The Institute (協会)

I have no clue how someone could watch this and laugh. I am glad I wasnt born back then. Who knows what I might have been indoctrinated with as a young Christian child. However I thinks its great that the theology that was used to justify segregation, is roundly denounced today. Hey Ant, just curious, what was the Catholics view on segregation at this time? Their actions and relations with blacks? How bout their view on the protestants that taught segregation, racism, etc. and justified it through false interpretations? I prob should know that, but I would rather just ask you then do any work :) I know there were more Catholics in the N. but still just curious.

No idea about the Catholics on this issue?

That photo is indescribably disgusting. It is so sad that the Church did not take a stand, not sad but it pisses me off. The reality is, today's "church" not all but a lot are silent on so many issues like this too. It is easier to go through 40 days of "my purpose" or in the reformed stream have our nose in books non stop and the only thing we are passionate about is whether the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional (I do not even know what that means). Today there is blatant discrimination still towards anyone with darker skin, the fact that you know someone that is still fearful of driving alone cause of his race is a reality that most of us avoid to think about and walk in.

Jesus was pretty concerned about justice and mercy and love. It seems that if we treasure the gospel in word, the deed would then turn and be one of love you things that He is passionate about, and of the destruction of all "-isms" in our life because our lives have been sweetly devastated.

The Gospel will change everything, if it does not than you have to question whether you you trust in it truly. Thanks for the reminder that we have a long way to go in this, it is needed desperately!

Lynching is the American cultural equivalent of the "Honor Killings" that happen under radical Sharia law.

Lynching normally took place when cultural "norms" were broken and was used both as means to punish the "crime" outside of the bounds of the justice system and to propagate fear within the community to ensure those culture norms survived.

The disgusting this about all of this is that the barbarism of the event shows how evil the core intent of enforcing an oppressive cultural mode was. Subjugation of a society though murder is essentially terrorism. Where was our war on terror then?

In the Spring of 1971 several of my fraternity brothers were returning from Spring break, we had driven to Miami and caught a plane to Jamaica. It was a huge adventure for the six of us.While driving home we ate at a small roadside cafe in northern Mississippi. We realized we were not at all welcome to say the least. We knew that because of our accents and the Iowa plates on our vehicle we had been pegged as northerners(at that time,the enemy.)We were scared and made a hasty exit. I can only imagene the fear many black folk had to live with at thatt timein our history

Our national history/culture/churches were blind for the most part from 1620 about race/slavery and African Americans. They were after all to the founding fathers 3/5 of a person (Art 1, Sec 2 US Constitution). African Americans still have a long time to go before the freedom given by the 13th Amendment reaches the half way point in their part of the American story, 2110. I will not judge if the white people were Christians or not, but they did not act as Christians in the matter of race. “If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar.” Lynching, a hate crime, is a symbol of the self inflicted wound that has not healed in our nation to this day.
My concern is that we will be/are as blind to the issues of our immigrant neighbors as we were in 1620 to Africans stolen from their homes to become cheap labor.

Africans stolen from their homeland and "immigrant neighbors" are 2 different things. Stay on topic FR3DCTS74...

Great Post AB.

Coming from a bi-racial heritage, I am always saddened by the deep emotions and terrible imagery that gets floated around every February.

Where do you think us bi-racials fit into the BHM mix?

"This picture is a great summary of the black experience in America."

No. It is not. The life of Anthony Bradley is.

The slave and the immigrant are both neighbors in the biblical sense. Both are strangers and outsiders, aka gentiles/Samaritans. We have feared those who are different, those in need. Slaves and the immigrants of the 19th, 20th & 21st centuries filled/fill cheap labor needs of our economy, to build wealth for others.
The target of Black History is not just the past but applying the lessons learned to the future we all share as neighbors. The 26 January 08 post will be evidence when the king divides the sheep and the goats. Read Matthew 25 for the rest of the evidence that will be used, note the references to the treatment of the stranger. Black History month takes up the chant, “never again, not to anybody, we are all neighbors.”

"Both neighbors in the Biblical sense", but definitely not in the intellectual sense. Uhhh seriously, what effing similarities can u make btwn the slaves and modern day immigrants (60's to present)? Ummmm... dont disgrace the real struggles that disenfranchised and discriminated African Americans went through. You are diminishing the struggles that the real victims went through. No one is kidnapping Mexican, etc.victims and then making them second class citizens for close to 100 yrs. I mean seriously can u say that these "Immigrant" people struggle like the African Americans did? I work with them everyday, and believe me they are very blessed people to be here. They are not stolen, enslaved, or second class citizens... although illegals have no legal claim to citizenship. Lets remember what Black History month stands for and not make any extrapolations that we might feel emotionally inclined to make.

"’Both neighbors in the Biblical sense,’ but definitely not in the intellectual sense," my point stands. My point is that our blindness to others not their historical conditions or experiences is the result of worldview. I also did not raise the adjective ‘illegal’ as part of this limited response to the lack of Christian response to slavery here in America. Slavery and the unjust and inhumane treatment of African Americans was a result of a failed worldview that used enslaved people for economic gain. Greed, pride and a narcissistic self importance shaped the forces of a worldview that stole and enslaved people from one race to serve another. It also shaped the worldview of those who said nothing and thus did nothing to stop slavery until the abolition movement, the Civil War and the 13th Amendment. But the worldview still produced Jim Crow and the lynching’s and attitudes reflected in the crowds in this post’s photo and the silence and inaction of the white church across the nation for decades.
Greed, pride and a narcissistic self importance shape the worldview of many today. Each generation needs to learn from the past and reflect and examine how they view and engage the world. I do not look at my neighbor through one eye that is religious/ emotional and another eye that is intellectual. I hope I do not see the world through the lenses of fear. Each day I have to answer the age old question; “Who is my neighbor?”
Black History month helps us reflect on a sad a shameful part of our collective and national history. It is a needed time on the road forward to reconciliation and healing. It asks us to reflect on the words of our founding fathers, “all men are created equal.” As MLK said we are still trying to fund that check/vision. Often it comes back for many “marked insufficient funds.”

How to remember the sins of our fathers?

Most every historic church father had "chinks" in his armor. Origen was a universalist. Edwards owned slaves. Dabney also supported the 'peculiar institution.'

Our grandchildren will perhaps struggle to reconcile our pious talk and archived blog posts with our failure to condemn [insert corporate sin here.]

Well stated, Stelmodad, Joseph and Nat.

Anthony, I teach 6th grade American History, and I would like to incorporate Black History Month into my class. What and whom do you think would be important for me to communicate to my 6th graders this month?

Between 1860 and 1960 lynching claimed the lives of about 35 blacks ANNUALLY. Today, abortion claims the lives of over 1000 blacks DAILY. Might this explain why there was less activism in response to lynching? The general silence of the church in response to lynching is indefensible; but to compare these two injustices is foolish - there is no comparison, particularly in terms of their magnitude. "To put it bluntly, abortion has thinned the black community in ways the Ku Klux Klan could have only dreamed of. It is a shameful and hidden reality" (www.abort73.com).

Rather than dredging up and lamenting a past that can't be changed, perhaps it would be more profitable to work to end an even more epidemic injustice of our own day.

I love the way we all feel like we would have been the lone voice of protest had we been there at this lynching. We all want to believe that we would have participated in the underground railroad, or helped hide Anne Frank.

If you want to know what kind of person could see that lynching and smile just do two things:
1. Look in the mirror.
2. Ask yourself if the person looking back at you is descended from Adam.

Justin,
You said...
"Rather than dredging up and lamenting a past that can't be changed, perhaps it would be more profitable to work to end an even more epidemic injustice of our own day."

I am going to make the assumption that you are a white guy? Am I right?

First thing...What you don't realize is that these institutions of discrimination, inequality, and slavery which lead to lynchings are still alive and well today. Sure maybe we are not seeing the horrid images that are at the subject matter of this post but black folks are still getting "lynched" daily because of being born into communities where the school systems are horrible, the lack of grocery stores which leads to bad health and early death, the discrimination in the workplace, etc, etc. I could go on and on.

Second... Surely you are not naive enough to believe those numbers are accurate.Some have estimated that over a third of the African American population wasn't properly documented in order to keep "order." You need to know that those numbers are way off and those numbers don't include the numerous blatant murders at the hands of shotguns, castration, etc. My great uncle being one of those "undocumented" murders.

I was discussing this with Bike Bubba (who comments on this blog) who the other day tried to say that slavery wasn't as bad as the welfare system. I am not even going there anymore.

Do white people have to find something "worst" or can they just let it be what it is... a horrible time in American history that has had a unimaginable effect on ( and still is lingering in very relevant ways) a significant portion of the population.

Your comments are so "isolated" in there nature.
Quit trying to minimize a very important part of one's identity and history.African American culture was formed through the chains of "massa" and the ropes of the south and yet what has been accomplished in the community is phenomenal and needs to be celebrated with the image on this post in mind.

One's history needs to be celbrated and embraced without the "majority" saying essentially... "It isn't as bad as this or that."

Ridiculous!

For reference, I didn't say one was overall better or worse; I said that the current welfare system is exacting a more brutal toll than either slavery or Jim Crow did, and placed that in the context of the sheer volume of crimes suffered by blacks.

And if we cannot compare the results of A vs. B, historically speaking, we lose the ability to learn from history.

Here are some intereresting pieces by Dr. Williams that points out some of why Aaron's stats are as they are:

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams051105.asp

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams070506.asp

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams070506.asp

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams071404.asp

Dear Aaron,

1) I am white, and I realize that I have blind spots.

2) Slavery, inequality and discrimination no longer exist as "institutions" in the U.S. Pre-1865, slavery was an institution; Pre-civil rights movement, discrimination (a la Jim Crow laws) was an institution; Pre-affirmative action, inequality might have been an institution; but no more. They may be unfortunate social realities, but they are not the institutions that they once were.

3) If you'll scroll up to the top of the page you'll see that the numbers that I used were the ones that Anthony Bradley supplied in his original post: "Nearly 3500 blacks were lynched in America between 1860 and 1960." That's an average of 35 blacks per year, which is what I said in my post. So thank him, not me, for the naive assessment of the atrocity (if indeed the numbers are as skewed as you say).

4) I don't know what Bike Bubba has to do with anything I said.

Aaron, only a fool would minimize what blacks have historically endured in the U.S. - that was not at all my intention. My point was that something much worse is taking place right under your nose that the black community seems to be either oblivious to or indifferent to: "Of Planned Parenthood's 850 nationwide (abortion) clinics, almost 80% reside in minority communities. Is this a bizarre coincidence, or is it merely an extension of the eugenic principles that seem to have driven Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret Sanger, a founder who is documented as saying, "We do not want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population." Lynching is no more a danger to you or anyone else you know than a stray bullet is to me in the metro area where I live. However, abortion poses an immediate threat to the unborn in both of our communities and would therefore be much more worthy of our attention than a lynching that took place almost 80 years ago in Indiana.

Justin,

Your ethics are severely skewed. I understand why you think abortion is the most important ethical issue of our times because you are a conservative evangelical. But you totally missed the point. The emphasis was levels of "activism." Pairing abortion as worse than other forms of evil is a scary dichotomy that cannot be supported biblically. I don't have time to comment on the many problems with your approach theologically. And there are many problems with that approach. But there are currently 27 million being enslaved in the world and sadly many Christians don't care because it's perceived as not being as bad as abortion. I had someone literally tell me this last year (who argued using your theological system). There are deep, deep theological problems with those who make false distinctions and false priorities for the kinds of issues that Christians ought to be concerned about. The number of lynchings is actually quite irrelevant to the point being made but dealing with your system is beyond what I have time for. There's currently a genocide going on in Darfur and many Christians don't care about that either because it's not abortion (it's just sense murder).

Aaron, you are headed in the right direction with understanding God's disposition towards all kinds of evil (as we see in Romans chapter 1).

"However, abortion poses an immediate threat to the unborn in both of our communities and would therefore be much more worthy of our attention"

Wow. I can't believe statements like that get made.

Again, sorry I can't address all the problems with this way of thinking. Gotta run.

Its amazing how folks try to disguise their political intentions with a bunch of empty stats and rhetoric. Bike Bubba and Justin I might here you guys if I truly thought you were concerned about the black community and not trying to push republicanism on me.

Here is what I here you guys saying to me...
"Lynchings is in unfortunate but who cares the issue of the day is abortion and you need to fight against that instead of waisting your time on the past."

Whatever man!

Aaron,

I should probably lay my cards on the table. I'm a friend of Justin's. So, I suppose partially I'm defending him.

While I do not agree with him that the seriousness of abortion today somehow negates discussion regarding other serious social injustice, I fail to see how his post was "pushing Republicanism" on you. Is abortion only a political issue? I saw no political intentions in either of Justin's posts. To see that, one has to assume that when a Christian talks about abortion, he must be pushing some kind of political agenda. Again, while I disagree with Justin, I don't think he was doing anything of the sort.

Jeff,
I think he is because for anyone to try and minimize or somehow compare "evils" to me is just plain ridiculous. If this is not the case then tell me why he chimed in with his comments?

You tell me why he chimed and said the real issue is abortion?

What did abortion have to do with the post? What other intentions did he have? Is he just concerned about black people? Come on Jeff,I know that is your boy and all but to chime in the way he did about something that has nothing to do with the post and then start dropping stats (inaccurate at that) is to me irresponsible. But hey he can say what he wants to say... That's what blogs are for right. I am tired of trying to explain myself concerning my culture and history. You guys continue to do what you do.

Help me understand his reasoning... I truly am listening and you can have the last word because I refuse to even go there anymore with Justin. Do your thing man.

Holla!

To be honest with you, Aaron, I don't know why he said what he said. You'd have to ask him. I don't pretend to speak for him. I've already stated that I disagree with his reasoning. To be fair to him, though, he was simply repeating the statistics that Anthony used in his post. If you want to take issue with the stats, you should probably talk to Anthony, not Justin.

I really don't have a last word. I'm Canadian and have only been in the US for about 18 months, so understanding the racial dynamics/tension in the country is really new to me. I'm only beginning to see how the horrible injustices perpetrated against black people in the South continue to have lasting effects today.

Jeff,
Your words are seasoned with grace and I appreciate that.

When I said that his stats were inaccurate I didn't mean the ones he quoted from the post but the illusions that blacks are the ones involved in the majority of abortions.

Almost 7 out of 10 who have abortions are white (more like 6.5 or 6.3) so in my eyes to come and say that abortions are killing the black community and leave it at that is really misleading.

I had the same issue with Bike Bubba on this blog (and my blog as well) who contribute American ills to only the black community.
Statistically abortion (and welfare) is across the board and to isolate it to the black community as the center of these very "diverse" issues is to me very offensive and points to the misconceptions that have plagued the black community and caused increased division and isolation.

For example if you were to say (As Anthony did in an earlier post)that only 1 in 5 black folks actually live in poverty stricken urban communities, or that 7 out of 10 folks on welfare are actually white, then usually you have the majority coming in and saying "no way."
Why? Because folks don't want to give up their misconceptions and stereo types. It is hard for the majority (at times and I know that this doesn't include all)to see these issues as "their" issues instead of attributing them to blacks and latino's.

All this to say Jeff that I hate it when folks stat drop in such a way that is misleading. I especially am saddened when I feel that this is done deliberately in a divisive way.

As far as the "pushing republicanism" comment. I personally (my opinion) think that with all that is going on right now, in that politics is consuming a lot of folks that this is very much at the forefront of peoples minds.

So for some guy to randomly bring up abortion (which I hate by the way, PRO LIFE all the way for both the born and unborn) in a post that has nothing to do with it and then speak as an "outsider" to the state of the black community then what am I supposed to think.

Jeff I need you to know that I hope that Justin truly does have a heart for the injustice that rears it's ugly head in the black community but I am having trouble believing that this is his reason for posting. I find it hard to believe that Justin can say... "the real issue is abortion and let's not waist our time on the past" (I think this is a accurate paraphrase)These are his words...

"Rather than dredging up and lamenting a past that can't be changed, perhaps it would be more profitable to work to end an even more epidemic injustice of our own day."

... and truly have a love for the black community.
All this to say that because of the latest political action and my conclusion (maybe I am wrong) about his lack of concern in the black community... this is why I think it is politically driven. This is why I think he is a white conservative trying to push that instead of actually commenting with relevancy about the subject at hand.

Which is "the church (in particular the white church) turning a blind eye to the injustice of racism throughout the years. Just thought I needed to remind you of that so that you can see why I think abortion being brought up here is so out of place and politically driven.

I know this is a long comment so thanks Jeff for your ear.

Peace,

Aaron,

Thank you for your reasoned and gracious response. I now understand more clearly your concern. I still think that a number of your assumptions about Justin's motives are incorrect. Perhaps you could ask Justin for his source on his stats regarding abortion. This would at least give him a chance to clarify his understanding of the issue before you assume that he is trying to preserve his own stereotypes. That, to me, would be gracious.

Again, brother, I appreciate your words of explanation and I thank you for your words of honesty.

Brothers,

I'm going to try to start with AB's response to my posts and work my way down - so if all this seems less than coherent, that's why.

I never said, nor do I think, that abortion is the most important ethical issue of our day; AB brought up abortion in the original post: "It would have been cool if lynching and segregation would have had the same level of activism as abortion does today." Hopefully this demonstrates that I didn't bring up abortion because I have a political agenda. I'm sad to say that I'm about as far from a political activist as one can be. The last time I voted was in the 2004 general election. (Aaron, this also means that you can't say that I brought up "something that has nothing to do with the post" or that my bringing up abortion was "random" or "politically driven" :)

I never said, nor do I think, that abortion is worse than other forms of evil, and I certainly wouldn't try to substantiate such a view with Scripture. When I wrote that "it would be more profitable to work to end an even more epidemic injustice of our own day", that "injustice" could be abortion, modern-day slavery, the genocide in Darfur or a whole host of other global ills. AS I SAID EARLIER, the church's relative silence in response to lynching is indefensible and deplorable. My point was simply that it would be more profitable to work against abortion (or genocide, or modern-day slavery, or racism, or some other contemporary societal ill) than lynching, especially since it appears that no one's been lynched for nearly ten years now (James Byrd, 1998, according to AB's original post; no need to scroll up, not that many of you seem to be in the habit anyway :). So it's not an issue of "x" is more evil than lynching - that's insane. It's simply that there are more pressing issues than lynching facing the church today - I hope we can agree on that.

I don't think the stats are empty, but if they are I'm happy to be corrected. Every stat that I included was lifted straight from www.abort73.com, a website that's committed to seeing abortion ended across the board (I encourage all of you to visit that site and watch not just the first, but the second video that comes up). They certainly have no racial agenda and neither do I. It wouldn't surprise me if whites do have more abortions than blacks - after all, statistically speaking, there are more of us! But many evangelicals (John Piper comes to mind) have noted the disproportionate number of abortion clinics located in minority communities and think that that's more than a coincidence. I also never said "that blacks are the ones involved in the majority of abortions". Abortion is a global issue that transcends race and our borders (abortions in the U.S. account for a mere 3% of abortions worldwide).

In closing, let me contrast what AB posted at the top of this page with what a black friend of mine did a few weeks back. As Black History Month approached, a former college teammate of mine sent an email to dozens of people with a recording of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech attached. I sat at my computer and listened to every second of that speech (which I'd heard before) and cried like a freakin' baby. I cried because of what the black community was going through at the time; I cried because Dr. King's response was so Christlike and tempered with grace; I cried because of what his efforts (and those of his successors) accomplished in subsequent years. That speech didn't gloss over what blacks were enduring at the time - it highlighted those issues; but it was redemptive. It was hopeful. It was fraught with pleas for reformation and reconciliation. It longed for a day when all God's children would one day live together in peace (which is presumably what all of us in the church should be longing for and working toward).

In my opinion, the picture posted at the top of the page was constructive in none of these ways. It served only to shock, provoke and embitter people on both sides of the racial divide. I don't think AB's comments were helpful either. They merely pointed out that the church failed to respond appropriately (over half a century after the fact) and noted that the black experience in
America hasn't improved much either. Then to close with the question, "What kind of people could watch this and laugh and smile?" What kind of people could do that? How about people like me and like you. There, but for the grace of God, go we.

This has been fun, guys, but I'm just not sure that a blog is a medium that's conducive to meaningful interchange. I think I've only posted on a blog ten times total, and it's frustrating to have your comments misconstrued and misinterpreted; and Aaron, I visited your blog and am excited about what the Lord is doing through you and your ministry. That's another reason I'm frustrated - I honestly believe you and I would get along great if we were discussing these issues over a cup of coffee instead of reading our own presuppositions into each other's posts.

Take care and God bless all of you.

I recieve your comments in grace bro!Nothing needs to be said anymore.

If you are ever in the bay area then drop me an email and let's get that cup of coffee.

Grace and Peace,

justin....I've got a love/hate relationship with blogs myself...

...go spend some time on non-christian blogs; it's helped me. :) at the very least, it's helped me to realize how petty some of the things we argue about are, and made me appreciate the 'team' more...even when the team is arguing.

Aaron, I never attributed all ills to the black community. I attributed it to misguided "help" coming from government.

Got it? I'm sorry, but you're not reading my comments, but rather reading into them. Please, stop misquoting me and attributing motives that I simply don't have.

Bike Bubba,
We have been through this for about two weeks now and I am growing a little weary. So yes I will never bring you up ever again.

Grace and Peace,