I came across these paragraphs in a weekly blog that I occasionally read for perspective. I’m often accused of ‘never listening to anyone who disagrees with me’ and if that accusation was correct, I wouldn’t ever see comments like this:
“I’m reminded of a time in our country’s history when white Americans, declaring themselves to be ‘God fearing people’, would pack a picnic lunch on a Saturday and head towards the town’s lynching tree to watch Klansmen hang Black people. Some of the families would have a photographer snap a picture of their whole family standing next to the still hanging body.
Then, they’d head home and lay out their clothes for church the next morning. During the Sunday service they’d pledge their allegiance to Jesus, who they betrayed the day before.”
The blog author identifies as a Christian. So, I’m allowed to speak to him as a brother. If you get squeamish when brothers fight, just stop reading. Keep scrolling until you find a cat picture or a video showing how candy is made.
Hey, Bro! – What a horrible thing to say about your church family! We are the body of Christ. Do you think it will win souls to Christ when you trash us in public?
Certainly there were (and still are) self-proclaimed ‘Christians’ who committed murder in God’s name. It is misleading to reference that tiny sub-group of believers as, ‘white Americans, declaring themselves to be God fearing people.’ You’re implying that the majority of ‘white Americans’ were murderous hypocrites. That’s just not true.
If the majority of church people supported lynching, then we would still be lynching people in America. Our country gets its conscience from Christianity. The Bible is the reason slavery was abolished. The true God-fearing people stood opposed to racial oppression, even as their fellow ‘Christians’ called them race traitors (and much worse).
Stop telling the world that the church is mostly made up of bigots and morons. Quit inciting rage over things that aren’t true. It is wickedness to proclaim that the worst of us represent all of us.
(Colossians 1:24) Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.
3 Responses
As Christians, one of the things that we are supposed to do is think of other Christians as better than our self. The guy you quoted clearly has no intention of doing that.
Were lynchings ever commonplace? No. Discrimination against blacks based upon race was commonplace. That sort of discrimination is still commonplace. We call the sort of discrimination we have today “affirmative action.” Affirmative action based upon the bigotry of low expectations.
Affirmative action hurts blacks and other minorities more than it helps them. This sort fo soft bigotry — being “nice” to people we actually regard as our inferiors — looks good to people who cannot see the difference between virtue signaling and actually striving to be virtuous. Soft bigotry allows the bigots to convince themselves that their “inferiors” cannot achieve anything without them. Soft bigotry allows the bigots to convince themselves that they are justified when they spend other people’s money and give away other people’s opportunities and call that charity.
So, why to the soft bigots speak of lynchings? What better way to heap guilt on their opponents and shame them into silence?
“Most of us.” – Here’s one.
As the body of Christ, we are supposed to unite.