What's Wrong With Phil Vischer's Video "Holy Post—Race in America"?

In his sermon at the Areopagus, the Apostle Paul said that God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place" (Acts 17:26).

Every single human being on earth is descended from one man, Adam. There is only one race—the human race. What we call racism, prejudice against another on the basis of their skin tone, is absurd (as all sin is) since fundamentally there's no such thing as races. There's also no such thing as "red and yellow, black and white," as the Sunday school song goes. Essentially, we're all the same color—just varying shades of brown, depending on how much melanin you have. To pass judgment on another for the tones of our skin is to pass judgment on yourself.

What divides people—from each other and most especially from God—is sin. We are all sinners. The problem of sin will persist until God comes to judge the world in righteousness. But in love He sent a Savior, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the grave. For those who believe in Jesus, He cleanses us of all unrighteousness, pours His love into our hearts, and reconciles us to God and to each other, "making peace by the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20). The only true unity is found in Christ. Believe in Him, and you will be saved.

Now, that sounds like a biblical way to begin a discussion about race, doesn't it? I'd have thought a well-known Christian teacher like Phil Vischer would think so, too. But his recent 18-minute video "Holy Post—Race in America," delivered while sitting in the same studio from which he emcees his What's in the Bible? video series, is strangely without Bible.

The Story

Vischer's video is supposed to be a no-nonsense history lesson on race in America to explain why black Americans continue to face injustice today. But while he may have good intentions, he falls into the same Critical Race Theory methodology a few teachers (and it feels like fewer and fewer teachers) in the church have been warning against. The first time I watched the video, I went, "Wow!" But the second time I watched it, I went, "Wha?" The cultural Marxist nuance became more apparent.

Before I talk about that, even with the most gracious viewing of Vischer's video, he points at what he believes to be injustice but gives no solutions. He says, "I'm not here to tell you what the right solutions are, because I don't know." That is astonishing! The creator of VeggieTales and JellyTelly, who did an entire video series for kids called What's in the Bible?, doesn't know any solutions to the ills of society? Not even, say, the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is the gospel so powerless to heal that our Bible teachers now think they have to be Social Justice Warriors in order to accomplish anything?

Back in 1980, Andre Crouch was leading congregations singing, "Jesus is the answer for the world today." Forty years later, too many minsters are bowing to the culture and saying, "I don't know the answer for the world today." We have a whole book full of answers. It's called the Bible. And in the Bible, our Savior delivered quite the indictment when He asked the Pharisees, "Have you not read?"

You cannot fix racism without the gospel. You can tear down all the confederate statues, you can change the names on your buildings, you can change your bottles of syrup and your rice boxes and your tubs of butter, and you would still have the problem of sin in the human heart. Nothing can fix that but God. Vischer should know as well as anyone that even a tomato can quote John 3:16.

This is the most scathing criticism of Vischer's video that I can make, and it's really the only one I need to make. But I've been on social media for about as long as it's been around, and I know someone is saying, "Sure, Gabe. Whatever. You just don't want to deal with the issues. What about the data Phil Vischer presented? You can't argue with the facts!" Alright, let's consider the substance of his video.

The Substance

At the start of Vischer's video, he says, "We need to talk about race." But what drives the video is actually his second question: "Why are people angry?" After taking the next 16 minutes to present his case, he concludes by saying, "And that is why people are angry." Between these two statements, Vischer believes he has proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, the problem of systemic racism in our society.

According to Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, the leading university textbook on this issue, systemic or institutional racism is defined as, "The network of institutional structures, policies, and practices that create advantages and benefits for Whites, and discrimination, oppression, and disadvantage for people from targeted racial groups. The advantages created for Whites are often invisible to them. Or are considered 'rights' available to everyone as opposed to 'privileges' awarded to only some individuals and groups" (pg. 93).

Vischer proceeds to untangle that "network of institutional structures, policies, and practices" to show that it favors whites and discriminates against or even oppresses blacks. Some of the problems that Vischer highlights are legitimate problems for everyone, like our over-reliance on incarceration. But there are other things Vischer made problems that aren't problems, like "militarized police" or income inequality (both the highest standard of living and the greatest income inequality is among Asians).

Nothing he presented means all white people are at fault (an accusation he makes at 15:34) or that black people are systemically oppressed. He did not point to a single current law that discriminates against a particular group of people. The laws of yester-year and random bits of regionally-based out-of-context not-sourced data do not prove systemic or institutional racism.

Of course, none of that matters to the worldview of systemic racism (also known as being "woke"). It doesn't matter that everyone already has equal rights, or that the same laws apply to everyone. According to the woke, those laws aren't being applied equally to everyone. Now, that's going to be the case under any system of law. Injustice happens. When we see someone being treated unjustly, we should do something about that. I wholeheartedly agree.

But the thinkers behind the idea of institutional racism want you to believe entire groups are being treated unjustly, and white people are solely to blame. Look again at the definition of institutional racism. That definition has been gamed to make you think whites are oppressing every other minority group. That's the worldview Vischer is looking through. Everything he presents is with the objective to make you "woke" to systemic racism and that white people are to blame.

I want you to think for a moment about the recent death of George Floyd. I'm sure you have an opinion about it. Did Floyd die because he was black? If you said yes, then you've been affected by the systemic racism narrative. It's based on assumption, not facts. We don't know that the death of Floyd had anything to do with race. It was a horrible injustice, but it would have been no matter whom it happened to. We don't know that Derrek Chauvin, the officer who killed him, was racially motivated. In fact, four officers were charged in Floyd's death, and they weren't four white men.

There's an idea infecting our society that black men are being hunted by cops. It is a vicious lie. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal by Heather MacDonald, police officers in America fatally shot just over 1,000 people last year. Of those thousand persons, 235 were black, and 9 of those black men were unarmed. Without knowing any other specifics, does that sound like America's police force is exterminating black men? Statistically a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black man than a black man is to be killed by a police officer. (Here's the information on police officers killed in the line of duty last year.)

So far in 2020, it seems like we have only been hearing about the bad things police officers do. Even during the pandemic, we were watching videos of cops arresting people going to church or the beach. These images affect our perceptions. Where are the stories about the great things police officers do? How many lives did they save last year? America's police officers have over 375 million encounters with civilians annually. Don't let yourself be so emotionally triggered by the occasional viral video and automatically assume a short out-of-context clip is indicative of a major problem.

Back to my point, Vischer's info isn't fair. In addition to not wanting to take a balanced look at the data, there are problems he didn't want to touch on at all—like personal responsibility; rampant fatherlessness among blacks; the difficulties in coming from a broken family; the rise in black on black crime; how the welfare system keeps black people poor; the disproportionate number of black babies being aborted compared to other ethnicities; and the fact that 4 out of 5 Planned Parenthood clinics are built in minority neighborhoods.

Do not think Vischer presented cold data and hard facts with no bias. Aside from his lack of citations, the problem is not with his info as much as with the way he presents it. He's been influenced by a particular worldview, looking at the world through a certain lens. I'm going to give you another example of this, then I want to show you something about Vischer's sources, and then I'm going to offer some solutions. At the tail end, I will provide additional resources for you to look at for yourself. You need to do some research on your own.

The Sources

In the last portion of his presentation, Vischer talks about something called "unconscious bias." Now, everyone has biases they're not aware of. Everyone. But no two people's biases are the same. Yet Vischer argues that while white people aren't racist, they are biased, showing favor toward other white people more often than they show favor to blacks. Black people, on the other hand, do not have this kind of bias. They're actually more fair than white people.

This is not only wrong, it's divisive—especially considering Vischer is just pointing at perceived problems with no solutions. Vischer may think he's being charitable by avoiding tropes like "white privilege" or saying "all white people are racists." But he's sowing dissension and evil suspicion by making judgments based on assumptions. The Bible strictly tells teachers to avoid doing what he's doing (1 Timothy 6:3-16 and 2 Timothy 2:14-26).

Even without knowing what Scripture says, the people who attempt to measure unconscious bias know it's impossible to determine with accuracy or fairness. Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson is one of the foremost critics of testing for unconscious bias, which never yields the same result twice. He points out that unconscious bias "only accounts for a fraction of your behavior. There's all sorts of other things at work as well." The experts who test for unconscious bias "know it's not reliable," and they know "you can't train people out of their unconscious biases."

Vischer doesn't talk about unconscious bias until the end of the video, but the idea underscores the entire presentation. Again, he says, "We, the majority culture," meaning whites, have caused all the problems for blacks. Friends, this is satanic. The name Satan means "the accuser" or "the adversary," and that's what this kind of thinking turns us into. We're constantly suspecting one another of evil intentions and becoming adversaries to each other. Such Christless thinking has no place among God's people. Perhaps Vischer is not doing this on purpose, but that's no less problematic. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33), and Vischer's influences aren't good.

If you manage to make it through his awkward "Care Stare" at the end, past the on-screen reference to Isaiah 1:17, past the on-screen quote from Mr. Rogers, and past the on-screen quote from Bob Pierce, you'll arrive at a single white credit screen. On the left are the creators of the video: "Written by Phil and Rob Vischer; Produced by Phil Vischer." On the right are Vischer's sources: Michelle Alexander, Erin Blakemore, and Malcolm Gladwell. These persons—all three of Phil Vischer's sources—are pro-LGBTQ, and include "gay rights" under the banner of Social Justice.

I point this out for three reasons. First, if Phil Vischer's video sounds like your typical liberal talk on racial inequality, that's because it is. Second, worldview matters, and Vischer's views on race appear to be influenced by a mostly liberal worldview—worse than liberal, a worldview that is actively hostile against a Christian standard of ethics. (Note: Gladwell claims he's a Christian, but in addition to calling "gay marriage" beautiful and good, he thinks of Jesus as a revolutionary figure, not the incarnate Son of God.)

Third, and perhaps most concerning, the Social Justice movement and the LGBTQ agenda are inextricably linked. Too many Christians don't understand this. The Black Lives Matter movement was started by three liberal feminists who want to "disrupt the Western-prescribed [traditional] family structure," "foster a queer-affirming network," and "dismantle [straight] privilege" for their "transgender brothers and sisters." Black Lives Matter is being used by its founders to advance LGBTQ causes.

That textbook I mentioned earlier, Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, was edited by Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne Bell, and Pat Griffin—all liberal feminists and pro-LGBTQ. According to this book, the struggle for LGBTQ equality is every bit the same as the struggle for racial equality. The Civil Rights movement in the 20th century has been hijacked by the Social Justice movement in the 21st century in order to dismantle capitalism and usher in socialism, disrupt the traditional family in favor of a collective, and destroy religious freedom for sexual liberty.

Do you think I'm reaching? Look again at Phil Vischer's video. He criticized the nation's economic, legal, and political structures as unjust; mentioned nothing about abortion, personal responsibility, or rampant fatherlessness among blacks; and though he is a Bible teacher, he said not a word about Christ or His gospel. Why? Because his video was more influenced by a socialist, anti-family, irreligious worldview than by his Christian worldview.

Am I saying Phil Vischer isn't a Christian? Not at all. What I'm saying is that he doesn't have to openly align himself with the Social Justice narrative (i.e., cultural Marxism) to demonstrate he's been influenced by it. He's not the only one. This week alone, I heard a pastor I once admired yell at other pastors for saying, "Just preach the gospel." Another once reformed pastor is teaching his people, "Black solidarity before Christian." And in case you haven't seen, I was criticized by "Christian Twitter" for sharing the gospel with a foul-mouthed rapper instead of bowing the knee to his critical race theory.

Now the creator of VeggieTales and What's in the Bible? can't think of any solutions to society's ills. To many of our Christian leaders, the gospel is not enough, and the Bible is insufficient. They're becoming priests of the Social Justice movement whether they signed up to be ordained or not. I'm not trying to win an argument here. I'm trying to warn the church not to be suckered into this. All I want is for the name of Christ to be proclaimed.

The Solution

If you want to change the world, preach the gospel: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. Get back to the basics of the Great Commission: go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

Among those commandments are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Husband, love your wife as Christ loves the church. Wife, submit to your husband as is fitting in the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Raise godly churches and families. If you don't think the gospel and these imperatives when lived in the Spirit of Christ will drastically change a community, no matter the "color" of that community, you don't know the power of God.

Teach Christians to put to death sexual immorality and covetousness. Put away anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Take off the old self and its practices, and put on the new self, which is being renewed after the image of its Creator. "Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

That was Colossians 3:11-17. (Eventually, I just have to shut up and let the word of God preach.) I recommend that you also read Romans 12, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 4-5 today. If people repented of sin and followed Jesus Christ, if they did what the word of God says, if even our laws were shaped by God's Law, don't you think our society would be in a much better place than it is now? Then why aren't you preaching that?

Will the world hate you if you don't bow the knee to their BLM and SJW and LGBTQ idols? Of course they will. Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you." The church has been speaking out for equality and justice for centuries. We don't need Black Lives Matter and Social Justice to accomplish that labor. These worldly movements are antithetical to biblical Christianity. They keep people divided and solve nothing. Have nothing to do with them.

Don't let society drive the narrative. Let the Bible be your guide. We all are made in the image of God, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we all need the gospel and reconciliation with God. Not one single cause on this cursed earth is more important than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."

Special thanks to Thiago Cavalcanti, who forced me to do my homework.


Additional Links (Updated June 22, 2020)

Dr. Voddie Baucham: Irreconcilable Views of Reconciliation (Ephesians 2:11-22)
https://youtu.be/1qZdIseCkZc

Dr. Voddie Baucham: Ethnic Gnosticsm
https://youtu.be/Ip3nV6S_fYU

Dr. Voddie Baucham: Defining Social Justice
https://youtu.be/YFNOP2IqwoY

D.B. Harrison and Virgil Walker: George Floyd and the Gospel
https://thebarpodcast.com/JT/index.php/2020/06/01/george-floyd-and-the-gospel/

D.B. Harrison and Virgil Walker: Social Justice and the Gospel
https://thebarpodcast.com/JT/index.php/2018/09/18/jt-46/

D.B. Harrison and Virgil Walker: Whiteness
http://thebarpodcast.com/JT/index.php/2019/04/14/whiteness/

Dr. John MacArthur: Who's to Blame for the Riots?
https://youtu.be/Z2TbhCwBbOg

Dr. John MacArthur: How Should Christians Respond to the Riots?
https://youtu.be/ah3x8MKPHrY

Phil Johnson: Wokeism is a Hateful Religion
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2020/06/wokeness-is-hateful-religion.html

Samuel Sey: Social Justice is a Threat to Human Rights and the Gospel
https://slowtowrite.com/social-justice-is-a-threat-to-human-rights-and-the-gospel/

Samuel Sey: Our Fathers, Our Failures
https://slowtowrite.com/our-fathers-our-failures/

Samuel Sey: Does Systemic Racism Exist?
https://slowtowrite.com/does-systemic-racism-exist/

Wretched: An Extended Conversation on Social Justice
https://youtu.be/pd1swytlzBg

Apologia: Black Lives Matter and the Gospel
https://youtu.be/w_A0zjgdyKQ

Dr. Thomas Sowell: The Myths of Economic Inequality
https://youtu.be/mS5WYp5xmvI

Dr. Thomas Sowell: Fallacies of Race
https://youtu.be/g6IJV_0p64s

Brandon Tatum: How to End White Privilege
https://youtu.be/18IVjGz9Gvk

David Clarke: What the Mainstream Media Will Not Tell You About BLM
https://youtu.be/tCibKUTdrTQ

Ben Shapiro: "It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with culture."
https://youtu.be/qSmiZCQP58o

Ben Shapiro: The Myth of Systemic Police Racism
https://youtu.be/DJ4rLmVnVxc

Denzel Washington: "Don't blame the system for black incarceration. It starts at home."
https://youtu.be/O0dCvQdt5XI

Responding to the Black Lives Matter Video

Call me narrow-minded, but I still believe the sins that divide people—any and all hatred whether it be racism, sexism, or otherwise—can be conquered by the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that produces godliness. The Bible says that when we deviate from the gospel, we will fight and quarrel.

We read in 1 Timothy 6:3-5, "If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imaging that godliness is a means of gain."

Over the last couple days, several have written in expressing disagreement with a WWUTT video I made about Black Lives Matter. I warned that BLM is a race-baiting ideology and part of a Marxist narrative incompatible with biblical Christianity. (My wife and I also talked about this on our podcast on Friday.) If you truly want to stamp out hatred, preach Christ and Him crucified for our sins.

The following is one of those letters from a fellow by the name of Edward. His comments are in bold and my response follows. I offer this to continue to expound upon why it is dangerous to be swept up by ideas that might sound like godliness but are steeped in worldliness.

"I have been a follower of WWUTT since it started. I have even emailed a few times and commented once on the Facebook page. I thought this site was a novel idea, to quickly explain and debunk certain ideas that Christians have. And it did so in a humorous way."

I appreciate you watching, Edward. But I hope you understand I am not trying to entertain anyone. WWUTT is first and foremost a teaching ministry. The Bible is taught on the podcast seven days a week. I'm currently going through Romans, Psalms, Luke, and Matthew.

I have taught consistently to test all things according to the word of God. Yet the letter I am responding to here contains no Scripture or any kind of biblical argument. When you write in to point out a problem or issue correction, to whom are you trying to bring me into subjection—yourself or to God?

"But I have become greatly disappointed in certain topics that have been covered as time went on. These topics have appeared to have come from personal views and convictions rather than any biblical foundations. Case in point, the most recent video regarding the Black Lives Matter movement." 

So what you're saying is you liked the fact that WWUTT debunks certain wrong ideas many Christians may have... until the wrong idea I confronted was the Black Lives Matter movement. Everyone has a "Do Not Touch" button.

Every single video is an expression of personal views and convictions that are built upon a biblical foundation. From the very beginning, I've used WWUTT to confront cultural myths and the misapplication of Scripture. Consider the first twelve 90-second videos from six years ago:

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves?
Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner?
Are There Contradictions in the Gospels?
Thou Shalt Not Judge?
God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle?
Do We Have to Prove that God Exists?
Preach the Gospel, if Necessary Use Words?
Where There's No Vision, the People Perish?
As a Man Thinketh, So is He?
Whoever Lives by the Sword Dies by the Sword?
Jesus Never Said Anything About Homosexuality?
Jeremiah 29:11, A Plan to Prosper You?

Just looking at the titles of those twelve videos, six deal directly with a Bible passage in its proper context, and six confront an extra-biblical myth. It is split exactly in half.

I'm currently not producing as many videos because I'm working on other projects, so the pattern isn't as consistent. But just consider the last few videos. The Black Lives Matter video is a current event. The one right before it, "Wife, Submit to Your Husband?" is directly from Scripture. Before that, I answered from Scripture a very general question: "What Will Happen To You After You Die?" The video before that was understanding God's sovereignty in a pandemic, and the video before that was calling out false prophets who manipulate people in a crisis.

The next three videos are going to be on Matthew 5:3, Amos 5:24, and 1 Timothy 2:5. I'm still doing the same thing I was doing five years ago, just not as frequently. Contrary to your assertion that these videos do not have "any biblical foundations," they all do. Every single video addresses a subject with Scripture, and most if not all of them share the gospel—even the Black Lives Matter video.

The inspiration for the videos has always come from questions asked by my own church, stuff that's going on in the world, and things I hear from sound and false teachers alike. Of course it's my personal platform. Why would I deny that? I'm the writer and creator of When We Understand the Text. Yet I also rely upon many people to help me with what I write and produce. Most of all, I test everything with the Bible. Do that yourself. What did I say in the Black Lives Matter video that was actually biblically wrong?

"This issue [Black Lives Matter] is political, and that being the case, that carries along with it personal secular convictions. I am not sure how deeply rooted in socialism the BLM movement is, but it seems you are digging too deep here."

Am I digging too deep, or are you not digging deep enough? Have you learned history and anthropology and attempted to view what's happening in the world now through an understanding that "there is nothing new under the sun"? (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Why do you think I make these videos? My role as a pastor is to "hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that [I] may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it" (Titus 1:9).

Black Lives Matter has sucked even the church into a worldly narrative that has been crafted to play your emotions. Just think about that name: BLACK LIVES MATTER. Seriously, who would disagree with that? It is a snare so that when you say, "I'm not joining your race-baiting Marxist movement," they can call you a racist or a white supremacist or an Uncle Tom or "black on the outside but angloid on the inside." That's how this kind of loaded narrative works.

But what does the word of God say? "Charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene," actually causing parts of the body of Christ to rot and fall off (2 Timothy 2:14-16). That's happening, and I'm trying to prevent that. I love the church of God.

"It also appears that your dislike of socialism is probably making you see it this way. I have noticed that many people have this dislike/fear of socialism, just as many had this fear of communism during the cold war. I am not saying it's wrong, but just an observation. No where in the Bible are Christians asked to advocate for a certain political system, which in your case would be anti-socialism."

Oh, I hate socialism with a passion, but it's because I love God's law, not because I'm committed to particular worldly politics. Psalm 119:113 says, "I hate the double-minded, but I love your law." There are people inside and outside the church who are pushing the idea that Jesus was a socialist and the early church was socialist. That is not only false, it is dangerous and blasphemous (hence why I did my video on how Jesus is not a socialist).

Socialism and communism are godless ideologies that devalue and oppress people. Just look at the politics of the three Jezebels who founded Black Lives Matter. They love sexual immorality and the subsequent sacrifice of unborn children, and they want everyone to be forced to participate in their lawless idolatry. Even outside of the politicking, look at how Black Lives Matter has devolved into rioting and looting and destroying the lives of black people.

Look at any socialist or communist country, and see the way that people are treated. Did you hear about the 48 churches that were shut down in a single county in China in the span of two weeks? Here is what the Communist Party said:

"Higher echelons of government declared after an inspection that there were too many believers in the county. When so many believe in God, who will listen to the Communist Party? There is no other choice but to remove crosses from your churches."

Yes, the church will survive any persecution, but that doesn't mean that we should let godless regimes run uncontested over a nation that still has a document valuing basic human rights. The fewer the people who speak the truth, the more convincing the lies will be. It's one of the reasons we're in the mess we're in right now—too many spineless evangellyfish have been soft-serving Christianese whimsies instead of standing tall and punching godless lies in the mouth.

Surely you do not think Christians need to be apolitical when Jesus told us to pray for God's kingdom to come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of God has a law, and that law is the Bible. Are you saying America should not be subject to it? How weak is your faith? Psalm 2:10-12 says, "Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him."

"It is also interesting how you describe the BLM movement as divisive, when your video does just that." 

Now you're just being simple. I shared the gospel. Black Lives Matter wants to burn babies in stomach of Moloch. Which one saves lives and which is destroying them? If you want to love people, burn your Black Lives Matter flag and raise the banner of Christ. His word unites His people, but indeed it also divides. Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).

"Sure you may disagree with some of the beliefs of BLM, but you as a Christian, and a pastor, I don't think it is very wise to tell people they are wrong in place of offering empathy and a helping hand, and I am greatly disturbed by that. An entire community is feeling a certain way, and if they are wrong, then they are are all stupid. And if they are being manipulated then they are all stupid. So, pick one."

You're not making any sense. What "entire community" are you referring to? Are you saying the "entire [black] community"? I hope not, because that would be incredibly foolish. (Read this article by my brother Darrell B. Harrison on the myth of black community.)

When the Bible uses the word fool or talks about foolishness, it's not to belittle or insult. It's addressing a moral problem. Ignorance is a moral issue. In Proverbs, the wise man loves correction, but fools hate reproof. The wise man thinks before he acts, but the foolish man is either reactionary or a dullard. Proverbs 1:22 says, "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?"

The Bible tells us that the devil ensnares with his rhetoric. Was the Apostle Paul unloving when he warned the Colossians, "I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments"? (Colossians 2:4) I get that there are many well-meaning Christians who want to fight racism and unite a community. But letting their emotions get played by divisive worldly philosophies does not make people noble. It makes them suckers. I don't say this to be demeaning. I speak the truth in love.

What happens next is they turn around and fight against their brothers and sisters in the Lord who remain true to the gospel and won't taint it with the world's rhetoric, strategies, and philosophies. Is this not exactly the thing the Apostle Paul said would happen in 1 Timothy 6:3-5 (referenced above)?

Paul also told Timothy following: "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." Flee these physically aggressive and violent movements, and pursue what God says is right along with those who are godly—not with the Black Lives Matter Jezebels and their whipped Ahabs who hate the true God and sacrifice children to false gods. "What accord has Christ with Belial?" (2 Corinthians 6:15)

Paul continues: "Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance and lead them to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:22-26).

"I commented on the Facebook page in regards to the parody of the Oklahoma song. Christians, especially Christian pastors, should stick to teaching scripture, and not opine on politics or social movements in their teaching. Our Christian worldview is much more important than either of those. Whatever we may think or feel about certain political issues or movements is nothing compared to what we should know about God. We must exalt him first and not our own personal views."

You mean like you're exalting your own personal views? You say that "pastors should stick to teaching Scripture, and not opine on politics or social movements in their teaching." So you should actually be more appalled when a pastor marches in a Black Lives Matter protest than with a pastor who says, "Have nothing to do with such things." Brother, you're being double-minded!

Are we to only read the Bible and not apply it? I don't get the sense that you've tested anything you've said with the Scripture. This is the thing that is the most patronizing—not that you've insulted me, but that you don't even think of me enough as a brother to guide me by the word of our Heavenly Father. So again, to whom do you mean to bring me in subjection—yourself or to God?

Stop reacting subjectively to your emotions, and bring your whole self in subjection to God's word. Surely you know that Jesus gave us these commands: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37, 39).

On these two commandments hinge all the Law and the Prophets.