Racism embodied in the American heritage is a tragedy of no small consequences to our nation and all of its citizens.1 As it is everywhere found in the world, racism is a two-fold scourge upon the souls and lives of its objects. Consistent with Webster’s Dictionary definition of scourge and use in the Bible, racism is a plague of spiritual pestilence born of sin affecting the souls of its objects and a whipping delivering excruciatingly painful blows to their lives (Job 9:23; Mark 15:15). It is the deadly disease aspect of the term to which the Lord led me to identify and primarily refer to in the title of my 2005 publication, The Scourge Of Racism now, updated accordingly.2
Indeed, as I again from Webster’s define racism presenting its reality in the first chapter of the book, it is “The belief that some races are inherently superior to others” and to practice “discrimination based on race.” Racism so defined is ancient and seen all over the earth; it is not a unique American problem. For the arrogance of inherent superiority that has driven tyrants and peoples to murder, war against, oppress and mistreat neighbors arises from sin in the human heart and is not just based on skin color or physical features either (Genesis 4:1-8; Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:10-12)! I go on to briefly touch on examples of racism as a human sin issue in our times throughout the book.
Even though racism is not unique to our nation, it nevertheless, has thoroughly worked its pestilence of destroying evil into every fabric of America’s existence. It has been wickedly aided and abetted in this by the guilty majority white members of the American Church in their various local assemblies since the nation’s inception who have enabled racism’s historic tolerance and practice here. This sobering truth means people who professed to be Christians have helped enable the scourge of racism both as a deadly spiritual disease of sin and consequential whip that has painfully impacted not only minorities in general, but their supposedly brothers of color in Christ as well!3
I do not write the foregoing or my book to cause anyone to feel guilt, shame or trash their heritage. However, as the Holy Spirit leads I write the sobering truth to help my white brothers calling themselves especially conservative Christians to grasp something of the magnitude of the sin that has been involved with enabling and practicing racism to lead not to angry denial which is added sin, but repentance! Truly, white Christians conservative or otherwise have no greater friend in me as a biblical conservative and aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ that fears God enough not to skew the facts of history or His Word for my own agenda (Proverbs 27:5-6; Romans 2:1-11). 4, 5
My urgent concern in Christ after four centuries of racism systemically part of the American heritage and daily life is seeing it removed from the American Church first as is righteous. Then, to see the Church in all of its racially diverse glory stand together against racism and model God’s way of unity through His love to the rest of our society. For from Heaven’s view, racism is not just a social justice issue, it is uppermost one that is spiritual! The Church is supposed to be concerned about Heaven’s view of everything and purposely laboring to make it known by precept and example. Instead, the American Church has sinned to the utmost undergirding the scourge of racism and has aroused with its other sins, the ire of God on par with Israel’s golden calf fiasco (Exodus 32:30-35).6
1 Read the September 10, 2023 post, Our American Heritage, under the category, Biblical Worldview.
2 The Publishing Division of the Ministry I lead, Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. first released what I wrote as a booklet offered for purchase, but primarily distributed free as a prophetic word of warning from the Lord to white Southern Baptist Convention leaders as the largest group of evangelicals in our nation I was also a part of at the time. Consider the upcoming release of the 2023 update of the book at this link. Also, read the February 3, 2019 post, Christianity In Black And White, under the category, Black History.
3 See the June 28, 2020 post, Last Chance For Conservative White Christians?, under the category, Call To Repent.
4 Secular or religious liberals would not now, have the ability or platform to present history or educate on racism with their particular worldly slants if professed conservative white Christians had been humble and transparent about as well as repentant from the issue as sin from the beginning. Now, the denial of the guilty is casting even more disparagement upon biblical Christianity because the wicked do not care to differentiate between it and their manmade religious forms.
5 The aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ seeks to please God and do His will (John 6:38). I write fully about this in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. You can get a Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Edition in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.
6 Just because even many professed Christians do not take sin seriously anymore does not mean God has backed up from doing so. His remedial judgments for the sake of His own professed people’s sins taking place all around our nation in the many regularly occurring calamities are intended to awaken us to His call to return to Him before things get far worse. View the Lord’s call to return to Him through this Ministry’s Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord, on its dedicated YouTube Channel.
The anniversary eve of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack upon our nation is a fitting jump off point to briefly consider the so much lengthier topic of the American heritage. Our nation’s reaction to that attack pulls together many of the character qualities, traditional values and classic features of what it means in a generic sense culturally to be an American going back to its founding. However, while there was a time our American heritage once widely involved pledging allegiance to the flag as “one nation under God,” even this former nearly consensus sentiment has fallen prey to an increasingly testy national divisiveness in political, racial and spiritual matters among others.
Possibly for the last time like it in our nation’s history, September 11th galvanized it as one after receiving the painful bloody nose from a sucker punch thrown by terrorists. This was so because one of the character qualities of America drawn from the large number of professed Christians attempting to live out a biblical morality since its inception is not to go around picking fights with others. It was after all, only after feeling bullied and overwrought by king George’s colonial taxes and policies that a desire for independence was fueled with war to obtain it only if necessary. The colonists determined war was necessary and prepared a document declaring their reasons for seeking independence.
I will come back to the aforementioned document in just a moment. Here though, just like those colonists of American history, I want to acknowledge what has become a traditional value when the nation in 2001 rallied to our leaders who determined war was necessary in this case to defend the homeland and deter any others that would consider such a brazen attack upon our citizens. As a classic feature of the American heritage, our citizen soldiers (of which many of the men in my family have stood among in serving our country) bravely went out to foreign lands to accomplish their assignments with resolve, honor and great sacrifice as some returned wounded; others deceased.
Though they were divided in convictions within the context of divergent practices of Christianity, political, economic, social and educational philosophies, a group of European descended white men gathered together to craft their Declaration of Independence. In it was written this key phrase: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.…”1 These amazing words penned in unity out of diversity pay tribute to the excellence of biblical morality that teaches human equality and God as Creator who is the Teacher!
Of all the character qualities that emerged as the American heritage from the nation’s fight for independence was at least the stated recognition of the Bible’s God as righteous Sovereign over mankind who created all equal. How the black forefathers in colonial times must have had every hope that such biblically sound, noble and inspiring words about equality and a God given right to life and liberty would apply to them when the smoke of the Revolutionary War for independence cleared and which many of them fought including the most famous, Crispus Attucks, and died.2 But this did not happen as slavery was retained and its horrors also made a part of the American heritage.
Unfortunately, after the war for independence came a Civil War less than a hundred years later that divided the nation against itself over the equality of men as a moral principle which had not held up in law or practice.3 Indeed, racial bigotry and discrimination practiced by white Americans in the majority against blacks and other minorities became common practice even after the Civil War up to this very hour as another part of the American heritage.4 It cannot be denied that centuries of tolerating and practicing racism caused it to become systemic though, some calling themselves conservative Christians are trying; defensively angry that their white heritage is negatively put upon when the true American history of racism is presented as if there is some other responsible group.5
Slavery, Jim Crow Segregation and systemic racism carried out by guilty whites are just as much a part of this ignoble aspect of our American heritage as the racial minorities harmed. Keeping it real, America as a melting pot ostensibly and ideally forged together as one in unity has not happened to any outstanding degree except in times of major national crisis of which September 11th has been among them. A racially diverse nation in unity under God is a bygone ideal at this juncture of a divisive 21st century America at large and tragically in Christ’s Church that should be exemplary.6 God’s intervention is possible, but not without repentance first among all who profess to know Him as Christians.7 Blessed is he who has the Lord as his untarnished eternal heritage (Psalm 73:25-26)!
1 See America’s Founding Documents at the National Archives.
2 Learn more about Crispus Attucks who was a mixed race African and Indigenous man; carrying the banner of hope for equality in the fight for independence for both as well as all future Americans.
3 Read the February 12, 2023 post, Leaders Can Get Their Nations In Trouble, under the category, Call To Repent.
4 And right on cue a young white male murdered three black persons the police concluded out of racial bigotry and hate in Jacksonville, Florida this past August following a recent string of these types of incidents in other parts of the nation.
5 See the two-part post beginning January 16, 2022, Arriving At These Times, under the category, Call To Repent. Also, in the book, The Unsaved Christian by Dean Inserra, Copyright 2019, Moody Publishers, Chicago, pastor Inserra as a conservative white evangelical makes it clear beginning on page 171 that the practice of cultural Chris- tianity especially in the American South is a credible reason defensiveness and anger would feed a completely morally indefensible denial of racism in the American and white American heritages. In biblical Christianity, we own our sin and repent of it!
6 Because His Church is not exemplary of unity racial or otherwise, I am pleased to announce the soon release of the latest Strong Man Of God Brand Resource the Lord has granted me to author for evangelical men white, black and all others: The Scourge Of Racism. Learn more at this link. I tie this updated work as an urgent application to my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available right now, in a Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Edition in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.
7 Unity busting racism is sin that must be repented of by every guilty soul professed to be a Christian! Let the Lord speak to your heart about how serious He is regarding pro- fessed Christian repentance from all sin through this Ministry’s Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord, available to watch free on its dedicated YouTube Chan- nel.
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