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Slavery—Why Does the Bible Allow It?
Why does the Bible allow slavery? At first glance this seems an irredeemable blemish to the goodness of the Bible’s message. Slavery is recognized as one of the great evils of our history. To many, this provides a significant reason for rejecting what the Bible teaches. Some balk at the belief that Christians can believe God revealed himself in a book which, not only does not condemn slavery, but actually allows it. How should we think about the fact that the Bible allows slavery? This is a challenging issue because our society brings with it cultural baggage which makes accurate interpretation of biblical texts on slavery difficult. Those of us who live in the Americas and Europe are familiar with the African slave trade, and this is the kind of slavery that we envision taking place in the Bible. But there are some key differences between the Bible’s picture of…
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Brief Analysis of Critical Race Theory
Almost everyone has heard of Critical Race Theory now, if for no other reason than the fact that Trump made major headlines when he came out with an executive order banning Critical Race Theory in government. This created quite the stir since many people view Critical Race Theory as instrumental in fighting racism. This mindset has shown up in the church as well. The Southern Baptist Convention, which is America’s largest Christian denomination, passed a Resolution in 2019, which stated that Critical Race Theory could be used as a helpful tool to combat racism. Although this is not the majority view of SBC churches (many prominent SBC leaders have publicly decried CRT), it is a prominent viewpoint which has been embraced by many Christians in many denominations. Christians cannot escape the influence of Critical Race Theory, nor can they ignore the tremendous damage that this worldview produces. Many secularists have…
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The Alliance of Postmodernism and Activism
In the past I have written about how understanding Marxism and understanding Critical Theory are imperative to aid the Christian’s analysis of the modern cultural upheaval. Yet, there remains one other essential concept to understand culture. That is Postmodernism. Marxism, and more specifically Critical Theory, have merged with Postmodernism and they exemplify an intricate, albeit anti-god worldview. Christians must understand the contribution of Postmodernism in order to understand the cultural infatuation with activism. The Beginnings of Postmodernism Postmodernism is a philosophical movement which began in the mid-1900s and attained popularity in the late 20th century. Encyclopedia Britannica defines Postmodernism this way: a late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power. Breaking down this definition is helpful. Postmodernism is characterized by skepticism, that is a denial or…
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A Christian Critique of Personal Experience
Personal experience is currently regarded as the primary means of knowledge and truth in our culture. Whether it is the current issues of racism or LGBT rights, or it is something like biblical interpretation; personal experience is regularly elevated as the controlling determiner of truth. Take for example the following claims of experience: “Systemic racism must exist because I have experienced it.” “You cannot judge a transgender individual because you don’t have his experience. You don’t know what it’s like for him.” “I have had the experience of speaking in tongues; therefore, Scripture has to be interpreted to allow for speaking in tongues.” Now at the outset, I freely acknowledge the value of personal experience. Scripture clearly expects wisdom to be possessed by the mature because of their many days of experience (Job 12:12). Also, many of the Psalms are based on a response to personal experience. Further, our personal…
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Resources for George Floyd, Social Justice, and Racism
Given the current events, I wanted to post some links to help people stay informed on how to think through such events biblically. The circumstances we see around us are fruits of seeds planted years ago with the rise of Social Justice and other worldly philosophies. Thankfully there are brothers and sisters in Christ who have done some excellent thinking on these issues and we are in their debt. Here are some of my favorite resources on these issues. Resources on George Floyd and Current Events “George Floyd and the Gospel” – The Just Thinking Podcast gives an excellent response to the current events, the death of George Floyd, protests, and the riots. If you only listen to one thing, I would recommend this. Race, Justice and the Gospel: BBC Q&A with Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker – George Lawson interviews Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker on current events and…
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What is Racism According to the Bible?
Accusations of racism and racist behavior are commonplace in the news today. Many view racism as on the rise in America. Poll data from Gallup indicates that at least some Americans view race relations between whites and blacks at a current low point over a 20 year span. Because racism is a subject prevalent in the public eye, we need to discuss what racism actually is (biblically speaking), and how Christians should think about it. First, let’s talk about how the culture defines racism. According to Merrian-Webster, racism is defined as follows: 1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2a: a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles 2b: a political or social system founded on racism 3: racial prejudice or discrimination…
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Slavery Reparations and the Christian
Slavery reparations are all the rage right now. This week there was a House hearing on reparations, and there were a variety of celebrity testimonies, including Danny Glover and Burgess Owens arguing for or against reparations. This conversation has really ignited over the last year. When the culture takes aim at a topic, the Christian needs to be equipped to think through the issues from a biblical worldview. On the issue of whether slavery reparations are to be implemented, I think there are a couple issues to consider. First, slavery reparations would be a logistical nightmare. Although the issue is often painted as blacks needing to receive reparations and whites needing to pay reparations, that is a gross oversimplification. If the actual issue is slavery, one needs to consider the numerous black slaveholders. Should their black descendants be required to pay reparations? According to one black brother, he can actually…