Every Square Inch

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it."

Abraham Lincoln,  Letter to H.L. Pierce, April 6, 1859

If you're into sports, you've probably heard about the controversy surrounding Golf Channel announcer Kelly Tilghman. A couple of weeks ago she suggested on air that the only way to beat Tiger Woods might be to "lynch him in a back alley". Her off the cuff, poor attempt at humor earned her a two week suspension and significant criticism. After serving her suspension, she was recently back on the air, starting with a clear and sincere apology before diving into the substance of her work.

A lesser known debacle involves Dana Jacobsen, the ESPN anchor. In a celebrity roast for the hosts of the Mike & Mike show, she cursed like a sailor and used an expletive in reference to Jesus. ESPN's response was slow coming but under pressure by religious groups, they eventually gave her a one week suspension coupled with a weak apology.

I'm no social or cultural activist but this really bothers me. Let's see how the math on this works:

Humorously suggest lynching Tiger Woods - 2 week suspension
Curse and blaspheme Jesus Christ - 1 week suspension

Don't get me wrong - both are reprehensible but the outrage surrounding the "lynching" comment far outweighed the response to the Jacobsen's blasphemous tirade. It's a commentary about what the American popular culture functionally views as valuable and important. Let's face it - for mainstream popular culture, God doesn't really exist nor does He weigh upon the national conscience.

In short, the point isn't what these controversies say about Ms. Tilghman or Ms. Jacobsen - it's what it says about us. Make no mistake about it - this loss of the fear of God is a sad indictment on our nation.

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What do you think?

It didn't make the headlines but here's something that caught my attention when I read about it on the NextGener.Asian Church blog. Apparently, Zondervan recently published a book entitled Skits That Teach that has some rather uncharitable stereotyping of asians.


Let me offer you a sample from Zondervan's Skits That Teach by the Skit Guys (Eddie James and Tommy Woodward) published in 2006. A skit book meant to be used by youth groups all over the US features the following:

"Herro, Dis is Wok's Up Restaurant calling to confirm your order. . . . I think that, yes, you total is 14 dollar 95 cent."

"Herro? This is Wok's Up Restaurant again. We have drive and drive, and we can't find you house. We don't find you house soon, you pu pu get cold. Pu pu good when it hot."

(Hostile) "Okay, we drive for long time looking for you house. I tell you, you go outside and I look for you. I am driving a red Rincon (Lincoln) Continental. You pu pu still getting cold. Bye!

"Okay, I drive for long time and I stil not find you house. So I am eating you pu pu! Ruckiry it still warm. I was hungry, so I eat it. Mmmmm . . . this pu pu is good. (Smacks lips a few times) You on my bad rist. You don't call us anymore. Bye

I'm not sure what the skit was originally intended to teach but I shudder to think that any Christian youth group would actually run with that skit.

Perhaps some might wonder - why is this skit even a problem...what's the big deal...why not overlook this altogether?

I think I can best answer that by referring to John Piper's paper on Stereotypes, Generalizations and Racism. In it, Piper makes this point -

"Christians should not be guilty of stereotyping groups, recognizing that stereotyping is different from the just and loving use of generalizations...Christians should use generalizations justly and lovingly to form true and helpful judgments about people and life."

The essential difference between generalizations (which are morally neutral) and stereotyping lies in the intent and effect. Generalizations are nothing more than simply exercising our God given ability for pattern recognition. We notice traits about people of a particular culture or of a specific race. That's normal. Stereotyping is picking on a trait and using it to humiliate or denigrate another. It's uncharitable and as Christians we need to stand against this form of racism, whether or not it affects us personally.

It saddens me that this content found its way into a Christian book and survived the editor's cutting room. However, it's a reminder of the power of indwelling sin in all of us - we are not all racist but we all have potential to sin in the area of racism. If you don't believe that, you probably don't know your own heart.

This post isn't about judging the authors or publishers. It's about drawing attention to the opportunity we have as the church to be distinctive. We should aim to be a picture of unity - celebrating differences, rather than maliciously making fun of them. When we err, we can love the brother we've legitimately offended, by acting swiftly, sincerely and with equal concern as if we ourselves were targeted.

If we do this, we can tell the world about true racial unity by pointing them to Jesus Christ and his Church.

In response to a proposed measure requiring the state of Virginia to apologize to descendants of slaves, delegate Frank D. Hargrove tells the Virginia state assembly that "our black citizens should just get over [slavery]". In a "two-fer", Hargrove also goes on to insult Jews. If you're interested, you can read the account of his remarks here.

Although primarily symbolic, the proposed measure was viewed as part of a healing process according to Donald McEachin, who is black and one of the bill's sponsors.

“No one is asking any individual to apologize, because certainly there are no slaveholders alive today and there are no slaves alive today...but Virginia is alive and well, and Virginia was built on the backs of slaves, and Virginia’s economy boomed because of slavery, and it is Virginia that ought to apologize...”

I'm not sure if the proposed measure would materially advance the healing process but I'm certain of this - Hargrove's negative comments does nothing to promote racial harmony.

As I've asserted in a previous post, how Christians think and respond to racism is strategic to contextualizing the gospel. Unfortunately, there are precious few voices that speak biblically and faithfully on this topic. Hence, we miss the opportunity to communicate the gospel as glorious good news to an area of life that "the world" cares deeply about but cannot fix.

One compelling, insightful voice is that of John Piper. In the article, Stereotypes, Generalizations and Racism, he offers three exhortations to Christians.

• Christians should not simply reflect the morality of their era but the morality of the Bible.

• Christians should not be guilty of stereotyping groups, recognizing that stereotyping is different from the just and loving use of generalizations

• Christians should use generalizations justly and lovingly to form true and helpful judgments about people and life.

I think Piper's analysis, differentiating between generalizations and stereotyping is particularly helpful here. In his article, he defines generalization is the method by which we derive principles, laws and understand standard behavior. Generalization carries no moral or ethical component. On the other hand, he defines stereotyping as unjustified and uncharitable generalizations. He also goes on to define how uncharitable generalizations and stereotyping can lead us to racism.

How does this stack up against real life issues pertaining to race relations? In view of these exhortations, can racial profiling ever be justified?

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Few topics evoke as much emotion in our national conversation as the topic of race. In the wake of the Michael Richards episode, renown author Malcolm Gladwell writes about racism in his post Defining a Racist. He proposes that a racist may be defined on the basis of three criteria: content, intention and conviction. Here are snippets of what he says with regard to each criteria.




Content:

"What is said clearly makes a difference. I think, for example, that hate speech is more hateful the more specific it is...To make a targetted claim is worse than calling a name. Similarly, I think it matters how much a stereotype deviates from a legitimate generalization...All hate speech is hurtful. But racism crosses the line and becomes dangerous when it encourages false belief about a targetted group. "

Intention:

"Was the remark intended to wound, or intended to perpetuate some social wrong? Was it malicious? I remember sitting in church, as a child, while our Presbyterian minister made jokes about how "cheap" Presbyterians were. If non-Presbyterians make that joke, it might be offensive. But a Presbyterian making jokes about Presbyterians with the intention of making Presbyterians laugh is fine, because there is a complete absence of malice in the comment. "

Conviction:

"Does the statement represent the individual's considered opinion? In Blink, I wrote a great deal about unconscious racism--how powerful and how prevalent it is. All of us, in our unconscious, harbor prejudicial thoughts. What is of greatest concern, I think, are not instances where those kinds of buried feelings leak out, but cases where hate speech appeuuars to have been the product of considered, conscious deliberation. Comments made in writing, then, ought to be taken more seriously and judged more harshly than comments made in speech; comments made soberly are worse than those made in anger or jest. "

As far as I know, Malcolm Gladwell is not a Christian but his analysis and comments are insightful. Clearly, identifying racist speech and actions can benefit from a more thoughtful analysis than simply the use of certain forbidden words. Gladwell's deconstruction of what constitutes racist behavior is a great help in this regard.

However, it falls short in understanding the heart of racism. If, as Gladwell says, much of racism is unconscious, it points to the fact that its malignancy is more than skin deep. Racism emanates from our souls and finds its roots from our rebellion against God. Racism is morally reprehensible not primarily because it is hurtful to others. Don't get me wrong - it is certainly hurtful and heinous but it is also far more than that.

Racism is first and foremost an affront to God, who as Creator, made each person in his own image. Each person, regardless of race is created to be a bearer of God's image. The notion that biological differences between races constitute a basis for exerting superiority over or discriminating against another person distorts God's intention in creation. Yet our societal attempts at solving racism through analysis, education and social programs fall short because racism is a problem of the heart. Racism is a stark reminder of the effect of sin on the human race.

This is where the gospel brings hope. At the foot of the cross, all are found guilty before God.

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one"
Romans 3:9-10

In Christ, all are equally valued before God.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:27-28

Here's the point of this post - the issue of race is strategically important in contextualizing the gospel to the world around us. It is a profoundly vital issue in our nation today but one that we've been unable to address effectively. God's answer to racism is to simply point to his church.

As the church, we have the opportunity to offer the only compelling picture of true unity and rich diversity. We also have the opportunity to tell them about the God who made such unity possible.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Revelation 7:9-10