tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86005918894705081462024-03-15T02:49:52.495-04:00Prophets of CultureCultural analysis from a theological perspectiveCarl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-25500203440705328062023-11-10T22:16:00.013-05:002023-11-12T16:24:12.841-05:00From The Tap or From The Bottle: A Wisdom Paradigm<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNjIx8C-eOkT9dag5va19rwAy_nLAefr13V6FsjNO4Titw6YmUs6oeVNcBTNZJgYUdCjR953DwavrPkmMltUlPh0gGLWyP3jP21wklo9zUxozW3B05VQWiEZa5yZd9mM0us3pQUlOxhfRmphDbDO0qzgFXCL55ePVb7B_ye2oNxMaFjRxO3cGz_gofVke/s1024/Tap%20&%20Bottle.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNjIx8C-eOkT9dag5va19rwAy_nLAefr13V6FsjNO4Titw6YmUs6oeVNcBTNZJgYUdCjR953DwavrPkmMltUlPh0gGLWyP3jP21wklo9zUxozW3B05VQWiEZa5yZd9mM0us3pQUlOxhfRmphDbDO0qzgFXCL55ePVb7B_ye2oNxMaFjRxO3cGz_gofVke/s320/Tap%20&%20Bottle.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The other day at Costco I was picking up some bulk items, including bottled water. As I approached the stacks of 40 bottle cases, an unusually large crowd was swarming around — adding cases to their shopping carts. As I hefted my two cases to my cart, it dawned on me that a few years ago this scene would have been bizarre in the absence of a serious water emergency.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> I questioned some fellow shoppers about why bottled water was their choice. The universal answer was, “I no longer trust tap water.” When asking “why,” the dominant response was, “tap water is not as pure as it used to be.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> This resonated with a deep African American identity issue that had troubled me for years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: medium;">Anxiety</span></span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Since the dawn of the modern Black Consciousness Movement, I have been a strong advocate for African American advancement on all fronts. Over these many decades, “Black is beautiful” has been my mantra — not because I say so, but because it <b><i>IS</i></b>. The basis of this truth is that all humanity bears the image of God — even in our current flawed state. For me, being African American is a great honor and privilege. In fact, if I had to do it all over again, I would not change a thing about my ethnicity. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Over the last few years, however, I found myself disagreeing with most well-known African Americans, including leaders, celebrities, militants and politicians, etc.. At times I have even strongly opposed them. This gave me anxiety. This unease increased relentlessly — even bordering on dysphoria. I even had doubts about my own state of mind. “What is happening to me?” “Am I becoming a sell-out?” “...A “‘bougie’ Negro?” “...An “Oreo?”* </span>“What’s gone wrong?....” </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">Out-of-Sync</span></h3><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> To shed light on this dilemma, I looked to history. I vividly remember the late 1960s, the early years of modern Black Consciousness. The general consensus affirmed our dignity, identity and significance. The movement revolved around historical achievements of African Americans as encouragements to continue this great legacy in our time — all this, while maintaining moral clarity. For reasons like these I enthusiastically embraced Black identity. Of course, there were some among us who were counter-examples to the achiever consensus, but their influence was marginal at best.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Things began to change when the concept of Blackness was expected to carry the fullness of our humanity. Yes Black is beautiful, but there is much more to being human than just being African American. As beautiful as it is, Blackness is not big enough to be ultimate. Only God is Ultimate. This idea of ultimate Blackness soon began to collapse under its own weight as our human flaws became visible in new ways. Concurrently, the achiever consensus also began to lose its influence. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Eventually, the influence of the counter-achievers gained dominance. With the decline of achiever influence came an ambivalence concerning moral clarity. This left the concept of “Blackness” open to manipulation by others with an African American veneer — whose goals and objectives were out-of-sync with the historic African American cause. This contaminated the Black Movement.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: medium;">“No Salvation”</span></span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Currently, the cause of African Americans has often been reduced to political “group think,” dictated by ‘far left’ Democrats — </span><a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/p/defining-deviancy-down-at-30-reflections">reinforced by “academic thought police.”</a><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Unwise policies enacted by ‘far left’ politicians over the years have done a lot of damage. On the other hand, Republicans have too often conceded the African American vote to Democrats without bothering to understand the root issues beneath the “group think.” Malcolm X, the father of Modern Black consciousness, often warned us about the dangers of our political naivetė. He demanded that we </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRNciryImqg">refuse to be taken for granted by Democrats or written off by Republicans</a><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. Brother Malcolm served to remind us that there is no salvation in mere politics, especially in a country committing political suicide. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> In other cases, the African American cause is being used as cannon fodder for self-sabotaging ideologies that would have horrified the pioneers of Black Consciousness — ideologies such as nihilism — a rejection of truth, ethics, and value — a belief that all life is meaningless. We have seen <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2020/06/protest-and-anarchy-in-black-and-blue.html">nihilists in recent years hijack legitimate protests</a> in order to vandalize, loot and torch local businesses — even those owned by African Americans. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Still, in other cases the cause of African Americans has been polluted with <i>Critical Race Theory</i> and today’s <i>Intersectionality</i>. Critical Race Theory deliberately aggravates racism because it depends on racial conflict to function. It blinds its adherents to other contributing factors that work against us. Intersectionality creates unstable hierarchies of power determined by the quality of one’s victomology. One’s authenticity depends on how many dimensions of “oppression,” real or imagined, they can claim. Neither ideology offers an acceptable outcome. Critical Race Theory has a polarizing effect while Intersectionality has a splintering effect.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> The present state of affairs paved the way for the rise of organizations like Black Lives Matter — </span><a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DudEnerFMVaY&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#cobssid=s&fpstate=ive&vld=cid:22de2a48,vid:udEnerFMVaY,st:0">driven by Marxism and rooted in spiritism</a><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> (communing with the dead). It was easy for BLM to bamboozle us by its name. However, much of what BLM has done shouts, “<b><i>BLACK LIVES DON’T MATTER.</i></b>” For example, </span><a href="https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2021/02/28/after-raising-90-million-black-lives-matter-being-asked-by-local-chapters-wheres-all-the-money/">what do they have to show for the $90,000,000.<sup>00</sup></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> added to their coffers through guilt manipulation? What benefit has come to African Americans through their ideological noise?</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Compounding all this has been the attempt to conflate African American affirmation with promoting non-heterosexuality, as if the two are equivalent.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: medium;">Subtle Folly</span></span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Using a window screen as a water filter can block <b><i>macro</i></b> contaminates out, but it cannot block <b><i>micro </i></b>contaminates. Only a multi-stage filter can block the smallest of <b><i>micro</i></b> contaminates. This is why bottled water is the wisest choice for drinking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The development of<i> Historic</i> Black Consciousness (HBC) was significant. it was an improvement over “Negro” Consciousness. However, this “improvement” was not far-reaching enough to be complete. Like all human systems it is subject to flaws in human nature. Fidelity to the standa</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">rds set by HBC is like a window screen water filter. It can be effective in blocking <b><i>gross error</i></b>, but it cannot block <b><i>subtle folly</i></b>. Such a task requires the Wisdom of God as a multi-stage filter — Wisdom God has made available in his Word.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">After passing through the “screen” filter, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">micro</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> “subtle folly” will grow into </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">macro</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> “gross error.” Things like dishonesty, hypocrisy and criminality, etc., will subvert, sabotage and destroy any movement — however noble its aspirations are. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">For these reasons, I appeal to God’s Wisdom only, as the basis of my African American identity. What I experienced at Costco provided the key to understand my identity dilemma. What was troubling me was not the concept of Blackness per se, but what much of Blackness has become, namely, a co-opted contaminated confusion.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: medium;">Activist at Peace</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Just as I do not trust tap water, I do not agree with <i>‘tap Blackness’</i> — polluted with counterproductive concepts and </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">malevolent motivations. Just as I choose bottled water, I only affirm <i>‘bottled Blackness’</i><a name="OLE_LINK2"> — </a>powered by God’s Wisdom and free from ideological contamination. This approach resolved my identity dilemma.</span></span></p></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Today I am an activist at peace. Why? Because ‘bottled Blackness’ enables me to empower my people to greatness through God’s Wisdom. Therefore:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span> </span><span> <span> </span></span>I proudly protest our current cultural crisis</span></p><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I refuse to lift a finger to offer up the aspirations of my people as cannon fodder for our own destruction.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I oppose all efforts to reduce our cause to a wedge for introducing malevolent ideologies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I wage war against all attempts to co-opt African American identity for nefarious purposes.</span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: medium;">Special Concern</span></span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> My involvement is not limited to African Americans alone because those who seek God’s Wisdom also have a worldwide significance. We are part of a global movement of like-minded people, “from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9). The Apostle Paul himself had a special concern for his ethnic people (Romans 9:1-4), yet he was an Apostle to the nations. Similarly, as we seek God’s Wisdom it is good to have a special concern for our cultural people. Yet, our effect should also be global.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">* An "Oreo" is an African American who wants to be White and does all he can so to assimilate into White culture.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">-----------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">For more insight into God’s wisdom and human folly, pick up my wife’s devotional, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wisdoms-Call-Meditations-Life-Christ/dp/0802425127/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1H7DQ91H1NP3A&keywords=wisdom%27s+call&qid=1699625899&sprefix=wisdom%27s+call%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-1">WISDOM’S CALL</a></i></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><b><i>, 100 Meditations for a Life in Christ</i></b><i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgfYW-Io659lSCs3umFBpnw4VRJIBKvjhIJFMVVCD94fqn_gL44Gkfln6yLcCppQgXYM6_WW9lxieP_T4rb2zyazMHJ000r7VM2zW3fuyaabLrI4YWDYWiwiIOQY_bhhZfwRtwx7GB2vOW57Ho5B7kzRjlcJ6Roekhbgh6Pq4lVQaDYsmu97k674w-H3A/s1528/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%209.49.31%E2%80%AFAM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="980" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgfYW-Io659lSCs3umFBpnw4VRJIBKvjhIJFMVVCD94fqn_gL44Gkfln6yLcCppQgXYM6_WW9lxieP_T4rb2zyazMHJ000r7VM2zW3fuyaabLrI4YWDYWiwiIOQY_bhhZfwRtwx7GB2vOW57Ho5B7kzRjlcJ6Roekhbgh6Pq4lVQaDYsmu97k674w-H3A/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%209.49.31%E2%80%AFAM.png" width="205" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br /></p>Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-55848953702904076452021-06-21T20:43:00.026-04:002023-11-13T07:45:18.467-05:00 Justice: Yes — “Whack-a-Mole:” No<div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnr4Y9xxRQ9pnHgqexHQFcqbfKNxShQh29ku4YvWJdAglIOIh47tSTBvNxX320eFdMmQfskG4r6k8dBv_z5XWahQz8Sd5Gqfz0ALrgcqEUSmyc4n_Ud1WwS-ZP_f1NuJUq9trNCAyN1qXs/s1024/Justice+-+Whack-a-Mole.001.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnr4Y9xxRQ9pnHgqexHQFcqbfKNxShQh29ku4YvWJdAglIOIh47tSTBvNxX320eFdMmQfskG4r6k8dBv_z5XWahQz8Sd5Gqfz0ALrgcqEUSmyc4n_Ud1WwS-ZP_f1NuJUq9trNCAyN1qXs/w305-h240/Justice+-+Whack-a-Mole.001.jpeg" width="305" /></a></span></span></span></div><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Behind much of the radicalism and turmoil today is a yearning and cry for justice — cosmic justice. Biblically speaking, when God created the universe, He described it as “good” and when He had created humans “in His own image,” the description was “very good” (<a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/genesis/1.html" target="_blank">Genesis 1:1-31</a>). If we understand biblical wisdom we would know that God is perfect in righteousness, wisdom, knowledge, etc. So, for Him to say that His creation was “very good” it meant “<i>VERY GOOD.”</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></span><p></p><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: inherit;"><b>Disqualified</b></span></h3><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Any observer of the current condition of reality knows that, while there are glimpses of the original goodness of the creation, its present condition is </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">not good</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (whether due to pollution, climate change, floods, deadly earthquakes, tsunamis, destructive volcanos, supernovas, gamma ray bursts, etc.). Truly, something has gone wrong in the cosmos.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The present condition of mankind is deplorable in many ways: totalitarianism, crony capitalism, crony socialism, anarchy, war, ethnic conflict, etc. Other manifestations of our atrocious condition are seen in various types of “us-isms,” where “us” becomes the standard of judgment for “them” — rendering “them” as inferior — not being able to be “us” as well as <i>we</i> can be “us.” This is seen in tribalism, racism, classism, culture-ism, and the caste system — to name a few. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we make ourselves the standard of judgment, we reduce evil to aspects we perceive do not condemn us and we get into trouble. When we exclude ourselves from the full scope of sinfulness, we make ourselves the standard for a twisted piety.<span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span> Individually, this is “me-ism,” collectively, another form of “us-ism.” In the resulting self-righteousness our evil runs rampant under the illusion of non-evil. Truly, something has gone wrong with humanity.</span></p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">The only solution to this unfortunate situation is to execute cosmic judgment and to implement cosmic justice — cosmic </span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">judgment</i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"> to avenge every evil and cosmic </span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">justice</i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"> to correct every wrong. In order to make everything right, one must know all there is to know about the wrongness of everything. That takes infinite (unlimited) knowledge and our knowledge is finite (limited) at best. Only God is infinite.</span></p></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page;" /></span><div class="WordSection2" style="page: WordSection2;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Humans can never know “all things” in either direction. We are not omniscient. We are:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ontologically</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> disqualified — limited in being, knowledge and power,</span></li><li><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Morally</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> disqualified — flawed in character and ethics, and,</span></li><li><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Temporally</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> disqualified — not able to live long enough to understand and deal with </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>all</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> that is wrong.</span></li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">When finite beings try to usurp the authority of the Infinite Personal Creator, the finite beings will be crushed by the weight of the task. This is what happened in the Garden of Eden. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Humans rejected God’s character as the standard for determining good and evil and tried to replace it with human opinion. This was nothing short of “cosmic treason,” deserving cosmic judgment. By this <i>treason</i> humans and the whole cosmos were plunged into abnormality. We all repeat this treasonous behavior constantly. Determining good and evil can only be done by God who is perfect in righteousness and infinite in knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: inherit;">Revenge</span></b></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is not sinful to want to see evil avenged. This is because, in spite of our deplorable condition, we are still in the image of God and God is a God of vengeance — one of His many attributes. However, trying to take revenge into our own hands is counter-productive. By taking our own revenge on others for their wrongs against us, we provoke others to take revenge on us for our wrongs against them — provoking another round of revenge and counter revenge and so on.... This cycle of finite revenge will eventually engulf mankind into a never-ending conflagration of escalating violence and destruction. God says, “V</span></span>engeance is mine, I will repay” (<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Deuteronomy 32:35</a>). Clearly, God will not let wrongdoing go un-avenged. God’s vengeance is an application of cosmic judgment.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the perspective of the wrongdoing of others, the “not yet-ness” of God’s cosmic judgment may seem to indicate God’s slowness in fulfilling His promise. But, from the perspective of <i>our</i> own wrongdoing, the “not yet-ness” of God’s cosmic judgment indicates His patience with us (<a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/2-peter/3-9.html" target="_blank">II Peter 3:9</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: inherit;"><b>Metastasize</b></span></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I sympathize with today’s radicals and activists who yearn for <i>true</i> “social justice” — who want to see all evildoing avenged and all wrongs made right. However, because of the abnormal condition of the current reality and our finite limitations, if we neutralize one evil, another will take its place. The replacement evil will often be as bad or worse than the one it replaced.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Evil is a cancer. If left untreated it will metastasize — spreading to the whole body causing a painful death. If only part of the cancerous tissue is removed, the remaining cancer will recover and eventually metastasize with fatal results. To stop cancer in the body it must be totally eliminated. Likewise, if all evil is not eliminated, it will continue to metastasize — ultimately nullifying all human attempts to implement <i>true</i> social justice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the present context, evil is never eliminated. It not only adapts to survive, it morphs into other forms of evil. For any particular evil to be avenged and eliminated, <b><i>all</i></b> evil must be avenged and eliminated to prevent it from surviving by adapting, morphing and metastasizing. Avenging and eliminating all evil is beyond human capability. <o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page;" /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In order to know all that is wrong, one must know all that is right. This requires a personal being who is infinite in wisdom and knowledge. Humans are personal beings, but humans are finite in wisdom and knowledge. This also requires someone who is perfect and humans are imperfect, sinful and flawed.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: inherit;"><b>Exhausted</b></span></h3><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>To accomplish the true “social justice” so many yearn for requires the application of <span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>cosmic justice.</i> However, the best humans can do is <i>temporal justice</i>. This shortcoming leaves us with two vexing choices. <i>First</i>, apart from cosmic justice, our attempts to stamp out the evils we hate such as racism and injustice will fail because these evils will adapt, morph and survive in other forms and iterations. This will condemn us to the futility of never-ending temporal social justice "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyL6-ZeVDDY" target="_blank">Whack-a-Mole</a>" because evildoing will never be eradicated. <i>Second,</i> with cosmic justice, cosmic judgment will be our demise as divine vengeance will be inflicted on all of us because we are all guilty of wrongdoing — even “wrongdoing” according to our own limited version of it.<br /><br />God alone is infinite and perfect. He alone is able to implement cosmic justice, and He has promised that He will. When we grow weary of temporal social justice "Whack-a-Mole," remember, cosmic justice is coming. If we yearn for cosmic justice, our yearning will be fulfilled. But the tragedy is, we will experience the horror of divine revenge because we all have failed to live up to our own humanity (<a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/romans/3-23.html" target="_blank">Romans 3:23</a>). God has shown us patience but it is dangerous to take it for granted.<br /><br />The only way we will experience the permanent benefits of cosmic justice is for cosmic judgment to be satisfied in our cases. And this has been accomplished through the atonement furnished by Christ.<br /><br />He lived His life in perfect righteousness, yet in His death He exhausted all the revenge of God’s cosmic judgment (<a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/2-corinthians/5-21.html" target="_blank">II Corinthians 5:21</a>). In His resurrection He has established His Kingdom marked by cosmic justice. This is available to all who are in Him and with His wisdom we will be able to distinguish between <i>true</i> social justice and <i>false </i>social justice in our present reality.<br /><br />There is no other offer in the world that comes close to matching this one.</span></div><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #ffd966;">Rest</span></b><br /><br />By taking God up on His generous offer, we can have the freedom to recognize evil in all its manifestations — various forms of [“us”] supremacy, marginalization, oppression, etc. We can pursue <i>true</i> social justice without the heavy burden of self-righteousness. Only God is righteous. <br /><br />By taking God up on His generous offer, we will know that our efforts at temporal justice will not be in vain. In our present reality, we can only <i>approximate</i> equality, equity, liberation, etc. Yet if cosmic justice has been satisfied for us, these efforts for temporal justice will point to their fulfillment under cosmic justice. God Himself has promised cosmic justice.<br /><br />By taking God up on His generous offer, we will be transformed and eventually made perfect. Until that day, God will relate to us as if we are already perfect because He will give us credit for the perfect righteousness of Christ and credit for Christ having exhausted the cosmic judgment we deserve (<a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/romans/passage/?q=romans+8:1-4" target="_blank">Romans 8:1-4</a>).<br /><br />In today’s unjust reality, remember that in the economy of God, every wrong will be made right, every injustice will be avenged, every inequality will be eliminated, every inequity will be obviated and all oppressed will be truly liberated. <i>And we will live to see this.</i> God has guaranteed it.<br /><br /> Meanwhile, for all who are fatigued by the arduous battle for justice, refreshment and wisdom from God are available for the asking. Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (<a href="https://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/passage/?q=matthew+11:28-30" target="_blank">Matthew 11:28-30</a>).</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-1314406675789168652020-06-04T18:32:00.002-04:002023-11-11T13:22:53.874-05:00Protest and Anarchy in Black and Blue<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4x94F4NW9p6rQDIq3ErHtrG3c8qZ8x0_z9-ENHz-Zyyq7DTarJzVz6BE7ZaaVWuAynS8lt4JXwYu8ysSiusWiQYGSIWKgKYEJTM70C_zqwDuPQbXGZhFgPaTuiw_0BKOvBvUz2T8PZYW/s1600/Roach+Final.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4x94F4NW9p6rQDIq3ErHtrG3c8qZ8x0_z9-ENHz-Zyyq7DTarJzVz6BE7ZaaVWuAynS8lt4JXwYu8ysSiusWiQYGSIWKgKYEJTM70C_zqwDuPQbXGZhFgPaTuiw_0BKOvBvUz2T8PZYW/s320/Roach+Final.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Everyone knows that food left out in the right conditions will draw roaches</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> — </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">pests that carry disease, destruction and death. In the last weeks, we’ve watched once-peaceful, constitutionally protected marches draw parasitical ideologies that commandeered the demonstrations for their warped intentions and destructive aims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Moving beyond whether we agree with the reasons for a person’s peaceful protest, the destructive elements who’ve attached themselves to these current demonstrations should cause all living in a democracy to ask: in what other ways can we express our convictions when the infestation begins? In what ways can one safeguard against an infestation altogether?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">If you’ve ever dealt with a parasite in your home, you know they have numerous ways of infiltrating, and then adapting to just about everything you throw at them. Homeowners and apartment dwellers alike know this to be true...parasites have to be admired for their smarts and constant adaptability, if for nothing else. They adapt to all your tactics in order to gain or maintain their advantage. </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Protest is one of the oldest and favored tools of social change. However, in this pause in the protest we must reconsider the cost and effectiveness of the protest. Some will now hail protest as a continued success — or at least as making progress — considering the charges filed for all four police involved in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html" target="_blank">George Floyd incident</a>. <b></b></span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">However, it would be extremely unwise and dangerous to move on to the next cultural moment without first assessing the high cost of the infiltration of destructive forces who care nothing for the cause, or for its outcome.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">If organizers of every stripe don’t stop to count this cost and consider how to mitigate the abuse of innocents caught up in unintended destruction, they will yet again leave opportunistic ‘food’ lying around for another ideological infestation. And indeed, the people under the influence of this parasitic anarchist ideology seem to have altogether disappeared, their exploitative destruction done, our institutions devastated, and their point made. They have left the rest of us to pick up shards of broken glass, trust, bodies, and lives by morning light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The time for analysis is overdue — anarchists have appeared at peaceful protests over the last few years, but we underestimated the scope of destruction they wished to inflict. This time, dark forces rode in unawares, mingling with each peaceful tribe that assembled on the streets. Some nefarious insurgents tactically organized and prepared in tribes of their own, yet no one saw these anarchists coming.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Now that we know we have a deeply destructive and (it seems) tactically organized ideology of chaos unleashed in our midst, what can we do on the ground about this “roach?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The Larger Problem</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">In the last few years we have had a laser-like focus on racism, and rightfully so, since it is a cancer in our society. It’s a manifestation of human depravity, which is in itself the fatal disease of all mankind. We have even begun to finally ask hard questions about classism, a more modern and more inclusive manifestation of the same fatal disease. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Now, we have seen a devastating evil appear that makes racism, as evil as it is, look harmless by comparison. That evil is <b><i>anarchy</i></b>. Don’t misunderstand: I reject the evils of racism, classism, and any form of dehumanization in all its iterations — they are all antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in which I believe, and are taught as an offense to God throughout the Scripture I hold dear. </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span>But after seeing the surprisingly powerful and manipulative destruction that anarchy has left behind, I believe that before anybody executes another massive march for social change — whether it’s the March for Life or a demonstration for religious freedom or liberty, or what have you, choose your cause — we must examine how anarchy is lying in wait to feed on our constitutional rights, and on our naiveté about our own vulnerability.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Anarchy is the “absence or denial of any authority or established order.” More formally, according to Merriam Webster, it is “a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I’m sure some anarchists have a utopian dream of a society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government. But they, along with many others who care about justice and equality, are being used as cannon fodder by those who are bent on the destruction of all social order — a nihilistic situation where brute force wielded by flawed humanity rules, unrestrained and unchecked. The most brutal social situation is one where “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5z9OoazNyo&t=5s">might makes right</a>.” That’s the inevitable outcome of anarchy. On the contrary, we should always strive toward a society where “right makes might.” We may disagree on what that “right” is. We may debate or even fight about it. Even if we do agree about rightness and wrongness, we will probably fall short of its full implementation. Even so, this flawed social order would be far more tolerable than the anarchist alternative.</span><br />
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<b><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">Muddy Waters</span></b><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">In an <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2016/07/some-things-ive-learned-along-way.html#more" target="_blank">earlier blog</a> </span><span face="-webkit-standard"></span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">I emphasized the importance of</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">moral clarity</i><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">f</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">or an effective protest.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The case of George Floyd dripped with moral clarity — so much so</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">that <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/05/29/george-floyd-chauvin-arrest-poll-survey-data" target="_blank">78%</a></span><a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/05/29/george-floyd-chauvin-arrest-poll-survey-data" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">of the country agreed</span></a><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">that Derek Chauvin, who kneeled of Mr. Floyd’s neck till he died, should have been arrested immediately.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">However, such a national consensus and borderline unity was intolerable for the anarchists.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">It was necessary for them to muddy the moral waters to accomplish their objectives.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">And so they began to divide us.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Appealing to “the cause,” in this case the memory of George Floyd,<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/06/ahmaud-arbery-attorneys-demand-arrests-georgia-joggers-slaying/5174410002/" target="_blank"> Ahmaud Arbery</a> and </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html" target="_blank">Breonna Taylor</a>,</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">had no effect on the anarchists because they don’t give a damn.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">They don’t give a damn about justice or equality either.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">They just want to destroy governmental authority and the existing social order, and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">There is no love for humanity in the anarchist ideology; it is a nihilist’s dream, manipulating the inclinations of non-anarchic nihilists like looters, and exploiting the rest of humanity merely as objects to be used, tossed aside, or crushed if they stand in the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The anarchists understand flawed human nature well enough to know that all they have to do is break a few storefront windows and toss a few incendiary devices while passions about “the cause” are running high. They know that things will snowball from that point as criminals, who similarly don’t care about “the cause,” will take it from there — looting and burning — followed by the opportunists (Black, White and other) for whom access to instant merchandise will override “the cause.” From there they hope things will go viral.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Anarchists understand human depravity, even as they practice it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The anarchists know they can get away ‘scott-free’ because the news media and others will lump all this under the heading of “the demonstrators.” Isn’t it incredible how many under the influence of the anarchist ideology were seen doing their destructive work, yet how few were actually caught? They also count on well-meaning but naive protest leaders and sympathizers who will attribute all this merely to the “anger and pent up frustration of the community.” Yes, there is anger and frustration, but who initiated the destruction?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The anarchists, who exist on both the far-left and far-right, have absolutely no vested interest in the affected community. It doesn’t matter to them that the destruction they cause wipes out decades of economic progress. They don’t care if the targeted communities may take a generation to recover or may never recover at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It is time to rethink what is the greatest threat. According to the <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/21857/people-killed-in-police-shootings-in-the-us/">Washington Post</a>, police shootings killed twice as many Whites than African Americans. On the other hand, when we see this in terms of police shooting deaths per million, African Americans are three times more likely to be shot to death by police. And of course, the missing data in this last statistic is the race of the cop doing the shooting.<br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I would agree that without the racism factor, the number of police shootings of African Americans would be fewer, but <a href="https://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2014/12/racism-alone-reflections-on-current.html#more" target="_blank">this does not mean that racism is the only factor</a>, or even the major factor. For example, in 2015 many attributed the death of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/us/freddie-gray-baltimore-police-federal-charges.html">Freddie Gray</a> in Baltimore, MD to racism. However, three of the six police involved in his death were African American. I suppose that one could argue that an African American can be racist toward African Americans. On the face of it, this is absurd at best. Even if this was true for one Black cop, it is ludicrous to think it could have been true for all three. While I do not deny racism as a factor in this incident, I have difficulty seeing <a href="https://time.com/4404987/police-violence/">racism as the only factor</a>. An unhealthy culture of police silence matters as well, and that often overrides race. Seeing the hostility between Freddie Gray and the police officers involved through the lens of a clash of cultures better explains this incident.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">To be sure, racism is alive and well in our society and it must be addressed. But something else has gone wrong — something more complex than mere racism, more complex than problematic police cultures. A major contributing factor to the current urban conflagrations has been a clash of cultures — a clash between what I call “achievers,” “non-achievers” and “anti-achievers.” What marks the difference between these is the value system they live by, not necessarily their characters. We must remember that we all have serious character flaws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">“Achievers” live by values that generally lead to success in this social/cultural system — not always economic success by American standards, but a sense of flourishing and stability, at least. “Non-achievers” live by values that generally do not lead to success in this social/cultural system. And “anti-achievers” live by nihilistic values, which in many cases end in desperation and criminal behavior. Of course, very few if any of us fit these profiles perfectly, and it is not a matter of income — we have seen in the last decade well-heeled Hollywood and Wall Street nihilists! Because we are flawed, everyone has all three of these characteristics in some form. What marks the difference between us is the preponderance of these tendencies, and that these divisions run through all people groups in the so-called ‘developed world’ — White, Black, Latino, Asian, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Capacious and Toxic</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">For the last 50 years, there has been a civil cold war simmering between these groups within the African American community. Many “achievers,” across socio-economic lines, have seen dramatic improvements in quality of life because of the gains in civil rights. They tend to have a stronger sense of responsibility for their actions and for their communities. However, many non- and anti- achievers have not. This has led to disdain, resentment and alienation between these groups. The achievers tend to retain a sense of “the cause of Black advancement.” After all they have been the main beneficiaries. Not so with the non- and anti- achievers.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">At times this cold war flares up into open conflict. Such was the case between looters of all stripes and business owners — Black, White and Asian — in the evenings following the recent peaceful protests. Once the anarchists set the bait for destruction, from an anti-achiever perspective it made no difference if the business being looted and destroyed was Black owned or not. So it was also with other opportunists who followed suit. Like the anarchists, they carried out this destruction under the cover of hijacked protest marches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">“The cause?....” “What cause?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Nightfall saw countless buildings tagged with “F-” this and “F-” that. The malevolent actions of the anarchists screamed:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> “F- Black lives!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> “F- Blue lives!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Their overall message was crystal clear … “F- everybody!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">This puts all of us in the same boat: African Americans (including achievers, non-achievers, anti-achievers) and honest police. Together, we share space on the bull’s eye of the destructive aims of the anarchists. Yes, we have serious issues between us that must be addressed, but now we face a capacious and toxic common enemy. From an African American perspective, among other things, anarchy is backhanded racism disguised as anti-racism — the most virulent expression of racism today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">In other words, we’ve all been played.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The anarchists mounted an all-out tactical assault from within the ranks of peaceful protestors; activists must wake up to this infiltration, and be aware of inadvertently embracing, or completely ignoring this anarchistic infestation.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">I am not naive about the serious issue of rogue cops. I have personally experienced police brutality, from White cops. Yet I affirm that the vast majority of police are dedicated to “protect and serve.” I have also seen police brutality against young African American men perpetrated by White and Black Cops alike. But that does not necessarily mean that there is a general police conspiracy to kill African American men merely because they are African American men. All groups of professionals have rogue elements. While this is no excuse for bad behavior, it points out the reality of our shared flawed human nature. I share these experiences and make these observations to bring us to a larger point: This same flaw in human nature will burn white hot for everyone under the chaos ushered in by anarchism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The police force is the face of law enforcement and the law is what orders the society. Therefore, the first target on the anarchist hit list is the police. Certainly, there is much room for reform in the way policing is done. “De-funding the police” to fund community programs may sound appealing in the heat of the present conflict. However, I’m concerned that criminals will quickly fill the resulting power vacuum and overpower the good intentions of these “community programs.” Criminals, by the way, who are responsible for about twice the shooting deaths of African Americans than the police.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The anarchists are surreptitiously exploiting the civil cold war among African Americans to their advantage. Once the police force is eliminated from our communities, the next target will be stabilizing institutions and the government structure itself. Then after that, the Constitution — without which there will be no legal basis for restraint. Nihilism will be the order of the day where racism, sexism, age-ism, and other forms of dehumanization, etc. will be unconstrained — all will be brutalized by an unstable system of ever-shifting codes rather than laws, and there will be no remedy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Protest and the Long Game</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">We can — and should — critically analyze our leaders’ responses to the anarchists at the highest levels of government. But regardless of whose administration is in office, I doubt that anarchists among us will disappear anytime soon. So then, it’s imperative that we analyze our responses to this ideology on the ground, in light of our responsibilities to our own communities. How can we inoculate ourselves against being so painfully manipulated on the ground again?</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">New legislation, criminal justice and police culture reform, reviews of judicial misconduct, and judicial review of the "qualified immunity doctrine”* <o:p></o:p></span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">will be key elements for better policing and national healing.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Meanwhile, the civil cold war between achievers, non-achievers and anti-achievers can be quelled as achievers take the initiative to mentor young men and young women away from non- and anti-achieverism.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Most importantly, those of us who follow Christ must assure that “long-game discipleship” — beyond temporary protest strategies — is our prime directive. Not a discipleship into institutional, rote, shallow Christianity, but a discipleship into deep and practical biblical wisdom that affects every area of life — personal, cultural and social. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Today’s growing Black hostility toward the police is partly inflamed by the narrative of a coordinated conspiracy against Black men, which is playing into the hands of the anarchist agenda. Maybe we need to call a temporary truce at the community level — to suspend hostilities for now, magnify the glimpses of peace-making seen in the protest streets, resist writing such efforts off as mere propaganda or failed efforts, fan those efforts into more flames of good-will, and recognize the greater threat that anarchism poses to us all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">I’m not a professional sociologist; I’m just a theological anthropologist. I’m grateful for those who’ve waded into the conversations regarding reforms in education, economic development, policing, criminal justice, et. al.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> And I pray that</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"> balanced, thoughtful, humanizing and wise ideas will prevail.</span><s><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></s></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">These are some of my thoughts, some of which the reader will agree with and some of which the reader will not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">But in light of this most recent explosion of conflict on the ground that caused so much unjust and unnecessary devastation to innocents ‘caught in the middle,’ I do believe that as we build goodwill on the community level, we lay a foundation to defeat the looming threat of anarchism and its destructive effects on our communities and their life-blood. I am not ready to give up on this possibility and am hoping to unite others who are still so inclined.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">We have an ideological roach in the kitchen. It has scurried under the cold stove, only to reappear when the stove gets hot again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">And when it does, may the poor souls who are caught under its anarchic spell meet a unified effort against it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/congressional-action-is-the-best-way-to-fix-qualified-immunity/">https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/congressional-action-is-the-best-way-to-fix-qualified-immunity/</a><br />
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<a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/500673-how-qualified-immunity-promotes-the-unreasonable-use-of-force-by">https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/500673-how-qualified-immunity-promotes-the-unreasonable-use-of-force-by</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2020/06/03/new-bill-would-abolish-qualified-immunity-make-it-easier-to-sue-cops-who-violate-civil-rights/">https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2020/06/03/new-bill-would-abolish-qualified-immunity-make-it-easier-to-sue-cops-who-violate-civil-rights/</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/opinion/breonna-taylor-police.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/opinion/breonna-taylor-police.html</a></div>
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Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-1499286692101050382020-02-05T22:19:00.002-05:002023-11-13T04:03:39.664-05:00SEVEN POINTS OF CLARIFICATION<h2>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">I have a decades long history of helping the Body of Christ navigate the particular concerns of minorities. Most of my ministry has been done through publishing, speaking, teaching, and one-on-one discipleship of young men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Because I serve a minority population, much of my work has involved addressing the unique challenges that such communities face. One such example is defending the Christian faith against the accusation that “Christianity is a ‘tool of oppression.’” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">This defense has involved engaging people who have looked for answers in </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">counterfeit teachings, often disguised in theological language – teaching on the bankruptcy of these ideologies when compared to the biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ. The genuine Gospel that answers these ideologies is the robust and transformative message found in the Scripture along with all its implications, not the anemic or privatized version that emanates from some quarters of contemporary American Christianity. This was the basis for a book I wrote decades ago, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Free-Last-Gospel-African-American-Experience/dp/0830816879/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=FREE+AT+LAST&qid=1580950695&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Free at Last?</a>.</i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">In my ministry career, I have used non-traditional terminology to reach those unfamiliar with traditional theological and biblical terms. I have used these words according to their classic dictionary definitions. At other times, I strove to clearly define the words I used in biblical terms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Unfortunately, language is fluid and co-optable. Some of these terms I once relied on have become associated with modern aberrant ‘theologies’ and secular ideologies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Lest these linguistic shifts cause confusion about my worldview or my intended framework, let me state clearly and unequivocally where I stand on several contemporary issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">I. Beliefs</span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Regarding my beliefs, I firmly stand with the Bible as the Word of God. I believe and teach that it is infallible and inerrant (in its original manuscripts). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Second, my worldview is solely derived from the Scriptures. I therefore reject Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory (CRT), today’s Intersectionality, Totalitarianism, Ethnocentrism, Secularism, as well as Marxism and all its applications, as antithetical to a biblical worldview and to the Gospel of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">By common grace, these ideologies may give us slight insights on issues we face today, but the ultimate remedies they propose reflect a profound ignorance about sinful human nature at best. They focus on mere symptoms while ignoring the disease, prescribing a remedy that history proves is just as destructive as the disease itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Third, I believe that only the Word of God and the transformative Gospel of Jesus Christ gets to the root of the problem by addressing the disease itself – mankind’s core corruption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Finally, I am unapologetically a follower of Christ. I am also, in God’s sovereignty, an African American man who has lived the majority of life in the 20<sup>th</sup> Century. I believe according to <a href="https://www.esv.org/Acts+17/" target="_blank">Acts 17:26</a><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span>that this is the culture, time and place God has given me to do His Kingdom work, and thus I see it as a gift from Him imbued with purpose. That purpose has been to explore His work in the world from a particular non-dominant cultural point of view.</span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">II. Social Religions</span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The ideologies I discuss in this post are historically known to bring destruction. We have seen their effects on societies during the 20</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Century, and into the 21</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</sup><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Even today, we can see these “social religions” doing what they do historically – curve in on themselves with increasingly narrow performative ‘orthodoxies.’ They create ever smaller circles of those considered ‘authentic’ – adherents who </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">represent the truest version of their secular piety. They </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">belittle those who do not perform the corresponding rites properly, and damn those who reject the ideology altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Since 2015, my wife and I have spoken against these dogmas when we see them manifest in our own circles. We have seen some wander down paths that, consciously or unconsciously, justified the use of ideologies like Critical Theory, or uncritically glorified and affirmed writers who did the same such as Gustavo Gutiérrez, James Cone and others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">As the impact of these ideologies on Christianity became deeper and wider ranging, we revamped our courses to speak out directly against them. As an academic, I do believe that these ideologies should be studied critically. But as a pastor in the seminary setting, I believe they should be studied against a proper biblical Christology and anthropology, with a full understanding of their deficiencies in producing anything close to a Kingdom agenda.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Those who know our teaching well know of our disagreements with movements founded on CRT. Perhaps one of the clearest witnesses to the destructive potential of such ideologies is found in the "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Movement.“</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> The adverse experiences over the last ten years of secular-progressive professors who did not affirm the movement’s social orthodoxies serve as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz0oxIZ3xIg" target="_blank">cautionary tales</a> not only for the academy, but for the larger society as well.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">I’ve seen the lines blur increasingly between disciplines and ideologies. Therefore, I’ve refined and qualified much of my language from my younger days, and have developed lectures that explain the principles and deficiencies of Marxism, CRT and today’s Intersectionality, as well as their effects throughout history and in American society. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Some students come to graduate programs from secular institutions having already, either knowingly or unknowingly, internalized the so-called “Equity and Inclusion Movement,” CRT, or having accepted so-called “Liberation Theologies” based on Marxist principles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Many are surprised to find how impotent they are when, over the course of a semester, the biblical Gospel is held up against these ideologies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Because of this, I am hopeful. I also believe we are experiencing an interesting turn. A New York Times article discussed the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/09/us/blacks-evangelical-churches.html" target="_blank">"Quiet Exodus"</a> of Black Christians from predominantly White Evangelical churches, in search of cultural affirmation in solid, Bible-believing African American churches. Many of these exiting saints have found cultural affirmation and solid teaching, but have also learned that even culturally affirming churches are still flawed in some way. Such is the nature of our ongoing sanctification. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">However, I now see another ‘quiet exodus’ from the first one mentioned in the article. Some who fled Evangelicalism for the principles of CRT and Intersectionality found the waters bitter and self-contradicting. I’m now observing a handful of Christians from <i>all </i>ethnicities who have become </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">disaffected</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> with CRT and Intersectionality. While these saints still admit that there are social problems that only the Gospel can heal, they now realize the ‘solutions’ that Critical Theory propose are bankrupt; they cannot bring life. They want biblical approaches to local and global social ills that employ the Gospel, its affirmation of life, and the transformation that it alone can accomplish. I find this greatly encouraging.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">There must be a way to discuss mankind’s propensity to dominate their fellow humans, and to discuss repeating historical patterns. Marxism, Communism, Islamism, et al, themselves produce deleterious social effects as they dehumanize and destroy lives around the world to this day.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin,</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Vladimir Lenin, Kim Il Sung, Fidel Castro, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and many others all have left clear evidence that once a balanced understanding of human depravity is removed from a worldview, violence against body and soul cannot be far behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">People are broken sinners. Broken people make broken families. Broken families make broken communities. Broken communities make broken societies. Broken societies make broken systems. And broken systems keep people in bondage – physical, social, and spiritual. This is the reality of our fallen world. Furthermore, this reality is exacerbated by malevolent spiritual forces that surreptitiously manipulate these social ills (<a href="https://www.esv.org/Ephesians+6/" target="_blank">Ephesians 6:12</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Yet the genuine people of God have had life-giving responses displaying God’s intent for humanity based on His principles in order to indict the surrounding culture. God leaves such a witness through His people so that those in the surrounding community might “taste and see that the Lord is good.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The true church, often in small numbers, has historically had some sort of Biblical response to dehumanizing totalitarian regimes, and she continues to respond today. The answer to these ills is, and always has been, the local Body of Christ and her continual transformation into Christ’s likeness through the biblical Gospel, applying the marks of the true Church. Sometimes her effects have been small scale and the redemption of a single life; other times the impact has been great on societies, and other times the effects have contributed to the downfall of entire totalitarian regimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Each social ill opens an opportunity for a response from the Body of Christ. Each age gives us actors and thinkers, great and small, to help articulate those responses and put them into practice – Corrie Ten Boom, John Newton, Alonzo and Althea Edmiston, Granville Sharpe, Maggie Walker, Alexander Solzhenytsin, Francis J. Grimké, and many others in history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">And certainly, I am the least among these, a vapor in man’s record. Indeed, history will eventually forget 99% of us living, publishing, and commenting today. But I trust that my God will not.</span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">V. Language Usage</span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">All language is contextual. As I discuss how the Gospel speaks to social dynamics, the language sometimes crosses over with other ideologies. Despite the fluidity of language, God’s truths remain.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">For example, mankind was given dominion over God’s creation but was never granted total domination over other humans. That it happens in societies on grand scales is clear and further evidence of the Fall. Biblical expressions capturing these realities like “oppression” and “justice” have been co-opted from God’s Word and redefined by Marx; Marx did not create these terms; he merely offered fruitless, man-centered machinations to address them. In reality, jockeying for power and position in order to subjugate others is condemned in the Bible, both in the spiritual and physical sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">By way of another example, categories of dominance and sub-dominance are used by sociologists who are not Marxists. <i>Language usage is not evidence of ideological affirmation.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">But of course, sociology is not enough to change or analyze societies. Neither are public policy solutions enough, without changing the way cultures view and value life. Sociology and government policies cannot accomplish what the transformative Gospel can when it’s brought to bear on broken people and harmful societies. They cannot do what the Spirit can accomplish through the genuine local Body of Christ through Word, sacrament, discipline, discipleship, godly compassion, and redemptive suffering for the sake of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Indeed, sociology and policy alone are deeply insufficient; only Christ can change hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">What drove many of the abolitionists of old, and what drives the pro-life and anti-trafficking Christians today, if it is not hope in the transformative Gospel of Jesus Christ for both the victim and victimizer? What caused our spiritual ancestors to house orphans and create charitable hospitals? What caused several to seek a seat at the drafting table for our founding documents and public policies that support religious freedom and human flourishing, if it were not with hopes to limit social ills? What drove others to bring the transformative Gospel to bear on the inhumanity created by mankind’s inherent sin nature? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Certainly, it was the biblical understanding that mankind was designed to live in wholeness and flourishing, as defined by the God Who created us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Each of the ideologies this personal statement disavows has severely impacted social circumstances and contributed to lives lost, wherever they were found; both for Christians and non-Christians alike. The honorable among us do what we can in the moment; strive for biblical fidelity, maintaining the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace as we press forward.</span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">VI. Differentiating Disciplines</span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">It is increasingly common to pass off mere sociology, psychology, historical analysis, and other disciplines as theology proper. I believe this is errant and dangerous. I take the approach that “theology is the application of God’s Word by persons in every area of life” (Dr. John Frame). I still believe that theology is the ‘Queen of the Sciences.’</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Yet many of our young people can’t tell the difference today between these disciplines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The lines between theology, sociology, Critical Race Theory, Marxism, Intersectionality, etc., have been increasingly blurred in the last twenty years and become more common in Christian thinking than they were when I was a younger man writing in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">The language of today’s intersectionality began to solidify with Kimberly Crenshaw’s work in the late 1980s, almost ten years after I wrote <i>“Beyond Liberation”</i> (the forerunner to <i>“Free At Last?”</i>), which outlines my thoughts regarding parasitical ideas that latched onto the Black Consciousness Movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Even back then, it was clear that many of these ideas were incompatible with the Gospel just as they are now. I have watched history repeat as young men and women once grounded in the Word of God are swept up into ideologies disguised in theological terminology. I know from the first time around that these ideologies will not deliver what they promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">In hindsight, during the closing years of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century it was much safer than it is today to use theological-anthropological terms when writing about social issues. Due to the infiltration of CRT and today’s Intersectionality into the academy, the risk of my ideas being misappropriated and misapplied by both supporters and detractors is far greater today than it was back then.</span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #f1c232;">VII. Looking Ahead</span></b></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Today, I’m grateful to serve in <a href="https://rts.edu/campuses/atlanta/" target="_blank">an institution</a></span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">known for its biblical fidelity. With the years I have left, I hope to produce a handful of solid practical theologians who will carry the Kingdom ball forward to the next generation. I’m grateful at my institution to work alongside concerned faithful Bible teachers who wish to see the same.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Sometimes I am saddened at the state of much of the Church today. Rigid, pseudo-religious secular orthodoxies have given rise to sub-groups within the church who are now falling into <a href="https://unherd.com/2020/01/cast-out-how-knitting-fell-into-a-purity-spiral/" target="_blank">"purity spirals" </a>of their own. In our genuine concern for the church, we are often biting and devouring each other (<a href="https://www.esv.org/Galatians+5/" target="_blank">Galatians 5:15</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">At the same time however, I am encouraged by the young people I see awakening to the historic and consistent ways of living their Christianity. The genuine Church in America is in a much different day than fifty years ago. In this day, our God who transforms, calls us to prioritize our Union in Christ and abandon all other loyalties that demand preeminence, be they external commitments to political allegiances, particular ethnicities or tribes, to group loyalties based on distorted perceptions of gender or sexuality, or what have you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">What matters most at this point in my life is loyalty to Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">By God’s grace, I will continue to refine my own feeble efforts to discover and uncover ways to express the reality of destructive social systems and to present the remedy that’s found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Some will no doubt parse and critique the life out of this statement against all ideologies that set themselves up in opposition to the Gospel. So be it. That is the nature and cost of a public witness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">As for me, I want to see Christ’s Body strengthened. I want to see His wisdom and witness made manifest to the lost and dying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">I want to contribute positively to His genuine church expressed at home and around the world, as she applies the Word faithfully, rightly administers the sacraments, practices discipline, and carries out the discipleship mandate (<a href="https://www.esv.org/Matthew+28/" target="_blank">Matthew 28:18-20</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">I want to hasten the day when </span>“the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> (<a href="https://www.esv.org/Habakkuk+2/" target="_blank">Habakkuk 2:14</a>).</span></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">By God’s grace, may I finish my race well.</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">CFE</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><i>Additional Resources:</i></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">Our<i> Perspective on Justice</i> can be found<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5z9OoazNyo" target="_blank"> here.</a></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><a href="https://shenviapologetics.com/" target="_blank">Neil Shenvi Apologetics</a></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I particularly appreciate appreciate Lisa Spencer's civil, thoughtful engagement on these issues; she builds up rather than tears down. Find her at <a href="http://theothoughts.com/">theothoughts.com</a> or listen to her on <a href="https://reformedmargins.com/podcast/">Family Discussion, a podcast of Reformed Margins</a> which she cohosts with colleague Marcos Ortega.</span><br />
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Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-27419557598161767742017-09-12T18:33:00.001-04:002023-11-11T08:35:36.201-05:00Fine Dining or Dumpster Diving: A Paradigm for Activist Theology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">swasti.verma@gmail.com, 10 June 2012</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the cultural ground shifts under
our feet, the church often gets caught up in these tectonic quakes — unnecessarily
so.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Much of our stress is due to
an inadequate theology.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Not that
our theology is wrong as far as it goes.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>It’s just that it has further to go.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>Most Christians I talk to define theology as, “The study of God.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>While I affirm this definition, it
leaves out the cultural and historical context in which we study God.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>A broader, more comprehensive
definition is, “The application of God’s Word by persons in every area of
life.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> (Dr. John Frame) </span>This
includes the study of God.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-GSEd6B9oNBQeMz2oMWM53ftUsv8JIPpWd7sIZ5zypog1XToQt7Nbqf-HxGStwkhGLNAOqBMLzLRH12UNkO_mIbk7kXvo_O3VZotlWDbSTeiiVfvzs0whWiCXRZfa1bZmeSyk18whBV1/s1600/Freegan_at_work+2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="431" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-GSEd6B9oNBQeMz2oMWM53ftUsv8JIPpWd7sIZ5zypog1XToQt7Nbqf-HxGStwkhGLNAOqBMLzLRH12UNkO_mIbk7kXvo_O3VZotlWDbSTeiiVfvzs0whWiCXRZfa1bZmeSyk18whBV1/s320/Freegan_at_work+2.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">By Khalid Aziz</span> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In our Western context, several valuable
methods of doing theology have developed such as Exegetical theology and
Systematic theology.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>However too
often I have seen a tendency to think that all theology that <i>can</i>
be done <i>has</i> been done.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>This is a short step from relying on
theology more than on the Word of God itself.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>The scope of the Bible covers all of reality while the scope of theology
is limited.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>If the Bible can be
compared to a movie, our theology would be one frame from it. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="apple-tab-span"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Theology can be approached from at
least two perspectives.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In terms
of <i>epistemology</i> — what we should <i>know about</i> God, and in terms of <i>ethics</i>
— how we should <i>obey</i> God.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Theology
can also be done on both sides of human intelligence.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The <i>cognitive</i> side — involving
<i>conceptual</i> knowledge and the <i>intuitive</i> side — involving <i>perceptual</i>
knowledge.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>If the
epistemological approach is ‘Side Alpha,’ <b><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: large;">*</span></b> then the ethical approach is ‘Side Beta.’</span> <b><span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: large;">*</span></b> <span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Similarly, the cognitive would be ‘Side
Alpha’ and the intuitive, ‘Side Beta.’ </span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Historical Examples</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Western theology developed under the
challenge of unbelieving philosophy and science.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>To defend and communicate the faith,
it had to be translated from its concrete apostolic language into a “technical
idiom.” It was mostly concerned with <i>epistemological</i>
issues involving <i>cognitive</i> knowledge — an example of ‘Side Alpha’ theology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">African American theology developed
under the challenge of oppression (slavery, Jim Crow, racism, etc.).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The over-arching challenge for
African Americans was the injustice and dehumanization they experienced.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>They identified with the Old
Testament people of God in similar situations.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In the antebellum South, it was
Israel in Egypt and in the antebellum North, Israel in the Exile.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>African American theology was mostly
concerned with <i>ethical</i> issues.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In
the South, it was more <i>intuitive</i> than cognitive because Blacks had no
access to formal education.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In
the North, more <i>cognitive</i> than intuitive because Blacks had access to
formal education.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>One great
legacy of African American preaching is Paradigm theology — the application of
the basic patterns of biblical life situations.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>These were examples of ‘Side Beta’
theology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Cultural Captivity</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When Christianity functions properly
in culture, the church will clearly communicate a transcendent scriptural
message.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>By God’s grace the
culture will already embody some beliefs and practices that agree with
Scripture.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I call this the
“interface.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>However, aspects of
culture at variance with scriptural wisdom compose “cultural sin.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more Christianity falls short,
the more it becomes dysfunctional.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It
becomes confined to the “interface.” Its
transcendent scriptural message becomes muted and “cultural sin” sets the
agenda.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The result is a failure
to fully address both manifestations of sin — “people sin” where individuals
consciously do wrong<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(‘Side Alpha’)
and “cultural sin” imbedded in time honored conventions, protocols and customs
(‘Side Beta’).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>This is where
Christianity falls into <i>cultural
captivity</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Any Christianity in cultural
captivity is un-Christian.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>From
the perspective of those impacted by cultural sin, Christianity in cultural
captivity comes across as anti-Christian. <span class="apple-converted-space"> This
partly explains the hostile response to Christianity from many young men in the
‘hood.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Mistakes of the Past</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
the late 19<sup>th</sup> and early 20<sup>th</sup> Centuries, some in American
Christianity made the mistake of conflating biblical hermeneutics (the art or
science of interpretation) with the Bible itself — a hermeneutic that was
strong on ‘Side Alpha’ and weak on ‘Side Beta.’<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>When they were confronted with ‘Side Beta’ issues their hermeneutic could
not address, they assumed that these issues were beyond the reach of Scripture.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>As a result, they looked to secular
theories and ideologies for answers.<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="left" class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually,
they abandoned the Bible as the Word of God — the basis for <i>solid</i> theology. They ended up with
a <i>pretend</i> theology based on biblical
connotation words emptied of their meaning.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>While focusing on “cultural sin” they lost ability to recognize “people
sin.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Such “theology” was
subject to the whims of secular political and social fads.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In this situation, the Christian
voice merely parroted the secular voice — a voice that became superfluous.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>This
is cultural captivity</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Evangelicals in the 20<sup>th</sup>
Century reduced orthodoxy to ‘Side Alpha.’<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>They
had “people sin” in their cross-hairs but they tended to ignore “cultural sin”
(‘Side Beta’).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>As a result, their
ability to address “people sin” was weakened as “cultural sin” grew
unchecked.<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually “cultural sin” gave cover to most
“people sin.” The only sin they
addressed fell outside the cultural realm. In essence, they trivialized sin to things
like individual “drinking,” “smoking” and “chewing.” Hence, they became subject to “cultural sin.” In the end, they lost their prophetic voice,
their integrity and their credibility. <i>This is also cultural captivity.</i><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">The Current Context</span></b><br />
<br />
Today there is much debate among Christians, who are theologically trained at
leading Bible-believing institutions, about how to address serious social
issues such as racism and marginalization — issues that cannot be fully
addressed without ‘Beta’ sided theology. Unfortunately, their theological
training, as robust as it is, was derived from a contemporary Western tradition
where the ‘Beta’ side is weak or nonexistent. The result of this was a theological
imbalance. To achieve balance, the ‘Beta’
side needs to be developed. If done
right, ‘Side Alpha’ and ‘Side Beta’ will seamlessly coalesce into one consummate
theology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many
well-meaning Christians oppose the idea of ‘Side Beta’ theology. They fear
the introduction of humanistic heresies (dubbed by some as “liberalism”) that
infected American Christianity in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Certainly, refuting all heresies should be a major concern for all of us who
follow Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
“social-concern-leads-to-‘liberalism’” narrative, however, does not apply in
every case. The African American church
has wrestled with ‘Side Beta’ theological issues for centuries, yet humanistic
heresies did not emerge in this context. It is true that some Black
church leaders recently have imbibed these heresies, but the origin of these
heresies lay outside of the indigenous African American theological context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Those who resist
‘Side Beta’ theology often do so, believing naively that existing ‘Side Alpha’
Christianity is sufficient — a captive Christianity that peacefully co-existed
with Jim Crow in the South and institutional racism in the North.
Obviously, this approach is a non-starter, especially for the advocates of the ‘Beta’
side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Those who seek to develop the ‘Beta’ side
do so because they see the insufficiency of American Christianity in its
present state.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Generally, two
approaches have been followed, 1) to <i>synthesize</i>
(splice together) ‘Side Beta’
from secular theories and ideologies or 2) to theologize ‘Side Beta’ through a fresh application of
biblical wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The synthesizing
approach appears to resemble the approach of non-Evangelicals of the late 19<sup>th</sup>
and early 20<sup>th</sup> Centuries.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>However,
instead of conflating the Bible with a bad hermeneutic, they tend to view
“theology proper” (with a strong view of Scripture) in ‘Side Alpha’ terms.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Accordingly, it does not appear that
they have any plans to abandon the Bible as the Word of God.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>On the contrary, they seek to be
biblical by uncritically co-opting language and terminology from today’s
theories and ideologies.<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have learned the dangers of this approach
through observation and from bitter experience. These dangers are two-fold, 1)
to the general public, this language and terminology does not necessarily have
the “Christian” meaning assigned to it when it is co-opted, and 2) the concepts
expressed are often originally intended to articulate anti-biblical presuppositions and to
drive thinking in that direction. This needlessly muddies the waters within
the body of Christ, contributing to confusion about our
legitimate social concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the
committed Christian, the <i>synthesizing</i>
approach often has unwanted consequences. For example, it can lead to our
own form of <i>cultural captivity</i> where
the transcendent biblical message is suppressed or subsumed under non-biblical
agendas as we descend into an abyss of theological vs. ideological
schizophrenia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The theologizing approach (applying God’s Word....) is
more challenging than the synthesizing approach because it requires
‘thinking outside the box’ in the Western sense.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>However, this approach is much more
stable and consistent.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It
requires letting the Bible itself criticize our theology and reorder our
categories rather than the other way around.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>It requires taking our cultural and historical contexts seriously —
letting it drive us to ask God honest questions, looking to the Bible to
correct and answer them.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It
requires seeing the whole biblical narrative as revelation and not just the
data it contains.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In the spirit
of the Black preaching legacy, the application of basic patterns of biblical
life situations is essential.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While this theologizing approach
might seem to be more demanding, there is a clear advantage to it.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>We often forget that most of the
Bible came to us as narrative, in concrete language with great concern for the
ethical side of theology.<span class="apple-converted-space"> Likewise, the
propositional portions of Scripture are also in concrete language with a strong
emphasis on ethics. </span>In other
words, the Scriptures in their natural state are mostly ‘Beta’ sided. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Not Radical Enough</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today’s secular theories and
ideologies are woefully inadequate to address today’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>issues — cultural, social, economic,
etc.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Yet by common grace they
can and do give us useful insights.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It
is not necessarily wrong to borrow terms from these sources, but it is unwise
to use them without clearly spelling out what we mean and what we don’t mean
when using them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Critical Race Theory (CRT), for
example, has helped us see the key role race plays in human conflict.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>However, CRT attributes the <i>root cause</i> of human conflict to race.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The Bible, on the other hand, has a more radical
analysis. It reveals where racism
itself comes from.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It is the
result of judging other<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>races by
the standard of one race.<span class="apple-converted-space"> Other
examples include <i>sexism</i> </span>— <span class="apple-converted-space">judging the other gender by the standard of one gender, <i>culture-ism</i> </span>—<span class="apple-converted-space"> judging other cultures by the standard of one
culture, etc. </span>These are all derived
from <i>creature-ism</i>, judging everything
(including The Creator Himself) by the standard of the creature.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>This all began when the first humans
rebelled against God by attempting to distinguish good and evil, not by God’s
Word which reveals His character, but by human opinion. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another example of secular ideology is
<i>today’s</i> “Intersectionality.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The concept of <i>true </i>Intersectionality originated in the Word of God.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Biblically speaking, there are two
expressions of intersectionality, <i>general</i>
and <i>covenantal</i>.<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">General intersectionality is the
interconnection of all people regardless of race, class, gender, etc<span class="s2">.,</span> rooted in their shared image<span class="s3"> of God </span>as the basis for resisting and
overcoming obstructions to human flourishing<span class="s4">.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Covenantal
intersectionality is the preeminent interconnection of all people regardless of
race, class, gender, etc., rooted in their shared union with Christ as the
basis for demonstrating redeemed humanity
to the glory of God.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span>oday’s “Intersectionality” is defined in t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he Oxford Dictionary </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">as: “the
interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender
as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping
and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” This concept </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">is problematic because it does not
have a realistic view of fallen human nature, for example:</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. It focuses on obstructions to human
flourishing rather than humanity itself. The essence of “humanity” is
left up to human opinion, but human opinion is subject to the flaws in human
nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. It fails to provide a sufficient lens
to distinguish between what affirms humanity and what negates humanity.
Because of this, the “intersectional” community becomes unstable. It
forces all in it to affirm all ways of life, including counter-productive
beliefs, lifestyles, behaviors, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Surely, there are real
discriminations and disadvantages that must be resisted and overcome. But today’s “intersectionality” tends to
reduce <i>real</i> disadvantages and discriminations
to <i>perceived</i> ones. This may seem harmless at first but eventually
there will be no basis to distinguish between real disadvantage and imaginary
disadvantage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. As “perceived disadvantages” are
overcome, the “intersectional” community falls apart. For this “community” to remain viable, perceived
disadvantages must be maintained, increased, or exaggerated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ideologies and theories of today
are not radical enough to carry the freight of contemporary issues, but the
Bible is more than adequate for the task.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>After all, it is “God-breathed,” therefore it “is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The knowledge derived from secular
ideology will always look foolish when compared to the wisdom derived from Scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">“Food” for Thought</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The task before us can be compared
to where we eat on the path of prepared food in a five-star restaurant.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The food begins its journey from the
kitchen of the master chef to the table of the dine-in guest.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>After the meal, the leftovers are
thrown into the dumpster. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The theologizing approach to ‘Side Beta’
— <i>fully</i> applying God’s Word in every
area of life and culture is like dining on a sumptuous meal specially prepared
by the Master Chef.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>A nutritious,
delicious dining experience indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The synthesizing approach to ‘Side Beta’
— uncritically splicing together co-opted language and terminology from secular
theories and ideologies is like piecing together a meal from the dumpster.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Yes, it is possible to survive by
eating out of a dumpster, but there is a great danger of food poisoning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For decades, I have been passionate
in my fight against racism, marginalization and other surrounding cultural sin. I also appreciate and admire all who seek to
speak out prophetically against these evils.<span class="apple-converted-space">
</span>However, I must ask, ‘How will we continue to carry out this noble task,
through fine dining or dumpster diving?’<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p4"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="p4"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="p4"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span><span style="font-size: large;"> This original post describes the two perspectives on theology as "Side A" and "Side B." I have used these terms since the early 90s. Recently, however, others have co-opted this terminology to describe the stance of some "Christians" toward the LGPTQ+ community. <b>To be clear, my use of these terms has absolutely no relationship to this co-opted use.</b> To avoid any confusion, I have substituted these terms with <b>"Side </b><b>Alpha</b><b>"</b> and <b>"Side </b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beta</span>.<b>"</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</div>
Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-40739781427499034772016-07-21T19:47:00.001-04:002023-11-11T13:42:43.535-05:00Some Things I’ve Learned Along the Way<div class="WordSection1">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut3NES1LVLbr89UPmkhRIuR2mIagxhcVuo501FWmyK1SLyI1Up72c5EHo154cE159jiyUOGMq3lgywGhrEd4ZSYXOdpfsnCcPf7TKUWTGYKMhi7Lk0ZRDEbV6hb42znlefiK2Hze6EAtL/s1600/Road+Scenery.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut3NES1LVLbr89UPmkhRIuR2mIagxhcVuo501FWmyK1SLyI1Up72c5EHo154cE159jiyUOGMq3lgywGhrEd4ZSYXOdpfsnCcPf7TKUWTGYKMhi7Lk0ZRDEbV6hb42znlefiK2Hze6EAtL/s320/Road+Scenery.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon I’ll be seventy years
old. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to fathom this, since I
still feel twenty-five. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was young, I lived
for moments. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, I’m living for time.
Langston Hughes has a poem that included the line, “life is short, but God is
long.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s how I feel these days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My decades as a Christian
activist have taught me valuable lessons. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had to learn a lot of these things the
hard way, but I boiled a handful of “lessons” down to twelve common sense and
overlapping principles of protest, some of which are adapted from my book <i><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=free+at+last+carl+ellis&sprefix=free+at+%2Caps%2C270" target="_blank">Free At Last?</a> </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">— all of which are </span>based on familiar biblical truths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They’ve served me well at
different levels of cultural engagement, so I offer them as a reminder of our
true focus, the gracious God who has ‘shown us what is good.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope they can help us avoid the “<span style="color: #ff0080;"><a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2016/07/reflections-on-black-lives.html#more" target="_blank">syncretistic subculture</a></span>” discussed in my last
blog, and save us unnecessary tears and wasted years as we seek to ‘do what the
Lord requires of us — namely “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk
humbly with...God” (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Micah+6:8" target="_blank">Micah 6:8</a></span>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many of you in the field will
already be familiar with these concepts, but there are also some men and women
I’ve spoken with who are just wading into the waters of protest and prayer,
even at this stage. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t find
these principles helpful today, I hope they will be useful in the years to come.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there’s one thing I’ve learned, there
will always be something in our immediate surroundings that will fall short of
God’s plan for a just society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Guiding Principles of Protest<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1) Our prime directive is The Great Commission — <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk%202:14" target="_blank">Habakkuk 2:14</a></span>.</span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection2">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Everything we do
should hasten the day when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps;">Lord</span>, as t</span>he waters cover the sea.” Therefore as we go, whether across the seas
or across the tracks; whether to teach or to preach; whether to pray or to
protest; etc., we should be making <i>“disciples”</i>
(<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A18-22&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matthew 28:18-22</a></span>) – those who are learning to
obey ‘all things that Christ commands.’
A disciple can be an individual or a culture, however a disciple is not
necessarily a convert. Yet the more Christ’s
commands are applied, the better the quality of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw most fruit in
the field when the young Christian activist was engaged in <i>prophetic
discipleship</i> — both to those we protest against, and to the protestors
themselves. These efforts will be
successful if, at the end of the protest, people on both sides of the
controversy have a greater consciousness of the glory of God. It makes no difference whether this
“consciousness” is embraced or suppressed.
The real issue will be exposed to the light of truth. I would go so far as to say the positive
effect of <i>prophetic discipleship</i> will even go beyond the remedy of the
grievance. This is <i>transformative
protest</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In his speech that
set the tone of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56), Dr. Martin Luther King
pointed out that the significance of this protest had the potential to set a
positive precedence for years to come.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">If you will protest
courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books
are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say,
“There lived a great people — a [Black] people — who injected new meaning and
dignity in the veins of civilization. This is our challenge and our
overwhelming responsibility.” *</span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Protest without
prophetic discipleship is non-transformative and empty. It may change the status quo, but if the
problems of flawed human nature are not diminished through transformation, they
will come back and bite us — often nullifying what the protest is trying to
accomplish. Perhaps we are where we are
today because hearts in my generation were merely legislated, yet not
transformed.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection4">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2) There is power in our transcendent reference point.
</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the protest
goals are secondary to our prime directive of discipleship, we will make more
progress than when the protest goals are primary. A transcendent reference point multiplies the
effectiveness of the protest exponentially.
To use an analogy, my love for my wife is second to my love for God;
because my love for God is first, she gets much more love from me than if <i>she
</i>was first. Such is the quality and
nature of God’s love that I receive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span style='mso-element:
field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1</span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In my early days, I learned
that it was difficult to fully exercise the prime directive under</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">the
leadership of those who leave out the most important purpose of the protest –
the glory of God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span style='mso-element:
field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1</span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Our transcendent reference point is the basis of our wisdom (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+9%3A10&version=NIV" target="_blank">Proverbs 9:10</a></span>).
It is our redemptive God-given contribution to the cause for which we
protest. Without this unique
contribution, our voice merely becomes another run-of-the-mill addition to the
cacophony, </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA style='font-family:
Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1</span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial";">contributing to today’s cultural confusion. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We can be
“co-belligerents” with groups with a non-transcendent reference point, but it’s
difficult to be allies. Non-transcendent
ideologies are simply not radical enough for the Christian activist. The Christian activist is looking for
transformation of society, its systems, and individual hearts. For us, there’s nothing more radical than
transformation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>3) Seek the moral high ground.
</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jesus demonstrated
this and we should follow suit. He did
not ‘judge by what he saw with his eyes, or decide by what he heard with his
ears’ he judged “with righteousness...” (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+11%3A3-4&version=NIV" target="_blank">Isaiah 11:3b-4a</a></span>). In other words, hear-say or first appearance
are not reliable sources of information on which to base a protest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Christian
activist, if he or she is consistent, will take the time to ascertain and sort
out the facts. The Christian voice may
not be the first heard, but will be the strongest voice heard — a prophetic
voice.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
We live in a universe created and lorded over by the infinite personal Creator whose moral principles will always be fulfilled. Thus, the more we align with His moral principles, the more power we will have in addressing the wrongs against which we protest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Without moral clarity, the point of the protest becomes bogged down, clouded and confused.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4) Seek Kingdom righteousness in your protest.</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more righteous
the protest, the more <i>powerful</i> the
protest. The only basis for judging
between good and evil is the character of God.
That which conforms to God’s character is right, and that which goes
against his character is wrong.
Important aspects of right and wrong are righteousness and
unrighteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Righteousness is a
relational term. It simply means “doing
right by the other party in the relationship.”
Two expressions of righteousness are a) piety<span style="color: #a040ff;">,
</span>doing right by God in a narrow sense — involving devotion and ceremony,
and b) justice<span style="color: #a040ff;">, </span>doing right by fellow human
beings.<span style="color: #a040ff;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> For the victims of
injustice or oppression, justice has two basic applications a) liberation from
oppression, and b) empowerment to do the right thing. For the perpetrators of injustice and
oppression, justice involves the swift and compassionate application of the
legal consequences of their actions and omissions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">For the Christian activist, justice for the oppressed must be pursued and visualized through the lens of righteousness.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5) Avoid ad-hominem arguments.</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
today’s emotionally charged cultural context, ad-hominem attacks are common. They are aimed at destroying the person who
holds the views we oppose, rather than dismantling the views themselves. This is violence. Ad-hominem attacks distract us from the real
issues, and lay the groundwork for our protest to be interpreted by others with
counter intentions. In the end, we may
end up with a new tyranny as bad or worse than the injustice we protest
against.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We
all want to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect. It was all too easy back in ‘the day’ to see
the provocateurs of the protest as a dehumanized enemy. In the heat of many tense moments, we had to
constantly remind ourselves, not only do our opponents bear God’s image just
like us, but they are sinners in need of grace — just like us. By failing to act on this truth, or by
engaging in ad-hominem violence, or by not calling it sin when we see it occur
around us, we forfeit the moral high ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Yes,
be angry if you must. But focus that
anger primarily on the grievance itself, not necessarily on the people behind
the grievance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6) Avoid being provocative beyond the offence of the grievance itself.</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let the grievance do
the speaking for you. When we embellish
the grievance with unnecessary provocation, it clouds the issue and is
counterproductive. The cause of justice
does not need the help of evils such as hatred and falsehood. Anger?
Yes, but anger without sin (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4%3A26&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ephesians 4:26</a></span>). The less anger is accompanied by evil, the
more efficacious will be the anger. The
more anger is accompanied by love, the more efficacious will be the anger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, <i>speak</i> the
truth in love, <i>demonstrate</i> the truth in love, <i>dramatize</i> the truth
in love, <i>chant</i> the truth in love, <i>SHOUT</i> the truth in love,
etc. In other words, be forceful, but do
it in love — a powerful weapon indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>7) Let the Word of God do the heavy lifting.</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Word of God can
be spoken without giving its chapter and verse, yet it has the same power
either way. The Word is still the Word
whether it is quoted directly, paraphrased, dramatized, expressed in narratives,
articulated in ‘spoken word,’ rhymed in ‘hip hop,’ chanted in slogans,
etc. Too many times the Christian
community has been so uncreative with the Word that we fail to communicate it —
often giving the impression that the Word is a set of tired and powerless clichés.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have yet to tap
into the wisdom and power available to us in the Word. The Word of God is the power that created
this universe (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">John 1:1-3</a></span>) — a reality so vast
that we don’t know where it ends. The
same “Word” also sustains the universe (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+1%3A3&version=NIV" target="_blank">Hebrews 1:3</a></span>). That being the case, it should not surprise
us that the “Word” will ‘accomplish what it desires and achieve the purpose for
which it was sent.’ “It will not return...empty” (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+55%3A11&version=NIV" target="_blank">Isaiah 55:11</a></span>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the Word is
rightly and creatively applied to the art of protest, its effect will be tangible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">8) Justice does not equal revenge.</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many cite an “eye for
an eye” and a “tooth for tooth” (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+19%3A21&version=NIV" target="_blank">Deuteronomy 19:21</a></span>)
as a justification for revenge. On the
contrary, this is a “lex talionis” — a law of limitation. In other words, “no more than an eye for an
eye, no more than a tooth for tooth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The wise Christian
activist helps his or her co-belligerents take a stand of ‘non-vengeance’ —
leaving the vengeance to God because he or she knows that God can and will do a
far better job of revenge than we can imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand, many
cite Jesus words to “turn the other cheek” (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A39&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matthew 5:39</a></span>) as a call to be <i>punks</i>.
This twisted interpretation has contributed to the toxic perceptions of
Christianity among our urban youth. On
the contrary, “turn the other cheek” is a statement of ‘non-vengeance.” It is also a call to respond to an enemy in a
way he least expects. Therefore, if your
enemy expects you to be mean, then be kind.
On the other hand, if your enemy expects you to be a punk, then be
aggressive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Never let the one
against whom you are protesting put you in a box; when he tries, bust it
open. As Christ’s ambassadors, we are
called to be diplomats — not door-mats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<b>9) Words have different meanings to different communities.</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we define the
points of agreement with our co-belligerents, we must make sure that our shared
words have the same meaning. When that
is impossible, we must make sure that we understand what they mean and they
understand what we mean. On that basis,
we can make intelligent decisions whether or not, or how to cooperate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more our
co-belligerents understand how our words and concepts fit into our worldview,
the more they will understand our transcendent perspective. This will contribute to our discipleship
agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand,
for the protest to have its desired effect, we must learn the language of our
opponents. Communication is a key to
protest, not just words. In our slogans,
chants, rally cries, etc., it is wise to choose words that our opponents
understand that will confront them with the truth — leaving them without the
option of ignoring the issue at hand and the Ultimate Source of the truth we
communicate. This too will contribute to
our discipleship agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<b>10) Let the true narrative of the grievance be self-evident.</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Integrity is key for
the Christian activist, so there’s no need to “juke” (manipulate) a narrative
to make our point. Manipulating the
narratives might seem to give the protest a short term advantage but it will
ultimately undercut it, causing it to lose its power. As a protest loses moral power, the easier it
is for the opponent to explain it away as mere agitation or dismiss it as a
nuisance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because our opponents
bear God’s image and live in God’s world, they have a God-given sense of good
and evil, and justice and injustice (<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+2%3A14-16&version=NIV" target="_blank">R</a></span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+2%3A14-16&version=NIV" target="_blank">omans 2:14-16</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">). No matter how hard they try, they will never
succeed in ‘suppressing’ this truth (</span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1%3A18-20&version=NIV" target="_blank">Romans 1:18-20</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">). The power is in the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">truth</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, not in
deception.; admit and affirm truth, even when it’s hard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<b>11) Tranquility does not equal peace.</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I
have observed that many in the dominant culture confuse these two. However, an unjust tranquility is an unstable
and volatile sham that needs to be disrupted and demolished. This is why we protest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">True
peace is more than tranquility; it is a state of being that leads to God’s
original plan for human flourishing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This
is what we point to as the goal of our protest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<b>12) Our involvement in protest must have a redemptive and transformative role.</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since the role of the
Christian activist is to speak prophetically to all sides in the controversy, important
questions need to be answered. How is
the controversy framed? What is the aim
of the protest? Is it advocating a
solution or is it fomenting unrest for other purposes?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a young activist,
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I had to learn the hard way that what counts is
the <i>net</i><i> prophetic message</i> — <i>prophetic credits</i> (resulting from the wise
things we do) minus <i>prophetic debits</i>
(resulting from the foolish things we do). </span> Our prophetic messages will never match the
caliber of biblical messages. After all,
the Bible is “God breathed.” This is <i>revelation</i>. The key for Christian activists is to be
biblical by maximizing our prophetic credits, and minimizing prophetic
debits. The net message will be <i>illumination</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Distinctions must be
made when we invoke a rally cry framed by unbiblical parameters. On the other hand, if a protest organization has
a valid rally cry but is inconsistent in applying it, we must lovingly critique
this inconsistency. If we fail to do so
we release more unwanted prophetic debits, and blunt the impact of the protest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In summary, implementing
these principles will amplify the power of protest to change the unjust status
quo and maximize the quality of the resulting change. However, there is no guarantee that our opponents
or our non-Christian co-belligerents will receive our transcendent message;
that’s up to God. However, we will have
fulfilled our prime directive, society will be better off, and God will be
glorified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Final Observations</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I recognize that just like
the great creeds and confessions were not first drafts, we can’t expect to get
our theological formulations and practices perfect on first blush. We need to find our way together. This is a process that will take time, sweat,
love and patience. I’m open to talking
about these principles, and having them adjusted for today’s application. Even as I approach seventy, I’m still
learning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If we continue to pursue
this together, the entire church — both in the dominant culture and the
subdominant culture<span style="font-family: inherit;"> — </span>will benefit from a theology of protest we can apply to
any and all issues, not just those of today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you can think of
further biblical lessons beyond these twelve, feel free to add them in the
comment section.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s more that I want
to share with you. Look for it soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Notes</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*Martin Luther King Jr., <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Stride+Toward+Freedom" target="_blank">StrideToward Freedom</a></i> (New York: Harper & Row, 1958), pp. 61-63.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-31959564304559426652016-07-16T11:15:00.000-04:002016-07-16T21:02:26.620-04:00Reflections on Black Lives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO647Wi_3cV33bWfPd01iHc3RpjDUqK5uA2utMPL9KWK66j4WfRZP7kQ8jEFWG3I5zKJQln0RpsBsqFs3GKTEkMFX-pwp_OPHpHEPYaH8XVckrR22dMVuZlZlb62BeLgG3VY-m_fFifBoM/s1600/Black+Lives.006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO647Wi_3cV33bWfPd01iHc3RpjDUqK5uA2utMPL9KWK66j4WfRZP7kQ8jEFWG3I5zKJQln0RpsBsqFs3GKTEkMFX-pwp_OPHpHEPYaH8XVckrR22dMVuZlZlb62BeLgG3VY-m_fFifBoM/s400/Black+Lives.006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Last night, two young Black
Christian leaders from our community came to visit us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They joined a steady stream of young people who’ve
come to our home in the last few years seeking answers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One brother was primarily concerned about
unjust policing in our city, the other with the high crime rate in his
neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Both of these issues have
affected them and their friends deeply. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
two young brothers expressed their frustration with measures that often lack
practical application, be they protest or prayer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were united by their larger concern over
the lack of discipleship, the absence of applied biblical principles, and a prophetic
void – all three, they sensed, were at the heart of their frustrations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They expressed a profound sentiment: “‘Black Lives
Matter’ won’t matter to us until <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i>
Black lives matter.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">They also came with a
question, “What do we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i>?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Most folk acknowledge that
there are at least two versions of “black lives matter.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the Christian, making some sort of
distinction makes it possible to participate in the movement for Black lives without
compromising fidelity to Scripture. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
long ago, the two versions were distinct. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ve since become so intertwined that it’s
worth revisiting how they’re framed and perceived, and how they might be evolving.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">On one hand, “black lives
matter” (all lower case, “blm”) is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
truth</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This truth encompasses the
healthy concern for matters that touch Black lives – criminal justice
reform, racial justice, just policing, better community relations, crime
reduction, urban homicide rates, discipleship, mass incarceration, abortion
rates, poverty reduction, education, employment, ethnic reconciliation,
accurate representation of our history, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I affirm and engage this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">truth</i>, and have encouraged and trained
other Christians to do the same as a part of God’s plan of individual and
cultural discipleship. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find these
affirmations and concerns have no conflict with Christian conviction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve built decades of personal and academic
ministry on this truth – that Black lives do, indeed, matter to God, and
therefore are of immeasurable significance and worth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">On the other hand, “<a href="http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/" target="_blank">BlackLives Matter</a>” (capitalized, “BLM”) is an ideology with clearly stated goals and
presuppositions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would go so far to
say that the original “BLM” ideology, which started as a rally cry and grew
into an entity, has given rise to a cult with its own doctrines and demands for
faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It now extends <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beyond</i> the original entity, blending
with other belief systems in a syncretistic manner as it exports its own
iconography, its own language, and its own heroes for veneration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Spiritual Elite<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Honestly, I am more concerned
about this syncretistic subculture than I am about the original “BLM.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an infection that is finding its way
into Christian communities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some things
I have observed about this subculture among Christians:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial";">It comes dangerously close at times to binding consciences
by conflating holiness or true Christianity with grievance on the singular
issue of police brutality <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as defined by “BLM.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial";">It flirts with binding consciences by subtly emphasizing
public proclamation of commitment to “BLM” as evidence of commitment to Black
people — ignoring the myriad of other issues that Christians might be
addressing in their own personal and cultural spheres.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial";">It borrows a language of exclusivity that suggests
some Christians enjoy a deeper knowledge of reality than others (e.g., “woke” vs.
“not woke,” commonly accepted by many in the movement for Black lives as an
“existential state of being”). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This transfers
into the experiential, as when a Christian “gets woke,” one is now an
acceptable part of a spiritual elite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
kind of language unwittingly draws unnecessary dividing lines in the Body that
Christ died to unify. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I question the
underpinnings of such language; it creates division based on a temporal
standard for inclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those within the
Body who express concern or disagreement with this doctrinaire approach, or who
lack public displays of support for the “BLM” movement, can have their
authenticity questioned, be rejected, or ostracized. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely, just policing is a legitimate pursuit
for the Christian activist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it
almost seems that for some, advocacy for just policing alone is becoming the
Gospel, and awareness of the issue its Pentecost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Others have already
pointed out that “BLM” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the entity</i> holds
presuppositions regarding human flourishing that are at odds with much of biblical
truth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our land of free thought and
speech, it is their Constitutional right to hold these beliefs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their de-centralized form of leadership, however,
has opened the movement to chaos and uncontrolled rogues who aim to dehumanize others
under their banner, even at the most peaceful of protests. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Couple this deficiency in the leadership’s
structure with their presuppositions of what constitutes human flourishing, and
the Christian is presented with an obvious dilemma that cannot be glossed over
with persuasive, yet simplistic pleas for “solidarity around a common cause.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It has become increasingly
apparent that the differences between these two – “blm” and “BLM” – do not co-exist
as “tension to be embraced,” as it is touted by staunch “BLM” advocates in the
Body of Christ. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, it seems for a
number of Christians, the two are incompatible and for some, the two present an
irreconcilable confusion. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These concerned
brothers and sisters should not be judged or marginalized for the courage of
their convictions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">As for using the hashtag,
it’s not essential to doing work that affirms Black lives, nor is its use
essential in order to work alongside others who advocate for criminal justice
reform and just policing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, a
cursory glance through the Equal Justice Institute’s Twitter feed this year shows
no consistent use of the phrase or the hashtag, even as they similarly pursue
their fine work of criminal justice reform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We
need to walk in the wisdom of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
truly the Messiah, yet he did not identify with that title when he was in
Judea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the term “Messiah” was grossly
misunderstood by the Judeans.*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same
applies to the confusion surrounding the “BLM” banner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">‘Where Is the Christian Voice?’<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Not long ago, our
colleague and brother Anthony Bradley </span><a href="https://world.wng.org/2016/01/black_lives_matter_doesnt_represent_the_gospel_nor_should_it"><span style="font-family: "arial";">argued that</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">
we don’t have to bend “BLM” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the entity</i>
into something it wasn’t originally designed to be; that is, into something
distinctly Christian. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree with him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also don’t need to rely on it to accomplish
cultural and social change. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christianity
should never be subject to anyone else’s movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In the same article Bradley
asked, ‘Where is the Christian voice in the conversation?’ Since his article
was published, a number of young Christians have developed organizations willing
to take on today’s issues without<i> </i>co-opting the language of “BLM.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under their own unique titles, a number have organized
and are developing belief statements outlining parameters of agreement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe this will help them greatly as they network
to tackle today’s issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Belief statements are helpful
in that they display care for the Body of Christ, for society, and for
individuals who wish to collaborate by building parameters and defining
expectations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such statements combat
confusion in two ways:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial";">They show respect for the Constitutional right of the
original “BLM” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">entity</i> to have their
own stated goals, beliefs, and intellectual property – even if it disagrees
with “blm” as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a truth.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial";">They help define and articulate the Christian’s
unique perspective on human flourishing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In our collaborations, there’s
no need for either defensive posturing or for blind affirmation of the value
systems involved. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In love for man and
faithfulness to God, we can show respect to the platforms of those who may
disagree with our foundations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
telling, however, if they do not respect our foundations or our commitment to them
in return. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’m also encouraged that these
same grassroots organizations are springing into action around just policing
and beyond, to all the issues that touch Black lives and into all spheres of
human flourishing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are arming
themselves with a robust theology that can accomplish much, without compromise.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, my two young friends left our
home last night with a resolve to begin something of their own. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is up to God whether or not these movements
will grow beyond their local significance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Either way, my wife and I are personally committed to nurturing these
initiatives into something tangible and lasting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Grateful<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I would be remiss if I did
not mention those who have labored long in our communities, schools, courts, in
politics and in our legislature, and in our general society for years, bringing
the biblical Gospel to bear on the value of Black lives. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many who are new to today’s advocacy tend to ignore
this presence, stating that “the church was not there” on these matters. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This is not accurate history.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I know many of you…some are
younger, some are older. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a witness
that your advocacy for Black lives – including just policing – began long ago,
and continues a legacy started by those who came before us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may not have been organized into
movements, but you were there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
grateful for your faithfulness in the day to day, and I’m here to remind you
your work does not go unseen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Caution<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Unless a distinction is
clearly made between the two – “blm” and “BLM” – in the minds of the general
public and the larger Christian community, or unless organizations issue public
statements that distinguish between the two, I find myriad reasons why it’s unwise
for Christians to identify with or protest under the “BLM" banner since
other less compromising options are available. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">For
the Christian activist, a distinction also needs to be made between <i>reform</i>,
<i>revolution</i> and <i>revolt</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reform movements seek to improve the existing order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Revolution movements, <i>if they are
committed to truth,</i> seek to abolish the existing order and replace it with
a better one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Revolt movements just seek
to tear down the existing order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>History
teaches us that without a better replacement as a goal, the result of a <i>revolt</i>
is often a new order that is worse than the one that was demolished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The inconsistencies, lack of accountability
caused by its decentralized leadership, and moral murkiness of today’s “BLM” leave
it vulnerable to becoming merely a <i>revolt</i> movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I have further concerns
that the gains and strides made by those who champion “blm” will be eclipsed by
the unchecked and counterproductive activities of “BLM.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, I’ve spent a good portion of
this year advising those who ask me about the movement to use caution in
affiliating with “BLM” ideology, or when marching under the “BLM” banner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’ve only touched on a few
concerns here, but I’m open to dialogue further about the issue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In closing, I don’t seek to
bind anyone’s conscience; my hope – as it’s always been – is to see young men
and women wisely build solid platforms on which they can generate tangible
changes for our communities, without doing harm to conscience or conviction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Notes</span></b><br />
<br />
*The
Samaritan ‘<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4%3A1-26&version=NIV">woman
at the well</a>’ – in spite of her theological confusion – had a more correct
understanding of “Messiah.” Hence Jesus,
in this context, did not hesitate to use this language familiar to her and identify
himself as the “Messiah.”</div>
<o:p></o:p>Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-50634323103168719052014-12-12T20:16:00.000-05:002015-02-14T17:58:53.487-05:00Racism Alone? – Reflections on the Current National Divide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uoDURpWXp3-R5ctPUjiF5PlgEnsxdjq_0BgzNbMLJBaZI4T085C7VfswjlhhOUBf5-oISmckI07g5lrJlSvU04aKdLwt6a9qe50yP8eslBO5ryS0GZL6WVpuJ-P5VhkmDmSgAqJ7Dsg_/s1600/National+Divide+-+Flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uoDURpWXp3-R5ctPUjiF5PlgEnsxdjq_0BgzNbMLJBaZI4T085C7VfswjlhhOUBf5-oISmckI07g5lrJlSvU04aKdLwt6a9qe50yP8eslBO5ryS0GZL6WVpuJ-P5VhkmDmSgAqJ7Dsg_/s1600/National+Divide+-+Flag.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I heard the decision not to indict the killers of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/dec/04/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video">Eric
Garner</a>, my outraged response was, “here we go again!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2014/09/ferguson-we-dont-all-look-alike.html#more">Michael Brown case</a> lacked moral clarity, the senseless tragedy of the Eric Garner
case was much more clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what
the circumstances were, here were two more African American men added to the
list of senseless killings, arousing strong reactions nationally and
internationally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Some claim that these killings demonstrate the existence of
racist structures that permeate our society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others claim that these killings resulted from criminal behavior or “a
lack of personal responsibility.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
both positions point to contributing factors, they both continue to ignore the
elephant in the room, namely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">culture</i>
– a factor that dwarfs the previous two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We have made astounding progress against racism thanks to
the Civil Rights and Black Consciousness movements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet in the ’hood, conditions have not
improved accordingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, there is a growing
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">culture of dysfunctionality</i> eating
away not just at the ‘hood, but at our larger society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is often government funded through well
meaning but mismanaged subsistence programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is having devastating effects across cultures, yet is felt most
profoundly in the ’hood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2013/02/whos-your-daddy-our-creeping-cultural.html#more">It
is a culture derived from the old “redneck” South</a> – a culture nurtured by
structures of oppression and one that wears down initiative and personal
responsibility – whose value system elevates and encourages anti-achieverism,
fatherlessness, dependency, helplessness, hopelessness, self-sabotaging/self-destructive
behavior, fratricide, etc., and in extreme cases, nihilism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>What we are witnessing today is more a cultural divide than
a racial one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am by no means denying
the reality of the remaining vestiges of racism; I am saying that racism by
itself cannot fully account for the frustration of those who feel the sting of
non-acceptance in, and hostility from, the larger society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is because valued behavior in the
culture of dysfunctionality is often devalued in the culture of functionality,
and vice-versa.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A major dogma of today’s politically correct milieu is, “Value
systems and cultures are equally valid; therefore, thou shalt not evaluate them
lest ye become guilty of ‘blaming the victim.’” Thus, without the cultural
factor, the entire problem of marginalization is attributed only to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">racism</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This partly explains, perhaps, why the overwhelming majority of senseless Black on Black murders across the country do not arouse the same
intensity of anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does not fit the narrative
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘sola racisma’</i> (racism alone),
leaving us with no adequate basis for rallying widespread outrage and protest. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dimensions<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfhPmBQHJen0r8jnkOVLME_mB0ZqPuRNDw-N_NH4Vhpjs3k7FEkCoDzW5PT7C_yj7pgjHg7dq6Lg6cEXJbHKX3w07yVynyYbcu6wwD_GiDux0YaUDsY94_apyRAihSJkSBTDTVDu_4ZMU/s1600/National+Cultural+Divide+-+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfhPmBQHJen0r8jnkOVLME_mB0ZqPuRNDw-N_NH4Vhpjs3k7FEkCoDzW5PT7C_yj7pgjHg7dq6Lg6cEXJbHKX3w07yVynyYbcu6wwD_GiDux0YaUDsY94_apyRAihSJkSBTDTVDu_4ZMU/s1600/National+Cultural+Divide+-+C.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Figure 1:</b> The National Cultural Divide</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The vast majority of African Americans are not bound by the culture of dysfunctionality. Yet this distorted culture has gained a dominant influence among African Americans, aided largely by the mass media. However, the functional vs. dysfunctional is not the only cultural divide. There is also another dimension, namely, the dominant vs. subdominant (Figure 1).<br />
<br />
Most African Americans have experienced some form of
racism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are few of us who haven’t
suffered or witnessed some form of overbearing police misconduct by White and
non-White officers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the
subdominant culture tends to experience more oppression than the dominant
culture, there tend to be divergent views of police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, while most in the dominant culture see
recent excessive police use of force from the perspective of the rule of law,
many in the subdominant culture feel these incidents as paradigms of injustice
and oppression.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Furthermore, from the perspective of the culture of
dysfunctionality, it is easier to see police as an ‘occupation force.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the perspective of the culture of
functionality, police tend to be seen as “upholders of law and order.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Hence, our current national crisis has uncovered an
unfortunate point of contact between members of the subdominant culture and
those trapped in the culture of dysfunctionality – <i>a suspicion of police</i>.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the wake of recent events, there is much talk of healing
and reconciliation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, as
time passes there is a diminishing possibility for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because at the same time, our society is dumping its historic core
values all in the name of “inclusiveness” and “multiculturalism.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of us have forgotten that appealing to
these essentially biblical core values made the Civil Rights Movement
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are increasingly losing the
basis for building a consensus to distinguish right from wrong, and justice
from injustice.<br />
<br />
If this current trend
prevails, we will degenerate into a culturally balkanized society and everyone
will lose.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paradigms<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oppression is sin plus power – the imposition of sin or its
consequences on others with less power. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
causes the oppressed to push back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
they resist oppression, they tend to overlook their own sin, and the oppression
alone becomes the paradigm for all their problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun.” A similar scenario of national crisis happened
to the people of Jerusalem <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">140 years before</span> the time of Nehemiah. Recall that when the Israelites returned from
70 years of Babylonian captivity, they had high hopes. Opposition to rebuilding the temple delayed
its completion. However, as they began
to rebuild the city wall, the opposition succeeded in halting its construction
and destroying the work that was completed.
Because their oppressors continued to thwart all attempts to rebuild the
wall and restore the gates, the people of Jerusalem continued to be vulnerable
and helpless. This had a devastating
effect on the Israelites. As a result,
they lost their vision and sense of dignity; their culture degenerated into chaos as they slipped
into apathy, self-sabotaging behavior and self-destructive life-styles.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you asked any Jerusalem resident to describe their
predicament, they would reply, “The walls are broken down and the gates are
burned with fire.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would identify Sanballat
and Tobiah as their oppressors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">paradigm of oppression</i> was a
statement of truth, it overlooked the Jew on Jew exploitation in Jerusalem,
where the wealthy elite exploited the non-elite through tax manipulation and
human trafficking.<br />
<br />
For African Americans
caught in the culture of dysfunctionality, the comparable paradigm of
oppression has been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">racism</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rethink<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ongoing unrest about Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others is a cry
for a new and overdue movement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fifty-plus
years after the Civil Rights and Black Consciousness movements, there still
remain unresolved problems and issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What many protesters don’t understand is that the movement for which
they foment will not be realized based on old worn out paradigms and
slogans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The new movement will need a new
paradigm that will revolutionize our outlook, offer symbols with moral clarity,
and promote rally cries that will articulate the essence of both. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, the Civil Rights Movement weaponized the
theology of suffering that had been with us from the beginning of our American
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea of theology as a
weapon caused a major paradigm shift in our outlook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus for the first time in the civil rights
struggle, we knew we could <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">actually</i>
effect change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hence, the rally cry, “We
shall overcome” came forth and the Civil Rights <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Movement</i> was born, making many gains before it degenerated into the civil
rights <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">industry</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The emergence of Black consciousness as a movement also
resulted from a paradigm shift and a rally cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As gains in civil rights advanced, we began to experience more fully
another dimension of our American ordeal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Up to this point assimilation into the dominant culture was seen as key
to our success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the general
consensus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as we experienced
greater degrees of success, we began to more fully experience cultural
dissonance in the area of aesthetics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Conformity to a Euro-centric standard of beauty was absurd for most of
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">phenomenon</span> had moral clarity and
gave rise to the rally cry, “Black is beautiful.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the rising dominance of the
culture of dysfunctionality has pushed us toward another refrain – ‘Black is
ghetto.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The politically charged left and right wing approaches to
the current crisis are woefully inadequate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They ignore the cultural factor because they lack a robust basis for
analysis and resolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Biblical wisdom
still stands as the source for true understanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It empowered the Civil Rights Movement and
undergirds our sense of human dignity and worth as it affirms that we are in
the image of God – the foundation for “Black is beautiful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The paradigm shift we need today involves recognition of the
cultural factor in our current difficulties; we need to rethink what it means
to be African American.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Revolution<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is no such thing as a value system that accepts all
values.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, there is no such thing
as a successful movement that embraces all behaviors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as the early advocates of “Blackness”
identified assimilation into the dominant ‘White’ culture as ‘anti-Black,’ we
must identify the culture of dysfunctionality and the resulting behaviors as
counterproductive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it is not
enough just to identify the crippling value system of this culture, we must
seek to free our young men from its grip – a nexus that continues to set them
up to be devoured by the jaws of the rapacious “prison industrial complex.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rising above this cultural morass will require an <a href="http://karenangelaellis.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/step-out-the-boat-following-the-urban-disciple-maker/#more-972" target="_blank">intense and gutsy form of discipleship</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must first awaken our young men to the
fact that they are being used as canon fodder by those who profiteer from the culture of dysfunctionality, namely, drug cartels, unscrupulous
politicians, race hustlers and poverty pimps, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, it must not only empower them from
sinfulness toward righteousness, but from dysfunctionality towards
functionality and from foolishness toward wisdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This partly explains what
happened in Jerusalem under the guidance of Nehemiah when he shrewdly marshaled
the resources at his disposal to empower the people to rebuild the city wall
and gates. With biblical wisdom, he led them
to rise above their cultural crisis through a Godly paradigm shift; Jew on Jew
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their vision and sense of dignity.<br />
<br />
If
done right, the contemporary approach to discipleship will influence more than individuals
and families. It will also impact the
culture itself through the use of powerful art forms like ‘spoken word,’ video,
hip-hop, blogging, music and drama, to name a few.<br />
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This task is fraught with opportunity and danger for the
disciple-maker, but it must be done.
With God’s help, it can be done.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is time for a new and different type of liberation
movement – a cultural revolution informed by Nehemiah,<o:p></o:p> <a href="http://karenangelaellis.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/step-out-the-boat-following-the-urban-disciple-maker/#more-972" target="_blank">anchored to a transcendent reference point and rooted in transformative biblical wisdom</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
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Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-37030066804244721972014-09-01T07:07:00.000-04:002014-09-26T10:42:48.927-04:00Ferguson — “We Don’t All Look Alike”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeaUAw4L4qV2Kq_ZCV5m198NBh4QskPyclxwBKeDzA-qxM-Z-WQj3-rN9Vj3U8gVPcyCkjjOO02ybw4Q9Fe9RJsiIt8P34zSNqpy3ueOZXILD7sZqopW6a-XF_ncBXop5Lkc3Y6GeZuZ4/s1600/HU+Hands+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeaUAw4L4qV2Kq_ZCV5m198NBh4QskPyclxwBKeDzA-qxM-Z-WQj3-rN9Vj3U8gVPcyCkjjOO02ybw4Q9Fe9RJsiIt8P34zSNqpy3ueOZXILD7sZqopW6a-XF_ncBXop5Lkc3Y6GeZuZ4/s1600/HU+Hands+Up.jpg" height="307" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="oembed-asset-photo-title" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Light'; line-height: 21px; padding-top: 5px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: Megan Sims <span class="oembed-asset-photo-author-name" style="color: #009bff;"><a class="oembed-asset-photo-author-link" href="http://twitter.com/The_Blackness48" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;">@The_Blackness48</a>, </span></span></div>
<div class="oembed-asset-photo-caption" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Light'; line-height: 21px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;">Howard University Student Body via </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/14/hands-up-ferguson-michael-brown-howard-brown/14044865/" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;">USAToday</span></a></span></div>
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A quiet rage has been inside me since the shooting of
Michael Brown on August 15 —
a rage I kept under control as I tried to be objective, and resist being
manipulated by the strident and predictable rhetoric surrounding this senseless
killing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as I watched Michael’s
funeral, that rage burned hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brought
to mind the senseless and tragic deaths of other young Black men: <a href="http://time.com/3016326/eric-garner-video-police-chokehold-death/" target="_blank">Eric Garner</a>, age 43 on July 17, 2014 in Staten
Island, NY; <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2013/07/undercurrents-perspective-on-why.html" target="_blank">Trayvon Martin</a>, age17 on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, FL. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t help recalling the horrifying murder
of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till" target="_blank">Emmett Louis Till</a>, age 14 on August 28, 1955 in the Mississippi Delta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His body was fished out of the Tallahatchie
River after being beaten and shot in the head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The image of his mutilated and bloated body is still seared in my
memory.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before you
write me off for strident and predictable rhetoric of my own, you must know
that these killings are not the only ones that have me incensed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am likewise enraged by the <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/2/#homicide-race" target="_blank">murders of thousands of young African American men</a> in places like Chicago, Detroit
and Philadelphia, where the killers happened to be Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have lost personal friends in “drive-by”
shootings, simply because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong
time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In the case of Emmett Till, the motive was clearly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">racism</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The cases of Michael, Eric and Trayvon certainly involved racism, but other
important factors were involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Racism alone
cannot account for the countless Black on Black murders that happen with
regularity across the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
final analysis, the race of the one who pulls the trigger makes no difference
because the result is the same: one more dead African American young man,
gunned down for unclear reasons. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Part of what outrages me is the self-appointed and
opportunistic Black gatekeepers who continue to frame all of our tragedies <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> in terms of racism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By so doing, they cannot account for Black on
Black murders because they don’t fit their “racism-is-our only-hindrance” scenario.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously, racism is an ongoing issue we
face, but it is not the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely we have a long way to go as a society,
but most would agree that while racism is alive and well, it is not the monster
it once was. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The specter of the past is quickly being eclipsed by a
clash of value systems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are in the midst of a cultural crisis amongst ourselves,
and the events in Ferguson have illustrated it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of this crisis is today’s ongoing battle
between those who are “life affirming” and those who are “life denying.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The former are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pro-Black</i> because they are pro-human and the latter are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anti-Black</i> because they are anti-human. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Generally speaking, life-affirmers are the dominant
influence in any culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
lately life-deniers have gained an inordinate influence in African American
culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acting as wolves in Black
sheep’s clothing, they disguise themselves as pro-Black, while carrying and pursuing
an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anti-</i>Black agenda. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The peaceful
protesters in Ferguson seem to have been motivated by the violation of their
life-affirming sensibilities, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and
rightfully so</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The root of the community’s
unrest was decades of frustration with the American justice system that had
failed them for so long. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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At the first
sign of unrest, life-denying troublemakers, mostly from outside of Ferguson,
rushed in to exploit the situation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They included:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1) <b><span style="color: orange;">The opportunists</span></b> — Those with no concern for justice or truth, who attempted to manipulate Ferguson’s vulnerable citizens with inflammatory rhetoric. Their chief concern was getting into the headlines to further their grievance industry agenda; <br />
<br />
2) <b><span style="color: orange;">The criminals</span></b> — Those interested in immediate personal gain by looting, burning and stealing property from Ferguson’s vulnerable citizens;<br />
<br />
3) <b><span style="color: orange;">The nihilists</span></b> — Agitators interested in the destruction of the social order for destruction’s sake. They deny that anything is valuable, neither Ferguson lives nor Ferguson property, or peaceful Ferguson values. These nihilists tried to provoke police violence with gunfire and by hurling Molotov cocktails and bottles of urine.<br />
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These anti-Black intruders and provocateurs had no concern
for the tragedy of Michael Brown’s killing aside from the gain the case
provided for their own agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
neither had respect for Michael’s family nor interest in the true advancement
of African Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were like a
tsunami that overwhelmed the situation — sweeping others up in a dominating dynamic
of their creation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The opportunists consistently and willfully ignore the anti-Black
criminals and nihilists. Recognition does not fit their narrative, and to make
such an acknowledgment would expose their own anti-Black agenda. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If criminals and nihilists began thinking for
themselves, or even began to think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">better</i>
of themselves, they would realize they too are being exploited, robbing the
opportunists of their base for a lucrative, guilt-manipulating hustle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus the opportunists’ survival necessitates
framing issues like Ferguson <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> in
racial terms.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For wisdom, we need to look past the rhetoric of the
opportunists to the original ideologues of modern Blackness, and how they
defined Blackness itself — men like Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael and Floyd
McKissick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all stated that being “Black”
involved more than the amount of pigment in one’s skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Blackness” was a state of mind, involving the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">values</i> one lived by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To that end, <!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1<![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]-->Dr. Maulana “Ron” Karenga sought
to buttress Blackness with a clear set of values.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1966, he created Kwanzaa to connect
African Americans with their African cultural roots and to enshrine life affirming
values into Black consciousness; values such as faith, purpose,
self-determination, and cooperative economics, to name a few.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In essence, the pioneers of modern Blackness were all in
agreement that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in order to be Black one
had to think Black, </i>and to think Black was to affirm life in the most
positive of terms. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A life-denying
lifestyle had no place in the matrix of early Black consciousness; such
thinking was recognized and condemned as anti-Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, those distinctions have disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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We rightfully protest, then, when those in the dominant
culture sweepingly state, “we all look alike,” “Ferguson is looting and burning
its own community,” and other erroneous statements that consign Black people to
a monolithic status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not all thugs
and degenerates. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I propose that this
mentality led to the initial militaristic overreaction of the police to the
Ferguson protesters — overreactions that provoked more waves of anger that
became its own vicious cycle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of
the news media also played the “we-all-look-alike” game as they rhetorically
conflated “peaceful protesters” with “rioters.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We don’t all look
alike; </i>no group is monolithic, and we cannot all be lumped into the same
categories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, we treat
ourselves as if this misguided notion is true when we include life-denying
imposters as if they are “authentically Black.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We continue to make this mistake in the name of “political correctness,”
and Ferguson teaches us that this is to our detriment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Michael Brown himself stands as the hinge-pin between these
two positions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has come to exemplify
the struggle between authentic Blackness and anti-Blackness, between the
affirmation of life and its denial. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael
Brown, like so many other young Black men, had one foot in pro-Blackness as he
was headed for college, and the other foot in anti-Blackness as he was seen on
video stealing from a convenience store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the best efforts of his mother and father, he was without a
value-based sense of Blackness, and he was “at risk” because he was culturally adrift
— primed to be cut down by the forces of "they-all-look-alike-ism." <o:p></o:p></div>
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Had Brown not been cut down, he may have grown into a more
life affirming position; perhaps as an internationally renowned neurosurgeon, a
nationally syndicated newscaster, a White House cabinet member, a military
general, a preacher of the Gospel, or perhaps as a simple and ordinary man who
loves his wife and leads his family well, like so many who sit in our
congregations every Sunday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, we
will never know.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is time to rediscover the values that originally
empowered “Blackness,” allowing it to become the paradigm-shifting positive
force it was from its inception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To do
that, we need to rediscover biblical wisdom. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wise application of the Word of God to our
life situations, our identity and our purpose was the powerhouse that gave 19<sup>th</sup>
Century African American theologians the foundational truths upon which historic
and modern “Blackness” was built — theologians like <!--[if supportFields]><span
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style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1</span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]-->Rev.
Henry Highland Garnet, Rev. Alexander Crummell and Rev. Henry McNeal Turner to
name a few.<br />
<br />
We must mourn the heartbreaking death of Michael Brown and
others like him across the country. As
we do, we must also recognize that these unnecessary deaths are part of a
cultural death — the death of Blackness itself at the hands of life-denying,
anti-Blackness.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This post originally appeared on Ed Stetzer's <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/august/its-time-to-listen-we-dont-all-look-alike-guest-post-by-car.html" target="_blank">The Exchange</a></b>, Hosted by <b style="font-style: italic;">Christianity Today.</b></div>
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Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-24224455712477247772013-11-30T06:00:00.000-05:002013-12-21T12:03:34.754-05:00A Letter to Our Young Brothers and Sisters <div style="text-align: center;">
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This letter was written in
response to the <a href="https://ncfic.org/blog/posts/please-forgive-me#disqus_thread" target="_blank">National Center for Family Integrated Churches' 2013 Panel, "The Worship of God - Q&A: Holy Hip Hop." </a></span></i></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">UPDATE:</span> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">12/5/13)</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Several of the men on the above panel have issued apologies. Their comments can be found <a href="http://westernconservatory.com/articles/brotherly-word" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://ncfic.org/blog/posts/please-forgive-me" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://www.challies.com/articles/joel-beeke-christian-rap-and-public-apologies" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UPDATE: </span></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(</i><i>12/21/13) The NCFIC site administrators have removed the original video from the </i></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://ncfic.org/blog/posts/please-forgive-me#disqus_thread" target="_blank">NCFIC web and blog sites</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To our
dear brothers and sisters,</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our
culture — within<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null"></a> and outside of the Church — will always misunderstand your Kingdom work ... at this, you
must not be dismayed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You
know better than anyone that we are in the midst of a devastating cultural
crisis, a cancer that is destroying souls in our community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cultural cancer doesn't discriminate by socioeconomic class or by color, but merely takes different manifestations according to the hopelessness that festers in each of the despairing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have seen the rise of ghetto nihilism, Wall Street nihilism, government nihilism, Hollywood nihilism, gender nihilism, and on and on. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many of our self-appointed cultural gatekeepers
are exploiting this crisis for personal gain, instituting programs and legislation that promise satisfaction, yet work
against the liberating biblical principles we seek to teach.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For those who live and work in our most hopeless areas, be it in the city, the 'hood,' or in the 'burbs, it sometimes seems as if the deck is stacked against our Kingdom work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so, we carefully count each hard-won victory as precious Kingdom treasure — each life
saved, each family mended, each young woman or man who comes to see themselves
a bit more clearly through Christ’s eyes, know Him more intimately, and find their ultimate identity in Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks to your labor, God is not without human testimony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daily, for decades, you have been used to breathe new life into dry
bones. Yours has been a powerful and refreshing voice of redemption and
cultural renewal.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, a
<a href="http://vimeo.com/80291749">new set of self-appointed gatekeepers has
emerged</a> who are out of touch with our most basic core concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even more disheartening, these gatekeepers wear our family
name ... the name of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have decided that
one of our many cultural facets — Reformed hip-hop — needs their
permission to be valid and legitimate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And while they, as brothers, certainly have as much right as we to speak
of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i>moral</i> </span>matters, they have impacted our community with an ill-timed and uninformed voice to assess our <i>cultural</i> and theological expression.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Be assured; we do not need anyone's permission to teach or ‘do
theology’ from our unique cultural position, nor are we required to justify ourselves to self-appointed Christian gatekeepers; they simply have no authority over us as our basis for cultural validation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We all
have a tendency to confuse cultural norms with Biblical ones; yet this is
especially harmful when done by the dominant culture of any society. All too often the dominant culture is blind to the knowledge that they, too, have a culture that is in need of redemption at the
cross.<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ideally,
as we grow, we learn to value cross-cultural interaction, and enter into fellowship that
informs us of our blind spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
this is radically different from one culture determining what is proper
application of Scripture in the context in which another culture lives. To say it another way, one culture cannot use itself
or its aesthetic as the standard to judge another; only the Word of God can
make that assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dr. John Frame’s <a href="http://www.frame-poythress.org/a-fresh-look-at-the-regulative-principle-a-broader-view/">broader
interpretation of the regulative principle</a> helps to widen our understanding of worship to include<i> all</i> spheres of
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frame gives us a helpful scriptural foundation
for understanding Reformed hip-hop as a musical genre in the larger artistic milieu.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is
always preferable to bring our culturally dominant brothers and sisters along
on our journey of theological expression and help them understand us, rather than just ignore them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it is foolish to let dominant
approval determine whether or not we continue to minister to the people in our own sub-dominant
context. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And while
we must constantly examine our own ministry motives and be open to <i>legitimate</i>
correction, given the depth of our current cultural crisis we do not have the luxury of extended preoccupation with illegitimate assertions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must be cautious stewards of the time
we’ve been granted, wary not to spend it all educating Christians in the
dominant culture while neglecting those among us who are still blind and searching
for the Kingdom Door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is it
worth the trouble to press on from here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unequivocally, yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need your
unique voices to accompany the hands that labor; the didactic role of Reformed hip-hop is a powerful one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
built on sound theology and done skillfully, it speaks to those to whom others cannot speak, and encourages those to whom they will not go. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of course, we do not limit ourselves to Reformed hip-hop as our singular expression of sound theology, but we may embrace it for what it is: a valuable tool that has brought understanding to a community that desperately needs a theology robust enough to carry the freight and weight of life. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So do not hesitate to use every sound theological tool at your disposal to wage war ... the lives of men, women and children are at stake. Do<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> not let this distract you from your </span>call to
battle the nihilism of our day, redeeming the very vehicle that nihilism
hijacked and now uses to demean and destroy us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through this medium, what once brought death now brings Life; it does so in a reality
that the dominant culture is often unwilling to engage — either physically, or even in
philosophy. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Those who accuse you are as absent in our communities as the
fathers and mothers you stretch yourselves thin to replace. Yet </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Christ
is present</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> —</span> and we continue strong in Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>You are no one’s coward; you who stare down a
full history of negation within and outside of the Church; you who hold a high view of Scripture and of the character of God, who strive to live above reproach to His glory; you who understand all too well the darkness from which you have been redeemed... </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indeed, He has brought us all 'from a mighty long way'.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We leave you with this: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="regular">
<a href="http://www.esvbible.org/1+Thessalonians+5%3A13-28/" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Be at peace among yourselves. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,<span class="footnote"><sup> </sup></span>encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be
patient with them all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See that no one
repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to
everyone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus for you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not quench the
Spirit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not despise prophecies, but
test everything; hold fast what is good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abstain from every form of evil. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you
completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></i></a></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="regular">
<a href="http://www.esvbible.org/1+Thessalonians+5%3A13-28/" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.</span></i></a></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Laboring
with you,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Ellises, Carl and Karen</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br /></div>
Carl and Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087481249584033808noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-81635073957638097802013-07-18T22:02:00.000-04:002013-07-19T04:51:37.112-04:00Undercurrents: A Perspective on Why the Trayvon Case Aches<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3u99XbLtpRMhJML8Kq_zfGv9kJGgJpxm7KWdsGlb1Uzs3hi0EIWgbo8oMqI8itrQobOHa9SBvZfqtGm-UVhwW1P5J6y53esv4_X1hLIkUaiH6x2YsGo3RtstwxYUidlAvDpAYT7EVbDQ/s1600/Hand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3u99XbLtpRMhJML8Kq_zfGv9kJGgJpxm7KWdsGlb1Uzs3hi0EIWgbo8oMqI8itrQobOHa9SBvZfqtGm-UVhwW1P5J6y53esv4_X1hLIkUaiH6x2YsGo3RtstwxYUidlAvDpAYT7EVbDQ/s1600/Hand.JPG" width="320" /></a>How does one begin to explain this feeling? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Korean culture has a name for it … they call it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_%28cultural%29"><i>Han</i></a>. </span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_%28cultural%29"><i>Han</i></a>. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness in the face of irreversible cultural sorrow; a cold fist that reaches deep into a people’s collective soul, only to pull away having grasped a fistful of emptiness and despair. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Something… simply... is... not... right.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Perhaps Han’s first recorded outcry was from the <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Genesis+4%3A8-16/">blood soaked ground that called out for the life of Abel</a>, slain by his brother Cain. The voice of Abel’s blood “cried out from the ground” for justice; Cain received his sentence, and for the rest of his days was subject to carry the metaphoric weight of his brother’s lifeless body. Even though justice was served, Abel’s life was not restored … at least not in the annals of history.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In light of the concept of “cultural Han,” a collective memory of tragedy and injustice can, in fact, seem primal and full of complex emotions. Han further holds the notion that such collective cultural memory is universal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are descendants of Eastern Europeans alive today who cannot bear to hear the language of their forefathers’ Soviet oppressors without tears of cultural Han welling up in their eyes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Survivors of the Rwandan genocide may carry the memory of those lost to a season of slaughter at the hands of their own countrymen. This is Han.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For those who made their way to escape through the picked-clean-bones that littered Pol Pot’s Cambodian killing fields, this is Han.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the surviving Jews, the Roma, the true Christ-followers and numerous other Western Europeans who still vividly recall the last century’s systematic slaughter and gassing of millions, this is Han.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the communities of thousands of under-reported innocent bystanders in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore slain just this year, this is Han.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Martin-Zimmerman verdict was, for some, just this visceral for many Americans of African descent. Regardless of the details of the case, for the average descendant of the slave in America one teenager’s death potentially carried the “historically haunting” memory of a million-plus souls lost to the sea or to the lynch-mob’s noose, dead by neglect, disease or overwork. For some, the verdict was a whisper; for others it was a cultural scream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This, too, is Han.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is there a culture in history on whose door Han has not knocked? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If such a culture exists that has never known a collective depth of sorrow, then the people of that culture should be prepared; Han is not a respecter of persons, and may pay an unwelcome visit at any point in a culture’s history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some cultures have not been visited by Han for many generations; as a result, time, dominance and privilege have erased their ability to recognize such pain in others. There are still others that feel that their culture’s Han is somehow different, perhaps even more painful or more intense than that of another. Yet with irreversible loss of life as the great and ultimate equalizer, it is all … Han. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some in our culture rightfully seek justice, while some mistakenly seek vengeance. Legislation is drafted to serve and protect the living, and due process is sought in the courts. And while some survivors feel that justice is served in extinguishing one life for another, there are stories of yet others who’ve found only emptiness in the public execution of their loved-one’s murderer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In light of life lost, even when justice is served, the scale remains out of balance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When Han is applied to the finality of death’s realm, we see its frustrating, helpless and hopeless dimensions … the realization that no matter what course of justice is taken, the masses of dead cannot be restored. A human debit will always remain on the balance sheet, and the salve of justice, no matter how liberally it is applied, never … adequately … covers … the wound. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week, cultural outsiders who’ve watched the average African American wrestle with this collective Han may misinterpret this voiceless, internal struggle – that this case can, for some, evoke the weight and reminder of more than a million souls that cannot be revived – just as it does for others who’ve experienced a cultural trauma. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the outsider, the extremes of response don’t seem to match the stimulus. What appears to be a simple brush against calloused skin is actually the touching of nerve endings, raw and exposed. Rub up against it enough times, and the pain turns to a gut-level defense and protection of the sore. Soon, the outsider begins to distance himself while scratching his head, perhaps confused and fearful of inflicting more pain, or perhaps simply fearful of the heightened intensity of the response. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Universally, with such a collective cultural angst buried deep inside, direct descendants who struggle to reconcile the effects of Han are often rocked by historical aftershocks. While on one level we may be reacting to the details of the case itself, on a deeper level some of us may also be reacting to the cultural effects of Han. Perhaps we as descendants don’t even fully understand the primal complexity and conflict of our own response. And so, many from numerous camps spend much time talking past and misunderstanding each other, deepening our social divides. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our culture will roll on. Social media is often commandeered by the voices on the extremes of an issue, those who either cry “too much” or “not enough.” Most of us stand somewhere in-between, understanding that there are still very real and critical unresolved issues in the African American context, but that they come from a variety of sources – from without and within. Legislators will legislate, analysts will analyze, concerned people will continue to serve, the apathetic will yawn, activists will rally, demonstrators will protest, the pundits will continue to opine, and opportunists will find new ways to exploit our collective Han. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">God has gifted the astute among us to help us understand ourselves as a nation, and help continue to move the scales of justice toward a functional equilibrium. Christ-followers, for example, are called to wisely resist injustice and evil against cultures and individuals wherever it’s found; many have given their lives to answering that call in a variety of arenas. We do what we can; we initiate positive movement with legislative changes, we vote responsibly, we blog our opinions, and we find comfort and healing through rational discussion in our personal conversations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yet many of us come away feeling somewhat unsatisfied because none of our efforts or ruminations will completely resolve our Han. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The truth is, not even the most gifted minds will find a satisfactory solution to the effects of “cultural Han,” or find a way to fully balance the weight of the scale that holds the masses of lost souls for a culture; nothing will erase the tragedy, or prevent reminders of the tragedies from recurring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like so many things for those in Christ, our pain is "already healed, but still not yet removed." In this framework, we needn’t be defined by our pain or oppression but rather informed by it, and we can recognize that all unresolved pain – even cultural pain – still has ultimate meaning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If such collective despair visits all cultures universally and proves to be such a powerful force in our personal reactions, is it possible to find release? Will the scales of justice ever fully balance? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Bible reminds us that only one Man in history has ever accomplished the restoration of a people, destroying humanity’s collective Han – that man is Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there is no relief from Han’s existential ache. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From our vantage point, we only see the debit side of the ledger sheet. He is Himself the Credit and Balance for our cultural sorrow, both in this life and the next – the only one able to satisfy perfectly everyone’s longing, to account for the lives lost, and to dispense the measure of justice each needs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unlike the ground that cried out in despair when Cain slew Abel, the grave in which Christ was buried could not contain his declarations of “Life – Justice – Mercy!” for all who put their faith in him. In conquering death, he accomplished the reversal of the world’s greatest injustices in the face of man’s inhumanity to man – be they national or global, collective or individual.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Christ has accomplished the reversal of the greatest injustice of all – humanity’s cosmic treason against God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having done so, he is the only One who can wipe the tears of Han from any peoples’ eyes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Only he can fully bring the heavy side of justice’s scale into perfect balance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Karen Angela Ellis holds a Master of Fine Art from the Yale University School of Drama and a Master of Art in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary, and is happily married to Carl Ellis, Jr. Karen writes about theology, identity and human rights ... you can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/KarAngEllis">@KarAngEllis</a>.</span></i></span>Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-88298240602680834602013-06-28T12:54:00.000-04:002013-07-05T16:20:10.719-04:00An “Illiberal” Liberalism: Why Black Folk Can’t Get Ahead<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While
many people are loyal to a single news outlet in their homes, my wife and I
take in a considerable amount of daily news from a variety of viewpoints –
domestic and foreign, liberal and conservative, and much more. A few nights ago, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcR5Awg4MCc">Fox News featured an audience</a> of articulate African American citizens who identified themselves as
“conservatives.” What caught our ear was
host Sean Hannity’s teaser for the show: he announced that African American
conservatives “don’t enjoy freedom of speech” in their own country. With our curiosity piqued, we tuned in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
we listened to the audience describe the disdain they had experienced from
fellow African Americans for their conservative affiliation, we realized that,
experientially, we had much in common with them. We don’t subscribe personally to either the <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/neither-and-both-conservative-vs.html">conservative or liberal</a> ideology; we have as many agreements
with both as we have disagreements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet
with few exceptions, one thing remains fairly consistent: when we express our disagreement
with the prevailing “liberal” agenda, we’re often tagged with the same epithets
that leftists use to besmirch these conservatives. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We
seldom get this kind of reaction when we disagree with conservatives. We find this ironic, since by definition, to
be “liberal” is literally to be “open to new ideas and willing to debate the
issues.” However, our so-called
“liberal” detractors have often proven themselves to be illiberal — that is, not open or willing to debate the
issues. Because they have a doctrinaire
suspicion of differing ideas, they personally attack, insult, and marginalize
those who disagree — especially conservatives. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
is clearer to me than ever, that we live in a climate dominated by political
and social illiberalism. If I subscribe
to the aforementioned definition of liberal, there is a question that must be
asked before I can throw my hat into the conservative ring: “How ‘liberal’ will
conservatives prove themselves to be?” While Mr. Hannity’s show covered much
territory in its brief hour, this was the crucial question they failed to
explore. I’m persuaded that without
addressing the deeper dynamics, the current liberal/conservative debate will
continue to be frustrated by the extremes on both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A Tale of Three Cultures</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
today’s America, there are at least three cultural distinctions; a dominant
culture, a sub-dominant culture and a culture that’s mainstream. Before the late 1960’s, mainstream culture
and White culture were virtually the same; Black culture was sub-dominant to
the two. Today, mainstream culture is an
amalgam of elements from both dominant and sub-dominant cultures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
I see it, the greatest conflict lies in the differences between how the
dominant and sub-dominant cultures operate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
orientation of the dominant culture is toward preservation of things as they
are; after all, our flawed human nature dictates a desire to cling to
power. It’s not an American problem; the
pattern can be seen globally as the dominant culture typically marginalizes
many of the core concerns of the sub-dominant culture. Given our flawed human nature, this should
come as no surprise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
orientation of the sub-dominant culture is toward change; those without power
want to gain it, and in order to do so, alteration of some sort must
occur. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Historically,
liberals have gravitated toward change while conservatives have gravitated
toward preservation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It’s Not What You Say, It’s
How You Say It</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
also significant to note the use of language in the discussion. While it is true that in general terms the
values of African Americans are closer to conservatives, in terms of language
and cultural orientation, Blacks respond more readily to liberals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today’s
conservatives tend to use the language of the dominant culture, while today’s
liberals tend to use the language of mainstream and/or sub-dominant culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed,
liberals have learned what conservatives have not: how to ‘speak’ to the
African American diaspora, and by doing so appear to appeal to the community’s
broad core concerns.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
this appeal is often merely superficial, as it exists only on the level of
language and visceral response. If we
are to effect significant change, we as a community need to see beyond the
language and deal with the substance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
we dig more deeply beneath the surface of liberal rhetorical style, we would
discover that not all public policies developed under the banner of “liberal”
are helpful in addressing African American core concerns. In fact, some are destructive. Many who claim to be “liberal” push public
policies that work against empowerment and encourage dependency, but the
language they use makes it sound “right.”
However, <a href="http://www.biblica.com/bibles/chapter/?verse=proverbs+14%3A12&versesearchform%5Bsearch_type%5D=v&version=niv&versesearchform%5Bmatch_type%5D=all&versesearchform%5Bsorting%5D=bookorder&versesearchform%5Bpage%5D=1">not everything that sounds right is right</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similar things
can be said of public policies that claim to be “conservative.” Yet conservatives still have many valuable
contributions to make such as public policy proposals that take an empowerment
approach. Their message is muddied,
however, by the dominant cultural language they employ. This makes their ideas sound mean-spirited
and out-of-sync with African American concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
who controls the language of the culture has the greatest power to shape the
culture. As long as conservatives ignore
this linguistic reality, attracting African Americans will prove to be a
challenge; they will either<span style="color: #b10005;"> </span>continue with
their current methods<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8600591889470508146" name="GoBack"></a> and insist that African Americans
cross over to their ground (a difficult cultural leap for many), or write them
off in favor of more easily persuaded minority communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
believe that if we are going to move forward as a community who has distinctive
concerns in America, we need to evaluate political and social ideas as they
stand on their own, without regard to their ideological association.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="text-align: center;"><b>Principled Change</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like
many liberals, sub-dominant independents like my wife and I have an interest in
change. What we want to know is,
according to what standard will change be effected? If change means bringing this society into
greater fidelity with the transcendent core principles of true freedom, justice
and equality, then we have no problem standing with liberals in this
cause. This is principled change, and these principles have been the
bedrock of our progress. If, on the
other hand, change necessitates discarding the core principles, then we oppose
this ‘far-left’ brand of liberalism because this is change without principles,
or unprincipled
change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like
many conservatives, sub-dominant independents like us have an interest in
preserving our core principles. If this
is the aim of conservatives, then we have no problem with standing with them in
this cause. This is principled preservation.
If, on the other hand, “preservation” means propping up the existing
unjust state of affairs, then we oppose this ‘far-right’ brand of conservatism
because it is unprincipled
preservation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzfcvrX3YoAeYv2eZd2bAOAHZJWYTbBFeALfMeiy3iltvuagfs9IGWXjuYeuvZRz-RqEnnRbPNR7VOzxlZIz3ofw_Esz4bavmt17NPgUvRKlHHiniA3b4xVc8T8iK9VPXxDbpbkUCPZId/s1600/Quadrents+of+Ideology+Diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzfcvrX3YoAeYv2eZd2bAOAHZJWYTbBFeALfMeiy3iltvuagfs9IGWXjuYeuvZRz-RqEnnRbPNR7VOzxlZIz3ofw_Esz4bavmt17NPgUvRKlHHiniA3b4xVc8T8iK9VPXxDbpbkUCPZId/s400/Quadrents+of+Ideology+Diagram.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The true political and social distinction for African Americans should
not be liberal verses conservative, but principled verses </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Italic","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "ヒラギノ角ゴ Pro W3"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">unprincipled. </span>The principled stance is the ideal position for positive change – the ‘sweet spot’ on which we can best operate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
The unprincipled are not committed to true freedom, justice or equality; they are after dominance and power. If left unchecked, the unprincipled will be able to use the liberal or conservative cause as a Trojan horse for a corrupt
and capricious agenda – people who will redefine and pervert the core
principles accordingly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unprincipled
(‘far-right’) conservatives seek power through preserving what’s left of the old unjust status quo. This ultimately leads to entrenchment of
oppression and permanent marginalization. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Unprincipled
(‘far-left’) liberals on the other hand seek dominance and power through
establishing a new unjust status quo. This ultimately leads to a government of men,
not of laws. We may be in the favor of
the government today, but what recourse will we have if we fall out of favor
tomorrow?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter which side we
choose, if we don’t think critically, we will ultimately lose.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="text-align: left;">A</span><span style="text-align: left;">ny
current discussion must take into account that today’s current
liberal/conservative argument is geared to the dominant culture, not the
sub-dominant.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">While I am encouraged to
hear African Americans naming and discussing unfruitful public policy, African
Americans should weigh out whether they want to be drawn into this conflict
since the dominant culture currently makes it clear that our core concerns are
not on their radar.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I,
for one, am certainly eager for this discussion.</span>Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-20553458941489348482013-06-25T07:06:00.002-04:002013-06-26T15:34:59.438-04:00For Whom Will Tomorrow’s Bell Toll? Thoughts On Paula Deen<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"A word once spoken can never be taken back..."</span></i></b></span></div>
<br />
So goes the old African proverb, wisdom no doubt gleaned from a lesson that was learned the hard way.<br />
<br />
Last week, we all watched the train wreck that resulted in Paula Deen’s removal from the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FoodNetwork">Food Network</a>. Ms. Deen will appropriately have to answer for her workplace atmosphere – she is singularly responsible for the conditions in which her employees worked, and for their treatment while there. If the allegations are true, then feeling shame, remorse and regret for her actions is, in this case, appropriate.*<br />
<br />
The deeper problem with Ms. Deen’s story is that the court of public opinion doesn’t exact justice. It cries for vengeance. I wondered, along with several friends, what would happen if people demanded that we be held responsible for the careless words we’ve spoken in the past? <br />
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</xml><![endif]-->While Ms. Deen’s racial slurs were certainly reprehensible
and offensive, as her story plays out in social and traditional media I can’t help
but wonder at the larger movement happening: how swiftly and thoroughly today’s
court of public opinion exacts its own pound of flesh. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The deeper problem with Ms. Deen’s story is that the court
of public opinion doesn’t exact justice. It cries for vengeance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wondered, along with sever<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="GoBack"></a>al
friends, what would happen if people demanded that we be held responsible for
the careless words we’ve spoken in the past?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<h3>
<i><b>Once Words are Let Loose</b></i></h3>
<br />
This was the power of the Oscar-winning movie <i>Crash.</i> It poignantly showed that none of us is immune to careless words spoken in hate, haste, jest, or outright ignorance. It also showed the complex perceptions and
emotions that surround our words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one
astute friend pointed out, we are all aware of the chasm that often exists
between cultures, and the potential for what can be misconstrued in what we
initially think is a simple ‘turn of phrase.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My friend, who investigates claims of workplace harassment, pointed out
that we all make ‘faux pas.’ Sometimes an apology is necessary, and at other
times, people mercifully let us off the hook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And then, there are times when legal action is necessary, as was felt in
the case of those who brought suit against Ms. Deen.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet my friend’s words remind us that Ms. Deen’s experience
is certainly a universal one to which we all can relate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We human beings seem to enjoy the taste of
our own feet, and this pervasive condition of ‘foot-in-mouth’ is the reason
that the books of <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/James+1/"><span class="Hyperlink1">James</span></a> and <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Proverbs+18:21/"><span class="Hyperlink1">Proverbs</span></a>
underscore the fact that great power lies in the tongue. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More seriously, however, the Bible tells us that one day, we
will all give account for the words we have spoken. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Words matter, and this bald truth tells on us every time we
open our mouths.</div>
<br />
<h3>
<b><i>Words and the Public Court </i></b></h3>
<br />
But grace matters all the more – and the court of public opinion becomes more harsh and demanding every day. The court of public opinion is a lonely place where one sits on trial while others (who hide their guilt for the same crimes
or worse) point, sneer, mock, objectify, and carry out sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Ms. Deen’s case, the sentence was
vocational execution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Few will stand with the accused in these instances for fear
of being excoriated and judged themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Indeed, the celebrities and talk-show-hosts who propelled Ms. Deen’s
career into the limelight are currently nowhere to be found as she sits in her
public shame; such is the power of the public court.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There have been some measured voices who have expressed
their disappointment in Ms. Deen, while still showing compassion and
understanding toward her. Voices such as these give us hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Of particular note, however, was the <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/21/pastor-paula-deen-cant-be-a-racist/?iref=allsearch"><span class="Hyperlink1">voice of African American Pastor Gregory Tyson, Sr.</span></a> Here is a man who knew her deeds and, in spite of her lack
of cultural sensitivity, stepped in to promote what he knew of the character of
the “Paula Deen” largely unreported by the media. While we may differ on his
words, his opinion, and the manner of his approach,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it cannot be denied that he is a man who
calls Ms. Deen ‘friend.’*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though his defense likely felt like so much spitting into
the wind, he publicly stood firm with Ms. Deen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How grateful we all would be to have such a friend to stand with us
boldly in our shame, not from a distance but close enough to be soiled with our
dirt and be identified as a friend of the accused when it would be all too easy to desert.</div>
<br />
<h3>
<b><i>A True Declaration</i></b></h3>
<br />
It’s here that we find the heart of the matter: those who know Christ have just such a friend. He not only stands with us in our shame, but takes our shame on Himself and declares us as more than ones whose sins are forgiven. He declares us, in spite of all the evidence our fallen
condition generates to the contrary, as ones who <a href="http://prezi.com/npmxkiogwkq-/heidelberg-catechism-question-60/"><span class="Hyperlink1">“had never been sinners in the first place.”</span></a>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all need to be reminded that we will be <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+12%3A36/"><span class="Hyperlink1">judged
by our words</span></a>, and that our own mouths will condemn us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To put it another way, we all violate our own
moral judgments, and while justice may be appropriate, we all also stand in
need of mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will be judged not merely for the words that are spoken,
but also the ones that ramble through our thoughts yet never reach our lips. We
have all thought things far more reprehensible than what Paula Deen has
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ironically, those who judge Ms.
Deen most harshly will similarly be held accountable by their own words because
they have violated their own moral judgments, and <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+2%3A12-16/" target="_blank">cannot themselves adhere to them.</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHgSVYXdMeFDS6h0_IbtFu9ZqwPoTEG7qH1cg_vIBAkaYD-sOuKsTiBeA6j1yuA4Y25n0DWhF_U3jXrL64LkAN54jafBtp-niyAzqNh-oy3BHydhu6RgGbtblJPGJOzgjQksDQ7BxHCA/s1600/Bell+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHgSVYXdMeFDS6h0_IbtFu9ZqwPoTEG7qH1cg_vIBAkaYD-sOuKsTiBeA6j1yuA4Y25n0DWhF_U3jXrL64LkAN54jafBtp-niyAzqNh-oy3BHydhu6RgGbtblJPGJOzgjQksDQ7BxHCA/s1600/Bell+1.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a>For now, it is easy to laugh, mock, disdain, ascribe
motivation, offer remedies for rehabilitation, or perhaps even feel empathy and
compassion for those caught in the media’s myopic gaze. But what of the day when each of us offends
in haste or ignorance, or perhaps creates offense simply by speaking the truth? What will be said should the lens turn on us,
and we are called to blink in the harsh, glaring lights on <i>our </i>day in the court of public opinion? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Looking beyond the temporal, where will we hide when we
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Who will come to our defense, either now or in the future, when the bell - inevitably - tolls for us? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbTlNFXpDjZIx0jOFpccotmaqg5btDQOXVP9bdqY-YTyEQkozAj4o36H7Z49-iPISD8CxD96iyp1rroJ3flQuPKE8JApT1Wy9-FZDm3tLfMrppA0W3H-l3iZoC7lgQptmbwrnIOqjyBA/s1600/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbTlNFXpDjZIx0jOFpccotmaqg5btDQOXVP9bdqY-YTyEQkozAj4o36H7Z49-iPISD8CxD96iyp1rroJ3flQuPKE8JApT1Wy9-FZDm3tLfMrppA0W3H-l3iZoC7lgQptmbwrnIOqjyBA/s1600/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" height="200" width="179" /></a><i> * This paragraph has been edited to reflect new information released in the media (6/26). To read the paragraph as it originally appeared, <a href="http://www.raanetwork.org/2013/06/for-whom-will-tomorrows-bell-toll-thoughts-on-paula-deen/#.UcszDpxCqYt" target="_blank">click here.</a></i></div>
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<i>Karen Ellis has enjoyed a long career in broadcast media and the arts, and now writes on theology, identity and human rights. She invites you to follow her on Twitter, @KarAngEllis.</i></div>
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<br />Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-5016602005552885192013-06-11T07:21:00.001-04:002013-12-04T08:03:36.505-05:00Taking Back the Black Church From Yvette Carnell<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yvette-carnell">Huffington Post</a>
contributor <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yvette-carnell">Yvette Carnell</a> published “<a href="http://breakingbrown.com/2013/05/why-black-liberals-need-to-take-back-black-agenda-from-the-black-church/">Why Black Liberals Need to Take Back [The]
Black Agenda From The Black Church</a>.” In it, the founder of the Breaking Brown media
hub felt she “made the case” that the Black Church had outlived its political usefulness,
and should take a back seat to Black liberals in driving the Black political agenda.
In response to strong criticism from her
readers, she released a <a href="http://www.yourblackworld.net/2013/06/black-news/yvette-carnell-why-black-liberals-need-to-reclaim-the-black-agenda-from-the-black-church-contd/">subsequent article</a> to bring some definition to the large
brush strokes with which she painted the Black church, its history and
shortcomings. On her media site, Ms.
Carnell promised that this is just the beginning of a larger analysis she will
deliver on the Black church, and its relation to current Black politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her writings left us with a
few questions: Did she indeed ‘make her case’ regarding the Black Church in
these two articles? Further, what do we
need to know about her approach as she presents her forthcoming critique? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s think through her <a href="http://www.yourblackworld.net/2013/06/black-news/yvette-carnell-why-black-liberals-need-to-reclaim-the-black-agenda-from-the-black-church-contd/">argument</a> together.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I.</b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Carnell opens her second
article by reiterating two main points from her first: that the “Black Church
(1) was </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">never central</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to the Civil
Rights movement and (2) is not a useful 21</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">st</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> century model for
leadership” (emphasis ours). Carnell
cites statistics, but mere statistics don’t adequately represent the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">conceptual </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">reality.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The church as a singular
and identifiably labeled institution may not have always been visible, but
thousands of church </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">members </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">were. By Carnell’s logic, which cites the lack of statistical
institutional visibility, we could say that Democrats, liberals, Republicans,
conservatives, beatniks, colleges or universities (and on and on) were never </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">central</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to the Civil Rights Movement. Of course, we know that the Civil Rights
movement was comprised of many contributors from diverse backgrounds; yet the
reality remains that the use of church buildings as strategic locations, the recorded
speeches, sermons, rhetorical style, and non-violent demonstrations that drew
on the foundational principles found in the </span><a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+5-7/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sermon
on the Mount</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> makes the
church’s centrality rather obvious.</span><br />
<div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaI1gdakZh5aa2BzLGtId94L2_35btOa-HKUlWTlSai503ptD8PeQ3RTMJ-KFayXaIvOU-5SGHFu5Rpoic3ytqGfZnJE8SCPj5mQ84ulsTMQk6vfROs5tjCyfDdSNPd7GWq3vWL8SfzNGC/s1600/TEXT-BOX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaI1gdakZh5aa2BzLGtId94L2_35btOa-HKUlWTlSai503ptD8PeQ3RTMJ-KFayXaIvOU-5SGHFu5Rpoic3ytqGfZnJE8SCPj5mQ84ulsTMQk6vfROs5tjCyfDdSNPd7GWq3vWL8SfzNGC/s400/TEXT-BOX.jpg" height="400" width="218" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carnell’s reasoning and
understanding of history here are puzzling. If the church wasn’t central to the movement,
why did those resistant to the movement target numerous southern Black churches
for bombing, burning and terrorism? Even
if Ms. Carnell does not acknowledge the centrality of the church, the White bigots
who tried to terrorize the church in the South certainly understood its centrality
to the movement’s advancement, as well as the potential psychological impact
that targeting churches could have.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is indeed true, as Ms.
Carnell asserts, that “[Dr.] King himself lamented the </span><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>‘apathy of the
Negro ministers’</i></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and their interpretation of Christianity.” However, Ms. Carnell doesn’t report that Dr. King’s
significant contribution was to weaponize our theology into a powerful force
against racism and injustice. This revolutionary
application came with </span><a href="http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/the_addres_to_the_first_montgomery_improvement_association_mia_mass_meeting/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his speech</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> delivered on December 5, 1955, late on
the first day of the Montgomery bus boycott. It was at this moment that our civil rights
struggle was transformed into the Civil Rights Movement.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>II.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Carnell
states in her first article that “Martin
Luther King Jr. and other Christian leaders of the Civil Rights Movement stood
on their faith <i>because there was nothing
left to stand on</i>. Blacks weren’t
full citizens so faith was where it began and ended. We <i>had</i>
to believe in something and so we <i>did”</i>
(</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">emphasis ours</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">). From our vantage point, it appears she measures
the value of the church primarily in terms of its contribution to “Black
politics.” Does this mean that the
church must be subsumed under politics?
Is politico-centrism a worldview we must adopt to be authentic and
relevant? Is she suggesting that we
ultimately submit to a one-dimensional existence – political serfdom? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carnell’s
reduction of faith to a mere political “agenda” is disturbing. A purely utilitarian view of the Christian
faith insults all who take faith seriously, not just Christ-followers. Specifically, biblical faith certainly
champions the cause of justice; the Civil Rights movement, for example, was
able to<i> accomplish </i>gains in justice <i>because</i> of its Judeo-Christian theological
underpinnings. However, the Bible’s message from Genesis to
Revelation is not limited to social advancement; rather, it has something much
greater in view, namely reconciliation with God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is hubris
then, for any one individual to decide that a faith becomes obsolete once it has
facilitated social improvement. It
exposes that individual as one who doesn’t understand <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Hebrews+11/">the
function of faith</a> in the first place.
A faith in God that
can be discarded isn’t true faith; it’s apostasy – rejecting the Creator for some aspect of His creation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In her first
article, Ms. Carnell chides the Black church for its apostasy in bowing to a gospel
of Black pacification, which she feels has rendered the church ineffective. However, her argument simultaneously suggests
that the church should do precisely what she claims that “prosperity pimps” (her
terminology) have done; replace the God of the Bible with an idol – in this
case, politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>III.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Carnell states
“adherence to morality politics is a dead end because it lays claim to
resolving centuries old disagreements which can never be wholly resolved in the
public sphere.” She also promotes the
idea that “Christian literalists are not influenced by polls or rationalism” in
determining public policy. To this we
counter that politics without a <i>moral
base</i> is itself a ‘dead end.’ Without
an ethical basis, what prevents politics from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5z9OoazNyo">degenerating into tyranny</a>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Should we base
our morals on the shifting ground of public opinion, as she suggests? By appealing to transcendent truths above
public opinion, the Civil Rights Movement was able to discredit the prevailing public
notion that Blacks were inferior and/or unequal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are we to base
our morals, then, on rationalism? If Ms.
Carnell means that rationality should play a key role in our moral judgments,
then we are in agreement – as long as there is a transcendent reference point
that isn’t subject to the limitations and flaws of human nature. However, based on the context of these two
posts, she appears to be pushing a human-opinion centered rationalism – a sure
recipe for confusion and conflict. It is
one thing to believe in absolutes, it is quite another to be an absolutist. The believer in absolutes humbly yields to a
Source above him, while the absolutist arbitrarily makes his/her own opinion
the ultimate moral source. Similarly, it
is one thing to follow a moral code, it is quite another to be a moralist – one
who is self-righteous and judgmental. Carnell’s
broad-brushed statements put her dangerously close to both moralism and
absolutism. Under such a rubric, it is
difficult to appreciate respectful rationality when presented by others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Observe the
effects: Carnell mistakenly conflates the theological motivations of Christians
with the political motivations of conservatives; the two may agree at times,
but they are <i>not</i> the same. The same can be said about the motivations of
Christians and liberals. By conflating
Christians and conservatives, she does a great disservice to conservatives who
profess <i>no faith at all,</i> yet may
still be advocates of smaller government, supply-side economics, a strong
military, and the myriad of other concepts that are associated with
conservative thought. Individual values
and politics are (and should be) far more complex than Carnell allows, and
while we may individually agree with a right-winger at a particular point, it
does not mean that we are right-wingers. The same applies to particular agreement with
a left-winger. Does sharing a common
cause with atheists make us atheists? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Carnell <i>does </i>allow that not all liberal concepts
are the exclusive domain of the un-churched, and that liberals may indeed be
Christian; yet she doesn’t adequately take into account the numerous reasons
why Christians choose for or against liberal or conservative policies. </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>“You’ll get the same “pull yourself
up by your bootstraps” rhetoric from the Black Church that you get from Newt Gingrich, with a dollop of Jesus on
top. If you agree with this up by faith notion of prosperity, then you’re a
Republican. Go there. Do that.
<i>Liberals believe in government as a force for good.</i>” –
Yvette Carnell</b><b> </b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Humility and
reason force us to acknowledge that we are all broken; by extension, we all
contribute in some way to the brokenness of government and society –
conservatives and liberals alike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carnell’s assertion fails to take into
account that the Ku Klux Klan was once the terrorist arm of the Democratic
Party in the old South. She does not
delve into the darker historical accounts that show that opposition to federal civil
rights legislation in the 1860s, 1950s and 1960s came mainly from
Democrats. Neither does she differentiate between fiscal and social conservatives,
liberal and far-left, conservative and far-right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The overall failure to
observe these nuances has put African Americans today at risk of being
dismissed; taken for granted by the Left and written off by the Right. This is a blueprint for <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/children-of-mama-nem-and-pharaoh-who.html">marginalization</a>.
In the 1960s, Malcolm X,<span style="color: red;"> </span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Eu2Ez9K8cQEC&pg=PT95&lpg=PT95&dq=Viable+coalitions+therefore+stem+from+four+preconditions&source=bl&ots=i6uRrYFbG2&sig=3N5Uecz4yFjqpxpX_NRHjW5_K8E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=R_e0T6SyOISc8gT7iLzhDw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Viable%20coalitions%20therefore%20stem%20from%20four%20preconditions&f=false">Stokely Carmichael, Charles Hamilton</a><span style="color: red;"> </span>and others warned us not to make this mistake, yet here we
are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the last few decades,
African Americans have sided overwhelmingly with Democrats and/or “liberals” to
such an extent that we no longer do critical thinking about the political and
social issues of today. And while Ms.
Carnell has previously asserted that <a href="http://www.yourblackworld.net/2012/05/black-news/yvette-carnell-why-black-people-should-be-ashamed-of-themselves-and-why-theyre-not/">‘critical thinking’ among African
Americans is dead</a>, when
it comes to the church and African Americans of faith she shows very little of
the critical thinking we should expect from writers with a national platform. In the process, she perpetuates the same
damaging group-think she condemns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>IV.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Carnell does point us
to an uncomfortable truth; while many churches are functional, some are
dysfunctional. The same can be said of
leaders and of those in the pews. As a matter of fact, <i>all</i> churches are broken to some extent because they are full of
broken people in need of redemption; so it is, incidentally, with politics and
governments. This is a door to
understanding the liberating message of the gospel of Jesus Christ – that
redemption for the believer has been fully accomplished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms.
Carnell does get this right: no one who claims the name of Christ receives a
pass from God for unrepentant sin, or for the distortion of Christ’s
message. So though Ms. Carnell has us
squirming in our pews at times, we share her outrage at the publicly displayed
obscenities that come from the far edges of the church’s brokenness. As Christians, we are outraged because unrepentant
sin distorts the message of the Bible, and because it too often results in
manipulation and abuse of people who are genuinely searching for
wholeness. As Black folk, we are
likewise outraged because we know all too well that the positive actions of the
many are historically judged by the negative actions of the few.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her articles
also correctly point out that some facets of the Black church have slipped into
unbelief, and it is true that the theological influence of the church has
degenerated. While unacceptable, this has
happened before; witness the numerous instances where Israel (the Old Testament
church) degenerated into unbelief and idolatry.
What must remain in view is the great message of the Bible, that God’s
redemptive purposes are never thwarted by human failure; <i>God always has a righteous remnant</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Carnell accurately describes two
African American “strands of Christianity,” (a) Black liberation theology that,
in her words, “partially fits the bill” of her politico-centrism but is “not
practiced by the majority of Black Christians” and (b) prosperity gospel – a “materialistic
message in some Black mega-churches” that poses no threat to the unjust status
quo. However, by reducing Christianity
to these two marginal strands, she betrays a lack of knowledge as to the depth
and breadth of the actual biblical church.
Any assumption that the church excludes concerns about “income
inequality and the wealth gap” is uninformed.
A casual reading of the biblical prophets reveals God’s compassion for
the poor and oppressed, <i>wherever</i> they
may be found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Biblical truth holds that both liberation
and spiritual prosperity are essential dimensions of the biblical Gospel. In fact, the gospel is a multi-dimensional,
transformational message. However, if
the gospel is <i>reduced</i> to only one of these dimensions, it ceases to be the Gospel
and becomes something unbiblical and grotesque.
For example, ‘liberation’<i> without
transformation</i> becomes an empty political message that cannot address human
brokenness. Likewise, unspecified ‘prosperity’
<i>without transformation</i> becomes the glorification
of manipulation, materialism and greed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of a separate
but <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yvette-carnell/the-black-church-vs-marij_b_654243.html">related article</a> on the church, Ms. Carnell mentions a
third potential strand of Christianity by addressing those she calls "well-meaning
Christians.” Yet a sampling of her
articles reveals this manifestation is based on her opinion – not on a real understanding of the life of the larger church or on biblical truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are
persuaded that all man-made ideologies will <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/neither-and-both-conservative-vs.html">fall short of fulfilling a biblical ideal</a>. The Word of God remains above political and
social categorization. However, the God
of the Bible – who Self-identifies as neither Republican nor Democrat,
conservative nor liberal – has given
His followers the freedom to agree with any of America’s ideologies at points where
they agree with Scripture, producing believers who span the political and
social spectrum. Certainly if God
affords His followers this freedom, then media pundits who claim His name
should do the same out of identification; those who don’t claim His name should
do the same out of respect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1dH6wFbxvOGBrG2ZdWmr0DfhEQ0FvfAOKSKZkDHi-d_wp8PW1Z3uJuQnNDLjF3bjU-qPw4p5q5BYTErrg0AyWfqncjJYolnne5I7adaQkEJZM2EyYS4kzdnKRKkldsqiFgTDT2tMO4pM/s1600/16th+Street+BC+cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1dH6wFbxvOGBrG2ZdWmr0DfhEQ0FvfAOKSKZkDHi-d_wp8PW1Z3uJuQnNDLjF3bjU-qPw4p5q5BYTErrg0AyWfqncjJYolnne5I7adaQkEJZM2EyYS4kzdnKRKkldsqiFgTDT2tMO4pM/s320/16th+Street+BC+cropped.JPG" height="301" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We agree with Ms. Carnell that we can’t
step into history’s waters in the same place twice; to expect the “Black
church” to operate in the same manner it did fifty years ago is to attempt to
run DOS 1.0 in a Mac OS X environment.<b> </b>The needs, while they may be just as
desperate as they were then, have changed; the general culture, the
neighborhoods, the policies, etc., all have shifted. However, the biblical church, of which the larger
historic Black church was an important part, is still alive and well and<span style="color: red;"> </span>is about the business of addressing the core concerns
of individuals and groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We must
respectfully ask, then; who has given Yvette Carnell the authority to determine
the relevance of the church in Black America, and who is she to decide the ‘strands’
of Christianity and define its orthodoxy? These are but a few of the questions begged by
her sweeping assumptions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CONCLUSION</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How then, should we approach Yvette
Carnell’s critiques of the church? We
often appreciate Ms. Carnell’s contributions and the content she presents. However, her lack of knowledge <i>and basic courtesy</i> toward
Christ-followers cheats the public of a helpful understanding of the role of
Christian faith in society. Based on
what she has presented so far, we are concerned whether she will be able to develop
her “longer critique of the Black church and its detrimental impact on
politics” with integrity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Information is not knowledge, nor is
knowledge the same as understanding; all three are necessary for wisdom. For
centuries, we have fought hard against White folk who relegated us to broad,
generalized categories and then made decisions for us based on paternalistic
‘one-size-fits-none’ legislation; Black folk who similarly perpetuate
worn-out caricatures are roundly unhelpful. Therefore, we invite Ms. Carnell
to a dialogue on the church that might open her schemas, or to correct us in
the places where she feels she has been misunderstood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We needn’t
agree on everything, but whether writing for national media outlets or simply
blogging, we have the responsibility to construct respectful, informed
arguments – we too, are learning this as we write for various audiences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In spite of her
knowledge, experience, and national platform, Ms. Carnell seems oblivious to
the myriad of exciting new models of the church springing up among African
Americans. That being said, if the church <i>is not</i> the stereotype that Ms. Carnell
has presented, then what precisely <i>is</i>
the church? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural
body of Christ-followers whose convictions
are drawn from one <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-08-27T20:25:00-04:00&max-results=7">transcendent Source</a>. Its actions and beliefs are not subject to the
winds of political, cultural, social or even denominational change, but rather
have the ability to <i>inform</i> one’s
thought in all of these areas – and more.
If one really wants to address the issues surrounding the church, one
needs an understanding of
how God is working through history and culture; one must begin with understanding the church’s unifying and consistent
factor – the Word of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, a word to the church: it is
becoming increasingly fashionable in both mainstream and social media to
caricature and stereotype biblically-minded Christ-followers of all ethnicities
and frame them as obsolete. As
ill-informed journalism on Christianity continues to proliferate, those who
worship God in spirit and in truth must remember what Vance Havner and many
other observers of history have noted: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Biblical Christianity has always outlived
her pallbearers.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Ellises are educators who have the privilege and
pleasure of working as a team, traveling and lecturing together. Carl is the Assistant Professor of Practical
Theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, and is the author of numerous books on
African American culture and theology.
Karen has enjoyed a long career in broadcast media and the arts, and now
writes on theology, identity and human rights.
Learn more about their work at </span></i><a href="http://www.ellisperspectives.com/"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">www.ellisperspectives.com</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">, and follow them on Twitter: </span></i><a href="https://twitter.com/carlellisjr"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">@CarlEllisJr</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> and </span></i><a href="https://twitter.com/KarAngEllis"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">@KarAngEllis</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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Carl and Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087481249584033808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-2025603160509163322013-05-10T12:03:00.001-04:002013-05-10T19:10:28.829-04:00Motherhood, Untimely Born<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</div>
A curious command and promise opens <a data-mce-href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+54/" href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+54/">Isaiah 54</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
<div align="center">
<i>1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>break forth into singing and cry aloud,</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>you who have not been in labor!</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>2 For the children of the desolate one will be more</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i> “Enlarge the place of your tent,</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>do not hold back; lengthen your cords</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>and strengthen your stakes.</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>and your offspring will possess the nations</i></div>
<div align="center">
<i>and will people the desolate cities....</i></div>
</blockquote>
While
Isaiah is speaking directly of the little post-exilic community in
Judea, he is also speaking more broadly of the future glory of True
Israel. We just saw the anguished victory of the Suffering Servant in
the <a data-mce-href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+53/" href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+53/">passage before</a>;
now the Servant’s task is seen as fulfilled, and the prophet breaks
into a hymn and shouts of praise from the "barren, childless woman,"
welcoming the dawn of the New Age.<br />
<br />
Hold up… did we read that right? What reason could a childless woman possibly have to rejoice?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
It’s
ironic that Isaiah uses a childless woman to illustrate Christ’s
eternal covenant of peace for his Bride. In Old Testament culture, being
childless was a shameful state, yet this was the culture into which
Christ would come. When God spoke through the prophet of a “redeemed
barrenness”, he spoke directly against Israelite culture. It’s one thing
to glorify motherhood, yet another entirely to idolize it.<br />
<br />
Some
of the greatest recorded blessings of God came through barren women;
women who were tormented and marginalized by their own culture – even by
those in their own households. We need look no further than Elizabeth,
Sarah, and Hannah; motherhood in each of their cases was a supernatural
act of God, for God’s purposes alone. Even barren <i>places </i>birthed
great fulfillment – after all, can anything good come from Nazareth?
Yes, and amen! Christ himself didn’t come into Israel at a time of the
great kings, or after a great victory in battle; he was born into
Israel when there was no fruit on the fig tree; true to the words of
Isaiah, he came to Israel after a lengthy silence from God, “<a data-mce-href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+53/" href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+53/">like a root out of dry ground</a>.”<br />
<br />
In
God’s economy, the barren woman so often receives a double portion;
temporal blessing, as well as eternal. Sarah became the mother of
nations, Hannah nursed the prophet who would anoint a king after God’s
own heart, and Elizabeth reared the herald of the coming Christ. All
provided symbols of supernatural Kingdom fruitfulness and expectant hope
beyond the temporal into the eternal.<br />
<br />
Yet the fruit-bearing in
view in Isaiah 54 shows an even greater miracle – fruitfulness in glory
is promised from no birth process whatsoever, either natural or
supernatural.<br />
<br />
This is truly worth noting then, as God specializes in creating <i>ex nihilo</i> – in bringing something from absolutely nothing.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Christ, the Greater Legacy</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
According to the <a data-mce-href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff11.html" href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff11.html">2010 US Census</a>,
the number of single fathers in 2010 was 1.8 million, compared to
600,000 in 1982. About 46% were divorced, 30% were never married, 19%
were separated, and 6% were widowed. This means at the very least that
1.8 million children are growing up perhaps never having known “mother”
in a functional sense. Add this to the number of young men and women
who have never rightly known “father”, and the social and spiritual
opportunity grows in proportion to the crisis.<br />
<br />
My husband raised
two young children to adulthood as a single father. Today, they are
beautiful and Godly people, making their own way yet still in need of
occasional ‘parenting’, guidance and mentorship. I often wish that I
had known them as little people, privy first-hand to the stories that
now live fondly as exaggerated legends around our kitchen table! The
addition of our daughter-in-law has brought our number of children to
three, increasing our joy exponentially. There’s a depth to their
acceptance, love, respect, and care for me that I deeply appreciate, in
part because I do not know what it is to have children of my own. It is
beyond precious, indeed.<br />
<br />
I feel a similar depth of love to the
numerous and diverse young people who stream through our home on a
regular basis. They don't look like me, and do not carry my name. I am<i> learning</i>
their histories rather than having experienced them. Yet when we who
have known no children open our hearts to those who are seeking ‘mother’
or ‘father’, absence meets absence, longing meets longing, and love is
born ... <i>ex nihilo</i>.<br />
<br />
Many of us will come to fulfillment in motherhood somewhat akin to the way that Christ met Paul, as to one “<a data-mce-href="http://www.esvbible.org/1+Corinthians+15%3A8-11/" href="http://www.esvbible.org/1+Corinthians+15%3A8-11/">untimely born</a>.”
Paul didn’t meet Christ in the natural manner of the apostles, walking
alongside him on the crowded roads during his earthly ministry; yet his
comparatively unconventional encounter with the glorified Christ on the
dusty road to Damascus held no less value, meaning, or impact than that
of the other apostles. Such is it with spiritual motherhood, "untimely
born."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="RNF Images, rnfimages.com" class=" wp-image " height="317" id="i-508" src="http://karenangelaellis.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/reaching_ruth-naomi-floyd.jpg?w=273&h=317" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title=""Reaching" © 2013 Ruth Naomi Floyd Images" width="273" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"Reaching,"
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">© 2013 Ruth Naomi Floyd Images</span></div>
<span style="color: #783f04;"> Used with permission.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Spiritual motherhood offers an opportunity to become a wise
and compassionate influence to our current “social orphans,” adults who
have been left with a parental void of wise counsel, compassion and/or
love. When the Church steps in to address their spiritual and life
issues, she speaks against a long line of opportunists offering an
endless supply of false identities to while away their hours, days and
years.<br />
<br />
As spiritual parents, we anticipate Christ in glory as he <a data-mce-href="http://www.esvbible.org/Revelation+7%3A9-12/" href="http://www.esvbible.org/Revelation+7%3A9-12/">gathers in the nations</a> under his Name alone, the only Name by which we are eternally known. We are able to <a data-mce-href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+54%3A2-3/" href="http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+54%3A2-3/">enlarge God’s tent and ours </a> far
beyond parameters restricted by our own name or blood. By intimately
ushering the motherless through the practical and spiritual aspects of
life, the “never-married” and the childless all participate in the
redemptive Kingdom building process, and foretaste this joy that Isaiah
has in view.<br />
<br />
Children are a memorial, biologically and
spiritually. Naturally, my husband and I want see the name of Ellis
continue after we are gone, but our desire is far greater to see the
name of Christ magnified through subsequent generations. The question
then is, whose name will our children memorialize? Our personal one
which is temporal and will one day pass away, or the Name that is
eternal and above all?<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<b>The Cause for Praise</b></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
Once one has borne children, one can’t know what it is like <i>not</i>
to have borne them; bearing children and not bearing children are two
different existential frames of reference. Of course, the woman who has
borne children can know what it is to mother one not of her own blood,
if not through adoption then certainly through mentorship. Conversely,
the barren woman may never know the joy of bearing children, yet the joy
in view in Isaiah 54 is apparently one that can only be known <i>in the absence of natural child-bearing. </i>Through spiritual motherhood, the barren woman experiences a cause for praise that the <i>natural</i> mother <i>will never know</i>, receiving blessing in the temporal and storing up treasure in the eternal.<br />
<br />
As
I reconcile my own infertility and search for meaning and purpose
within it, I begin to recognize the great Kingdom potential that lies
within me. Spiritually speaking, we are all barren apart from the
regenerative power of Christ to draw us to Himself and make us new.
Motherhood – indeed parenthood in <i>any </i>form – should be
life-changing for all involved as we share joys and sorrows,
disappointments and victories, and find meaning in them from God’s
perspective.<br />
<br />
Through the influence of older and wiser spiritual
mothers in my life, my question has changed from “How does God fit into
my infertility,” to “How does my infertility fit in with God? Isaiah 54
takes me beyond wanting comfort for “what has not been”, and helps me
resist those who treat my “untimely motherhood” as a mere consolation
prize. When I see the nations stream through my front door hungry for
“mother” and Godly counsel, I realize that even my infertility may have a
great and exalted impact on the Kingdom.<br />
<br />
Truly, to be regarded as “mother” when one technically and biologically <i>is not so</i> is a simultaneously exquisite and humbling experience – in fact, it is bringing me a surprising and unspeakable joy.<br />
<br />
Quite frankly, it makes me want to shout...Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-1465930858131611262013-02-18T07:25:00.000-05:002013-02-19T15:19:23.087-05:00“Who’s Your Daddy:” Our Creeping Cultural Crisis<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIKXXdzDQTxQmo_hFtFADEZUvUyEJvGItlrvjWTynrDkWd1uU4uclvE74ORmF9kq89HuHA_QIhGnICzDVX1zxJxkgWUWNhFqOy7uF0WLu82Dkc-qBahXaP32fBuJfn2PsB1-Sk2RV2V4A/s1600/Cultural+Crisis+Colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIKXXdzDQTxQmo_hFtFADEZUvUyEJvGItlrvjWTynrDkWd1uU4uclvE74ORmF9kq89HuHA_QIhGnICzDVX1zxJxkgWUWNhFqOy7uF0WLu82Dkc-qBahXaP32fBuJfn2PsB1-Sk2RV2V4A/s1600/Cultural+Crisis+Colors.jpg" title="Image: © Ellis Perspectives 2013, All rights reserved. " width="320" /></a>The other day my wife and I pulled into a gas station where several
others were already fueling up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From all
appearances, they were “good-ol’-boys”, friendly southern White folks who have
risen above the old historically offensive and racially charged “redneck”
culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good-ol’-boys are light-hearted
about their own culture and appreciate the cultures of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we filled our tanks, an African American
fella pulled up in his ‘hoopty’, gangsta rap booming so loud that it distorted
his speakers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With pants sagging, he
promptly left his car with the ground shaker blasting, leaving the rest of us
in the noise that required us to shout to be heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone at the pumps was similarly affected
and annoyed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we left the gas station with our ears ringing, my wife
commented, “the ol’ redneck culture meets its progeny.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I’ll explain this in a bit.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This incident caused the memory of Lil’
Wayne’s tasteless and insolent lyrics from "Future's Karate Chop" to intrude into
my mind: <i>"I’m gonna pop a lot of pills / [then] beat that p***y up like Emmett
Till…" </i>– disgusting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The door was opened for this kind of madness when gansta rap
with obscene lyrics was allowed to propagate openly under the cover of
“Blackness.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1990, Dr. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. successfully defended 2 Live Crew’s lyrics in “Nasty As They Wanna Be” against <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/17/us/obscenity-or-art-trial-on-rap-lyrics-opens.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm" target="_blank">Florida’s obscenity charges.</a> He justified their lewdness
as "great humor, great joy, and great boisterousness….”, “a joke” and “a
parody” – “one of the most venerated forms of art.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gates portrayed this smut as an “<a href="http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/gates_h.htm" target="_blank">exuberant use of hyperbole</a>,” implying that “anyone fluent in [Black] cultural codes” should not be
offended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, to take offense at
these obscene lyrics brings into question one’s authenticity and <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/who-you-callin-oreo-devouring-of-black.html#more" target="_blank">renders an African American an “oreo.”</a> </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This led to a flood of gangsta-rap CDs containing similar lyrics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The influence of this so-called musical genre
has been a contributing factor to a growing African American cultural crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So ... what does this have to do with the ol’ redneck culture? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plenty.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The roots of this crisis do <i>not</i> go back to Africa, but to
the old South.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few of us remember this,
but at at one time, the dominant influence in the old South was a chaotic culture
that came from pre-18th Century regions of the British Isles, namely, 1) the
Scottish highlands, 2) the “midlands” – the anarchic region between England and
Scotland and 3) what is now Northern Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before the formation of the United Kingdom, these regions were unstable,
lawless, violent and uncontrollable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
southern Whites can trace their roots back to these regions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They arrived in the American South with this chaotic culture
in tow, and the result was the ol’ southern “redneck” culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The values of this culture produced
self-sabotaging, self-destructive behavior patterns, including: drunkenness, gang
formation, “talkin’ trash”, a scornful attitude toward education and boisterous
exhibitionism, to name a few.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These rednecks
spent their energies on useless bling; wealth was used primarily for conspicuous
consumption and reckless pursuits of pleasure and excitement.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> 1</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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A cavalier attitude toward marriage and family was a major
component of the ol’ redneck culture, and instant sexual gratification led to single
moms and fatherless children becoming the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rule</i>,
rather than the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exception</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Africans arrived in chains, having been
stripped of their native culture, many ended up absorbing much of this ol’
redneck culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This partly explains
the plantation phenomenon of the “stud” that sired children but never fathered
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, many slaves never fully
absorbed this chaotic culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a
result they continued to value marriage and family in spite of the hostile
cultural and economic forces that surrounded them. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After emancipation, many African Americans who were
devastated by the ol’ redneck culture eventually rose above it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They became what I call “achievers.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The values that governed their lives included:
valuing work as a means of getting ahead, delayed gratification for the sake of
a better future and goal orientation involving planning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who participated in the great northern
migration generally succeeded in spite of racial discrimination in housing and
employment.<br />
<br />
However those who continued
to wallow in the ol’ redneck culture became what I call “non-achievers.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike the achievers, they generally did not
succeed when they migrated to the urban North.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thus, for many non-achievers, the ol’ redneck culture morphed into what
we now recognize as “ghetto culture.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
values that governed their lives included devaluing work as a means of getting
ahead, instant gratification with a disregard for the future, and crisis
orientation with no planning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These cultures have produced two distinctly different
outlooks on life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, because
achievers tend to see their role as contributing to society and earning its
respect, they tend to see non-achiever
values as a hindrance and self-destructive behavior as irresponsible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conversely, because non-achievers tend to see
their role as critiquing society and demanding its respect, they tend to see
achiever values as oppressive and self-destructive behavior as purely the fault
of society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Achievers tend to see social
justice in terms of equal opportunity, while non-achievers tend to see it only in
terms of equal outcomes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are only a few examples of the achiever/non-achiever
clash of values and cultures. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Incidentally, the wild regions of the British
Isles and the American South have largely risen above the old chaotic cultures
– leaving the culture that produced the trash of Lil’ Wayne’s ilk as the strongest
surviving offspring. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Contrary to popular assumptions, the achiever/non-achiever
divide is ultimately determined by <i>value systems</i>, not by economic status or
character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, not all poor
people are non-achievers, nor are all who are middle class and above achievers;
achievers and non-achievers alike have good and bad characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a look at Wall Street’s recent ethical
failures – the irresponsible pursuit of greed that led to the financial
meltdown, and you get the idea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While achievers make up the overwhelming majority of
African-Americans, too often the corporate media establishment continues to
grow wealthy by trying to pimp us – presenting us with a non-achiever
face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The huge African American outcry
and disgust over the recent threatened Oxygen network broadcast featuring
rapper <a href="http://www.diversehiphop.com/blog/2012/12/shawty-lo-all-my-babies-mamas-reality-tv-show-trailer/" target="_blank">Shawty Lo and his 11 kids by 10 ‘baby-mamas’</a>
was a prime example of the cultural dissonance triggered by this kind of
illegitimate <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8600591889470508146" name="_GoBack"></a>portrayal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the show’s trailer, his ‘baby-mamas’ talk about their situation as if
it is normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To make matters worse, not
even Shawty Lo himself could remember the names of all his kids.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the Lil’ Wayne incident, we see the irony come full
circle: the misogyny of the ol’ redneck culture toward African Americans
reflected in public vulgarity of the very ones the Civil Rights Movement was supposed
to benefit – I see this as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a great regression</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lil' Wayne and Shawty Lo, who’s your cultural daddy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> You don't really know, do you? </span>Psalm
85:10 says, “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss
each other.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> But f</span>or you and those who idolize you, ‘self-sabotaging and self-destructive behaviors meet together; the
ol’ redneck values and the misogyny of nihilism have casually hooked up’ – and
the rest is becoming history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Could it be that in the minds of many, authentic Blackness
is now measured by ol’ style<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> ‘redneck-ness?’</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looks like a creeping cultural crisis to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
________________________________________ </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>References:</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 McWhiney, G. (1988). Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press.<br />
2 Fischer, D. (1989). Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. Oxford: Oxford University Press. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-79579557832524692952013-02-12T06:31:00.002-05:002013-12-05T08:07:51.896-05:00The Chocolate Heart<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJw5aJgue3QVt7yUaYlPWAPbXvGam7mh8HhnT7MpGQRShxxafCgcR_G0G5GYGkjeeKItmU291G-d2cWGvHwA4KRdi-ZB88_Z5DblYQL5MmIB4HKmLXNfqFqJa4AXzRn_T0qvVXejg4SWL/s1600/box_of_chocolates-1280x800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJw5aJgue3QVt7yUaYlPWAPbXvGam7mh8HhnT7MpGQRShxxafCgcR_G0G5GYGkjeeKItmU291G-d2cWGvHwA4KRdi-ZB88_Z5DblYQL5MmIB4HKmLXNfqFqJa4AXzRn_T0qvVXejg4SWL/s320/box_of_chocolates-1280x800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t tell my husband’s mom, but I bought her one of those
giant boxed hearts full of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. I really can’t think
of anyone who enjoys chocolates more than my mother-in-love. She can detect
chocolate in the house more accurately than a heat-seeking missile – after all,
she’s had some eighty-plus years to refine her detection technology. Between
her and my chocolate-loving husband, such treats don’t last long in our house, but
I think I’ve successfully hidden the chocolate heart out of the range of her
highly-refined cocoa-radar … so far. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the purchase, I’ve found myself reflecting on a poem
from Langston Hughes that my mother-in-love would remember, having lived in New
York during the Harlem Renaissance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It echoes
in my head every time I think about that chocolate heart, knowing that it contains
a diverse selection of candies that will be received by a woman who’s learned
to appreciate each one for what it may have to offer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s an excerpt from
that poem:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Molasses taffy,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Coffee and cream,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Licorice, clove, cinnamon</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>To a honey brown dream.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Ginger, wine-gold,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Persimmon, blackberry –</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>All through the spectrum, </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Harlem girls vary –</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>So if you want to know beauty’s</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Rainbow sweet thrill,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Stroll down luscious,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Delicious, fine Sugar Hill.”<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></span></i></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hughes has spelled out something that could take a lifetime
for many of us of color to embrace – that everything about us can reflect
God’s deliberate artistry and handiwork, down to the DNA that determines the
way each of us is made. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hughes so easily lauded the great range of beauty in the
women around him as he captured Black life in Harlem’s Sugar Hill
neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet in contrast to Hughes’s
celebration of color, I am always at a loss when I hear well-intentioned comments
that we in the kingdom should ‘look past’ race to pursue reconciliation. Denying
the personal characteristics of entire segments of people discounts a large
part of the different races’ ability (or inability) to function in this fallen
world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consider: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if the Psalmist
had said “I choose not to see the sun, the stars, the moon, or the heavens …
it’s all just universe,” there would be no <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Psalm+19/" target="_blank">Psalm 19</a> proclaiming the handiwork
of God that <a href="http://esv.scripturetext.com/romans/1-19.htm" target="_blank">evidences Him</a>
to all who have eyes to see. Perhaps what these well-meaning folk really intend
to say is that they don’t wish to judge people on the basis of their physical
appearance – I can get with that. But to have one’s breath taken away by the
colors of the sunset, or enjoy the dramatic red of a cardinal, or the odd
wonder of a pink-sanded beach hemming in the vastness of the ocean (none of
which bears the image of God), while ignoring racial diversity in people seems inconsistent. Denying the variations of God’s handiwork in people as they walk, speak and
breathe before one’s eyes must certainly be odd to the Creator who offered such
variety in the first place. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much has been written by and for the Church that (rightly)
focuses our attention the non-physical attributes that God says make us
beautiful. I’m always greatly helped by discussion about being conformed to the
image of Christ, and of transformation by the renewing of my mind; our nature can’t
rightly be discussed independent of its internal transformation by the One who
loves us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet I also know that we women of color can struggle with a
constant barrage of media messages that tell
us we are physically too much of one thing, and yet not enough of another. Skin,
‘too light’ for one thing, or perhaps ‘too dark’ for another. Hair, too ‘natural’
for Corporate America, or too ‘relaxed’ to be ‘down with the cause,’ and on and
on. How should I answer my daughters about their appearance when this fallen
world constantly says that there is something inherently flawed in the way we
look?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Black By Design</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My husband remembers the beginning of the Black Consciousness
movement in the 1960’s. It was a positive movement in many respects, because it
moved our attention away from the accepted Eurocentric beauty standard and gave
us a greater appreciation for the variation in our culture. However, the
movement left some empty, in that there was no transcendent understanding (that
is, an understanding outside of ourselves) as to why Black was beautiful. Over
the years since, we’ve tried to reconcile our cultural norms with our image in
the mirror. Who hasn’t sung along with Whitney’s catchy delusion, “Learning to
love yourself, it is the greatest love of all?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet only looking inward to understand our world and
appreciate ourselves leaves us with the first <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/search/Genesis+3%3A1-8/" target="_blank">lie in the garden</a> – that
we can know and understand our dignity, identity and significance apart from God’s
revelation of Himself. With our own reasoning as a starting point, we’re left
with an idolatrous image of ourselves, and we will always tend to think of
ourselves with either greater or lesser intent than is appropriate. We are all
prone to set up our own physical ideals of perfection reflected either in what
we are, or in what we are not. Self-reasoning always individuates in a
destructive way, not in a way that unifies. When we only focus inward, someone
must be the ideal and someone must be less than that ideal – no one is exempt
from this tendency.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The secular fallacy of “self-esteem” has simply led us in a
circle back to the cultural shackle that binds us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must love the One in whose image we are
made first; then we aren't merely “loving ourselves,” but are free to
appreciate God’s handiwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We learn to
respect our features – and the features of others – as the intentional design of
a transcendent Creator God who has made us for his kingdom purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We realize that no nose can ever be too broad
or too keen, no eye too gray or brown, or as Hughes wrote, no skin too ‘merlot’
or ‘too peach.’ When our identity is properly seated in the Creator and His
intentions, even on a purely physical level all people can be appreciated as
intentionally designed by the Creator, with equal worth and significance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this reason, we are free to value anew
what we see both of ourselves in the mirror, and in others – we see beauty all
around.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Women of Color and Discipleship</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In light of the Black woman’s unique history and our culture’s
demeaning preconceptions, a key element to discipling women of color must
include a plan that integrates the full person, both body and spirit.<br /><br />Christ Himself was identified as the coming Savior in part
by the particularity of His race. Though
many early church fathers affirmed that the image of God in man doesn’t solely refer
to the body, they still affirmed that the body and spirit worked together in
relationship both in creation and glorification. Reformer John Calvin attributed the glory of
God to the whole person that “extends to the whole excellence by which man’s
nature towers over all kinds of living creatures. Therefore, there was no part
of man, not even the body itself, in which some sparks did not glow,”<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2</span></span> once his or her
corrupted nature was restored in Christ.
Augustine wrote that “for some mysterious reason …. the soul needs the
body”<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3</span></span> both in life
and in glory, and the body and spirit interdependence is evident in both Adam
and Christ. Like Adam, we currently exist
in temporal bodies bearing a distorted image of God; like Adam, our physical
bodies will be sown into the ground; and like Christ, those in union with Him
will be resurrected in a perfected and glorified body, fitted for the age to
come. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a stretch then, to say that we can just ignore the
body; without a body, on this side of glory or the next, a soul is not a complete
person. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I look at the significance of
Christ’s total personhood here on earth – his race, gender, ethnicity, time and
location of birth, it leads me to ask of him in turn, “To what end and for what
purpose was I given this particular body, shaped and colored this way,
specifically and intentionally plumbed and wired?” Only the One who created me
can explain my body’s kingdom-building purposes for this time, place and space.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though race itself is neither holy
nor profane, I can still appreciate its redemption by the Creator, to be
received with thanksgiving, awe and reverence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Renewing Our Minds</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Woman of color, your body is uniquely, fearfully and
wonderfully made with great care and attention. The diverse “packages” in which
God has presented all peoples to the world are his intentional handiwork, and
our appearance merely contributes to our unique identity and purpose. There is
a world full of other women of color – and an even broader world full of other
races – that desperately need to know of this sovereign God who makes no
mistakes among his creatures. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Renewing our minds by focusing on Christ as Creator will not
be a one-time event; mind-renewal is a garden that needs constant tending, and we
women of color have a long and weedy history regarding our bodies that needs
clearing. Yet once cleared, it must be tended, or the seeds of either dissatisfaction
or arrogance over others will sprout, take root, and choke out our view of
Christ. I dare say that given our unique history, we may be among the seemingly
foolish things of the world that have power to confound the self-proclaimed
wise; empowered with this knowledge, we can guide others to freedom who are
still bound in the idolatry that either leads to self-exaltation or self-doubt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“So if you want to know beauty’s</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Rainbow sweet thrill,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Stroll down luscious,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Delicious, fine Sugar Hill.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(To hear a rare
recording of Langston Hughes </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
reciting his<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177389" target="_blank"> entire poem</a> “Harlem
Sweeties”, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz2CWs7_HWw" target="_blank">click here</a>.)</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8600591889470508146#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Langston Hughes, “Harlem Sweeties” from <i>Collected
Poems.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8600591889470508146#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2</span></span></span></span></a> Calvin, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Institutes </i>I.15.3.</div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8600591889470508146#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3</span></span></span></span></a> Augustine, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Literal Commentary on Genesis </i>12.35.68<br />
<br />
<i>Follow Karen Angela Ellis on Twitter @KarAngEllis. and also on her <a href="http://karenangelaellis.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">personal blog</a> where she writes on dignity, identity and significance.</i></div>
</div>
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Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-23919923001748364032012-10-10T21:35:00.002-04:002013-06-26T15:55:42.504-04:00The Brazen, Beautiful Humanity of Malala Yousafzai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3g2dxjJuXJ14X1Wj-ti6QYb4QPRQQWRZMdP7vrc-SspFO952vmLHtgDgEiF7xisf499RrybAOdatCAyGpwcBAKWkzR0qUKEhKuwKirNYMxNcZ5kbtjgWI61uJfwJGjVrNRfXFEUISNke/s1600/Malala-Yousafzai3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3g2dxjJuXJ14X1Wj-ti6QYb4QPRQQWRZMdP7vrc-SspFO952vmLHtgDgEiF7xisf499RrybAOdatCAyGpwcBAKWkzR0qUKEhKuwKirNYMxNcZ5kbtjgWI61uJfwJGjVrNRfXFEUISNke/s320/Malala-Yousafzai3.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Karen's<a href="http://karenangelaellis.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/the-brazen-and-beautiful-humanity-of-malala-yousafzai/" target="_blank"> latest blog post</a> looks at Christ's approach to women living under the first century Roman Empire in light of children's rights, and the recent radical Islamic violence against fourteen-year-old activist Malala Yousafzai. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm so proud of my wife, and I'm
pleased to encourage you to follow her on her <a href="http://karenangelaellis.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">new page</a> for blog posts
about theology, identity, dignity, women's consciousness, the unique value of redeemed women of color, and the global pursuit
of human rights. - CE</span>Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-26164307274395080982012-08-28T20:18:00.000-04:002012-08-30T11:28:58.035-04:00Behold, The Man<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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By now, we’ve all seen this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/botched-restoration-of-ecce-homo-fresco-shocks-spain.html" target="_blank">infamous tri-panel icon</a>, an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ecce Homo </i>that is<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Elías García Martínez’ fresco representation of the suffering Christ, crowned with thorns.
The three panels escort our eye from left to right; from the fresco in its younger days, to its time-weathered degeneration, ending finally with the well-intentioned yet botched
efforts of an amateur restoration that holds only a shadow of the original. This century-old <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ecce Homo</i>, housed in Spain’s Santuario
de la Misericordia, was first created as an instrument to inspire worship.
After its unfortunate “restoration,” the community says it’s now valuable only in a
far less lofty function – promoting tourism and stimulating pop-culture. As t-shirts and other marketing items exploit its odd tale, experts now consider it ruined for its original purpose.</div>
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All is not lost; the incident brings out at least two valuable lessons that stand out in bold bas-relief. </div>
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First, the
degeneration of the picture can be juxtaposed with the degeneration of mankind. Reflecting the model of fallen Adam (in whom all have sinned), apart from
the grace of God we too continue to degenerate – as societies, as cultures, even as
individuals in the aging process. We constantly sense that we are in need of restoration; yet efforts at both external and internal self-reconstitution, no matter how well-intentioned, fail miserably. </div>
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Ironically, since its botched restoration, this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ecce Homo</i> ("Behold the Man") is now being coined by pop-culture as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ecce Mono</i>
("Behold, the Monkey"). While echoes can be heard of the racist conclusions
of Darwinist ideology articulated by the proponents of eugenics, we'll ignore those voices to shed light on the more realistic principle of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">de</i>volution rather than <i>e</i>volution. It suggests the potential in animal
behavior that we, as unregenerate beings have to offer. Water doesn't flow uphill;
apart from an outside Agent acting upon us, we not only stagnate, but continue
to devolve further away from our originally created state of innocence, dominion, and unhindered
communion with the Creator. By rejecting the restoration that only He can provide, we are consigned to <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201:21-23&version=NIV" target="_blank">reflect the animal image of the creation</a> rather than the Designer in whose image <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A26&version=NIV" target="_blank">we were made</a>. </div>
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Second, the fresco’s European representation of Jesus gives us pause to reconsider our own posture
of worship. What should we say of the distinctly European
impression of Jesus in the first panel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This representation also evidences our fallenness – not because it’s
European, but because it’s ethnocentric. Our tendency will always be to conform Christ and the world to our image, through our own ethnic assumptions; of this, we are all guilty.<br />
<br />
Any attempts to define Him –
both on the canvas and off – will always produce a shadow image patterned after
ourselves; our best attempts to define
Christ will only reflect the limited creativity of our own imagination. Only He can define Himself, and we must yield to <i>His</i> definition. From this perspective, we can see God's wisdom in commanding Israel to avoid the construction of graven
images. This is not to say that God doesn’t give the artist freedom to create,
but rather that the artist should create (and the reviewer critique) divine representations with great caution, wisdom, care.</div>
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But the greater point here is not the limits of the artist's creative
freedom, but rather the posture of all mankind toward the Creator. The larger lesson is found in the knowledge that in <i>all </i>things, we are exhorted to
be conformed to Christ's superlative character and image, not to confine Him to our inferior one.</div>
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While the
Bible tells us Christ was ethnically Jewish, it also tells us that He is the true and
perfect human. As He gathers the nations to Himself, He stands as the perfect
African-American, African, or European; the perfect Asian, Latin American, and so
on with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> ethnicities. </div>
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As Creator and
Lord of the nations, and the only perfect participant in them, Christ identifies
with each nation with such completeness, depth and totality that only He is able to
fully judge their misdeeds, redeem their sorrows, and ultimately consummate and bring them into harmony.<br />
<br />
Standing both among us and above us, He is Ultimate Man and
Ultimate Ethnic; Christ is more Black, White, Yellow or Red than any of us will
ever be. </div>
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On the last and first day, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%203:1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">we will see</a> the Alpha and Omega as more than perfect; we'll see Him in His glorified state, and see our own ethnicity perfected in Him. He promises that all will see Him and cry out, each in their native tongue, with understanding and full agreement ...</div>
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“Behold the Man.”</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkMNO0p2jl8_B0KWAiLHUt-Aa9PvX4jagcb0NOaCuRqR5BBug43SzGALGC4S4eCt2HvZ05RgYuBfuAfXL3RJofCXsvmH9yGgfJPrMgqcAVwJfmxlJGeYeLWzpHV-vhx_LTsUzhkQYomT9/s1600/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkMNO0p2jl8_B0KWAiLHUt-Aa9PvX4jagcb0NOaCuRqR5BBug43SzGALGC4S4eCt2HvZ05RgYuBfuAfXL3RJofCXsvmH9yGgfJPrMgqcAVwJfmxlJGeYeLWzpHV-vhx_LTsUzhkQYomT9/s200/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" width="179" /></a><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Karen
Angela Ellis holds a Master of Fine Art from the Yale University School
of Drama and a Master of Art in Religion from Westminster Theological
Seminary. She is a multidisciplinary performing artist and educator, happily married
to Carl Ellis, Jr. </span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Karen </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">writes about theology, life, culture and the arts. You can follow her</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/KarAngEllis" target="_blank">@KarAngEllis</a>.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></div>
Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-31441561207311183572012-08-27T20:25:00.000-04:002012-08-27T22:48:17.403-04:00But God ... Reflections on Sleepless Nights<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Battles are best waged </div>
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under cover of darkness. </div>
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By day, a siege is easier to fend. </div>
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Obstacles lie exposed, </div>
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reinforcements stand ready, </div>
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troops take action - quickly rallied.</div>
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But in the night ...</div>
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Lord, have mercy, in the night ... </div>
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Hope is eviscerated from our hearts </div>
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and doubts rise up to fearsome heights;</div>
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the obsessive specter of 'what might be' </div>
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steals the air from the room. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Every good psalmist - ever since the first -<br />
knows victory lies in moving from 'round here - to up there </div>
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... just got to be. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Slowly, a battle cry forms with lips of light:</div>
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But God ... !</div>
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<br /></div>
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And joy comes -- sometimes, even before morning... </div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5XSMUwqRsGY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nina Simone - If He Changed My Name, Paris Olympia, 1968 </span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkMNO0p2jl8_B0KWAiLHUt-Aa9PvX4jagcb0NOaCuRqR5BBug43SzGALGC4S4eCt2HvZ05RgYuBfuAfXL3RJofCXsvmH9yGgfJPrMgqcAVwJfmxlJGeYeLWzpHV-vhx_LTsUzhkQYomT9/s1600/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkMNO0p2jl8_B0KWAiLHUt-Aa9PvX4jagcb0NOaCuRqR5BBug43SzGALGC4S4eCt2HvZ05RgYuBfuAfXL3RJofCXsvmH9yGgfJPrMgqcAVwJfmxlJGeYeLWzpHV-vhx_LTsUzhkQYomT9/s200/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Karen
Angela Ellis holds a Master of Fine.Art from the Yale University School
of Drama and a Master of Art in Religion from Westminster Theological
Seminary. She is a multidisciplinary performing artist and educator, happily married
to Carl Ellis, Jr. </span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Karen </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">writes about theology, life, culture and the arts. You can follow her</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/KarAngEllis" target="_blank">@KarAngEllis</a>.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i><br />
<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">"But God ... Reflections on Sleepless Nights" </span></i>©</span><i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">EllisPerspectives 2012</span></span></i></div>
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Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-23913348810274744462012-08-26T00:07:00.000-04:002012-08-27T13:33:44.933-04:00What's Your Basis for Justice?<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCh9LWNMmlqUCdq1OE9lmwHsSqy0gY6ViUmpHcOcfcY3inK20HdcrkfhGLWgpk-E_r9HJ92cHCNuugUZ46hYZIEdX5xU16JrxXw3lm9bL-V-g0E5KJUrbX-nesItuG8HE3yclhncaDTOF/s1600/Thumbnail+-+Perspectives+on+Justice.001-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCh9LWNMmlqUCdq1OE9lmwHsSqy0gY6ViUmpHcOcfcY3inK20HdcrkfhGLWgpk-E_r9HJ92cHCNuugUZ46hYZIEdX5xU16JrxXw3lm9bL-V-g0E5KJUrbX-nesItuG8HE3yclhncaDTOF/s200/Thumbnail+-+Perspectives+on+Justice.001-002.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i>Question: </i></b> What do you get when you cross one theological nerd who spends hours tweaking his keynote lecture presentations with another theological nerd who spent 8 years as a d.j., creating radio commercials?</div>
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Give up?</div>
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<b><i>Answer:</i></b> You get <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5z9OoazNyo" target="_blank">The Visual Reasoning Series, Episode 1 - Perspectives on Justice</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's how nerds roll. Have a look. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- The Ellises</span></div>
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Carl and Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087481249584033808noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-41638318228190603232012-07-30T14:21:00.001-04:002012-08-26T07:24:41.119-04:00Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Mire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEyVOPqqBR1g2ngUbwxC9xQo0qH4wVbUITYIYLAlx0QOzQgIeQtyuXHvrK1qdqhNk_2q28AlXsd_uPAUIMpKh6M0DJUMWsAbDU-pJwEMAxFmH2XvWFBPiaLzKRT2bZvbTXPEnXK9HCJGz/s1600/Carl+and+Karen+FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLBbQ9yWntZunz3-R10GWIyIzokzPt2goBqH4mg8GJr3gWUJ06jgv7UB6rWi8nVCqgWEw2OC-Njklq85WJ3XGyqyRajKazR62mvTGIkB4czezmcXrMmVbELO73iBa28d26yOn0KDGxgM/s1600/Chick-fil-A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLBbQ9yWntZunz3-R10GWIyIzokzPt2goBqH4mg8GJr3gWUJ06jgv7UB6rWi8nVCqgWEw2OC-Njklq85WJ3XGyqyRajKazR62mvTGIkB4czezmcXrMmVbELO73iBa28d26yOn0KDGxgM/s320/Chick-fil-A.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Famished after a vigorous
workout at the YMCA pool, we decided to momentarily break our regular eating
habits and grab a quick bite – at Chick-fil-A. We dined deliberately out of a sense of
protest over municipal politicians’ reactions to Dan Cathy’s expression of free
speech. To our delight, the place was packed with people of all manner of
unidentifiable persuasions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That the other diners' beliefs were unknown to us is important to note, as we found later that we kept surprising company with the
likes of New York City <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/28/nyregion/bloomberg-calls-chick-fil-a-bans-inappropriate.html" target="_blank">Mayor Bloomberg</a>, the ACLU, the talk show <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/view-chicago-chick-fil-a-chicago_n_1707240.html" target="_blank">The View</a>, and more than a
few <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/287389/chick-fil-a-gets-more-unlikely-champions-in-marriage-controversy/" target="_blank">news outlets</a> who also cried ‘foul’ over responses to public
denials of Cathy’s fundamental right to free speech and entrepreneurship in our country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ours has become a culture
dominated by those who reject the notion of absolute truth – where those of us
who believe in absolutes are increasingly seen as “intolerant” and even
“bigoted.” “Tolerance” is becoming the
requirement to be regarded as a legitimate citizen. However, this social movement makes “selective
tolerance” the new absolute. Now who is
the bigot?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a great fallacy in
the failure to distinguish between “tolerance” and “acceptance.” Drawing from personal example, as followers
of Jesus Christ we (the Ellises) tolerate – but don’t accept – the lifestyle of
those who do not follow Jesus, yet we
love and respect them as fellow bearers of God’s image. We work, and have close friendships with
scores of Christians and non-Christians of varying stripes who disagree with <i>our </i>lifestyle and beliefs. More to the point at hand, we have
entertained (and been entertained) by gay friends, both singles and couples, and
will continue to do so. They know our
stance on the gay lifestyle, and we are aware that may or may not accept <i>our</i> Christian lifestyle as a valid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don’t avoid discussion of
the matter, nor do we presume to know each others’ opinions before they are
expressed. When dealing with issues that
are core matters of the heart, we listen intently, tread gently, and speak
honestly. They naturally try to persuade
us, and we try to persuade them. They
likely support organizations that promote their values, and we support those
that promote ours. We navigate the
difficult waters as mature adults, engage respectfully, make our choices at the
voting booth and at the cash register, and then… well then, we enjoy each
others’ company. We share common outrage
and grief over cases such as the gay <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gay-nebraska-woman-tied-mutilated-hate-crime-assault-police-article-1.1120649" target="_blank">Nebraska woman</a> who was recently mutilated
by cruel assailants, and those who suffer global <a href="http://barnabasfund.org/UK/News/Latest-emergencies/" target="_blank">persecution as Christians</a>; acts such as these are true crimes of hate against a person’s
humanity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To President Obama, whose
daughters’ friends helped propel his ‘evolution’ on same-sex marriage, we ask would the parents of these friends have respected him equally if he hadn’t ‘evolved?’
We question whether healthy friendships
must remain one-sided on deeply held issues of passion and conviction; mutual
care at the most human level should transcend lifestyle acceptance. Perhaps this should be the next step in our culture’s
so-called ‘evolution,’ to enjoy mutual grace among friends without compromise
in conviction. We would fight for the most
basic of human rights for all of our friends, and we believe that, having
demonstrated mutual rationality in discussing their core humanity, they would
fight for ours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this current climate of
social media firestorms, however, there appears to be little public understanding
of, or toleration for the Bible believing community’s values in return. As seen in the response to Dan Cathy’s
personal statements, there is great outrage as “support for traditional
marriage” instantly morphs linguistically into “hate speech, anti-gay marriage
and homophobia” – and all at the speed of a click.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the midst of the public
din, ‘Christo-phobia’ seems acceptable, and true tolerance evaporates like so
much water. It’s for this reason that we
felt the need to eat at Chick-fil-A.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this age of “tolerance”
and “relativism,” from where does Chicago <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-27/news/ct-met-chicago-chick-fil-a-0727-20120727_1_gay-marriage-chicago-values-invitation" target="_blank">Mayor Rahm Emanuel</a> draw the authority
to state in absolute terms, "Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re
not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if
you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago
values.” <span style="color: #4bacc6;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The irony here is not lost: Mr.
Emanuel campaigned for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom publicly <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/rahm-emanuel-campaigned-for-2-presidents-who-opposed-gay-marriage/260401/" target="_blank">opposed gay marriage</a> at the time.<span style="color: #3366ff;"> </span>And as one <a href="https://twitter.com/cjciaramella" target="_blank">Twitter contributor</a> eloquently observed, Chick-fil-A’s values may not be
Chicago’s values, but “</span><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 12pt;">⅓</span></b><sup><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd </span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of Chick-fil-A management hasn't been charged with
corruption.” Indeed – Chicago’s
political values are clearly shown in what some consider to be a $500 million
</span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/chicago-most-corrupt-city_n_1278988.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">corruption tax</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on citizens who bear the cost of their top politicians’ bad
behavior — police brutality, bogus contracts, bribes, theft and ghost pay
rolling to name a few — and the costs needed to prosecute it. To endure decades of the imposition of criminal
values certainly seems disrespectful to Chicago’s residents, neighbors and
family members.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Compare this to the values
espoused by Cathy as he leads Chick-fil-A – a company famous among fast-food
restaurants for being closed on Sundays, a move that stands as a silent reminder
of the value of rest regardless of religious persuasion in shopping malls
across the country, and one that (according to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444840104577553341868014390.html" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>) has
cost it hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. This is a company who gives generously to many
other charitable organizations that stand outside of politics. Mr. Emanuel is right – the differences in
values, on these levels alone – is staggering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boston <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1061147182&srvc=home&position=emailed" target="_blank">Mayor Thomas Menino</a> went on to say that “Chick-fil-A
doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that
discriminates against a population.” <i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet Chick-fil-A asserts <i>"The Chick-fil-A <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20120728/BUSINESS07/120728005/Chick-fil-A-spokesman-dies-amid-furor-over-same-sex-marriage" target="_blank">culture and service tradition</a> in
our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –
regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender."</i> Where is the discrimination in that Mr. Menino? Does
non-discrimination require a business to promote a political ideology that
violates its core values? Such thinking
is reminiscent of the plight of many Afghans under the Taliban. Will the current feeding frenzy swell into an
attempt to ‘wipe Chick-fil-A off the face of the earth?’ Cooler heads must prevail; we all have much to
lose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our culture is forgetting
that the push for “social justice” requires a pre-existent and <i>transcendent</i> basis for justice, for
which the God of the Bible is uniquely qualified. Without such a basis the concept of justice
becomes merely a matter of personal opinion.
If justice does not transcend human opinion, then "might makes right," and
thought control tyranny is the end result.
Though they have backed off from some of their comments, the anti-Chick-fil-A sentiments of Misters Emanuel and Menino have already done
violence to the very “tolerance” they claim to champion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we wade through these murky cultural waters, we recall <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=iHM9ABHZyB0C&pg=PA333&lpg=PA333&dq=The+values+of+the+weak+prevail+because+the+strong+have+taken+them+over+as+devices+of+leadership&source=bl&ots=xKUa8AO_HL&sig=cXY-V7aH3Rx0SJiNaVNWThUgT9Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9bYVUMW2LI-y9gT3kYG4BQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=The%20values%20of%20the%20weak%20prevail%20because%20the%20strong%20have%20taken%20them%20over%20as%20devices%20of%20leadership&f=false" target="_blank">Friedrich Nietzsche</a>: “The values of the weak prevail because the
strong have taken them over as devices of leadership.” In other words, the power-greedy (“the strong”)
make use of controversial ideas to gain power for themselves. They subvert a culture that denies them power
and push for an alternative culture that gives them power – stripping power from
those of the original culture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the final analysis, LGBT
rights may neither be the root issue any more than tolerance. Much like the Muslim Brotherhood is hijacking
the “<a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67693/lisa-anderson/demystifying-the-arab-spring" target="_blank">Arab Spring</a>,” there remains in this country a power-greedy elite
that cares nothing about human rights. They seek to use the LGBT agenda to
their advantage, putting all of us at risk of losing our rights and freedoms.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Politics makes strange
bedfellows, indeed. As more and more surprising
sources spring to Chick-fil-A’s defense, we breathe a sigh of relief; yet the
words of German pastor Martin Niemöller keep those of us who hold
the First Amendment dear from fully exhaling into complacency:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“First [the Nazis] came for the communists,<br />
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then they came for the trade unionists,<br />
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then they came for the Jews,<br />
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then they came for me<br />
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEyVOPqqBR1g2ngUbwxC9xQo0qH4wVbUITYIYLAlx0QOzQgIeQtyuXHvrK1qdqhNk_2q28AlXsd_uPAUIMpKh6M0DJUMWsAbDU-pJwEMAxFmH2XvWFBPiaLzKRT2bZvbTXPEnXK9HCJGz/s1600/Carl+and+Karen+FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEyVOPqqBR1g2ngUbwxC9xQo0qH4wVbUITYIYLAlx0QOzQgIeQtyuXHvrK1qdqhNk_2q28AlXsd_uPAUIMpKh6M0DJUMWsAbDU-pJwEMAxFmH2XvWFBPiaLzKRT2bZvbTXPEnXK9HCJGz/s200/Carl+and+Karen+FB.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Karen Angela Ellis, multidisciplinary performing artist and educator.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Dr. Carl Ellis,
Jr., author and theological anthropologist.</i></span><br />
<br />
<i>The Ellises lecture together globally. Follow them on Twitter: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CarlEllisJr">@CarlEllisJr,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/KarAngEllis">@KarAngEllis</a></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
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Carl and Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087481249584033808noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-75849588317070393942012-07-07T08:34:00.002-04:002012-08-12T00:00:40.648-04:00A Decent Proposal – An American Health Alternative<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5Sw9LDd4pNo0bSKuuDUqz8BHeHTuzqkn5wjMdQ3hzyzuS39GXyR6llpkbHqvhqWrk2u3iQkxFXRwd0BB9zxz4_NITqyMA7N8keqCwMUAA1pBevxwsAMXQyV5dt2H34Vqs6j61yS2AQg/s1600/Physical_Examination_of_a_boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5Sw9LDd4pNo0bSKuuDUqz8BHeHTuzqkn5wjMdQ3hzyzuS39GXyR6llpkbHqvhqWrk2u3iQkxFXRwd0BB9zxz4_NITqyMA7N8keqCwMUAA1pBevxwsAMXQyV5dt2H34Vqs6j61yS2AQg/s320/Physical_Examination_of_a_boy.jpg" title="By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Joshua Adam Nuzzo, U.S. Navy photo (http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64277) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Much has been said about universal
healthcare. In my view, it is clearly in
line with the theistic core values upon which this nation was founded. However, though people insist that healthcare
is a fundamental <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">right,</i> it is not listed
in our constitutional Bill of Rights. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The mistaken notion that healthcare is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">right </i>comes from the so-called “<a href="http://www.fdrheritage.org/bill_of_rights.htm" target="_blank">Economic Bill of Rights</a>,” articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on
January 11, 1944.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“ObamaCare” as it is
currently constituted, depends on altruism to control costs. Its major shortcoming is the lack of a
mechanism to keep costs down. Healthcare
must be tackled not only from the payer side, but also in its management and
cost effectiveness to reflect global rates. In order to do this, we must trim the associated
bureaucratic bloat. “ObamaCare” does not
factor in the <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/neither-and-both-conservative-vs.html" target="_blank">flaws in human nature</a>,</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> which certainly extend to the individuals who
manage and run our healthcare corporations. If we are honest with ourselves, we
will admit that we are not naturally altruistic. It is much more realistic to harness free
market forces where appropriate and to encourage people – and corporations – to
do right based on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">incentives</i>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without built-in
incentives for cost control, what’s stopping “ObamaCare” from becoming another
well-intentioned yet inefficient and ineffective budget-busting bloated
bureaucracy? We need look no further
than the <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/social-justice-foot-race-paradigm.html" target="_blank">public school system</a>, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">the “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/business/in-rethinking-the-war-on-drugs-start-with-the-numbers.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">War on Drugs</a>,”</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2012/06/27/sessions-food-stamp-programs-exploding-in-costs-size/" target="_blank">federal food stamp program</a>,</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and other programs to know that our government alone is generally inefficient in caring for its citizens and preventing fraud. <br /><br />Though I am by no means a healthcare professional, here is my humble proposal to make universal healthcare economically feasible.</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each adult would be required to have a Medical Account that would include a government funded health insurance policy covering 100% of medical expenses after a $20,000 annual deductible. By bargaining with the competing companies, this would probably cost less than $100/month. Also included in the Medical Account would be a self-funded tax-free Health Savings Account to cover the deductible. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dependents with no earnings would be covered by the Medical Account(s) of their adult provider(s). </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the dependent starts earning money, their own account would be set up. </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The contribution to the Health Savings Account would be withheld from the individual’s paycheck automatically. </span></li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></ul>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To cover the difference between the Health Savings Account and the $20,000 deductible, a “gap health insurance” policy would be set up. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Individuals would be free to choose their gap insurance from competing companies on a national basis. </i></span></li>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The modest premium would be included in the Health Savings Account contribution. </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the Health Savings Account falls below $20,000, a new gap policy would kick in. </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<ul><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The amount of gap insurance and its premium would diminish with the growth of the Health Savings Account and would disappear once the Health Savings Account reaches $20,000. </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the case of unemployment, the contributions to the Health Savings Account would be covered by unemployment insurance. </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the individual reaches 65, he or she would have the option of rolling over to Medicare advantage while retaining their Health Savings Account. </span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those who are self-employed, the existing IRS rules would apply to include the Medical Account. </span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those on public assistance and/or Medicaid, the Health Savings Account contribution would be withheld from welfare payments and Medicaid would be restructured to resemble Medicare advantage. (Our current welfare system as a whole should be restructured and incentivized in order to encourage recipients to move from a culture and lifestyle of poverty to one of self-sufficiency.) </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the individual dies with money in his or her Health Savings Account, it will be transferred to the Health Savings Account(s) of their designated heirs.</span> </li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">Clearly, this proposal is
not comprehensive; it is, rather, an outline of suggested principles intended
as a basis for discussion. Of course it
will have to be tweaked so that people will not be forced to participate in a
plan that includes morally objectionable medical procedures, etc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There is at least a two-fold
advantage in this proposal. First, no
one would have to carry the financial burden of those who do not pay for
emergency room visits, etc. Second, everyone
would have a vested interest in acting as watchdog on their own medical care cost,
since the initial payments will come from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their</i>
Health Savings Account. For example, it
would now make a difference to the in-patient if his or her Tylenol came from
the hospital pharmacy at $3.00 per tablet, or from the pharmacy across the
street at $3.00 per bottle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our culture no longer places
great value on the concept of saving, for various reasons. Some are currently living paycheck to
paycheck due to unfortunate circumstances, while others have never learned to
save at all and live in a perpetual cycle moving from one financial crisis to
another. For this reason, a Health
Savings Account cannot be borrowed against, used as credit or treated as a
liquid asset.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Those who abuse the system
should be penalized. Yet individuals who
practice preventative wellness (including pre-approved ‘alternative’ care) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and corporations that practice cost saving
measures while maintaining quality care</i> should be incentivized and rewarded
by the government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I’ve observed that a growing
number of doctors no longer accept Medicare alone. To have access to their services one must
have Medicare supplement insurance.
Those who cannot afford this will fall into a bottom tier of healthcare. Perhaps in the near future, doctor’s offices
will sprout signs isaying, “We do not accept ObamaCare alone,” and for this,
too, supplemental coverage will be required.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Unless our society
takes the flaws in human nature seriously, we will continue to suffer the
costly effects of abuses from individuals and institutions. In my view, “ObamaCare” as we know it will either
return us to the two-tiered healthcare system it was supposed to eliminate, or
it will drive many physicians out of their practices leaving government care as
the sole choice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Without taking into
account our natural tendency toward depravity, more money will be wasted on
both the payer and bureaucratic sides as America’s economic pulse weakens to an
inevitable flat-line – with no adequate means for resuscitation.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #ffeedd; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphVV5wtu-sXHaU0nHUxQnhXHOF1Yrh6k1-15MAbnoJfqhF_lCksTbFRivzpb1RJz49PUnQWDC1aBbJHevpZzD7uhXB-Xag9baL5ppRMK0nCfT5QsiqxLOjDa0Lbc-M58Rb_qwNoAp0ydq/s1600/CarlEllisJr300x+Web+Use.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #ffe599; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphVV5wtu-sXHaU0nHUxQnhXHOF1Yrh6k1-15MAbnoJfqhF_lCksTbFRivzpb1RJz49PUnQWDC1aBbJHevpZzD7uhXB-Xag9baL5ppRMK0nCfT5QsiqxLOjDa0Lbc-M58Rb_qwNoAp0ydq/s200/CarlEllisJr300x+Web+Use.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr. is a theological anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, TX. Copyright pending on Health Care Savings Plan. Follow Dr. Ellis on Twitter: </span></i><a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CarlEllisJr" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">@CarlEllisJr</span></a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Carl F. Ellis, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10804728159028813800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-63047895285036931682012-06-11T08:42:00.000-04:002012-08-12T00:01:13.912-04:00“Baby Mama” Drama to “Nanny State” Trauma<span id="goog_1680507799"></span><span id="goog_1680507800"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP8cINYZeab-ha4j1WFmDXuiAhJeaC-xtnzNOY3yUx86L29s9K-04a2zMXGscpx7p3gQCqHdhflwJ8cMlJYU_1NJE8x0LbWthSHyJOsetIynU9aAszdPsmuG6Svg5O38SQ_-psluYvO4/s1600/Got_You_Daddy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP8cINYZeab-ha4j1WFmDXuiAhJeaC-xtnzNOY3yUx86L29s9K-04a2zMXGscpx7p3gQCqHdhflwJ8cMlJYU_1NJE8x0LbWthSHyJOsetIynU9aAszdPsmuG6Svg5O38SQ_-psluYvO4/s320/Got_You_Daddy.jpg" title="By Clarence Goss from USA (Flickr:Got You Daddy) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Once, while I was
meeting with a brilliant young man, the conversation turned to marriage and
fatherhood. To my surprise, the young
man admitted that from his formative years through his young adulthood, the
concept of marriage was nowhere on his radar screen. The shocker was that just a few years ago, though
he had committed his life to Christ and had become and active member of his
church, marriage was still a completely alien concept to him. He admitted to me that he assumed the only
way he could ever be a father was to become a “baby daddy,” replete with the
concomitant “baby mama” drama.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fortunately
for him and for society, a few years after his conversion he joined a different
church where wise biblical teaching encouraged an atmosphere that valued marriage
and family. I’m pleased to report that
he did not become a “baby daddy.” He is now
happily married, and he and his wife share the joys of parenthood together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The family is
the foundation of any civilization or people group; lose the family and you
will eventually lose the people and the society. As the family disintegrates, dysfunctionality
accelerates. As fewer functions are performed
by the family, other institutions are compelled to step into the gap. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For example,
when it comes to providing for our children, the schools have often become the
alternative institution of choice. At
one time, parents were full partners with the schools in their children’s
education, but in recent years education has been increasingly ceded to schools
alone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Next came the
school lunch programs – a good idea in light of the long distances some students
had to travel to school, never mind whatever happened to the idea of the lunch
box. Then came the breakfast feeding
programs – a compassionate effort in light of poor academic performance of many
of our kids due to morning malnourishment.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Following
that was school based counseling on matters of sexuality and contraceptives
distribution – certainly an understandable response in light of the explosion
of STDs and out of wedlock births, etc. Is it any surprise that we are faced with so
many bloated school budgets, forcing cutbacks in essential programs such as Physical
Education and the Arts?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">My wife,
having been an educator at different levels, observes that our media report
story after story of incompetent teachers who have no business in education. However, she also believes that for every one
of these, there remain scores of unsung, high-achieving educators who take
their charge so seriously that they will go above and beyond to provide quality
tutelage for the children of both responsible and irresponsible parents. She notes that the responsible parents
appreciate these efforts, while the ambivalent ones often exploit these
teachers’ high work ethic in the absence of their own. This leads to exhaustion and burnout of our
best and brightest teachers, a commodity we can no longer afford to squander. The cycle has indeed become vicious.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Clearly, the
problem is not solely with schools stepping up to fill the gap; it also lies
with many of our parents stepping down. Of
course, I realize that there are always extenuating circumstances buried within
all statistics. For example, both
parents having to work outside the home to make ends meet, working single
parents, etc. However, it would not harm
our culture to rethink the status quo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the case
of a two-parent family, is the diminished nurturing presence of a parental caregiver
(mother or father) worth the extra earnings?
Does a second income really result in a net increase after covering the
increased related expenses (daycare, transportation higher tax bracket, etc.)? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Further, we
must make delineation between the circumstances behind single parenthood; like
all complexities of life, finding one’s self in this position happens for a
variety of reasons. Some are single parents
due to unfortunate circumstances such as abuse, death or abandonment. Of those who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">choose</i> single parenthood, some adopt children to give them a better
life than an institution can provide. The
Bible finds nobility in these kinds of <a href="http://bible.cc/james/1-27.htm" target="_blank">compa<span style="color: red;"></span>ssion</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However, from
Hollywood to the suburbs to the city streets, the willful disengagement from
parental responsibility and the traditional family no longer knows social, cultural
or ethnic bounds. Yet this social
phenomenon seems to disproportionately affect the African American community in
a most profound way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On the most
extreme end of the spectrum we find men (or should I say “males”) who choose to
be absolutely irresponsible fathers (or should I say “studs”). Consider the <span style="color: red;"><a href="http://wreg.com/2012/05/16/tn-man-fathers-30-kids-but-cant-support-any/" target="_blank">skirtchaser in Knoxville, Tennessee</a>
</span>who sired 30 babies by 11 different “baby mamas,” expecting the taxpayers
to foot the bill to make up for his lack of sufficient income (parceled out in
a check for $1.49 per month to each woman). The math alone demands that some women must
have had more than one child by this male; to return to the same empty well
time and again shows these women severely lack wisdom. If left unaddressed on the cultural level, this
kind of willful disregard for the privilege of parenting will only increase as
the government continues to fund negligence and foolishness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Certainly,
the community should lend a helping hand to all children in dire
straights. In the midst of this,
however, we also have a responsibility to challenge the value system that leads
to irresponsible ‘studship.’ Failing to
do so adds irresponsible citizenship to the charge, and insult to injury. Like the church community that changed my
young friend’s entire outlook on marriage, we must be dissatisfied enough with
the status quo to model and instill a value system that will empower young
adults to rise above being “at risk.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Undoubtedly,
we are trending toward a society where other institutions fill the void left
behind by apathy and foolishness. If
trends like these continue, we may well end up with a ‘nanny state’ where all
children are regarded as <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/marriage-equality-ironies.html" target="_blank">property of the government</a><span style="color: black;"></span>. If it is still true that “he who pays the
piper calls the tune,” what will this ‘nanny’ demand of our children, and their
children’s children?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">These
cultural concerns are far beyond the imposition of “healthy food choices in our
public schools” – with regard to the <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/checkmate-same-sex-marriage-advocates.html" target="_blank">oppression</a> of a ‘nanny state,’ we are missing the point. In such a situation, parents will be reduced
to mere “breeders” – a derogatory slur used by some who carry an anti-“straight”
and an anti-family agenda, and ironically a dehumanizing designation used by those
who trafficked in the illicit African slave trade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This is the
tide that threatens to carry us away. We
are allowing ourselves to come under a system where we will no longer have
control over the stability, quality and future of our families. The difference today is that this time, unlike under the slave
system of old which robbed us of the privileges of marriage and family, we are giving our privileges away willingly. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCF1n8F3EZuvPbJC3fX9ybiamSkV9cY6KyZAnjlqWgHSbfItJLATaJEQ5n_JWSD6RmoZLfWW8t2AorY6Ali-FAwoaa3M-NiDP_T5_SwIVJNaQlzALA7uXido7hiPE3H9SNFLIo9-Cr7yj6/s1600/Carl+and+Karen+FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCF1n8F3EZuvPbJC3fX9ybiamSkV9cY6KyZAnjlqWgHSbfItJLATaJEQ5n_JWSD6RmoZLfWW8t2AorY6Ali-FAwoaa3M-NiDP_T5_SwIVJNaQlzALA7uXido7hiPE3H9SNFLIo9-Cr7yj6/s200/Carl+and+Karen+FB.jpg" width="191" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i>Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr., theological anthropologist, and Karen Angela Ellis, performing artist and educator. Follow them on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CarlEllisJr" target="_blank">@CarlEllisJr,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/KarAngEllis" target="_blank">@KarAngEllis</a></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>Carl and Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087481249584033808noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600591889470508146.post-84701031528037910052012-06-07T13:22:00.001-04:002012-08-12T00:01:40.516-04:00“Daddy Did My Hair” – Weaving the Nature of Fatherhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir10C4Wfb6uRrRkJPU84UB4kEN8rcYc67z0UMU3hR7-xtRDOWtwjIVQCIGPhwc4YJTb8VVA9jp_qCuQDVwwsPHp3UclNRrU4wnNuewOVtAcZLJPlbC9c_90S5RFSM36IOeHImwkNlgGXU/s1600/US_Navy_020528-N-9076B-013_USS_Stennis_homecoming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir10C4Wfb6uRrRkJPU84UB4kEN8rcYc67z0UMU3hR7-xtRDOWtwjIVQCIGPhwc4YJTb8VVA9jp_qCuQDVwwsPHp3UclNRrU4wnNuewOVtAcZLJPlbC9c_90S5RFSM36IOeHImwkNlgGXU/s320/US_Navy_020528-N-9076B-013_USS_Stennis_homecoming.jpg" title="By U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate Don Bray. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons" width="210" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">My father always seemed larger than life. A booming baritone who made the first Great Migration north with his family after the Stock Market Crash of '29, he worked throughout his schooling to help support his mother and numerous siblings. My father finished Hampton University, and served his country during World War II as one of the first African American army captains leading an all-White company in the Pacific theater. This was a man who integrated the public school system along with a group of brave high school teachers, who with my mother at his side was instrumental in exposing unfair housing practices and the need for the Housing Discrimination Act of 1968. As an Industrial Arts teacher, he was so proficient at carpentry that he could design and build just about anything with his seemingly unlimited imagination and skill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">One morning, my father faced a daunting, never-before-performed task ... doing his daughters’ hair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">My mother, a homemaker <i>par-excellence</i>, happened to take a rare overnight trip away from home. In her absence, our father was to make certain my sister and I were washed, fed, and presented relatively unscathed upon her return – which, of course, included hair duty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">My father’s calloused, workman’s hands set about their business on my head early that morning. His hands were far more accustomed to wielding a hammer than a comb, yet their tenderness on my three-year-old scalp was as sweet as candy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">When we were presented for inspection upon Mama’s return, it didn’t matter that our braids were uneven, our edges fuzzy and our parts jagged with bows and barrettes decorating odd places. In spite of my haphazard triple-braid-'do, I was delighted to inform my mother that “Daddy did my hair.” My father never had occasion to do my hair again, yet this memory has remained vivid through the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Today, as my husband and I travel and lecture, I often hear him encouraging fathers to do their young daughters’ hair, and to do it regularly. Having done this with his own daughter, he is persuaded that it created an indelible bond between them. <a href="http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/spiritual-dimension-of-fatherhood.html" target="_blank">I affirm my husband’s observation</a>; I would add that the surprises of our tangles, kinks and curls make it easy to compare our hair's inconsistent glories to the<span style="color: red;"> </span>mutability of our days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Fathers, your comb and your care can unravel the complexities of both hair and life with the patience modeled by our heavenly Father; in doing so, you will discover the twists and turns of your daughters’ natural patterns of growth and personality. By sharing in her intimate world, you may glimpse firsthand how the elements of life can cause her hair – and her – to either shrink back in confusion or step forward with courage. You’ll come to know how each individual strand misbehaves on its own, yet with gentle guidance stands in solidarity with the whole of the head; you’ll learn to encourage her new growth, while tending to the health of the old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The vicissitudes<span style="color: red;"> </span>of life can affect both our hair and our outlook. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Touching a girl’s heart through her hair touches her in a place where she is vulnerable. Affirm her in that place and you stand on holy ground – this is especially true for us as Black women. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">There is a comfort in knowing that our earthly father's gentler side waits for us in the priestly tending of this temple, and his sacrifice of time and bravado becomes a fragrant offering. And each time you present her to the world for God’s purposes, you will have celebrated her hair and her identity for what God has uniquely made them both to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">A father can shape the womanhood of a girl like no one else on earth. For those whose natural fathers abandoned this wonderful privilege, our heavenly Father <a href="http://esv.scripturetext.com/romans/8-15.htm" target="_blank">stands ready to affirm you</a> in ways far beyond your coiffure – ways as unique and personalized as our hairstyles themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Sisters, even the <a href="http://bible.cc/luke/12-7.htm">numbered hairs</a> on our heads are <a href="http://bible.cc/psalms/139-14.htm">fearfully and wonderfully made</a> – our marvelous complexity is indicative of our Father’s love for creativity, and of his love for us as his creatures. Nature’s rains and the storms of life may act as kryptonite that weakens us, but both our heavenly and earthly fathers can <a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/2_corinthians/12-9.htm">strengthen us</a> to face the inclemency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Few things melted my husband’s heart more than to hear his daughter say, “My daddy did my hair.” I hope that it was the same for my father with me. My life on any given day can still be messy, and far different than I expected it to be – so it is also with my hair. What stands in my memory is not my father's lack of ability, but rather his tender love expressed in an area where he was <i>least</i> skilled, and I was most vulnerable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Indeed, what I remember best is being enraptured with my imperfect father, and the tangible way in which our perfect Father met us there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkMNO0p2jl8_B0KWAiLHUt-Aa9PvX4jagcb0NOaCuRqR5BBug43SzGALGC4S4eCt2HvZ05RgYuBfuAfXL3RJofCXsvmH9yGgfJPrMgqcAVwJfmxlJGeYeLWzpHV-vhx_LTsUzhkQYomT9/s1600/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkMNO0p2jl8_B0KWAiLHUt-Aa9PvX4jagcb0NOaCuRqR5BBug43SzGALGC4S4eCt2HvZ05RgYuBfuAfXL3RJofCXsvmH9yGgfJPrMgqcAVwJfmxlJGeYeLWzpHV-vhx_LTsUzhkQYomT9/s200/Headshot_Karen_Ellis_Full.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Karen Angela Ellis holds a Master of Fine.Art from the Yale University School of Drama and a Master of Art in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary. She is both performing artist and educator, happily married to Carl Ellis, Jr. Follow Karen on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/KarAngEllis" target="_blank">@KarAngEllis</a>, where she tweets about theology, life, culture and the arts.</span></i></div>
</div>Karen Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960602906198300126noreply@blogger.com6