UNLESS THEY AGREE…

Waving a flag or waving hate?

Constructed by and Co-written by Vinnie MacIsaac with Jeremiah Sepolen, Jason O’Rourke, and Helen

[Trigger warning confederate images appear in this article]

Three other people co-wrote this blog with me[1], and through our experiences, we tried to address the reality that confederate symbols are more than memorials of the past but rather they carry with them the painful reminder, that for many, the past is not over. Ironically we had already started writing and collaborating on this blog entry when the events of the August 12-13th, 2017 Charlottesville VA riot and tragic of Heather Heyer took place.

Our goal is not to preach to anyone on this topic but in this case, simply share four real stories, from four real families to help show how these symbols are not just reminders of the past, but carry with them fresh wounds. May we continue to learn from each other the dangers of hate, and the need for a constant reach for the higher ground of love.

Helen’s Experience [3]

I saw it as soon as we walked out of the store from our back-to-school shopping; a big red pickup with a big Confederate Flag flying from the back. Immediately, I felt uncomfortable and wished that I wasn’t parked so close to it. I didn’t grow up in the USA, and this reminder of not belonging is hard to shake. Outwardly, I look like I belong. And all of my kids are American. But I’ve seen the words people have written about how if you don’t like how things are here, you should just go home. And those words seared a message in my mind of intolerance. I hoped that the kids wouldn’t notice it or comment on it; I didn’t want to have to try to explain anything to my four young children yet. But that was wishful thinking. One of the younger ones spotted it almost as quickly as I had and shouted,

“Look! A Flag!”

My oldest, ever the precise child, corrected, “It’s a Confederate Flag.”

“Why are they flying a Confederate Flag?” asked another as we walked ever closer to our car, and thus the flag. He’d learned a little about the Civil War last year in our social studies, and he knew that we were not in the south and that the Confederates had not won that war and he was clearly puzzled about why someone would fly that flag.

“I really don’t know,” I answered as quietly as I could, as I loaded kids and purchases quickly into the vehicle. “It’s probably because they want to show that they believe in what the flag stands for.”

“And what is that?”

“What did the Confederates believe in?” I encouraged them to think a little for themselves before answering further. Plus, I didn’t quite know what to say, because I don’t fully understand.

My oldest answered, “They wanted to have slaves.”

“That’s right. Some people think that certain people are more important than others. They don’t like people who are not like them and sometimes they can be unkind. They want to remind us of that. We need to make sure that we always treat each other kindly and with respect, even if we don’t really like what they are doing.”

And with that, the children nodded and moved on to bickering over who got what book to look at on the way home. I finished loading up, grateful that they were satisfied with that small explanation, knowing that someday we’ll have to address it in greater depth. Hopefully next time I can have a better answer for them. As I got into my seat, I noticed the truck driving away. I breathed a little sigh of relief, both from knowing that our conversation was over before the owner came by and from not being near the flag any longer.

Vinnie’s Experience

I moved to the USA in 1998. I had some idea about the civil war and the race problem. I knew there had been a Civil War, and I knew that slavery was the major issue that provoked the war. I knew the south had lost, and slavery had come to an end-setting off a century or more of “Jim Crow.” But for some unexplained reason, I had zero idea it was tied to the Confederate flag. I likely zoned out in my high school American history class assuming I’d never live here.

Pastor Vinnie’s Family is a mixed-race adoptive family.

I honestly thought the Confederate flag was just a flag from the south that they used on the car of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show.

You have to go back in time and realize this was the time of the resurgence of the Dukes of Hazzard and they were making TV reunion movies, which was all the fad of the era. I was in a Dukes of Hazard fan club, and still young enough to be re-living my childhood as a young adult. I was super excited I could actually go to conventions and cast gatherings being in NC.

The cable guy came to hook us up in our new place in Durham, NC. I was still unpacking, so my living room was a mixture of Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia, chief among them was confederate flag-filled messages. In your mental image of my living room, picture the perfect mix of Jesus and Bible stuff interwoven with Confederate flag memorabilia, and that was about the disarray of my unpacking phase. To make matters even acuter, I recall I was working on a new image for my Dukes of Hazzard Club and had a big ol’ Confederate flag image on my computer monitor. I was 28 years old and clueless as to why this was odd. As they say on Sesame Street, “One of these things is not like the other,” but I had no idea that applied to Jesus and that flag.

The cable guy was, of course as fate would have it, African- American and of course, noticed what I could not. I was completely put off by the way he was acting really cold and short with me. He was still professional but had an annoyed undertone. I just wanted to make small talk and be friendly, but he was having none of it. I kept trying to strike up a conversation with him, as is my nature, and just got the “let me do my job” vibe.

At the end of the installation, he broke professional protocol and looked me right in the eye, and asked me if I was really a Christian. I was a little shocked but said yes, and his only response was to roll his eyes and leave.

The General Lee from the Dukes Of Hazzard fame was a moonshine-running car turned Nascar circuit race car endowed with “superpowers,” that aided the Duke boy’s from being captured by Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane and company.

The second he left I went on Yahoo (yeah, pre-google days!) and looked up, “Why the Dukes of Hazzard Offends people.” And that, folks, is how I learned about the Confederate flag!

I admit to this day it’s hard for me to balance this in my heart and mind and reach a healthy outcome. Growing up in rural Canada with only two TV channels (one of them French), the Dukes of Hazard was a childhood staple. Being in the fan clubs, I have met almost all the cast, even built friendships with some. I have driven in countless authentic and replica “General Lee’s. “ Looking objectively at the material presented on the TV show, there was not a racist idea or word ever shown on the TV show. It was harmless family fun. But the problem I now ache over is that it was harmless family fun depending on who your family was, what race they were, and where they have lived. What to me was simply the coolest race car to ever grace any TV set, to others is a constant reminder of pain, suffering, injustice, and slavery. I confess I remain complexed and unprocessed.

Jason O’Rouke’s Experience

Wow! Where to start? What is a Confederate flag Experience? Is it solely localized to the Confederate flag? Not for me…for a black person.

It starts by understanding that the Confederation was the Southern states seeking states’ rights, not wanting the Federal government to overstep itself into state affairs.

It starts by recognizing that slavery started in the north and that the north was complicit in it, by allowing it.

It starts by knowing that the states’ rights argument was about the states rights to own slaves, as clearly stated in the South’s Articles of Confederation. The North finally got around to addressing it due to the possibility of the expansion of slavery into new territory. A power struggle existed, and would grow, in Congress should slavery continue and expand.

It starts by knowing that the South’s reason for seceding was very much about slavery.

Jason can be reached on Twitter at @ORourkeJA

It starts by knowing that the Constitution, in its original formation, declared black people are three-fifths human.

It starts by knowing that Christians across this great nation, particularly in the south, viewed and treated black people at best as children, and at worst as less than animals.

It starts by knowing the horrors that slavery was, from kidnapping to separating families, to selling people, to branding and beating people; the sex plantations where slaves were mated with the opposite sex, regardless of familial relationships, to the raping of slaves: males, to show dominance; females (old and young) to satisfy lusts, et al.

It continued by recognizing that Ellen White[4] says the Civil War was God punishing both the North and the South for the sin of slavery.

It continued by knowing of the slavery reality of peonage, prison labor and the unequal/unjust sentencing, black slave codes, Jim Crow laws, lynching, Richard Nixon’s War on drugs, the housing redlining policies, the need for the Civil Rights Movement, etc.

It continued with the reality that my denomination[5] in North America has separate conferences for the purpose of “pursuing mission” because when those conferences were separated, they were done so because the General Conference president would not fully integrate the church when blacks asked for full integration and participation. That we change the language to defend such a vestige of segregation and racism is a strong condemnation of our denomination and clear evidence that our own three angels’ message means nothing to us.

It continued in my grade school when the principle there would not allow the black boys to play with the white girls because God did not ordain the races to mix…even though none of us were really interested in actually dating.

It continued with varsity football white boys wearing Klu Klux Klan robes and hoods to school.

It continued with being the only black boy at my job in high school when a group of local white boys comes in and starts calling me “boy” and “nigger”, and threatening harm to me, while my white counterparts stood there, saying and doing nothing of support.

It continued with a fight after a basketball game with a rival school, where racial epithets were being yelled at us from opposing players and fans. The fight included not only the opposition’s players but their fans and family in the stands.

It continued with being in the military, and one squad in my platoon being called the Aryan Nation because they were all white, and the squad leader was proud of that.

It continued with the preparation to head to Haiti by our unit, and that same squad leader being upset when the deployment to Haiti is called off because he was looking forward to “killing some coons.”

It continued in the military, when the Equal Opportunity Officers information board being used, with the permission of the EO officer, to post racist symbols.

It continues when I am told I cannot put up any pictures of Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, Jr., because in the military we are all green, while in the same platoon confederate flags are being hung in people’s rooms.

It continued having a white soldier come into my room and turn off my music, but everyone else is allowed to blast their rock-n-roll as loud as they want.

It continued being pulled over by 4 cop cars, and held there for an extended period of time, for nothing more than a blown tail light.

It continued by listening to theologians who continue to teach that music with non-euro-rhythmic music is satanic, derived from Africa, and full of voodoo. One prominent music minister said that God’s ultimate goal in fallen-human worship is the Eurocentric style of music and worship.

It continued with a professor at Seminary[6] telling black students that celebration during worship is bad praxis, because we have not been translated to heaven yet, and so there is nothing to celebrate. It continued when being taught Revelation 13, and the Lamb-like beast[7] begins to speak like a dragon when religious liberty is taken. This means that there is no draconian speech on any other issue to freedom in [Adventist]  interpretation. So robbing native Americans of their land and genociding them was not draconian? Slavery and all its laws and cultural extensions and implications is not draconian? Women not getting the right to vote until 1920 is not draconian? American-Japanese citizen internment during WW2 was not draconian?

It continues when speaking to people of these issues, and they attempt to pacify me by quoting to me Martin L. King, Jr.’s “I have a Dream Speech” while failing to acknowledge that during his time even he was hated by America for his stance on the poor, and his stance on the Vietnam War. They love him now; they hated him then.

It continues when President Obama is called a socialist, and yet Americans today collect social security checks, have welfare, accept student loan forgiveness from the Federal Government, etc.

It continues with a president who ran his campaign, not on any clearly articulated plan, but on misogyny, racism, xenophobia, Islamaphobia, who allowed the Breitbart editor to be the main player on his cabinet, who is nepotistic, who allowed racist Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General…

It continues with people who bemoan the minimum distrust and maximum contempt of this current president, declaring we should respect the office, all the while they refuse to call president Obama president, question his citizenship, and called him unpatriotic…

It continues with recognizing that this nation’s response to a president with a stable family, no scandals, a high education, is to elect a man of no education, on his third marriage, who has multiple scandals…

The Confederate flag is the symbol of a defeated rebellion…one which would have made official and legal all the experiences above, and more.The Confederate flag is more than a flag; it is an experience…the confederate experience.

It continues in confusion, for as a black man it is hard to reconcile the Christianity of people suggesting that to fly the Confederate flag is to celebrate one’s ancestry, race, and culture, when the ancestry, race, and culture that the flag was flown to symbolize was one in which humans were devalued and demonized, abused, and marginalized. If it is immoral to fly the Nazi flag for what it stood for in relationship to Jews, then it is equally repugnant to fly the Confederate flag for what it stood for. To fly it clearly means one is a bigot . . . unless, of course, the issue isn’t the bigotry at all, nor the flags that symbolize them, but rather that bigotry and its symbols’ acceptance is ok, depend upon whom the bigotry is directed toward; white Jews bigotry and its symbols are intolerable; toward blacks, everything is defensible.

To see that flag is to know that there are still policies and legislation which still impact me differently.

To see that flag is to know and remember that there are people who would make more policies and legislation which will treat me harsher.

To see that flag is to know that historically I am presumed guilty before proven innocent, while my hate counterpart is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

To see that flag is to know and remember that I am societally assumed less intelligent, less capable than others; and thus must work 10x’s harder to be considered competent.

To see that flag is to know and remember that I am assumed to have received a handout, instead of having done the study and work to earn what I have been given.

To see the Confederate flag is to know and remember that there is a large portion of Americans, politically liberal and conservative, who would rather go back to the way things were, instead of to the way things could be…

To see the Confederate flag is to know that no matter what I say, no matter what factual and historical references I refer to, what experiences I and my family have, I will always be accused of race-baiting, of living in the past, of forgetting or denying MLK’s dream, of being unpatriotic, of being unchristian, by those who do not share the experience, who deny the experience, and who are unaware of their own history, racial identity, and unChristian apathy.

Jeremiah Sepolen’s Experience

Heritage. A word that possesses more power in its eight letters than eight books could explain. Heritage is important. Heritage is crucial. Heritage is necessary. I believe that understanding where you came from, what your forefathers stood for, and what they endured is crucial to understanding who you are. Heritage. It lets the new generation know that they are part of something far greater than themselves. Heritage. It preserves the principles, values, customs, and traditions of a people. Heritage.

 Sam’s Heritage

Although I live in Atlanta, one of the churches I pastor is near Andersonville, GA. Andersonville is a town which celebrates heritage. Everywhere you look in Andersonville the Confederate flag flies high and proud. One afternoon I decided to stop at the civil war museum in Andersonville to gain a deeper understanding of the heritage this majestic symbol represents. When I entered the museum, I encountered the man who founded the museum. For the sake of anonymity, I will call him Sam. Sam was a surprisingly young 92 years old. He moved with swiftness and spoke with an energy-laden southern drawl. His eyes were a piercing blue that seemed loaded with a million stories to tell. His skin had a texture that testified of decades of work under the merciless Georgia sun. He wore a military-esque shirt with a Confederate patch over his heart, and on his hat. I began to ask Sam questions about the flag. These questions inevitably led to a discussion regarding the civil war, slavery, and the nearby Andersonville prison camp that was active during the American Civil War. Sam has a unique perspective because he is the grandson of a man who fought for the Confederate Army. Sam was close to his grandfather, as such he had many conversations with a person who had experienced first hand the politics, the gruesomeness, and the reality that was the American Civil War.

The rich heritage of Andersonville, GA.

Sam spoke much of heritage. For him, the Confederate flag, or as he called it “Ol’ Dixie,” reminded him of his grandfather and others like him who fought bravely for their right to decide their future for themselves. To decide how their nation would be run, and who would be considered citizens of that nation. The Andersonville prison camp, as cruel as it was, was an example of victory in a war that was ultimately lost. He beamed with pride as he talked about the fact that his grandfather was a guard at Andersonville, and part of one of the last platoons to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Union Army. To him, that is what the Confederate flag represented… heritage. A heritage of independence, pride, and valor.

Before I continue, I need to let you know a little about myself. I am biracial, the son of a Euro-American mother and an Afro-American father. I was born with reddish hair, nearly white skin, freckles, and green eyes. In shape and dimension most of my features tell of my African ancestry, but in color, my features speak loudly of my European ancestry. As such, in certain situations, if I make an effort to do so (take the bass out of my voice and the swag out of my stride, etc.) I can “pass” as white. When I was talking to Sam, my intention was to attempt to pass as best I could. When the subject turned to slavery, it became obvious my efforts had failed. “You know the war wasn’t about you Blackies.” He quipped. To which I replied calmly and inquisitively, “What was it about?” He responded, “It was about economics and the right to decide for ourselves.” I was only there to learn, so I let him continue without rebuttal. The heritage that the Ol’ Dixie stood for was clear.

My Children’s Heritage

I instill the importance of heritage in my children. We have a rich heritage. In my paternal lineage, there are numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who were active in the civil rights movement. Further back there was an African-American freeman soldier who valiantly fought in the Union Army, masquerading as a Confederate soldier to rescue his wife and children who were still slaves in the South, then returned to the ranks of the Union Army once they were safely settled in the North. In my maternal lineage are white abolitionists who fought for freedom and justice in the political ranks of the United States. On my father’s side, there are African-American, Caribbean, and Native American-cultural influences. On my mother’s side there flows German, Dutch, and English blood. My children have an even richer history. My wife was born in Ghana but grew up in the United States. Her family

Jeremiah can be reached on Twitter at @Jeremiahsepolen

is from Sierra Leone, and she is a proud member of the Temne tribe, with Mandinka blood on her father’s side, as well. So my children have a heritage that is rich in culture, experience, and tradition from many peoples and tribes. We teach them of their heritage, and we teach them to honor and carry on the heritage that is passed to them.

The Dark side of Heritage  

I remember the day like it was yesterday; my son was about three months into potty training. He and I were taking a father-son trip from our home to a small town in South Carolina. Being the daring parent I am, I had put him in underwear for the five-hour drive and trusted that he will tell me if he needs to stop to potty and that I would be able to find a place for him to go before the clock ran out on his toddler’s bladder. Sure enough, the alarm went off about halfway through our drive, “Daddy, I have to go potty.” To which I urgently responded, “Ok, buddy. Hold it for a moment while I find a place for you to go.” My right foot pressed down harder on the gas pedal as I scanned the back roads we were on for the nearest gas station or restaurant. Soon one was in view. I breathed a sigh of relief, yet as I approached the gas station, I noticed Ol’ Dixie flying proudly outside. I almost stopped but figured maybe I should go to the next one. I kept driving. As I continued to look for a place to stop, I noticed Ol’ Dixie was a common sight in this town. Luckily, or so I thought, there was another gas station on the other side of the road about half a mile farther. I pulled in, jumped out, unsnapped my son’s seat belt, took him out of his car seat, and we headed into the gas station. As we entered, I asked the attendant where the little boy’s room was. To which he responded with a gruff tone, “You cannot use it.” I pulled my son closer as he rocked with the urgency of a toddler who is about to let loose with the fury of Niagra. I looked the attendant in the eye, smiled, and said politely, “I’m happy to make a purchase if that is necessary.” To which he responded, “We don’t want your money, and we don’t want your kind in our store.” I pulled my son tighter to my side. A lady approached me and said, “For the safety of your son I suggest you leave and don’t look back.” I quickly surveyed the room and realized that wet underwear was the better option in this circumstance. I picked him up in my arms as we hurried back to the car. The tears began to fall from his eyes as on my arm I felt a flow of a different kind coming from him. He could not understand why he had to pee on himself at this moment. But it was a part of his heritage I had to teach him soon if he is to navigate life as a black man in America.

   You see, heritage has a dark side. There are things my children must know. They should be aware that they are more than five times as likely to be incarcerated than their white friends. I have to teach them that according to the NAACP, “African American children represent 32% of children who are arrested, 42% of children who are detained, and 52% of children whose cases are judicially waived to criminal court.[8] I have to teach them that they are much more likely to be stopped, arrested, and per capita are much more likely to die at the hands of police.[9] Heritage. I have to teach them that on average they will likely make approximately $17k less than a white male with the same education and experience.[10] I have to teach them that they will have to work twice as hard as the next person, but to never give up and to never believe that they are inferior. Heritage. And I have to teach them that when they see Ol’ Dixie to keep on driving or it may cost them their lives.

   You see Sam missed something about the heritage that Ol’ Dixie stands for. When his grandfather, and others like him, fought for the right to decide their own future, it was a future where my grandfather worked for free under the whip of his grandfather. When they wanted the freedom to decide how their nation was to be run and who would be citizens of it, they considered my forefathers and foremothers as nothing greater than cattle (yet they were willing to rape our women). When his grandfather stood guard at Andersonville prison camp while the Union soldiers inside rotted to death (the stench was so bad it could be smelled 20 miles away in Americus, GA), he was motivated to do so by the same demonic force that allowed him to treat human beings as slaves back on his plantation. Yes, the war was ultimately about economics; but an economy that depended on the enslavement of an entire group of people. That is the heritage of Ol’ Dixie, and it is the reason so many people today can fly her alongside a Nazi Swastika flag, the two hold a similar history and share the same principles of hatred.

The Heritage Remains

Eric Garner

But here is the kicker, even if you take down Ol’ Dixie, her heritage remains. It remains in racist policies such as “Stop and Frisk” that target minorities. Heritage. It is solidified every time a bullet paid for by public money and fired by a civil servant takes the life of another innocent black taxpayer, and the cop (or neighborhood watch) walks free as if they have done exactly what the system wants them to do. Heritage. It is reflected in the fact that Dylan Roof takes nine black lives in a church but gets peacefully arrested and fed on the way to prison, while Eric Garner gets an immediate death sentence on the street for selling loose cigarettes. Heritage. It is reflected in a president who condemns “hate from ALL sides” after the chaos in Charlottesville, putting the murderous white nationalists who were waving Ol’ Dixie, in the same boat as those standing against hatred; legitimizing white supremacy. Ol’ Dixie may not be flying above the South Carolina capital anymore, but she is flying high in the systemic racism of this nation, and in the hearts of so many. Heritage.

Vinnie’s Closing Thought

Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist Neo-Nazi in Charlottesville VA, USA. She died a real American hero fighting the Nazi ideology almost 70’s years after the end of WW2. She was a true patriot. “Red, Brown, Yellow, Black, and White. They were all precious in her sight. Let us keep living out her fight.”

I can’t tell you the motivation of everyone who waves the Confederate flag. I can’t tell you if they are, as in my case, ignorant of the use of it. I can’t tell you because in part, I am the wrong color and that means I never feel the full sting of its edged stars and X-ed-style cross. For me, a burning torch is a patio lantern but for others, like this past weekend in Charlottesville, it was a symbol of hate that would lead to murder. I can’t tell you why Helen’s child is left with questions and Jeremiah’s child is left with urine-filled pants. I can’t tell you why Jason is repeatedly pulled over for no reason and made to wait, but when I am pulled over the officer gives me his personal card in case I need further assistance to avoid a future ticket on the same violation. And I still can’t even tell you what I am going to do about my childhood favorite show and my childhood heroes who drive around in the coolest car covered in the vilest hate symbol ever created in America.

But this is what I can tell you, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,”[11] and if you don’t get that, if you won’t stand up and fight for that if that is not among your innermost core values, I can tell you, you’re likely not in Christ and you ought deeply to seek Him anew. The time to stand and be brave is now, lest you sink and slither back into the Kingdom of Darkness.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)

VIDEO Library for further exploration

Footnotes 

[1] Each person’s thoughts, political or otherwise are their own and are expressed in the blog for the purposes of freedom of expression of the individual they belong to.

[2] https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/11/us/charlottesville-white-nationalists-rally-why/index.html

[3] Helen is a pseudonym. Helen opted not to use her real name since she is a Pastor’s wife and does not want to be inundated with political debates.

[4] Ellen White was a Founder in the denomination of Jason’s employment.

[5] Seventh-day Adventist Church, North American Division

[6] Andrews University Seminary

[7] According to popular Adventist teaching

[8] https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet

[9] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/black-people-more-likely-be-stopped-cops-study-finds-n616546

[10] https://www.civilrights.org/equal-opportunity/fact-sheets/african-americans.html?referrer=https://www.google.com.ph

[11] Galatians 3:28

A modified version of this article was published at… https://religiousliberty.tv/confederate-flag-controversy-pastors.html

The post UNLESS THEY AGREE…Waving a flag or waving hate? appeared first on Simply Vinnie - Unpacking The Complicated.

RACISM: MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

Exploring Racism and Christianity

By Pastor Vinnie

Can a Christian be racist? And if he/she is racist, is that person really still a Christian? It is easy to label people. It is harder to understand them. And that is the very reason racism even exists at all in the world, let alone in the church.

Racism is deeper than skin. It is not about a person’s complexion. It is about our inability to understand the differences of the Human race as God created it. A keen theologian will surmise that was a big factor in the need of the cross and its post-resurrection theological applications. Humanity, in its fallen nature, assumes that “self” is the real deal, and the “other” the real danger. Sin reduces us to mere animals that thrive on instinct, fright, and flight rather than compassion and higher reasoning. This quickly escalates to an “us versus them” way of thinking and gathers people of similar attributes into camps of people against people or different attributes. It is sinful nature then, being rooted in fear and motivated by false perceived danger, not complexion, that is the root cause of racism.

This is why Paul writes to Christians to say,

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV)

You are all one. You are all similar. You all belong to the same family. You are all Human. You are all bought with a price. You are all valued at the same price. That cost is the cross. Your worth is not based on your gender, your worth is not based on your level of independence or even self-responsibility, and your worth is certainly not based on your ethnic or genetic makeup. Your worth is only based on what God would pay for you, and that price has not only already been fixed; it has been paid! You are a ‘collector’s item’ of the highest value. No one in all of the universe is worth more than you. And so, you will be cared for by the One who collected you up as if nothing could be valued more. Ergo, your fears are folly in the face of a Father’s love.

But then, why did Paul, the chief theologian of the New Testament church have to write such a declaration to the church, of all people? You would think, such an understanding would be self-evident? The answer, as in all astute biblical questions, is found in the context. The answer is so simple we passed right over it on our way to Galatians 3:28. The answer is Paul himself came face to face with a fellow and senior^[1] Apostle who was openly practicing racism in the church and Paul was forced to rebuke him in chapter two of this same famed Galatians we quoted above.

This is the correct context in which leads Paul to the conclusion of Galatians 3:28;

But when Cephas [Peter][2] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas [Peter] before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatian 2:11-14)

I am ashamed to have to show you this passage, in this context, because I am ashamed to have to admit Peter [Cephas] fell prey to racism. Yes, this is the same Peter who long before Paul ever began to officially preach to the Gentiles received a vision from God and began preaching the Gospel to them (see Acts 10 and 11). Peter lit the candle of equality that he passed to Paul who became the torchbearer[3]. But, because of fear, Peter folded on what God had made clear to him, even in vision, and put it aside so as not be out of step with his peers. If Peter, under pressure, could fall, whom God showed in Heavenly divine vision that no man was to be called “common” because all belonged to God Almighty, then what dangers might we be in if under the right stressors?

The fact that you may not have grown up in a racist home, or considered yourself to have racist tendencies or ideology, is not in itself any provision that can protect you. Look, most of us Christians can’t claim direct divine prophetic vision. But what Peter’s experience teaches us is that even if we had, that would not be enough to safeguard us. This incident shows that given the right pressures, perceived dangers, or prolonged culture of fear, we all could become a racist and not even know it.

Peter folded because he feared the faithful who had a direct connection to the hierarchy in Jerusalem. According to Eusebius (who quotes Clement), James was the Bishop of Jerusalem^[4], so it appears that Peter, not wanting to offend the “company men” of James, folded to their biases. What Paul makes clear, and therefore it is not sanctified speculation at all, is that Peter’s discrimination was rooted in the same common cause we all share, “fear.” Paul writes, “…but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” This should be highly disconcerting to all of us because that means, giving the right amount of pressure, we all could fall into fear patterns that would drive us to the same depths of action as did Peter.

It is unclear if Peter knew what he was doing or if the fear blindsided him and it was reactive. But it works both ways, in that we don’t have to be at our core a hardened racist bigot to partake in racial prejudice. But it could also mean we may have some of that deep down inside us due to our culture, or upbringings, or isolated experiences, and not even know it. The problem with sin is it is the great ‘perception distorter.’ Once you are infected, it takes an outside source to alert you to the problem. Thank God, Paul was that outside source that brought Peter back to the ground.

Notice, Paul, as opposed to Peter, works under the power of conviction of God and God’s Kingdom principles rather than out of fear. Paul had every reason to fear Peter’s reaction. Peter was not only one of the original 12, but he was always in the inner circle of Jesus^[5] and had a reputation of knowing how to be fiery when he wanted to be. Paul, on the other hand, had a history of persecuting the church, he was a murderer in his past life, and his whole career had the authenticity of his apostleship questioned since he had not been a direct disciple of Jesus. If Peter had not been willing to be corrected and insisted on leading out in his fleshly fear he could have easily rained down chaos on the ministry of Paul, with the brethren of James backing him up. However, Paul knew Peter’s actions were “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” and that God was on his side, and even more important than being right, he had to save Peter from himself.

There can be no excuse for the Christian he practices racism in the church. How can you argue when Paul flat out said it was “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” and Peter himself found no rebuttal for such a rebuke? If Peter, one of the favored disciples of Jesus had no rebuttal than all our excuses are just self-taught lies, and if we hold on to them Peter will rise in the resurrection and condemn us! He, after all, did not dare attempt lame cultural excuses for ungodly action.

“Paul knew Peter’s actions were

“not in step with the truth of the gospel!’”

Paul was not motivated out of holy zeal and sanctified fire of justice but rather out of compassion, love, and mercy for a fellow apostle who let fear catch him up in a moment. Paul also knew it had to stop now because it was already spreading. We are told, “The rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.”

There is no doubt Peter, once the fear had discharged, would have also come under the conviction of the Spirit about his actions. But how many would have been led astray by that time? And how much guilt and fires would Peter have to deal with and put out after that? No, Paul instead acted in love, standing boldly, and called Peter, that great apostle of repentance^[6], to repentance for the sake of the Gospel and its reputation among Gentiles.

While we are not told of Peter’s response in the narrative, we have no reason to doubt it, either. In   2 Peter, chapter 3, we find Peter, himself, making his endorsement of Paul clear. While addressing other people who are having difficulty with Paul, Peter calls Paul his “beloved brother,” and speaks to his “wisdom” and expertise in the Gospel.

Calling a brother to repentance is never a casual thing that we do. It could damage relationships forever. It could even cause a person to stumble. Normally we try to take great care, and with much prayer, and biblical insight do as Paul would have normally done even as he counseled in this same letter, “you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness^[7], ” but there are some sins so damaging to the cause of the faith that they must be done with the razor-sharp discernment of correctness and swiftness of action lest they infect the rest of the church with the same sin. All forms of bigotry fall into this level of sin because bigotry is based on fear that exponentially increases ignorance because only fear shuts down reason and intellect as the person regresses to animalistic tendencies of “fight or flight.”

We are currently living in a culture of fear. Some want to believe it is a political culture of fear but I am not so convinced the current spikes in the American race divide are political as much as from a darker source. Making them a political problem only makes them a skin-deep problem. Racism is deeper than skin. It is a fear problem in the heart of fallen mankind who fails to depend on God for security and takes matters into their own hands[8]. Jesus warned the heart of men would grow cold in the last days. He warned that the fear would be so turned up that we’d betray our own families^[9], and more and more Christians are buying into the mantra^[10] that it is a “persecute or be persecuted” world and have totally forgotten, or selectively abandoned, the true words of Jesus that call us to stand strong and be blessed in persecution;

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you, falsely, on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”^[11]

Why the shift in Biblical thinking to cultural crosses? Real pain hurts. Yes, there are blessings in persecution, but it means the pain of ‘Dying to Self’ first. For many have chosen the false Gospel^[12] of cultural rage, and it’s demanding of rights and fear-fueled false faith which is a fast falling Babylon. The wrong answer to Peter’s dilemma that many embrace is to cry counter racism, but this too is bad logic, for even if you were a victim of counter-racism the questions remains, are you not called by Jesus to suffer for your brother’s betterment? Love overcomes hate, and Christians do not fight fire with fire! They are called to create coals of fire with love and mercy that is beyond the enemies understanding. That is what the civil rights movement got right in America. Martin Luther King Jr (among others) was largely successful because the movement operated on the Christian principle of love concurs fear!

With this consideration in mind, two things going forward are of the most urgent priority for the church in this current climate of fear:

1) We can’t let fear stop us from pointing out bigotry in even in our own faith communities and
even more important,
2) we cannot let fear stop us from finding hidden bigotry in our own heart.

After all, our heart is where racism lives, It is, truly, deeper than skin. No one is immune to it unless you have been translated. Peter, himself was a product of a race, culture, and twice over religion that had been highly discriminated against, and that did not stop his own discrimination from getting a hold of him.

There is only one person who is safe from the dangers of discrimination and prejudice, and that is the person who thinks he/she has honestly sought his or her heart and genuinely found none there. They are free, but only because they are deluded, lack perception, and live in a mockery of faith that is a distortion of self-awareness. All other fallen beings, are shaped by more than skin and thus struggle because of the failed, degenerate heart, that even in faith tries to rise, causing us to have to fight to keep our fears at bay at all times and with all people.

Paul knew what hate looked like because he murdered^[13] in hate before and he wished to save Peter from that fate. Let Jesus, now through Paul, rescue you. We all have fears, that can shut down our minds, and create selective ignorance. Don’t hide from your fears, admit them and face them because they are, “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” but to some degree or other they are buried in the degenerated heart of all humanity until translation. While through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we can be free, we still remain on guard at all times because the battle rages on and we must fight this good fight until Jesus comes. Love casts out all fear, but love must be embraced, chased, pursued, trained, and practiced. Real love never fails because real love is hate backward. Real love is deeper than skin and real love has the ability not only to look into your own heart but to look into the heart of the person of vast difference standing before you and to find the very Imago Dei[14] that is stored deeper than skin deep!

Be deep. See deep. Love deep. Deeper than Skin Deep. Imago Dei Deep!

Related:

Jesus And The Disinherited – (A Reflective Book Review)

UNLESS THEY AGREE…Waving a flag or waving hate?

FOOTNOTES

^[1] senior is not a rank in this case but rather a factual point that Peter was an apostle before Paul chronologically.

[2] Cephas is simply Aramaic while Peter is from Greek but both are the same name.

[3] This is Peter’s relocation of how he came to realize Gentiles were equal and under God’s Grace; “And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:12-18

^[4] But Clement in the sixth book of his Hypotyposes writes thus: “For they say that Peter and James and John after the ascension of our Saviour, as if also preferred by our Lord, strove not after honor, but chose James the Just, bishop of Jerusalem.” But the same writer, in the seventh book of the same work, relates also the following things concerning him: “The Lord after his resurrection imparted knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter, and they imparted it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom Barnabas was one. – Church History II.1.3-5

^[5] John, James, and Peter are always found in the key events of the gospels with Jesus more than the rest.

^[6] Acts 2:37-41, Acts 3:19

^[7] Chapter 6:1

[8] Adam in the garden having found Eve in sin also failed to seek a cure from God and thus fell in face first himself. Racism spreads in much the same way.

^[9] MARK 13:12 and please note he is talking about the church

^[10] Matt. 24:24

^[11] Matthew 5:11-12 The famed Sermon On The Mount

^[12] That Paul Ironically warned about in Galatians 1

^[13] or some would weakly contend only permitted murder.

[14] Image of God

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