semen" so no girls allowed 'cause it's obviously not called "ovumary" or "menstruary." (That last bit is my own commentary.) I referenced this text above, but I'll quote it in its entirety, here: "As many of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, you are Abraham's seed: heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:27-29) Throughout the book of Galatians, Paul repeatedly emphasizes that if we put our hope in anything--obedience to the law, long-held traditions, birthright as Jews, even the office of apostleship--if that hope is in anything except the grace of God in Jesus that called us children and heirs, then our hope is worthless. During this debate in our church, people have referenced the tradition of an all-male priesthood, the fact that all the apostles were men, statements in the Bible saying that man is the head of woman, etc. etc. etc. But Paul looks at all those things and says "The only thing that matters is the call of Christ, and that call is extended to everyone and anyone." Furthermore, I look at Christian communities that are super-hierarchical and strongest in patriarchal tradition, and they all have horrible records of domestic abuse and really toxic manifestations of masculinity and sexuality. And yes, I am including my own church under that umbrella.
On that note, when it comes to Christian men's movements like Promise Keepers or the writings of John Eldredge, I...am not a fan. I think the aforementioned voices (and I don't intend to conflate the two, they just represent two prominent voices talking about masculinity and Christianity) promote an unrealistic, anachronistic vision of family and manhood that either never existed or has seen its time pass by. My contact with their works also left me with the impression that their theology and exegesis had all sorts of problems. However, I have friends whom I love and respect greatly that think highly of these folks. I'm willing to be wrong about the people and groups I mentioned above, although I will always reject all forms of male headship and hierarchy in the church and the family. Nope nope nope!
--A note on prayer: Of course, prayer is important and necessary...but speaking from personal experience, sometimes it's too easy to say "I'll pray for you/this situation," and feel like, "Hey, I'm praying, I did my part, it's all up to God now." About four years ago, I was working as the youth leader at our church, and I said about prayer: "Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it." When we pray for wisdom, I don't believe God just magically infuses our souls with wisdom--rather, God puts us in positions to acquire and exercise wisdom (sometimes in uncomfortable ways!) When we pray for God to heal the hurts of racism, to make this a more just world, God doesn't send a mystical blanket of peace and forgiveness--I think it's more likely that God calls the Body of Christ on earth to be that blanket of peace and forgiveness. One of my favorite Bible passages, and one that I never heard anyone talk about before I got to university, is James 2:14-17: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked or lacking daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill,' and does not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." We should pray for God's wisdom in dealing with these issues, because they are complex, multifaceted, and buried deep within our society (and, by definition, within all of us). But we should probably also be actively looking for the ways God is working in the world through us--again, with the understanding that God's ways are almost always in opposition to the world's ways, and acting in God's interests will most likely necessitate some kind of sacrifice. God, grant me the courage, the soul-level change, necessary to stand up against evil and sacrifice all for your call to action. Now, with the faith that God hears and answers my prayers--it's rather up to me to put that into action and believe that God is with me as God changes the world.
--I said it before, but I should say it again: These are my thoughts, and I'm not certain that I'm right. About any of them. I am still a part of a community of faith, and one great thing about being in community is that it oftentimes ends up with a consensus wisdom that is greater than extreme statements, prickly personalities and self-centered opinionating. I am always skeptical of self-styled prophets proclaiming that they have some special understanding of truth or God or spirituality or whatever, which I suppose is exactly what I have done here. Maybe I'm wrong and this has been a phenomenal waste of time. But at the same time, I do believe and stand by these ideas. If this has been helpful to anyone, or you have had similar ideas...perhaps we should put our heads and hearts together in an attempt to make a better community.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment