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There& #39;s something I& #39;ve been trying to find words to express for some time. I& #39;m still not confident these are the words, but I will use them and ask you, dear reader, to receive them as best as God& #39;s grace will allow you. I& #39;m still grappling for better expression.
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I am grateful for the many white brethren in Christ who have expressed genuine concern and weariness about recent events. I appreciate the expressions and, like many, I draw some encouragement from them. Please don& #39;t stop sharing how you feel.
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A lot of the expressions of empathy are addressed to African Americans as "brothers and sisters in Christ." A welcome that recognition of our kinship in the Lord--especially when a number of other professing Christians weaponize and politicize that kinship to deny justice.
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But, it must be said--and here& #39;s where I struggle to find the correct words--that the site of our struggle is NOT our shared Christian faith. Therefore expressing *Christian* solidarity falls short of the kind of solidarity that& #39;s needed in the moment.
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To put it another way: George Floyd--a Christian, as I understand it--was NOT mistreated and killed because he was a Christian. Breonna Taylor was not killed because she was a Christian. Same for Ahmaud Arberry. The man in Central Park was not threated b/c he was a Christian.
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They were killed or threaten because of the country& #39;s attitude toward Black people. The site of the struggle is anti-black sentiment, discrimination and injustice. Therefore, the solidarity *most* needed is with *Black people as a people--Christian or not.*
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I know some people from various ethnic backgrounds are attempting to express precisely that solidarity with Black people as Black people. I am grateful for that. But I want Christian brethren to realize that emphasizing Christian solidarity misconstrues the struggle.
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More, misconstruing the struggle in this way forces a terrible choice upon Black Christians--do we embrace Christian solidarity to the detriment of Black existence/struggle or do we emphasize Black survival/flourishing to the detriment of Christian solidarity?
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This is a real world dynamic for many Black Christians. It& #39;s not that we don& #39;t understand unity in Christ. It& #39;s that we cannot afford to underline that unity when the threat is against Black people whether or not they& #39;re Christians.
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The extension of empathy only along Christian lines and with the tacit expectation that we define ourselves solely in terms of our Christian identity, is ultimately a self-destructive proposition for the Black Christian. We cannot accept such terms and survive.
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On the other hand, the rejection of Christian solidarity in order to emphasize Black survival and well-being causes consternation for those of us who deeply believe in the gospel& #39;s reconciling power. Both options are a kind of suicide of something vitally important.
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What& #39;s needed is:
1. Solidarity with us *as Black people*.
2. Your emphasizing solidarity with Black people to such an extent that we& #39;re in turn freed to accept and emphasize solidarity in Christ.
Until that happens, we& #39;ll have to choose Black solidarity b4 Xian to live.
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1. Solidarity with us *as Black people*.
2. Your emphasizing solidarity with Black people to such an extent that we& #39;re in turn freed to accept and emphasize solidarity in Christ.
Until that happens, we& #39;ll have to choose Black solidarity b4 Xian to live.
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