Color Me Christian

The apostle Paul provided some perspective on the human family in his address at Mars Hill, as we read in Acts 17:
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

We are all part of one family, of humanity, "made from one blood."  Now, there are expressions of differences - our racial and cultural makeup are certainly important.  But, in the eyes of God, He sees us as the body of Christ, bought by the blood of Jesus, which flows through us all.  And, we are all united under His banner, related in faith in a glorious tapestry through which God wants to express Himself to display His glory.

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Galatians 3 presents a panoramic view of the body of Christ and highlights a starting point in our
pursuit of improved race relations:
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

On this Survey Thursday, I have one statistic - one number, one percentage.

81%.

That simple number has been instrumental in what I see as an attempt to redefine what it means to be an evangelical Christian in America today.

For those that belong to the 81 percent, it represents a position taken in favor of religious liberty and policy positions that are consistent with Scripture, as they see it.

For those that don't belong, it has been an underlying force in causing rancor and division within the body of Christ.

81 is the percentage of white evangelicals who voted for Donald Trump to be President - yes, that Donald Trump - the thrice-married, philandering, casino-owning, racist, misogynist, liar.  And, because of that 81%, there have been attempts to discredit evangelicals and the Church at large.

Certainly Trump has not demonstrated Christian values personally.  But, as it's been explained, in a binary choice of two candidates, Donald Trump represented for many Christians a departure from a political system that had disregarded religious liberty; you know, the freedom to practice our faith.  Trump wasn't embraced by many Christians because of his morality, but because he was seen as someone who could fix things, in much that same way as a homeowner would hire a contractor to fix something at the house - those who are selected to perform services are commonly chosen because of perceived skill, not because of private character.

But I believe there are those that cannot get past the 81% - and it seems to be a subtext for denouncing and denigrating white evangelicals; white Christians.  Imagine, one part of the body of Christ criticizing fellow Christians for a political choice. As I was discussing with someone the other day, while Donald Trump's physical address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, truly, he seems to live in the heads of a number of people of faith.

And, to think that one man can do so much damage.  But, I would submit to the average Christian, that choice was just one of many that were made on November 8, 2016, one of many that were made in the course of a lifetime.  Christianity is not defined by one man, well, we are defined by one man, but not the President.  In deference to Bill Gaither, the church triumphant is NOT the church Trump-hant.

But, the selection, I dare say, support of Trump seems to color how some Christians, including vocal Christian leaders view the body of Christ, including issues of race relations.  For those who would claim that evangelical Christianity is overwhelmingly white in nature, I would submit the findings of the Public Religion Research Institute.  From a Christianity Today article from last September, we read this:

“The American religious landscape has undergone dramatic changes in the last decade, and is more diverse today than at any time since modern sociological measurements began,” reported PRRI on its 2016 American Values Atlas, based on more than 101,000 bilingual surveys between January 2016 and January 2017.

In fact, the number of nonwhite Protestants has grown so large that the group has surpassed white mainline Protestants, and has nearly caught up with white evangelical Protestants.

Here are a couple more nuggets:

Among white Americans, 68 percent are Christians, 47 percent are Protestants, and 27 percent are evangelicals. Among African Americans, 75 percent are Christians, 67 percent are Protestants, and 42 percent are evangelicals.

Let's look at it another way - according to PRRI:

About a quarter of Americans (26%) are self-identified evangelicals. About two-thirds of those evangelicals are white (64%), while 19 percent are black, 10 percent are Hispanic, and the remaining 6 percent are Asian, mixed race, or other ethnicities.

And, this:

Half of evangelicals under 30 years old are now nonwhite (50%), a far higher share than among evangelicals older than 65 (23%). PRRI found that “22 percent of young evangelical Protestants are black, 18 percent are Hispanic, and 9 percent identify as some other race or mixed race.”

PRRI found that white evangelicals in this survey comprised 17 percent of the population, a drop from 23 percent in 2006.  As CT points out, Pew found that "25.4 percent of Americans were evangelical in 2014, down only slightly from 26.3 percent in 2007."

Contrary to the narrative in some circles, evangelical Christianity has become more diverse.  And, isn't that the picture of the body of Christ that we see in Galatians 3 or in Revelation 7:

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

I can't say definitively why that narrative has taken hold that the evangelical church is in crisis because of Trump.  But, the Bible teaches that we are not defined by one man, nor a political party, nor a particular race - when we attempt to define our brothers and sisters by various boundaries, it creates division.  You are creating boundaries that God never intended.

Satan has succeeded in dividing the body of Christ, and I do not believe he is sitting on the sidelines today - his work is not done, and it is admirable and effective that we should be discussing issues that keep us separated.  But, in the midst of attempting to unite, we have to guard against using rhetoric that creates further division.  There has been racial division for many years, but I would submit that it is more productive, rather than to dwell relentlessly on events of 50, 100, or 150 years ago, on actual or perceived injustices, we should be laying the groundwork for the next 50 or more years - we should always be directed to focus on solutions borne out of a mutual respect and understanding.   Surely, we repent from past sins of racism or current vestiges of racism in our hearts, but we move forward, having accepted Christ's forgiveness and forgiving one another for past injustices.

And, as I have said repeatedly, the Church, the body of Christ, His bride, made up of people from a variety of tribes and tongues, a beautifully diverse body, has the opportunity and the responsibility to lead the way in these matters.  We have to be honest arbiters to pursue unity rather than pursuers of an agenda that may not line up with God's intent for His people.