Recently I was talking with my son and he told me about some experiences he had on a Christian chat forum that he visits from time to time. He's had several interesting interactions on the site but recently things took a somewhat bad turn as a person appeared who argued (in a rather aggressive manner) that Christians were under obligation to combat systemic racism. A hot button issue to be sure, the tensions and conflicts that emerged from this confrontation led to several departures and in his estimation has almost ruined the overall experience.
Previous to this my son had found the forum to be both
helpful and interesting as there is a wide array of viewpoints represented and
yet despite this the discourse has remained civil – or rather had until this
recent episode.
Contrary to many Christian 'conservatives' I would actually
argue that systemic racism (a somewhat unhelpful and ill-defined term) does
exist and I can even point to areas in my own life that I have benefitted from
being white. I'm not sure why anyone would find this shocking unless they've
simply closed their eyes. There's no doubt about it and yet I do not sit around
and tear myself apart over the issue. And to clarify very few people would
suggest that I am placed in a position of social privilege – quite the
contrary. I am working class and by no measure am I part of the Middle Class or
bourgeoisie. In truth the nature of the
racism that exists within our society or system is complicated. The issues are
wide-ranging, multi-generational, and very complex. In my own life I do what I
can to 'make a difference' but to suggest that there's a political solution or
that change can be brought about through activism that seeks to harness the
coercive power of the state – I am both theologically and practically dubious
if not opposed to the notion. I don't believe it will work and to speak in even
stronger terms – it's not something the Church should be involved in. We don't
look to or rely on the sword for righteousness and we certainly don't look for
Babylon or Egypt to bring about justice.
Apart from working within the context of congregations, I'm
not sure what the Church can do about it – without confusing the Church's call
and Kingdom identity with that of the lost world – something that happens in
all forms of political Christianity both Right and Left. Lost people are going
to be tribal. The Church is supposed to transcend that and all nationalism.
Obviously this has not been the case which is another unfortunate result of the
Constantinian heritage – and one exacerbated by post-Enlightenment politics.
The person on the forum had an axe to grind – which on one
level I can understand. However, all the discussions seemed to get steered back
on to that course and apparently forum participants became frustrated – and I
can also see why.
But here's the thing, I would have asked this person a series
of questions and I think this is also important to understand before someone
comes down too hard on the issue of race or the question of systemic racism-
Do you have a 401K?
Someone might find that to be a rather strange question. But
it's not. The entire Western economic order is imperialist and predatory by
nature. It preys on weak countries in the developing world – countries often
inhabited by people with darker skin colours that are viewed (de facto) as
lesser and even unworthy of managing the resources or perhaps the geopolitical
positions Providence has granted them. It's the 'right' and even sometimes 'the
duty' or prerogative of developed (or rather rich) nations to seize their
assets, resources, and strategic positioning in order to bring more flourishing
to the West. This dubious (if often evil) argumentation is often masked under
language which suggests this Western-enriching process will ultimately help the
said underprivileged nation and improve the lots of its people. The reality is
more often than not quite different. There are certainly some elites within the
society who benefit and yet many more who are harmed by this process of Western
exploitation. Even those who might (in some cases) make more money face other
dilemmas as society is effectively turned on its head.
But it must be understood that this impulse is always
premised on de facto racism or at the very least an assumption of cultural
superiority. This is why you can have minorities within the United States that
are just as much a part of this system. They may decry racism at home even
while they profit from the racist system in terms of global economics.
The heartbeat of this impulse and the system which drives it
is located on Wall Street and its other Western equivalents. It's much bigger
than just Wall Street of course but that's a key and driving component to the
larger equation.
If you're invested in the stock market and reaping benefits
in the form of dividends from the larger economic machine – then at some point
and to some degree you're profiting from the exploitation of poor (often darker
skinned) people in other countries. You are invested in the corporate and
financial mechanisms that harm them, steal from them and in many cases wage war
upon them. Again you may cry about your status within the United States but on
a global scale you're part of the predatory machine – which rests on a
foundation of cultural bigotry. These questions are actually bigger than race
and transcend them. There's a deep moral flaw in the economic system that
builds it wealth on the backs of other people and in taking advantage of them.
Christ said you cannot serve God and mammon but the post-Constantinian Church
has chosen to ignore this and the Magisterial Reformation did nothing (in terms
of this issue and other issues related to power) to challenge the status quo.
In was an anti-Catholic revolt, but not an anti-Constantinian one and in many
respects it was not a reformation in terms of the New Testament.
These mammon-driven values are scarcely even questioned in
today's milieu. 'Liberal' CNN recently ran a headline that said "The
Taliban are sitting on $1 trillion worth of minerals the world desperately
needs."- a not so subtle (and certainly assumed) call for further Western
intervention. These are things 'we' 'need' – but you can be sure the author did
not mean China, Iran, or Russia. They don't need them and they're not 'we'. The
idea that the Afghans themselves would have a say – which supposedly should be
a concern for a Western liberal democrat – doesn't even enter the equation. In
other words the assumption of the article is laden with imperialist presumption
and cultural bigotry. CNN may love its sodomites but that doesn't mean it's
Marxist or even left-wing for that matter.
Wall Street frequently drives the United States into conflict,
finances the wars, and plays no small part in shaping America's foreign policy.
In many respects the bureaucracies at the State Department and even the CIA are
obsessed with the interests of Wall Street and act accordingly.
If you have a 401k, then you're part of that. You're
generating income from that system.
You can't complain about systemic racism when you're (via that very system) cashing
in on the exploitation of the weak both in the United States and around the
world – an exploitation that is often violent, even when the bullets don't fly.
I would also ask this person – do you work for a bank? Do you
work for the US government? Are you part of the military? Do you own stock in
companies connected to the military?
We can go further. Do you work for the insurance industry?
These industries are either directly part of the Western imperial system or are
built on usurious profits generated by its financial system – its vast wealth
driving and creating its own markets and service industry as people seek places
to invest and grow their treasures – by unethical and unbiblical means – often
through what is tantamount to sorcery. In addition to the securities markets
and all they represent and do, there is also the massive push to extend loans,
sometimes imposed at the point of a gun, to poor nations and others in order to
keep the usurious profits rolling in.
I'm speaking in general terms of course. While I do not wish
to 'walk back' my statements in any way I will freely grant that I am painting
with a very broad brush. I have no desire to tyrannize the consciences of
others and I also know that many people have been swept up into things they
haven't given proper thought to. This isn't to excuse them but I do not wish to
be uncharitable. If we're Christians we're all growing in grace and being
sanctified and the Holy Spirit will convict as needed. But it would be my hope
that the Holy Spirit would even use some of what I've written here and
elsewhere as a means to that end. And I would also add that I am by no means
pure or somehow above all reproach. Like it or not I often work for people who
are deeply embedded in the system and thus to some extent my flourishing (as it
were) rides on the back of theirs. There's no escaping the world and the
Babylonian system which dominates it. I draw my lines and other Christians must
draw theirs.
My own life has been one of painful growth and shameful
error. I cringe when looking back on my life, even at times my post-conversion
experience and testimony. I do not wish to come across as Pharisaic or
sanctimonious. In other words I don't want this to be about me at all but
rather a testimony to truth. For my part most lessons I've learned – I've
learned the hard way. But I will say this, when convicted I act and a pilgrim
mindset makes it a lot easier when there is a price to pay.
I'm happy to talk about systemic racism. But I won't have the
discussion with those who are not interested in challenging or rejecting the
system itself. All too often they merely seek to appropriate it and take
control of its reins and use its wealth and power to their benefit. The same is
true with so-called identity politics. It's a faux-leftism at best. Such people
have no moral standing when it comes to these questions. And in saying this I
realise I have almost in toto
condemned the American Evangelical Church – it's a point I would make and would
certainly stand by.