from the pastors desk
black lives matter
by Douglas E. Sukhia
Blacks Lives Matter is a movement and organization that started in 2013. Over the last couple of years it has become increasingly popular here and around the world with over 30 chapters in the USA. Many people now express their support for BLM in the wake of the death of George Floyd due to the excessive force used by police officer Derek Chauvin during his arrest on May 25, 2020. Even Major League Baseball and the NBA are now promoting the movement with players kneeling during the anthem while wearing BLM tee shirts.
Some Christians as well have expressed support for this movement but my understanding of the scriptures will not allow me to join in this support.
I heartily agree with this statement “Black Lives Matter”. All humans are made in the image of God with intrinsic worth [Ge 1:27]. All are created with eternal souls. All are designed by God and are accountable to God. All humans are valuable and should be respected, protected and afforded the rights given by God including: life, liberty and equal justice under the law. Any abuse or denial of basic rights to any individual or group is wrong and should be opposed.
Dt 16:20 states “follow justice and justice alone... Dt 27:19 says... “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow...”
All through human history, individuals and groups have been unjustly deprived of life and liberty through murder, slavery etc. This continues here and around the world. We should oppose and try to correct this sin as much as possible. The great command for us to “love of our neighbor as ourselves” compels us two seek equal justice for all people without regard to their race, ethnicity, age, gender or beliefs. [ Lev 19:18] .
All black lives do matter as all human lives matter. All police brutality should be prosecuted. All racism should be opposed because we are all part of one human family [ Acts 17:25,26].
I accept the truth of the slogan “black lives matter” in the sense of equal of treatment under the law but I do not support the organization for the following seven reasons.
1. BLM promotes the false narrative that there is a state sponsored, racist war on blacks that is manifested in the police targeting and killing of black people. Quoting from BLM web site...
“Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism.”
“The impetus for that commitment was, and still is, the rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us by the state.”
Actually, the police killing of blacks has fallen by 70% since 1970. In 2018 about 1000 people were killed by cops. Since there were a total of 10 million arrests that year this means that only one in 10,000 arrests led to a death. In every case where deadly force was used the person resisted arrest. In 50% of the cases the person killed was armed. Half of those killed were white 25% of those killed were black.
There is a higher proportion of blacks arrested since they commit 55% of all robberies and 49.5% of all murders. The statistics showed that blacks are actually 25% less likely to be shot during an arrest than whites. In the overwhelming majority of cases where people are killed they are actively resisting arrest. These unfortunate deaths are not the result of “ state sanctioned violence” but rather happen as law enforcement officials are trying to do what they are hired to do enforce the law.
Far from the state “sanctioning” anti- black violence by the police , the state invariably charges and prosecutes police who abuse there power. This is now happening in the case of the death of George Floyd where all four officers have been arrested and charged.
BLM was formed in the wake of the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford FL in 2013. In that case there were multiple local, state and federal investigations of George Zimmerman who was involved in that shooting. These went on for three years.
BLM claims that police are the tip of the spear of a hostile racist society that is systematically perpetrating a “war on blacks.” This is a purely speculative narrative. There are undoubtedly racist cops but it is almost impossible to prove that race is the motivation for any given incident of police brutality. Only God knows what was in the mind of Derick Chauvin who was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck. One of the four cops charged with second degree murder in that incident is Alex Kueng whose father is from Nigeria.
In 2015 Freddie Gray died in a police van in Baltimore. Three out of the six officers charged were black. At that time of that incident, the police commissioner, the mayor, and the state prosecutor were all black. Where is the state sponsored racism?
On the BLM website there are suggested tweets to send to friends on the anniversary of the death of Travon Martin. One reads “Five years ago today, Travon Martin was shot and killed by a racist vigilante”. Actually George Zimmerman who shot him during a fight is Hispanic. After an extensive investigation by the FBI it was determined that the shooting was not racially motivated. The evidence seems to show that it was actually Travon who had a racist attitude toward Zimmerman. Travon’s friend ,Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with him at the time of the altercation testified that he referred to Zimmerman as a "creepy ass cracker" and "nigga" during their telephone conversation.
Black lives do matter and any crimes against people of color should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But it is wrong to distort the truth and lie in the pursuit of justice. The 9th commandment is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. In Proverbs 6:9 we are told that the Lord hates... “a false witness who pours out lies... and stirs up dissension...” I think that is what this movement is doing so I can’t support it.
2. Black Lives Matter rhetoric actually increases the likelihood of black deaths. BLM focuses on the deaths of black people at the hands of police. This is laudable. Unjust deaths are always evil and should be opposed. But since 99% of the deaths of black persons at the hands of police involve the resisting of arrest I think BLM actually increases the likelihood of death by promoting their false narrative of a systematic war on black people. In the BLM August 2016 platform entitled “A Vision for Black lives: Policy demands for Black Power, freedom and justice” the first demand out of six is ... “The end of the war on black people”. If you convince people that the police and civil authorities are racist enemies you will resent and resist their exercise of authority.
The biblical view of civil government is that it is ordained by God for our good and should be respected and obeyed.
Rom 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established...Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves...Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God's servant to do you good.
By teaching the direct opposite of this, BLM actually endangers Black lives instead of protecting them. Therefore I do not support them.
3. BLM is too narrowly focused on black deaths in arrest altercations. Many more black lives are being taken by homicide than by police. In 2018 there were nine unarmed black men killed by police but during that same year there were 7407 black people killed by homicide; 89% of those murders were committed by other blacks. On the July 4th weekend in Chicago, alone 80 people were shot and 15 were killed including a seven year old girl. These are black lives that also matter; yet nothing is said by BLM about these lost black lives.
Sociologists tell us what contributes to the violent crime in black urban neighborhoods - single parent and fatherless homes. But this is never addressed by BLM. In 1965 25% of births in the black community were “out of wedlock” today the figure is 77% . In 2018 65% of black children were being raised in single-parent homes. Barack Obama in a Father’s Day speech at a church in 2008 stated that a child raised in a fatherless home was 5x more likely to commit crime and 20x more likely to end up in prison.
The bible promotes and values the two parent family. The fifth commandment is Honor your father and mother. In Eph 6:4 Paul writes “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. BLM does not share these values or use its influence to promote them.
4. BLM promotes the killing of unborn black lives. All black lives to start in the womb. Abortion kills more than 1000 black babies per day. Black women comprise 13.3% of the population but have 36% of all the abortions. The BLM movement is militantly pro abortion. Co founder Alicia Garza said in 2016 “but I think from our perspective reproductive justice is very much situated within the “black lives matter” movement... We certainly understand that BLM and reproductive justice go hand in hand.” She has recently joined with former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards to form a new political action group. Among other issues they will be pushing for “gender equality” and the expansion of “reproductive rights” [ie abortion].
Basic biology as well as the scriptures argues for the humanity of the unborn. [Ps 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. ] I believe abortion is the unjust taking of a human life; therefore I cannot support this movement that so actively supports it.
5. BLM is actively promoting a Marxist view of the world. The agenda of BLM is not only to draw attention to police misconduct but to overthrow the entire social economic system and institute a Marxist / socialist state. All three cofounders of the movement are avowed Marxists. In a 2015 interview Patricia Cullors said “ Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists”. The third cofounder, Opal Tometi, was in Venezuela in the 2015 praising the dictator Maduro with these words... “In these last 17 years , we have witnessed, the Bolivarian Revolution champion participatory democracy and construct a fair transparent election system recognized as among the best in the world”.
All three women have spoken at “Left Forum”, a think tank for socialists which features high profile communists and Marxists as keynote speakers.
In the BLM platform of August 2016 the forth demand is “ Economic justice for all and a reconstruction of the economy to ensure our communities have collective ownership not merely access. “ A partner organization of BLM called “The Movement for Black Lives” calls for “ a progressive restructuring of tax codes at the local, state and Federal levels to insure a radical and sustainable redistribution of wealth”.
The “Black lives Matter Global Network” wrote a eulogy for Fidel Castro on November 22, 2015. They praised the dictator for his part in the world wide socialist revolution and especially for giving refuge to Black Power era fugitives accused of murder in the U.S. including Huey Newton who murdered an 18 year old prostitute an Assata Shakur a black activist who was involved in various crimes including murder.
BLM recently received a $900,000 grant from the left leaning organization “Thousand Currents” to help organize local BLM chapters. The vice chair of this organization is Susan Rosenberg , a former member of the radical “Weather Underground” who spent 16 years in a federal prison for her role in the bombing of the US Capitol Building in 1983.
BLM unapologetically aligns itself with the world wide socialist struggle to liberate “the people” from the oppressive capitalist system and to bring about the classless utopia as envisioned by Marx, Engels and others.
Almost every Marxist idea is directly contradicted by the scriptures. This is partly the reason why Christians have been persecuted in every communist country. Marx famously called religion “the opium of the people”. He taught that the abolition of religion was “the first requisite for the happiness of the people”. He also said “My object in life is to dethrone God”.
Whereas classical Marxism divided the world into two classes: the worker and the owners of the means of production,[ the proletariat and the Bourgeoisie] the cultural Marxism of BLM redefines the struggle as one between the white privileged oppressors and a variety of oppressed groups [ blacks, women, LGBTQ people etc.] All life is viewed through the lens of power. Individual identity is subsumed by the group. We are members either of the dominant oppressor group or an oppressed minority group.
With this world view, liberation and justice can only come by the dismantling of the dominant institutions and the rejection of all of their norms, values and expectations.
Socialism in all of its manifestations contradicts many Biblical principles. For the implementation of its policies it requires an all encompassing centralized power structure. In these systems the state goes beyond its legitimate function as the arbiter of justice and becomes the absolute sovereign over everything and ,in essence, dethrones God. This of course violates the first commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” as well as the entire thrust of the scriptures.
The forced confiscation and redistribution of property violates the 8th commandment “Thou Shall Not steal”. The entire program of economic security as the means to real human happiness is also flawed. Dialectical materialism is a rejection of the true dual nature of man as a body/soul creature. Our true blessedness only comes with the regeneration of our hearts not the acquisition of wealth. While decrying the evils of the profit motive of free market capitalism it actually fosters, greed, covetousness, discontent and envy... all of which are considered sins in Scripture.
The modern cultural Marxism of BLM promotes anger, resentment and hatred toward the white oppressors and a self righteous self assessment by the victims. This “rage against the machine” is directly opposite to the Christian virtues of humility, love, non-retaliation, patience, and forgiveness.
The utopian vision of a selfless, generous humanity, without the need of laws or police, where each person contributes according to his ability and receives according to his needs is a fantasy that denies the fallen corrupt nature of humans. It is not surprising that it has failed wherever its been tried. The Bible clearly teaches we are sinful at the core of our hearts ... Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. The only hope for genuine transformation of the individual and by extension the society is the regeneration produced by the gospel. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
6.BLM considers violence and coercion a necessary consequences of the struggle for “social justice”. BLM promotes the idea that we are in a war against “the oppressive racist system”. Warfare inevitably involves violence. The violent confrontations with police, the looting and the arson that accompanies BLM protests are not publically condoned but also are not publically condemned. BLM has assumed the mantle and position of the Black Power movement as opposed to the nonviolent position of the civil rights movement.
On June 25, 2020 Hawk Newsome, the president of greater New York Black Lives Matter in an interview said this “...if this country doesn't give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it... I could be speaking figuratively. I could be speaking literally. It's a matter of interpretation”. The mass demonstrations are often referred to by BLM as “the revolution” or “the rebellion”. Historically most revolutions involve violence.
All of the communist socialist revolutions have been accompanied with horrific mass murder and violence. Historians calculate that over 110 M people have been killed in the 20th century as a direct result of efforts in places like Russia and China to realize a communist utopia. Since the leaders of the BLM movement are avowed Marxists it is not surprising that they would consider violence as a natural part of the worldwide struggle. Jesus said to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world and it will not be advanced by the sword.
7. BLM seeks to legitimize sexual practices forbidden in scripture and to dismantle the nuclear family. Some quotes from the BLM web site make this clear...
“We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.”
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”
“We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).”
The Biblical view of gender is that it is biologically assigned by God. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman. When answering a question on divorce Jesus said... Matt 19:4 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
The Biblical norm regarding sexual relations is that it should be expressed between a man and a woman in the confines of marriage. Heb 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Homosexual behavior is specifically forbidden in scripture and considered unnatural .
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another... God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Two of the cofounders of BLM, Alicia Garza and Patrice Cullors self identify as “queer”. Alicia is married to a transsexual man [a person born biologically female who through medical intervention now has the attributes of a man].
According to their website to identify with BLM is not only to advocate for the fair treatment of Blacks but also the promotion of the LBGTQ sexual revolution as well. They are also the biblical nuclear family. This is offensive to God who established it and detrimental to children.
Conclusion
As a Christian I fully agree that “black lives matter”. All injustice towards people of whatever skin color or group should be opposed. All partiality in law enforcement or the justice system is wrong. All judging of people based on their skin color or ethnic background is evil.
But as a Christian I also believe that there is more to life then this physical temporal existence. We are body-soul beings with an eternal destiny. All people, whatever their group identity are in the same fallen human race . Being the children of Adam we have all sinned in him and with him. All of us are in need of salvation. The “liberation” that we need is deliverance from sin and its consequences –the wrath of God. Our only hope for salvation and real transformation is the gospel of Christ. Contrary to the idea of “group guilt” fostered by BLM we are individually accountable to God.
Heb 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people...
As believers if we really love people we should be using every means possible to get the saving gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
Jesus said: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul. Mk 8:36 People need more than social justice or economic equity they need to be reconciled with God through the gospel.
When people experience this reconciliation their hearts are changed. The experience of God's love and grace manifests itself in the same attitude of love and grace towards others.
The BLM movement does not foster or promote true love toward God and others. An honest assessment of this movement reveals that it actually promotes the opposite of true love.
Looking at this movement through the lens of Paul’s classic description of love it is clear that they are not operating in accordance with this primary Christian virtue .
1 Cor 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
The leadership and spokespersons for this group are impatient, proud, demanding, rude, easily offended, untruthful, self centered, angry, resentful, constantly referring to the sins of people long dead, unforgiving, delighting in evil sexual behavior and are without hope that justice is possible in this system until it is radically restructured on Marxist lines.
For these reasons, as a Christian, I will not support BLM and I urge Christians who do support it to reconsider their support in light of the scriptures.
1 Thess 5:21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
Douglas Sukhia 8.7.20