Trevor Noah, Racism, and Judas Iscariot

One thing that Trevor Noah said we should do with our oppressors is something that Jesus actually did with Judas Iscariot

In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, South African comedian and TV show host Trevor Noah wrote about his view of racism in the US, and not everyone was pleased with it. A recent BuzzFeed article stated that his recent comments "suggest a profound misunderstanding of the way racism works in America."

One argument was that it is wrong to think that people should “break bread” with those who have oppressed them. As a Christian I must ask not only what would Jesus do, but also what Jesus actually did in similar situations. We must remember that Judas’ betrayal came at no surprise to Jesus. Despite this knowledge, Jesus still continued to spend time with him (literally breaking bread with him), and even during the very act of betrayal called him “friend”. How do we apply this example to our own lives? The answer is simple, but not easy.

What we need to do is spend time with those who hold views that differ from ours. Doing this does not give credence to their views, but rather gives evidence of their value as a person (which is often the root cause of discrimination). As professed followers of Christ we should, well, follow His example in how He treated others, especially those who meant to do Him harm. He treated them with respect with the goal of eventually bringing them into a saving relationship with Him.

At the same time we must be realistic that this process will often be arduous and heart-breaking. This should not cause us to waver in our resolve to win others for Christ. Look what Jesus went through for us, shouldn't we at least give others the same chances He gives us?

Focusing Our Energies

We only have so much time and energy. As Christians only one area deserves the bulk of those resources.

If you follow this blog, you know that I am concerned about how Christians as individuals and the church at large should be relating to government. Last night as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, I found an article retweeted by Univision's Jorge Ramos. Written by a South African Journalist, it talked about what the press can expect from a President Trump, and how they should deal with it. This got me thinking once again about my role a Christian in this upcoming presidency. What should I be concerned with, and what should I do?

The Benefit of Focus

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, doing something is much better than doing nothing, but we still need to be intelligent as to how we use our time and energy. Better to put a lot of energy into one area, than to spread yourself too thin. Think of it this way, if you take a sewing needle and push it into a piece of fabric, it doesn't take a lot of force to push it through. When we focus even a small amount of energy into a precise area it can be quite effective. As a parent of small children, I don't have a lot of time to spare, and I would venture a guess that many of you also have some committments that are non-negoitable. So that being said, in what area should we focus our energies?

Where Should We Focus?

 

For me there is only one area that should receive the bulk of my energy, and that is the building up of God's kingdom. Sadly, I have to clarify what I mean by that statement. I say "sadly" because many people are under the dangerous misconception that expanding God's kingdom involves greater political influence. Their goals are to put "Christian" politicans into office and pass laws that enforce their personal beliefs. The Biblical view of God's kingdom tends to be quite different.

The passage in the Scriptures commonly referred to as The Gospel Comission goes as follows,

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

As a Christian, that is my mandate, and that should be the focal point of my energies. All other goals should either be secondary or non-existent. How do we put that thought into practice? The answer is simpler that you may think.

How Do We Put Our Focus Into Practice?

Jesus told His first disciples, and us, to make people followers of Him, and to teach others what He has taught them. The only way we can truly accomplish those goals for others is to accomplish those goals first for ourselves. To be a follower of Jesus, one must first know Who He is. Where did He focus His attention? What did He do with His time? While there are many good books about Jesus, the best is, of course, the Bible. Begin first with those parts of the Bible that focus on His life and expand from there. With much of the world now turning their attention to the story of His birth, there is no better time than now to start striving for that goal.

So what are you waiting for?

Now What?

A brief guide on what to do in a post-election America.

This past presidential election has highlighted many divides in the United States. Now that the election is over a growing realization is settling in that we have to still live with each other. I have been thinking quite a bit as to the pain I have seen displayed on Facebook, and I posted my thoughts there regarding that subject. I garnered many positive responses to that post, but positive online responses mean very little without concrete actions to accompany them. So with that in mind, I will share some actions that we need to take. These will be from a Christian perspective, but even those without this perspective will most likely find something helpful.

Pray

 

The Bible states that we should "Pray without ceasing." Without prayer even the most well-intentioned response can can easily go awry. If for no other reason prayer is beneficial because it causes us to slow down and let our minds process the flood of information and emotions that bombard us. We need to keep in mind that prayer is much more than listing our grievances. It should involve a great deal of listening to what God has to say to us. While we're at, we should also do a lot more listening to each other.

Listen

 

Some of my Facebook posts led to someone (with views different than mine) contacting me privately regarding my motivation for posting the articles/videos that I did. This led to a conversation in which we came to the agreement that a major problem was that many people simply talk past each other instead of attempting to see the world from the other persons/groups point of view. Listening doesn't mean that you have to compromise your views, it simply shows others the respect that you would like them to show to you. You might be surprised to discover causes that both of you agree should be defended.

Defend Causes Not Candidates

 

Christianity has been done a great disservice by religious leaders that feel the need to promote one candidate or one political party over the other. Such pandering to political power causes many to think that Christians care primarily about winning elections instead of winning souls. I see no where in the Scriptures where Christians are told to aspire to political power. Doing so only corrupts both institutions, with Christianity taking the brunt of the damage. (Something I wrote about in previous posts.) Defending causes can be done in many ways, but the most obvious way is to . . .

Donate Time and Money

 

Your first priority should be your place of worship because let's face facts, the problems we face in this world cannot be solved by political means. Changes in attitudes come only through changes of the heart, and the best conduit of that change at least should be places of worship. If you discover that your religious leaders hold views that you believe to be wrong, talk with them. If you don't get satisfactory answers to your questions and concerns, prayerfully consider finding somewhere else to worship. However, don't give up on God altogether. The Devil often uses corrupt leaders to drive people away from God. Don't allow yourself to fall into that trap. There may also be other organizations that you're interested in supporting outside of your place of worship. You should support them as well with your time and money. If you can't support them in those ways, show your support online. Also, let's not forget another way to show your support is to . . .

Contact your Political Representatives

 

I put this one last for the reason I mentioned in the previous section, political action will only take you so far. However, that doesn't mean that you should totally neglect this avenue. Find out who your representatives are and contact them, and don't forget your local ones. The best way to get your message across is to go old school: telephone calls and snail mail. Electronic means of communication will generate an electronic response, often automatically. The higher level of interaction the greater the impact.

Whatever You Do, Do Something

We find ourselves at a key point in history, and our actions determine not only our future on this world, but also in the world to come. Regardless of your views of Jesus, one thing we can agree on is that He wasn't lazy. He went about doing good. For His professed followers to be spectators to this country's and this world's suffering does a disservice to the name of Christ, and should not be tolerated. So as you go about doing good, encourage others to do the same, and hopefully we can help bring an end to this suffering once and for all.

[Book Review] Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand

Warning: Reading this book may cause a sudden increase in your desire to serve God.

As a Christian living in the United States I have grown accustomed to have certain things, namely freedom to say and do what I want in regards to religion. Tortured for Christ tells of a time and place where such a thing was a faint memory.

Originally published in 1967, Wurmbrand tells of his experience being a Christian pastor in both Nazi, and later Soviet-controlled Romania. (The last half of that sentence should be an indication that the word "tortured" was not put in the title simply to pique one's interest.) He wrote mainly of his experience under Communism, referencing the Nazis only briefly, stating that the blessing of the Nazi occupation was that it taught the believers that physical beatings can be endured. Knowledge that would sadly become useful when the Communists came into power. However, the Communists did not come into power as you might think.

Seduction and Standing Up

 

Wurmbrand stated that the Communists did not come the Romanian church with guns blazing, but rather as a man who seduces a female for a one night stand. Sadly, for the most part, it worked. He wrote of a congress that was convened in the Romanian Parliament building where four thousand ministers of all denomination were gathered. They then voted Joseph Stalin, who was at the time president of the World Movement of the Godless and mass murderer of Christians, honorary president of this gathering of religious leaders. One by one these so called men of God stated how that Communism and Christianity were basically the same and then pledged allegiance to the Communist government. He then wrote,

"My wife and I were present at this congress. Sabrina told me, 'Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ! They are spitting in His face.' I said to her, 'If I do so, you lose your husband,' She replied, 'I don't wish to have a coward as a husband.'"

That last sentence pretty much sums up the attitude of the Underground Church that sprung up around that time. Christians fearlessly spread the gospel, and joyfully went to prison and certain torture and death. He told many stories of the believers, but the one that touched me the most was the arrest of a young girl by the secret police. They followed her for some time and waited to arrest her on her wedding day in an attempt to cause the greatest amount of suffering possible. She went peacefully, and left the church kissing her shackles all the while rejoicing that she was the bride of Christ. How many of us would have had the same reaction?

Surprisingly, despite suffering unspeakable tortures at the hands of the Russians they bore no ill will to their captors, rather witnessing to them, winning many to Christ. Wurmbrand put it this way, when a crocodile kills a man, its tragic, but we do not blame the crocodile because it was simply following its nature. He stated that many of these soldiers were so brainwashed that they were little more than animals and should be treated with pity rather than contempt.

The Bottom Line

 

Wurmbrand's main purpose in writing this book was to highlight the suffering, as well as the fervor, of the Underground Church. He wanted to wake up Christians in free countries to the need of helping their persecuted brothers and sisters. I know it accomplished that goal with me, and I hope that it will do the same for you. The book is offered free of charge from the organization "The Voice of the Martyrs" so what are you waiting for? Go to their website and order it today.

Not of This World

If the followers of Christ are to focus on the heavenly kingdom, why do we try so hard to make one here on earth?

The United States, as the story goes, began simply as the result of a boat of Christian pilgrims seeking freedom from the oppression of the state-run church in Europe. They then formed a Christian nation that promoted Christian values. I say "as the story goes" because such a statement only tells part of the story. This misremembering of history comes from a belief in "The United States is a Christian Nation" myth. (For more details on how this myth became official, read a previous post). This myth of a Christian nation has led, and continues to lead, to all sorts of persecution and subjugation of non-Christian and Christian people alike simply because they believed differently than those in power.

Beliefs Then and Now

This persecution and subjugation has taken many forms in American history. From early on, the Puritans persecuted dissenters from their colonies, notably Roger Williams, the future founder of Rhode Island. He wrote,

"God requireth not an uniformity of Religion to be inacted and inforced in any civill state; which inforced uniformity (sooner or later) is the greatest occasion of civill Warre, ravishing of conscience, persecution of Christ Jesus in his servants, and of hypocrisy and destruction of millions of souls." (source link here)

Such "inforced uniformity" most likely came from the belief that in order for Jesus Christ to return, God must have a pure people, and it behooves governmental authority to be the key agent of this purification. Often referred to as postmillennialism, an adherent to this view

"[B]elieves that the millennium is an era (not a literal thousand years) during which Christ will reign over the earth, not from an literal and earthly throne, but through the gradual increase of the Gospel and its power to change lives. After this gradual Christianization of the world, Christ will return and immediately usher the church into their eternal state after judging the wicked. This is called postmillennialism because, by its view, Christ will return after the millennium." (source link here)

To find a notable proponent of a form of postmillennialism called dominionism, one need look no further than former presidential hopeful, and current Texas senator, Ted Cruz. (A more in-depth look at his views can be found here) Dominionism promotes, among other things, a Christian-controlled government in the United States. While few talk so openly about their belief in this concept as he and his family, its pervasiveness can readily be seen. One finds a clear example of this pervasiveness in the reaction of many professed Christians to the United States Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality.

Going the Wrong Direction

 

Such a ruling went directly against the goal of the "gradual Christianization of the world" which caused a lot of consternation in certain Christian circles (because many believe that the nation cannot be Christian if same-sex couples are allowed to be married). However, instead of renewing a zeal to preach the gospel, the ruling renewed a zeal to pass laws at the state and local levels to restrict this newly found freedom. Laws such as these, often passed under the guise of establishing religious liberty, tend to backfire in the long run. Many people now equate the terms "religious liberty" and "religious freedom" with intolerance and bigotry, and actively pursue means to erode the legal foundation for such laws (for more explanation of this issue go here).

To those who may think that I'm painting with too broad of a brush, answer this question for yourself, when you see society's morals eroding away, is your first reaction to find a spiritual solution or a political one? Spiritual solutions bring people together, political solutions drive people apart. I write this post because I have seen too many well-intentioned Christians heading in a direction that draws them away from God.

Jesus' Example and Rejection

As Christians we need to follow Christ, and a careful look at Scripture shows no occasion where He used political power to spread the gospel. After Jesus fed the multitude as recorded in John 6, the people wanted to make Him king, by force if necessary. Jesus recognized their intentions, but instead of accepting this political role, He withdrew from their presence (see verses 14 & 15). Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36) 

The common people who rejected Jesus as the Messiah wanted a political leader to deliver them from pagan Roman oppression. The religious leaders had another reason. John 11:47-48 states, 

 "Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, 'What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.'" 

They did not want to lose their favored status with the government. Sound familiar?
 

The Bottom Line

 

Religion and politics should be coworkers, not marriage partners. Whenever religion uses politics to achieve its goals, it not only goes against the example of Jesus, but also alienates the very people God said we need to reach.

[Video] Should a Christian Vote?

This question comes up almost every election cycle, especially ones as contentious as this one. You may not agree with everything he had to say (I didn't), but I hope that this video at least gets a conversation started. I recommend watching/listening to the video in its entirety, but if you simply have a question on a specific aspect, I have listed all his points and where to find them in the video. As always, I welcome your comments below.

1. Christians are primarily citizens of another kingdom. 6:26
2. It is not necessarily wrong to feel some patriotism. 7:22
3. The concept of voting or choosing leaders is biblical. 9:37
4. Christians should not allow political parties to divide them. 13:29
5. Voting demonstrates that we respect the authority of the political system in our nation as established by God. 18:17
6. It is one way that we can obey God's command to seek the good of those around us and our nation as a whole. 20:48
7. It demonstrates we care about who our leaders are. 35:03
8. Jesus calls us to make a difference in society and use our influence good in our nation. 36:05
9. It is a privilege that if not exercised could be lost. 39:55
10. Not voting can be a form of voting as it will influence the outcome. 42:18
11. Voting is a part of our stewardship to use all the resources we have been given in ways that honor God; it may be wasting a vote is squandering a gift. 46:12

[Food for Thought] Jesus and Political Power

Jesus was rejected as the Messiah primarily because He shunned political power (John 6:15 & 18:36). Why then do so many of His professed followers embrace/crave it?