Responding to the Black Lives Matter Video
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.
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.
