Falling in line with pop-culture, I know I have seen many Christians announce their support for BLM. While I will not support their endorsement, I somewhat understand it. They see half-truth, racial injustices on the news coupled with an outcry of a mistreated people, and long for justice. They want equality and fairness; I do too. But please hear me out: BLM is not the solution to this problem.
I have debated on writing this article for several months for fear of a backlash. In fact, I would not be surprised if, in the end, I lose the respect of some people I hold in high regard – although I truly hope this is not the case. Rather, I hope this article sparks healthy discussion and encourages some Christians to reevaluate their bandwagon-esque allegiance to the organization, Black Lives Matter. I ask this knowing that it is becoming increasingly unpopular (and possibly dangerous) to voice a contrary opinion to that of the culture. The culture is an unforgiving animal that will eat its own if given a chance. However, my conscience will not let me remain noiseless. Lest I forget the simple, yet profound truth, to be a Christian is to make assertions.
From the outset, let me state without the influence or distraction of any surrounding arguments, that racism is unequivocally wrong. It is an evil and vile thing birthed from the pits of hell. Throughout history, racism has been a driver of violence, death, poverty, and suffering for billions. Not just here in America, but all over the world and in many generations’ past. From the fall of man, sinful prejudices have manipulated mankind to do horrible things – sometimes even under the guise of religious pretenses. Well, I say here and now that none of this excusable. Under God, we are all one race, and whatever diversities exist in our genetic makeup is by design, and therefore God-glorifying. I hope that even my biggest critics will find agreement with me here. Racial and cultural diversities ought to be celebrated as a God-given, fundamental part of reality. Moreover, when all men are examined before the cross of Christ, we find that skin colors fade and find all our sin, shame, and sorrow looks the same.
Having established that very important precedent, I will now contend that Black Lives Matter not is the answer. More than that, I genuinely fear that years from now, unless something changes, the net result of the BLM movement will result in the opposite. Namely, a furthering of disparity due to race among all peoples. Therefore, we should think hard about how we promote such an organization and its worldview. I will expound on this thought later in the article. But for now, I will just point out that any effort to raise cultural awareness of a single race over all the others is inherently misguided. Rather than critically thinking through what BLM is actually promoting, the general public listens to biased news, clever marketing campaigns, and blue-checked Twitter accounts.
Falling in line with pop-culture, I know I have seen many Christians announce their support for BLM. While I will not support their endorsement, I somewhat understand it. They see half-truth, racial injustices on the news coupled with an outcry of a mistreated people, and long for justice. They want equality and fairness; I do too. But please hear me out: BLM is not the solution to this problem. Despite its rise in popularity, it is almost entirely antithetical to the Christian worldview. It has no place in a Christian’s effort to stop racism. I will go as far as to say that promoting BLM (the organization and not the issue of fighting racial injustices) is a detriment to the furthering of the Kingdom of God.
For decades, western Christians have a severe problem of privatizing their religion apart from the culture. While many faithfully attend church on Sundays, the rest of the week is carried out with a very secular mindset. Our work, entertainment, and friendships are largely removed from the influence of Christ. This bifurcation of reality has allowed very anti-Christian philosophies to creep into the cracks of worldview and penetrate our ideals. For many well meaning Christians, the private and public spheres of our lives, operate in mutually exclusive ways. It is precisely due to this incongruity of realities, that BLM has been readily adopted by so many Christians. Without a holistic, scriptural view of reality, Christians are largely unequipped to interpret whatever hot social or philosophical ideology comes along. It has become increasingly frustrating for me to watch Christians adopt such a god-less organization. Since when is the gospel of Jesus Christ ill-equipped to combat the horrors of racism?
Spreading awareness for a cause is important, and, for what little it may worth, I will give BLM some credit here. They have successfully created mass cultural awareness. And if BLM was simply a tool for awareness, then OK – let’s use this. But it is more than that. Black Lives Matter, under the pretense of creating a peaceful general awareness, is actually positioning a Neo-Marxist worldview and a philosophy. When you #BlackLivesMatter on your social media profile, you are not just taking a stand against racial injustice, you are promoting an organization that aims to unravel the very threads of God’s creative order.
