The Peril of Polarization

Christ died for all, so despite our differences and the artificial divisions that we create in our own humanity, God calls us to see every person through the eyes of grace, just as He sees us.  Romans 10 says:
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

In a sense, we are all different - each person, with a unique DNA, a pre-determined gender, as well as physical and emotional makeup, is unique.  This is our God-given wiring, if you will, and you were "created" as a human being of great worth.   But, in a sense, we are all the same - part of the family of humanity, but also sinners in need of a Savior, because our inner nature has to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, because we were born into a fallen world, born of the flesh.  As we are made alive in the Spirit, we recognize the commonality we have with other believers in Christ who have experienced that same transformation, and we can do mighty things together.

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In Colossians 3, we can see a passage that illustrates how the presence of Christ has the capacity to erase the differences that humans can use to create division:
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Against the backdrop of a new wave of racial tension in America, a new movie called, The Birth of a Nation, debuts in theaters today.  It tells the story of a slave who lived in Virginia named Nat Turner, who led a rebellion of slaves against their white slavemasters.  In the incident, according to a piece by Adelle Banks at Religion News Service, at least 55 whites were killed over the two-day period. After that an estimated 200 blacks, some free and some enslaved, were executed.

Turner was apparently influenced by the Scriptures. The story quotes Karl Lampley, author of the book, A Theological Account of Nat Turner: Christianity, Violence and Theology, who said, “He believed that Jesus is coming back, like right away."  He adds, "So he believed that he needed to fight on Christ’s side for this new age. And so he sort of believed in a new age of freedom for black slaves.”

Turner is credited with writing the spiritual, Steal Away.  His Bible is preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. “It was his deep faith that allowed him to do what he did,” said Rex Ellis, the museum’s associate director for curatorial affairs. Of course, Turner's rebellion did nothing to improve conditions. Lampley says that laws were passsd in Virginia after the rebellion preventing blacks from gathering or having their own preachers.

So, here's a man who apparently used the Scriptures as justification to commit violence, but the movie about the incident is intended to challenge our culture today to consider the Scriptures in an effort to bring racial healing.  That's the contention of the filmmaker, Nate Parker.  In an interview with Alissa Wilkinson of Christianity Today, he responded:

You used the word healing—it's spot on. That is my main motivation with the film. Any psychologist will tell you that healing comes from honest confrontation with our injury or with our past. Whatever that thing is that has hurt us or traumatized us, until we face it head on, we will have issues moving forward in a healthy way.

I challenged my pastor to do something during opening week—and this is something that I would love to inspire across the country: that pastors be held accountable to reaching out to churches that we'd consider either black churches or white churches, and doing congregation swaps, where they send half their congregation to the other church and the other church do the same.

Can imagine the dialogue that would inspire nationally and globally? What if we could use this as a launchpad toward recovering and healing from the injury of the past that we didn't create, but we've inherited? Imagine if every church in America made a goal to be integrated over the opening weekend, and then after church just simply engage as they would when church is dismissed like they would at their own church.

Parker elaborated on the church stepping up to address issues of race:

Will we as Christian people be able to stand up for Christ rather than choosing to be red or blue and politicized? It should be a call to action for all of us.

When you look at the Civil Rights Movement, you look at the Revolutionary War, you look at any of these instances where America was put at a crossroads and then had to either grow or shrink—the church stepped up.The church was always the first responder to tragedy, to sin, to injustice, to racial disparity.

He said, "I would pray that this film will be an opportunity for us people of faith to come together in a way that is real and honest, in a way that is uncomfortable."

Just a couple of notes: the film is rated R.  Also, Parker has faced criticism because of an arrest that took place many years ago, for which he was apparently exonerated.  He has expressed regret for the incident.

Some takeaways as we reflect on the movie and the state of race relations today.  For one thing, polarization prevents healing.   Benjamin Watson of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, who has become an outspoken proponent for healing of racial tension from a Christian perspective, appeared on The Kelly File on the Fox News Channel in the aftermath of recent shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte. From the FoxNews.com website, we can read:

"One of the biggest things that we have to be able to do is handle conflict and handle it correctly," Watson said. "[When] we're able to look at our biases, look at our frustrations, look at our sin in this area, our pride and our selfishness, it allows us to move forward."

He explained that when people divide themselves up into groups and call each other names or engage in violence, it doesn't help anyone.

"What we're seeing here in Charlotte is wrong," Watson stated. "There shouldn't be any looting or anything like that, but what we're seeing is a lot of frustration."

He said that America can only move forward with a nationwide change of heart, and there's only one way to achieve that.

"Obama can't save us. Mrs. Clinton can't save us. Mr. Trump can't save us. The only one who can change the heart of man is the Lord."

This leads to another point as we consider Biblically responding to issues of race in our communities. In a much-publicized Facebook post in the aftermath of the grand jury decision in Ferguson to not prosecute the police officer who shot and killed an African-American man in that city, Watson said on Facebook, among many other things:

I'M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn. BUT I'M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that's capable of looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel. So, finally, I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.

Watson has a book out entitled, Under Our Skin: Getting Free from the Fears and Frustrations That Divide Us.  

I believe another key point is that we have to examine our own hearts and think critically, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, about incorrect ideas we possess about race and those of a different racial makeup than we.

Finally, we must make sure that we are lining up our messages and methods with the Scriptures. There are issues that need to be addressed, and we have to guard against acting or communicating in a counterproductive way.  Our hearts may be in the right place, but we have to be so sensitive to the Holy Spirit to direct us into effective ways to respond.