I am writing rapidly at this moment as I have many thoughts which are finally bubbling up out of my brain and need to get out. I hope it makes sense…
The nationwide assault that we are watching on memorials, statues, and symbols of country (even threatening to leap over to religious symbols) are becoming more frequent but also more nonsensical. There is a battle raging today over the place of history and how we should view it as a culture. Currently, whether it be driven by a Marxist agenda from revisionists, cultural anarchists driven by politics, or the attempt at empathy from numerous Christian leaders driven by the need for cultural acceptance; history has landed on hard times.
I think many of us knew we were in trouble in this regard years ago when our children came home from school and we read their history textbooks. It was confirmed as we sent them off to college and listened to the angle, they received from their history professors with regards to American history. I’ll never forget the time my oldest son was in grade school and a teacher was giving them a brief history of the 1960’s which emphasized (in her opinion) a culture addicted to drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll. Their focus on Woodstock dominated that semester. Of course, the teacher was partly right in that there was an event called Woodstock which influenced that era, but I was compelled to sit down with her and also explain there was a movement which many of these same young adults were giving their lives to Jesus which historians referred to as, “The Jesus Movement”. I offered my services to lecture the fourth-grade class so they might receive the “fulness” of history. Of course, she declined my offer.
The lesson from that story is that history is not one isolated event, no matter how influential it may be. History is complex because it involves human beings, none of whom are perfect in performance or character. Every historical hero and villain, as well as every historical event, has a context which must be understood to rightly judge that person or event. History is not simply a selection of isolated incidents tied together by coincidence, or random acts. It is not simply important dates and dead people who arbitrarily or capriciously cross paths. History needs context and study for proper interpretation as much as the Bible. You can cherry pick the Bible and quote it (and believe me untold thousands do) and still land in heresy. Most heretics were Bible enthusiasts. In much the same way, a person can cherry pick history, people’s lives, and events and create an historical narrative that is erroneous. All the while they are doing this, they are proclaiming their historical acumen. Such is the current era we find ourselves in. We have amateur “historical experts”, lecturing us on cable news or internet videos, historical “facts” based on the latest book they read which simply corroborates the narrative and actions they are wanting to justify, totally ignoring the complexity of American history. Most of these so-called experts are “historical heretics”.
A proper understanding of history begins with a worldview or a presuppositional lens which enables one to accurately understand it. Most people, including Christians, have been taught history poorly through humanistically oriented public schools. As Christians, we should believe that history has Providence and purpose. It is HIS-STORY. The good, the bad, and the ugly is a tapestry of divine purpose and restoration leading to a climatic finale. Only a biblical approach to history will ultimately give meaning to the past, present, and the future. This includes the despicable acts and atrocities which humanity can perpetrate upon itself.
The acceptance of this worldview is not to justify the horrific acts of history. Sovereignty (God) and liberty (man) are at work in history as this unusual, mysterious dance which is presented in the Scriptures between the God Who is Perfect, Just, and Righteous in all His ways juxtaposed to a humanity which is selfish, depraved and evil in all their ways. And gratefully there are those occasions in history when God’s glorious grace empowers these broken humans and something amazing and beautiful comes forth. There are also too many instances to mention of when humanity’s brokenness is on full display. Yet, as difficult as it can be to wrap one’s mind around it, God is ever at work. He has done this for millennia.
Today’s problem is that there is an abundance of self-proclaimed experts who espouse their interpretation of history without taking into account the entire story. For example, to simply say that the Civil War was a war concerning slavery is to ignore the other factors for the event. Yes, slavery was a part of the motivating factors for this war, but there were other reasons as well. Why else would the South have represented in its ranks Black soldiers? There is another story embedded there. Yes, Thomas Jefferson had slaves, some of whom he inherited and some he purchased. Yet, Jefferson was one of the loudest voices of the Founding Fathers that espoused abolition of the despicable American slave trade. How can this be? There is another story embedded there. There are hundreds of these types of examples of a complex story. These people were products of their times. You cannot lift them from their historical context and drop them into 21st century values and understandings. I recently listened to a cable news interview of a leader of an anarchist, Marxist organization justifying the use of arms in the streets by “protestors” because “the American Revolution took up arms in a response to a tyrannical government” and since we were “born in violence, then it is appropriate to resort to violence”. That historical application is suspect at best and horrendous at worst. But these are the compartmentalized snippets of history we are being offered to justify much of the violence today.
If we cherry pick and superficially interpret history to justify the current chaos, we are destined for destruction as a nation. If any person or group can isolate historical events and use them perpetually as a springboard for offense, there will never be any meaningful reconciliation or peace. History can either be a record of offense or a road map of aspiration. It can either be a ditch of regret which we choose to live in perpetually or a springboard of lessons to help us reach a promise. I understand that people’s history are filled with moments of anguish, injustice, and pain. No one would want to minimize anyone’s pain. However, to generationally replay pain over and over again will never erase the heartache or hurt. If we refuse to wrestle with the totality of history and not just slices of it, we shall never see a greater purpose or reason. We will also never heal.
At the end of the day, once all the statues, memorials, and national symbols are torn down and erased, the ache of the human heart will not be erased. The rage of the crowd may for a moment appease and assuage the offense, but in the end will never heal it. We need preachers who will courageously challenge the current narratives and clearly preach the Gospel.
Jenna Bullock
July 7, 2020 at 2:12 amHello, I have some feedback about this. Honestly, there are many points you try to make that are questionable but I’ll just stick to the ones that stood out to me the most:
“I understand that people’s history are filled with moments of anguish, injustice, and pain. No one would want to minimize anyone’s pain.” ***almost every post you, yourself, have recently made in response to racism and social injustices has, in some way, absolutely minimized the pain and purpose of the movement and outcry for equality for Black lives. Even your tone is judgmental and condescending. You say, “…are filled with moments of anguish, injustice, and pain.” Are you aware that the fight for Black lives is based on GENERATIONS of anguish, injustice, and pain? Not “moments”. Once again, minimizing someone’s pain. For some reason, white people continue to demand justification for the response to systemic racism. Why? Why do you feel entitled to demand and deserve an explanation for people’s responses to generations of pain and suffering?***
“However, to generationally replay pain over and over again will never erase the heartache or hurt. If we refuse to wrestle with the totality of history and not just slices of it, we shall never see a greater purpose or reason. We will also never heal.”***The extent of your knowledge base of the Bible and Christianity is evident. However, have you personally experienced the exact events/ideas/systems that people are presently protesting and fighting (and have been for decades) or have you had transparent conversations with a diverse group of people of a different race? Or do you continue to voice your views and beliefs into the echo-chamber of your peers and followers? You can have all the book knowledge you want, but until you humble yourself and personally learn of the Black man/woman’s experience, then you don’t hold the “power” to make a call for the “right” way to approach and respond to this civil unrest. The application of biblical knowledge is only one part of the solution. As someone of your credential and influence, I kindly challenge you to step down from your vocational/educational pedestal and immerse yourself in the plight of the oppressed to gain an empathetic perspective outside of your comfort zone or “safe space”. We welcome you and will respect your efforts.***
“At the end of the day, once all the statues, memorials, and national symbols are torn down and erased, the ache of the human heart will not be erased.”***I understand and agree that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that true healing comes through Him. However, here during our physical time on Earth, we have a responsibility to stand up for the oppressed and right the unjust in our world. We are to be good stewards of this life, this land. And yes, that ABSOLUTELY includes tearing down these statues and monuments which have been DAILY, in-your-face reminders for Black people of the pain and oppression that has been plaguing them for CENTURIES. For someone of your credentials, I would hope you would be wise enough to understand that you need to approach these conversations AFTER you’ve actually taken the time to see the impact of this racial injustice from the Black person’s POV. It is clear that you haven’t done so or else you would not have said: “The nationwide assault that we are watching on memorials, statues, and symbols of country (even threatening to leap over to religious symbols) are becoming more frequent but also more nonsensical.” How dare you label the dismantling of a stone idol an ASSAULT. The true assault has been and is still the perpetuation of racism and unjust MURDERS of innocent black men, women, and children. If legislators and people of power won’t make the call to remove these false “hero” statues and monuments, then I would HOPE we as the people would take it into our own hands to again, do what is right. And we have. I am glad that people can now walk down their sidewalks or drive through their hometown without the daily reminder of racism that was, and is still, so ever present. This would be comparable to justifying the preservation of statues and monuments of Hitler, Stalin, Hussein, and others. Could you imagine the victims, and their descendants, of their violence & oppression having to live each day with a visible reminder of the pain and suffering caused by those figures? That’s just scratching the surface of the mental healing and rest they deserve.***
And lastly, I will end with your beginning, “I am writing rapidly at this moment as I have many thoughts which are finally bubbling up out of my brain and need to get out.”***As I sit here patiently and carefully articulating my bubbling thoughts, I wonder: have you considered the negative impact that an impulsive post such as this could have on someone who lives a life with the knee of racism constantly on their neck? Life and death is in the power of the tongue.***
Kevin Baird
July 9, 2020 at 10:05 pmThanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I will only say that contrary to your assumptions, I have been a part of these conversations for years. In the 1980’s I spent some years in inner-city Oakland, CA talking, ministering, and understanding the challenges of black Americans. I have been in those trenches and can tell you that answers will never be found in the current climate.
Stay tuned…
I will be critiquing the psychological / academic dishonesty of white fragility as well.
I do not minimize the sins of historical or contemporary America, but I do challenge the selective use of historical narrative.
But again…
Thanks for stopping by.