Imago Dei means made in the image of God. All ethnic groups, whether male or female – or whatever they think themselves to be – are without exception made in the image of God.
Black Lives do Matter – All Lives Matter, whatever one’s ethnicity. Even pre-born babies!
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gen 1:26-27
Chaos has erupted after the tragic death of George Floyd. It started in America and caught fire around the world. The following thoughts (rants) are my opinion. They form a long introduction to links which I’ve found helpful in order to gain insight into what’s really going on. These links haven’t shaped my thoughts; rather they’ve confirmed them.
Floyd’s death was not racially motivated. What we know of the incident indicates far more complex causes. At the heart of this is man’s sin nature. The Floyd tragedy was hijacked by special interest groups such as Antifa, BLM, opportunists (looters etc), and the “Woke” folk. It was always going to happen because these groups have constantly sown seeds of discontent.
How sad that rioters destroyed and looted black-owned businesses, even while owners pleaded with them to stop. There was an example where the owner of a business confronted potential vandals with a weapon, only to be chastised by someone filming the scene. He told the owner that insurance would take care of it anyway. How might this individual react if his own property was under threat?
Antifa came in under all this and agitated further violence. It even lobbed pallets of bricks in strategic locations. How revealing that it took over a section of a city with the blessing of many politicians, set up barriers, and promptly began turning on itself!
The politicians who sanctioned the peaceful or otherwise gathering of protesters seemed to suddenly forget all about the dangers of Covid -19. Unless, of course, the gatherings involved protesting Abortion Clinics, or people attending church.
I’m frustrated by the (white) evangelicals tweeting memes aimed at other Christians, chastising them. They’re not only broad-brush painting and judging; they’re also perpetuating the idea that racism in America is endemic, or that Christians have turned a blind eye. Furthermore, white Americans are assumed to be racist – who need to repent – by virtue of who they are; unless, of course, they’re saying all the right things.
Sadly, some Black evangelicals insist on primarily identifying with their ethnicity. In listening to the constant grievances against white privilege, there’s precious little if any admonition to identify or rejoice in Christ.
This mess isn’t Donald Trump’s fault either. Riots occurred during the Obama administration as well. I saw a tweet response to Trump – “Make America godly again.” It was sent by a Christian living in another country who is a recovered addict and working to help other addicts. I respect, and yet disagree with this man.
Aside from the question of whether any nation could ever be deemed “godly”, my Reformed friend ought to have recognized that the deep problems in his own city and country are sin related. Furthermore a great portion of the churches in that country have adopted the culture.
If you want to make Italy, Scotland, England, Australia, or any country “godly” – pray and start where you are and where your church is. Don’t blame the politicians or the culture.
No doubt I’ve ranted on too much. Here are links to sources from people I think have articulated some of these issues very well. I hope you’ll look them up. First of all is Doug Wilson. This is how he concluded his essay. But please read all of it:
So here is the gospel, straight and true. It addresses the central problem of every human heart, which is that we are all of us crooked and false.
Christ is the eternal Word of God, and He took on human flesh in order to be able to die. He lived a perfect sinless life, ran afoul of the authorities, was arrested by the police, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day, He rose again from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, where He was seated and enthroned at the right hand of the Ancient of Days. On that great coronation day, He inherited every black tribe and every white tribe, not to mention all the other tribes, and declared His everlasting purpose to do something glorious with all of them.
That “something glorious” did not include building a whites-only country club. That “something glorious” did not include looting a store and running off with a free PlayStation.
I admit to being somewhat frustrated because there is so much more to say. But here it is in a nutshell: Christ is everything. America needs to be pierced to the heart. It is Christ or chaos. If you get the chaos, it is because you loved it more…keep reading
Then there’s Tom Ascol who warned that “Godlessness in society does not stay there but seeps into the church wreaking havoc among the people of God.” His article is aptly called “God’s Word in Godless Times, or the Appearance of Godliness in Signaling Virtue.” Read it HERE
Various Resources:
Racial Reconciliation – Ephesians 2:10-11 Dr. Voddie Baucham
A Tale of Two Social Justice Statements
Phil Johnson on what to do when your church goes woke
Cripplegate Analyzes the Black Lives Matter Organization
Cripplegate on the Compassionate Counter-Cultural Christian Response
A Brief History of Antifa: Part I
“Taking a Knee” to the Destroyers of Worlds
We live in a self-deifying world which seeks its own desires while rejecting God. We must remember that Christ is its only hope.
But in Christ all is perfected and made new. He is the great Preparer of the way and Opener of the door. In Him Paradise and the All-holy are thrown open. ~ Erich Sauer (the Triumph of the Crucified)
Maranatha!
Sharing is caring!
