A Great Divergence
This is a critical moment in American history. There is a great divergence, a widening schism between the progressive left and the Christian worldview. Surely there are those who try to bridge this gap, moderates who seek to bargain and bend, yet who always end up surrendering more and more to the seemingly unstoppable march of the leftists. The reality Christians are facing, especially in the lead up to a critical general election, is one in which there is a large sector of the citizenry actively hostile towards Christianity and the Christian worldview, and in which there is an intolerance towards the gospel that is hurdling from the realm of rhetoric to reality.
The momentum has been and remains speeding towards the dismantling of all God’s law and order, shattering any remnants of Christianity, and shutting down, by force if necessary, those would proclaim the radical message of the gospel. Needless to say, it is time for Christians to be very aware and very active. While politicians may be able to compromise, Christians do not have that luxury.
A “Confession of Faith”
As the election draws near, there is a familiar buzz, and even more familiar is the sight of political signs dotting the neighborhood landscape. One of the more common this year reads:
We Believe:
- Black Lives Matter
- No Human Being is Illegal
- Love is Love
- Women’s Rights are Human Rights
- Science is Real
Those five affirmations, in their format, bring to mind the creedal statements of the Christian faith. “We believe God created the universe, the Bible is the inerrant word of God, God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”, and so on. Those statements, those confessions, amount to the core, fundamental, defining truths of Christianity. These are the essentials that, if taken away, would equate to something other than Christianity. These political signs are intended to communicate a similar message.
What those affirmations amount to is a confession of faith; those five declarations are the defining, non-negotiable platform of the left. And each of them is incompatible, and in fact antithetical, to the Christian worldview. While the propositions may be disguised as pithy slogans of harmless sentimentality, they are in truth revolutionary ideas that are born out of a wholly man-centered, pagan ideology. And compromise is not on the table. This series will briefly address each of these core tenants, and examine how and why they collide with Christianity, beginning with what has become the rallying cry of the left, Black Lives Matter.
Marxist Revolution
Every one of these affirmations is well crafted, in that they are made to put one in a position where they cannot sound good or right denying them. What decent human being would claim that black lives do not matter? The well-documented issue with this, however, is that the simple and true statement “black lives matter” cannot be divorced from the radical Black Lives Matter organization and movement. This is the manipulative language game played by the left, which is the theme of their confession. The goal of BLM, and its role in the leftist platform, is to bring about Marxist revolution.
Marxism, in which the founders of BLM are trained, calls for the upheaval and re-ordering of society through class conflict. Traditionally, this has been the conflict between the rich and the poor; neo-marxism however, calls for conflict between the majority culture and oppressed minority culture. These minorities include especially African Americans, women, and people who identify as LGBTQ. The oppressors are white, male, heterosexual, cisgender, Christians. At the base, then, of BLM, is a call for revolution, violent if necessary. Power must be seized from white oppressors and redistributed into the hands of oppressed minorities. Financial reparations must also be paid to these minorities to make up for the years of oppression.
Reordering Society Along Racial Lines
Black Lives Matter, the radical movement and foundational tenant of the left-wing seeks to re-order society along racial lines. The capturing of power plays itself out through unrest and political pressure. The narrative crafted is one of inherently racist law enforcement, which hunts and brutalizes the black population; this law enforcement must therefore be dismantled. Nevermind the astronomical statistics regarding black on black homicide; nevermind the astonishing rates of fatherlessness; nevermind the disproportionate number of abortions within the black population. Sadly, there has been an astonishing success in de-emphasizing these facts while villainizing law enforcement, with some city governments seriously moving towards defunding the police.
Much more could be said, but even here there are several irresolvable conflicts with the Christian worldview. The BLM movement is fundamentally revolutionary and subversive. It is opposed to the rule of law, and it seeks to use anarchy and chaos to accomplish these revolutionary aims. Christians must understand that just law and order come from and are glorifying to God.
Fallen Man and a God of Order
This is not to say that law enforcement in America, or anywhere for that matter, is above reproach; undoubtedly, there is constant need to adjust and reform. But anarchy, chaos, subversion, rioting–these things are antithetical to the nature of God, and they are acts of rebellion against Him. Our God is a God of order. Our God is the origin of law. Christians must not dare to support a movement that seeks to dismantle God’s primary purpose for human government, namely to be the sword of justice, without respect to persons.
Beyond the big picture aims of the core confession of the left, BLM has numerous damaging implications with regards to personal relationships that cannot be tolerated by Christians. The Bible teaches that all mankind is fallen in Adam and that all man is equally capable of wretched sin. BLM opposes this by positing a position which not only excludes all minorities from the possibility of committing the sin of racism but also imputes guilt upon all white people for that very sin. There is no regard for personal attitudes or actions–skin color alone determines guilt or innocence. As a result, white people are called to live in a constant state of penance, without any hope of forgiveness or reconciliation.
Christians Need to Discern
BLM denies the power of Christ to truly cover our sins and to grant true forgiveness; it is a divisive movement, bent on destroying unity, it can do no other. Christians must be discerning. While it sounds harmless and even wholesome, Black Lives Matter is an anti-biblical foundation of the leftist worldview, seeking to rebel against God by dismantling His order and destroying the unity that all man shares by virtue of being created in His image.
Christians ought to beware of lending support to such an ungodly movement.
The above article uses labels such as ‘the left’ and ‘Marxism’ as pejoratives in an ad hominem attack on the 5 statements listed in the article. We should remember that unlike our confessions about God, the above statements deal with our relationships with others in society, not in the Church.
In addition, a more balanced approach to Marxism is found in the link below to part of ‘Stride Toward Freedom’ by Martin Luther King Jr. His comments on Marxism start on page 92 while the webpage begins on pg 90.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ows/seminars/aahistory/Pilgrimage.pdf
I agree with the last line of the above article that Christians need to discern. But the pejorative use of labels and ad hominem attacks do not ask to discern. They are telling us to employ all-or-nothing thinking patterns in rejecting everything a person, group, and/or ideology have to say, Such thinking patterns are completely opposite of the kind of thinking we need to employ when we discern what is true and what is false.