They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love?

"Cross Lighting"

A few years ago, Laurel and I got the Victrola that had been in my Great-grandmother’s house when I was a boy growing up.  It’s a beautiful piece of furniture, still looks really good, but unfortunately, the turntable doesn’t quite work how it should.  We have a wealth of 78 RPM records in the base of it, but sadly, really can’t play them.

The one day, I got a text from Laurel, half joking, but really half not, and it said, “what’s the deal with your family?”  I looked at the text, and much to my surprise, I saw this:

Now, I’ll be abundantly clear, I never experienced any type of blatant or overt racism in my own home growing up, my parents never allowed that to enter in, but as I’ve noted before, I got a whole world of it growing up in western Pennsylvania, particularly from my great uncles.  They both fought in World War II, so their hatred spanned most ethnic groups, particularly the ones they fought against in the war.  But they also used racial slurs quite commonly and derisively. 

As far as the record, I have no idea if either of my great grandparents were in the Klan, but the fact that they owned this record is really disturbing.  I know many of us from my era have grown up and been exposed regularly to racism, but knowing it was a part of my heritage, even more than maybe others, was a difficult message to receive.

As I looked at this record, what really struck me as it does anytime I see images of the American Ku Klux Klan, is the burning cross.   I could never understand how that plays into what the KKK stands for and does.  Then I read up on the heritage and their use of the burning cross.  The KKK used it quite extensively as a form of intimidation and terrorization for Blacks, but they characterized it as “cross lighting” and insist it symbolizes their faith in Jesus Christ.

"Gott mit Uns"

I remember years ago, Sandy McConnel, one of the greatest pastors I know, gave a sermon and talked about how the Nazi soldiers in World War II had belt buckles that had the saying “Gott mit Uns” or “God with us”.  This was a tradition that was handed down for generations within the German armies, but in modern day, we view the Nazi’s as so evil, but they viewed it as they were doing “God’s work”.  I’m sure they viewed it, as they exterminated some six million Jews, or 2/3 of the European Jewish population, that they were doing “God’s work”. 

Throughout history, we have seen this played out.  Various people, organizations or countries try to use the cross or Bible to justify whatever motives they have.  The cross is our excuse to perpetrate evil.  The Bible is our weapon of choice to beat people down.  The cross is used to execute those who don’t look or act like us.

“The Bible is not a prop.  A church is not a photo op.  Religion is not a political tool.  God is not your plaything” The Reverend James Martin, SJ

Recently, the current president infamously had peaceful protesters forcibly removed from the streets in Washington DC, so he could have a photo op in front of St. John’s Church.  While his methodologies were atrocious, his actions to try to co-op religion for his political benefit are really no different than past presidents or current candidates.  Political leaders strive to obtain the weight and power of the evangelical base.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me Satan!  For it is written, worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” Matthew 4:10

While I find this appalling from political leaders, it is much worse that more religious leaders, like Father Martin, didn’t come out and condemn these actions.  There is no place for religion in politics, and it is typically those who are truly “wolves in sheep’s clothing” such as Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell, Jr. who embrace it.  When I hear terms like “Christian nation” or “God and country”, it just makes me cringe and think of how we try to justify our actions with the cross and Bible.

There are so many reasons why we shouldn’t be mixing the two, but just to name a few:

• It’s not what the Founding Fathers had in mind.  They clearly defined that church and state should not be intertwined.
• As noted above in Matthew 4:10, and in various other passages, it’s not Biblical.
• It leaves out a great number of those in our country who aren’t Christian, including those of Jewish faith, Muslim, Hindu, and a wealth of others.  And for my dear Catholic friends, keep in mind that many Evangelicals do not find Catholicism as worthy of being called Christianity, so you would be on the outside looking in also.
• Even if it were somehow the right thing to do, to mix the two, it’s not something we model in our everyday lives.  While I could cite so many instances where it is stated in the Bible some variation on “Love your neighbor”, I’ll go with the old hymn that says, “They will know we are Christian by our love”.  Let me ask, do our neighbors who are Black and suffer from systemic racism know we are Christians by our love?  Do the immigrants who come to our country, that we turn away, to suffer an almost certain death, do they feel the love?  Does the LGBTQ community feel the love?  Asians who have been persecuted because we blame them for COVID-19, and refer to it as the "Kung Flu", are they feeling the love?  
• Do we really want to use Christianity to justify what we do and be no different, no better, than the American KKK or the Nazi’s?

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  But to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8

While there would be some who would paint me as anti-American, that is just not the case.  While we have grown to be a country where everything is either/or, I still believe in and as my conjunction of choice.  I do love this country, although I’m growing more and more disappointed with us, but clearly, you don’t fall out of love with someone or something just because it has some issues.  I just think we can be much better than this.  Compassion and kindness aren’t necessarily a Christian thing, any of us, no matter our race, religion, ethnicity, gender or political party could follow what Micah said, and we’d be a whole lot better off.  We just haven’t been doing a very good job of it lately.

And, I do love God.  Here’s where I’ll add one more conjunction though – but.  But my love for God far outweighs any love I may have for this country, or anything else for that matter.  It’s not even close to a contest.  Some may say, they “wear it on their sleeve”.  I wear it on my arms.  One of the two tattoos I have is Micah 6:8, while the other is Joshua 24:15.  I serve but one God.

“Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:15

It's Who We Are

How We React to Protesting in America

I remember a few years ago, the last time we went through the string of lynchings, we were driving from the airport, we had picked Sean up from college, and the interstate was closed down, and we were directed off.  I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and then I saw all of the protesters blocking the interstate.  I was so frustrated, and I felt so inconvenienced.  My anger kept growing as we eventually weaved our way home.

That was the dialogue on the news also, these protesters blocking the interstate, they’re disrupting our lives, disrupting business.  The protesters should be planning their protests off business hours, and not blocking traffic.  That would be more appropriate.  Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, and so many more.  Can’t remember what the latest killing had been at the time, but I guess their lives were disrupted too, huh?

I also remember of course when Colin Kaepernick and some of his teammates kneeled for the National Anthem.  That was called disrespectful to the military, and white America lost its collective mind.  And LeBron James wore a shirt that said “I Can’t Breathe” after Eric Garner was murdered, but that was heavily criticized by Laura Ingraham on Fox, who called for him to "shut up and dribble".  Hey Laura, why don't you shut up and .....  No, just shut up.

Contrast that with some of the actions of white supremacists and fringe groups that are given a free pass for their activities because they are just exercising their freedom of speech rights.  I’m sorry, I struggle with the visuals above.  Tell me that if the color of the skin above had been reversed, we wouldn’t have a different perspective?  What form of protest are we OK with African-Americans doing?  People are being senselessly murdered, and we are critical of the method of protest being used.  They try peaceful protests, and it’s disrespectful.  They resort to violence, because they aren’t being heard, and we send the military after them.

It’s funny what set me over the edge this time.  I saw a friend’s post about the current situation, and someone that I don’t even know wrote that “data does not support rampant racist behavior by police” and “I don’t see racist behavior among people I interact with, and I am among people of many races.  So I question that it is systemic or widespread – if it was, it seems I would see it in my experience.”

I lost my mind.  I don’t know why, maybe it was the last straw of the justification coming from white America.  All I could figure was that she lived under a rock, or she had drank the Kool Aid being served daily by the racists at Fox “News”.

OK, maybe I’m the one who has lived in some racist bubble all my life, but let me at least provide a few examples of my early years:

• I give my parents credit, even though racism was rampant in the 60’s, I never heard that type of dialogue or talk in our home.  But, I spent a great deal of time at my Great-grandmother’s house, and my Great Uncles were often there.  I heard the N-word continually in my developmental years.  They also insulted virtually every ethnic group, but the N-word was a word I heard often.
• I grew up out in the middle of the country, and there were very few African-Americans.  I remember once we had a basketball game, and the JV team from the other school had an African-American.  Some of the guys would yell racial slurs under their breaths throughout the game.  Many in the stands laughed or laughed nervously, not knowing what to do.  At halftime of the varsity game, a brawl broke out in the lobby because of the racial slurs that were made.
• When I was in college, I wrote part-time for a local newspaper covering high school sports.  The one team in the league had a couple of young African-Americans move in, and they played on the basketball team.  After a game the team had won, I was interviewing the coach, and this man yelled, “Hey coach!”.  We both turned, and the man said, “Good thing you got those n---s, huh?”  My mouth dropped, and the coach turned back to me, and he was visibly shaken and upset.   

To deny that we are a racist nation is to deny our roots, our upbringing.  It’s in our blood, it’s in our DNA.  We are the country that gave birth to the American Ku Klux Klan!  How can we deny who we are?  Until we are able to come to grips with this, we can’t move past this topic and gain any ground.

“I tell you the truth, when you refuse to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me”

We have to acknowledge who we are, where we’ve come from, and determine how we change this for the sake of all of our brothers and sisters being targeted, dehumanized and some, sadly killed.  If we say we don’t see color, we are lying to ourselves.  We all see color.  If we want to hang onto the Confederate Flag because it’s our heritage, we are telling those who find it a symbol of racism and past slavery, we don’t care about how you feel, we value this symbolic piece of cloth over you.  If we deny there is racism in this country, I would suggest we need to look in the mirror. 

I’ve often been one who believes in trying to find the common ground on issues.  I tend to believe we take a hard line on each side of an issue, and there is often a middle ground that we can come to agreement on that benefits both sides.  There is no middle ground on this issue.  If you don’t stand firmly against racism, vocally, vehemently, you stand for it.  This is not an issue to be silent on.

“If these were silent, the very stones would cry out”

Sadly, many of us, including me, have been silent for too long.  I applaud some of the younger generation, they don’t seem nearly as complacent as some of us “old white guys”, and I hope they sustain that anger and push for a change.  For those of you like me who have stood by too long, too silently, who have quietly felt anger, but didn’t do anything, I’d like to share with you what a dear friend Dave Carr has taught me, and I’m doing it to find a beginning, to find a voice.  I’ve taken the Alcoholics Anonymous approach, and if you’d like, please join me:

HI, my name is Steve McCullough

I’m an American

I’m a racist

Epilogue:  I attended my first protest or rally yesterday that happened in Duluth, Georgia.  The picture below is from one of four little girls that were near me with their parents.  I cried.  It killed me that we have created a society where these children grow up as “less than”.  Yes, she matters.  We love to spout off about being a Christian nation, but there is so little that we do that has any resemblance to what Jesus taught. 

Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd

Say their names