TWO PRINCIPLES
Principle 1 - "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)
Call evil what it is. It is evil. It is darkness. It is bitter. Do not equivocate in naming evil. In light of the Cross of Christ, evil is forgivable --it is NOT excusable, justifiable or ignorable. Those who crucified Christ were called 'wicked' (Acts 2:23) and the crucifixion was named a 'betrayal' and a 'murder' (Act 7:52). Let us unequivocally call evil what it is: racism is evil, misogyny is evil, assault is evil, killing is evil.
Principle 2 - "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) With the just desire to overcome evil comes the temptation to do so by any means necessary. Christ recognized this and forbade it. Paul recognized this and forbade it. Yes, always seek to overcome evil. Never employ 'justified' evil to do so ... refer back to principle 1. Specifically, violence, hatred and self-righteousness are evil responses to evil. "The wrath of man does not create the justice of God." (James 1:20)
The Jesus Way does not turn a blind eye to injustice. It steps into the breach to resist it. It says a clear no and 'woe' to evil. It overcomes evil. And it does so in the Jesus Way, which means laying down the sword of violence and hate, and picking up the cross of co-suffering love and radical forgiveness. It's called a cross for a reason. But I'll leave that to your imagination.
THREE EXAMPLES
In the wake of the Charlottesville incidents, the general public impression is that Evangelical and Charismatic movements in America have been embarrassingly silent or worse, have justified and even joined Alt-Right / White Nationalist causes. At the least, they've not unequivocally offered a unified denouncement to the satisfaction of those who've watched and waited. And yet the National Association of Evangelicals (member of the World Evangelical Alliance) has offered a very clear statement HERE, condemning White Supremacy in all its forms. Well done.
That said, the 'Evangelical' brand has been so tainted by its political associations and shenanigans over the last decades that its millions of exiles and critics regard it as beyond credibility. Sadly, they may also see Evangelicalism as synonymous with Christianity. But this is too narrow. Other examples of a Jesus Way response appeared this week among the Orthodox and the Mennonites:
The Mennonite Central Committee has a reputation of consistency in on-the-ground relief, development and justice work. Their statement is typical of their thoughtful Jesus Way response to injustice wherever and whenever they see it. They exemplify the two principles. But more than that, they offer a confession of their own sin, practicing pulling the log out of their own eye first.
"While we Anabaptist Christians have been willing to join other movements for justice, we have too often been slow or unwilling to join the struggle for racial justice, failing to see white supremacy as the violence that it is. As MCC, we confess and repent such hesitancy and even blindness, which exacts an ongoing physical and spiritual toll on our sisters and brothers of color and leads to spiritual and moral decay for white people."
You can read the full statement HERE.
So too, The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA issued a statement condemning racist violence, xenophobia and white supremacist ideology as reprehensible HERE. They also condemn it or participation in phyletism as formal heresy, the strongest category of false teaching. They also note that a Jesus Way response is necessary: "In this, we pray wholeheartedly for the families of those who lost their lives or suffered in these tragic events. In like manner, we cannot condone any form of revenge or retaliation by any group or individual." They call, instead, for ways of reconciliation that will overcome and "rise above any and all discrimination in our history, our present, and our future."
CONCLUSION
When it comes to discrimination, the Church has often been the chief offender and offered xenophobia an infrastructure from which to operate. Repentance for this and a new way of being have been slow in coming and a proliferation of tragic examples are still obvious to this day. But for those who still hope to use the word 'Christian' as an adjective describing those who seek to follow the Jesus Way, we do have principles of engagement against evil and some models to follow. For both the former and the latter, we pray, Lord have mercy.
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