Pursuing Discernment - Part 2 - The Line Between Good and Evil: Within My Heart, Not Between Our Groups

As a prisoner in the Stalinst Gulag of Soviet Russia, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn knew something about the consequences of Marxist ideology.  In his masterpiece The Gulag Archipelago, he points out the fallacy of the "class conflict" worldview:

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

During the life of any heart this line keeps changing place; sometimes it is squeezed one way by exuberant evil and sometimes it shifts to allow enough space for good to flourish. One and the same human being is, at various ages, under various circumstances, a totally different human being. At times he is close to being a devil, at times to sainthood. But his name doesn't change, and to that name we ascribe the whole lot, good and evil.

Socrates taught us: "Know thyself."

Confronted by the pit into which we are about to toss those who have done us harm, we halt, stricken dumb: it is after all only because of the way things worked out that they were the executioners and we weren't.

From good to evil is one quaver, says the proverb. 

From Part I The Prison Industry, Ch. 4 "The Bluecaps" (p168, The Gulag Archipelago, Collins 1974) 

The "problem" my friends is in me, and in everyone of us.  Our various group identities are infected by the brokenness within each of us.  Real change must start inside each person, and that change is the work of the Gospel of God's Grace, not simply the transfer of political power from one group to another.

This is why the matter of character is so important in a gospel-centered worldview - and so missing in the Marxist perspective where a person's group identity is what matters instead.  If you belong to the "oppressed group" then any "character flaw" is of little concern.  "Being on the right side of history" when seen through "class conflict" eyes means being on the approved side of the conflict as the oppressed overcome the oppressors.  Personal character is of no consequence. 

I’d love to interact with you more on some of these observations, as well as listen to your response.  if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  Grace Abounding!

Pursuing Discernment - Part 1 - "Class Conflict:" Marxism vs. Gospel-Centered

I've stated that I fully support "Black Lives Matter" as a sentence, but have real reservations about the organization that has taken that name.  (CLICK HERE for that post.)  My chief reservation with the organization is it's "Marxist worldview."  So what do I mean by that?  Let me start by digging into the most important distinctive of Marxism.

“Class Conflict” is the engine that drives history in the worldview of Karl Marx.  It was a perspective that was developed from the “Dialectical Method” of G.F. Hegel in the 19th century.

For Marx, the conflict was between economic classes – specifically the wealthy, capitalist Bourgeoisie who own the means of production and the working class of farmers and laborers called the Proletariat.  Remember this distinction: it was the class identification that counted, not the people who made up the classes.  The Bourgeoisie were oppressors as a class, with no consideration of different behaviors or character qualities of any one person in the class.  Likewise, with the oppressed Proletariat.  Group identity mattered more than individual character, choices and personhood.

Marxism as political philosophy was first played out in history with Bolshevik Revolution in Russia beginning in 1917.  That was not a pretty event, whether at the direction of Lenin, Stalin or others.  The Marxist "class conflict" perspective later drove revolutions throughout Eastern Europe, China, Cambodia and other places, all with similar results.

After World War I, there was an evolution of Marxist thought.  The groups thought to be in conflict might not be only economic in nature.  Instead, they could be racial, or ethnic, or sexual.  The principle that remained though was conflict between groups and group identity overruled any personal characteristics.  CLICK HERE for a book review that traces this development. 

So we arrive at “BLM-the organization” where the world is viewed through the Marxist lens of groups and conflict.

The conversation is about “blackness” and “whiteness,” not about “black people” and “white people.”  At first, I was baffled by conversation about “black bodies.”  But the group conflict perspective is hardly concerned with persons in any group.  It’s the group that matters.  “Persons” are just bodies in the group.

I was surprised to read on the BLM organization's website about their commitment to "disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement," until I remembered the history of the 20th century.  Every Marxist revolution has undermined the family because family identity distracts from the class identity.  What mattered for Marx was that a person was part of the "worker class" rather than a "Smith."  All other identities - ethnic (hence the focus on "international"), religious (hence the atheism), cultural, all! - must be erased or moved to a position of insignificance for the sake of the movement and the conflict.

By contrast, a biblical and “Gospel-centered” worldview recognizes persons do belong to and are indeed shaped by the groups of which they are a part.  For example, Ruth was an individual and a woman (a gender identity group) and a Moabite (a non-Israelite, ethnic/cultural identity group).  She made choices though, to place her trust in the LORD of Israel, depart with her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi and move her life to Israel at the death of her husband.  These choices transformed her group identities and she entered into the family line of God’s Messiah!  She had various group identities, but those could be altered by her personal agency and decisions.

Not so with the various Marxist group identities.  There can be a shift in power from one group to the next – when the oppressed Proletariat overcome the oppressor Bourgeoisie in classic terms and divisions for example – but never a shift of group identity.  As a person "born into whiteness,” that identity can never be changed by me or for me.  There can only be a shift in power between my oppressive group and some other oppressed group.

Repentance, Reconciliation and Restitution are terms and practices that belong to biblical, Gospel-centered faith, but have no ground in a Marxist worldview.  These practices are behaviors of individual transformation that have social consequences and expression.  That is why "BLM-the organization" and Gospel-centered faith have contrasting and conflicting strategies and goals as they pursue racial justice.  Biblical justice and Marxist justice are two different, and I believe conflicting, ideals.

I’d love to interact with you more on some of these observations, as well as listen to your response.  if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  Grace Abounding!

Good Examples: What Christian Pursuit of Racial Reconciliation Can Look Like

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

I’ve spent time this week - as I promised in a previous blog post - trying to break out in more detail the difference I see between “Black Lives Matter” as a sentence, which I would strongly support, and the organization, which I’m much less positive about.  CLICK HERE for that blog.  It has not been hard to identify the problems – in my mind they are glaring – but it has been discouraging.

As a result, let me take the direction of Philippians 4:8 and point to an inspiring current example of a believing Christian working faithfully on matters of racial reconciliation and justice in our country:  Bryan Stevenson, and the organization he founded, the Equal Justice Initiative.

Take time to watch the movie about his early work in the film titled ”Just Mercy.”  We saw it on Netflix and were inspired.  We’ll be listening to his book by that name when we drive to be with family in a few weeks.  In the meantime, I’ve been reading articles by him, interviews of him and viewed presentations by him.  He has been helpful and inspiring, solidly grounded in his Christian faith.  I would say that he is a good example of dealing with an issue from a biblical and gospel-centered worldview.

In addition, I would highly recommend the book One Blood by John Perkins.  Dr. Perkins has been an influence on my life since my college years.  This may well be his last book, so it sums up, crystallizes and clarifies what he has learned across a lifetime of fruitful ministry.  His early story and conversion are chronicled in Let Justice Roll Down.  It’s a great read.  Again, this is what an authentically biblical and gospel-centered life looks like in pursuit of racial reconciliation.

All of these books are in or on their way to the Harderwyk Church library, so whether you buy or borrow, read or listen, take time to “think about such things” because both of these men are excellent and praiseworthy.

And if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  

Here are some resources that were helpful to me:

The following linked content is provided for your personal reflection and consideration. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the exact opinions or positions of Celebration or Harderwyk Ministries.

Amazon Book links to:

• CLICK HERE for Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• CLICK HERE for One Blood by John Perkins
• CLICK HERE for Let Justice Roll Down by John Perkins

Movie Review of Just Mercy – with two bonus film reviews! – on TheGospelCoalition.org

• Oscar Ignored These 2019 Films. Christians Shouldn’t. – CLICK HERE

Black Lives Matter: The Sentence or the Organization?

“Pastor Bill, What do you think of “Black Lives Matter?”  I’m getting that question with regularity these days.

I’ve been borrowing a phrase that I find helpful when I reply, “I support the sentence, but the organization: not so much.” (See Resources Below)

I very much want to recognize and engage the racial tensions we face in the United States these days.  There is a history of chattel slavery in our country – what the Bible condemns in the strongest language as “man-stealing” in King James language – that infected our founding.  That infection resurfaced even after the Civil War as Reconstruction was subverted and Jim Crow, red-lining and police brutality grew up like toxic weeds.  Because All Lives Matter as image-bearers of the great Creator-King, I will affirm that when Black Lives are being crushed, we need to stand strong for their value.  So yes, Black Lives Matter.

But the organization of that name seems to be a very different matter to me.  The organization has a history, leaders and stated vision that I believe is counterproductive to valuing all people.  Frankly, the organization Black Lives Matter and its leaders have a different worldview, values, motivation, and vision than, for example, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and it’s leaders – including Dr. Martin Luther King – did during the Civil Rights struggle of the ’50s and ’60s.  I am convinced that Black Lives Matter as an organization is shaped by its professed Marxist view of the world in the same way that the SCLC is - just like the name says: Christian.

And that difference matters a lot.  Marxism and Christianity are different worldviews with contradicting views of God, the nature of humanity, human perfectibility, strategy for change and more.  They cannot be harmonized.  They each lead to different conclusions and get there by different means.In weeks to come, I hope to follow with specific examples of these differences.

It is my guess that everyone marching with the Black Lives Matter organization “support the sentence” and are anxious to pursue equal justice under law for all people.  They recognize racial inequality and want to a part of positive change.  I am not as sure that many people have thought through the Marxist foundations and convictions of the organization.  Such thoughtful reflection is worth doing.

I won’t make the case for that difference here but intend to do that on single issues in the coming weeks.  For example, BLM-the-organization opposes the idea of "white racial superiority," and so does the Gospel.  How and why do the perspectives differ though - and lead to different outcomes - even at points they seem to hold in common.

For now, I simply want to raise my concern and make a point.  Invest some time to come to your own conclusion, because it will effect how you invest yourself in the Bible’s message of reconciliation – racial and otherwise.

This is an important moment in our history as citizens.  There are difficult issues to consider.  I don't think it will do to point out problems with BLM-the-rganization without stepping forward with a better option for pursuing racial reconciliation.  I do not want my critique to be cause for sticking with the status quo. 

Twice before in our nation's history - the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement - believing Christians were at the forefront of facing racial problems and leading with real solutions.  We need to be part of this opportunity and make a guiding contribution once again.  It is my conviction that If the believing church abandons the issue of justice to Marxist strategies, then our country will never have justice, and the church will have compromised the Gospel of God's Grace.  I don't want either of those outcomes.

This matter is so important, that if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  

Here are some resources that were helpful to me:

The following linked content is provided for your personal reflection and consideration. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the exact opinions or positions of Celebration or Harderwyk Ministries.

Social Justice, Critical Race Theory, Marxism, and Biblical Ethics by Kelly Hamren - CLICK HERE - I came to this article through my friend Kevin Brown in New Orleans.  As it turns out, Kelly is a legitimate scholar (earned Ph.D.!), believer, and family friend of our in-laws Robert & Sally Sadler.  Small world indeed.  The article itself was posted by Ed Stetzer's blog "The Exchange" which is "go-to" reading with Christianity Today for me.  It's long but clear and well done. 

Is Black Lives Matter the New Civil Rights Movement? By Mika Edmondson – CLICK HERE - This is the transcript of a 2016 (make note of that date!  2016) presentation made to the Council Meeting of the Gospel Coalition by Dr. Mika Edmondson, at that time the pastor of New City Fellowship OPC, a Presbyterian church in Southeast Grand Rapids. He earned a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Calvin Seminary and wrote The Power of Unearned Suffering, a book about Martin Luther King Jr.’s theology of suffering.

Ugly Stain, Beautiful Hope: My Response to Mika Edmondson by Albert Mohler – CLICK HERE - This will give you a sense of the impact of the previous presentation on those who were gathered that day.

Annotated Guide to Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail by Justin Taylor - CLICK HERE - This includes the full-text of Dr. King's letter, the letter he is responding to and notes for engaging the letter's faith foundations in a helpful way.  This is what thoughtful Christian leadership on race issues looks like

Black Lives Matter: Affirm the Sentence, Not the Movement by Albert Mohler – CLICK HERE - This article gave me the summary reply and distinction between the sentence and the organization.  Contains background on all the other issues beyond race - sexuality, family, economics, policy - that the organization includes in its agenda.

The Intellectual Roots of Today’s Identity Politics by Jorge Hernandez – CLICK HERE - A deep, but helpful book review that filled in the historical steps between Karl Marx and the “cultural Marxism” of identity politics generally, and Black Lives Matter specifically.