Some thoughts about my past articles…
For many reasons I should have provided these definitions at the beginning of my articles to provide a template and basis for understanding the extraordinary amount of new words that are being introduced through the Social Justice Movement.
Hopefully these will help you as you continue to learn!
I commend you who chose to read these lengthy articles/teachings. I trust you will refer back to them as a resource to look up various definitions or find helpful comments you can use in everyday life. I’m always honored if you choose to send them on to others! As I have written, I’ve realized my words can be pretty forceful at times, but in no-way do I mean to convey that my obedience to Christ is perfect. Far from it! Nor is my intention to be condemnatory. I am filled with a righteous zeal, however, for the reputation of Jesus Christ (Titus 2:14) and His magnificent Church (Matthew 16:18). My goal is to improve and gradually mature together☺!
“The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger” — Job 17:9 NLT
I have done a very brief word search for the use of “word” or “words” in the Bible and it is simply awesome. I have placed a few of my thoughts after each verse that I have referenced.
The Power of Words
“The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”- Matthew 12:37 NLT
We all ought to be intentional with our word selections, for this is one of the ways the Lord God will judge us (1 Corinthians 3:13), and disregard those deeds that will be burnt up (1 Corinthians 3:15) because of the work of Christ on the Cross.
11 “It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” … 18 But the words you speak come from the heart–that’s what defiles you” – Matt. 15:11, 18 NLT
Sin is not socially transmitted, nor does it originate environmentally — It stems from the deep recesses of our sin nature.
“Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.” – Matthew 26:75 NLT
Potentially the words we speak to people will come back to them for their instruction for good. This happens many times to me as convicting, encouraging, and yes, even destructive words from others pop into my mind.
“Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, fear God” – Ecclesiastes 5:7 NIV
I am cognizant of the large amount of words I have written and I trust they are not meaningless ☺.
“Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.” – Ecclesiastes 10:20 NIV
Do we realize what we say in the quiet private moments might be broadcasted to the masses? This will be especially relevant as the new “social police,” and the “code speech” enforcers are in our midst.
10 “The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails–given by one shepherd” – Ecclesiastes 12:10-11 NIV
A “goad” is a long, pointed stick used for prodding and guiding oxen while plowing. Moreover, the words of the wise provide moral and intellectual stability “like nails firmly fixed.” Ultimately, such wisdom is given by one Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)! We can all be wise as we listen, read, study, and apply the Scriptures through illumination and power from the Holy Spirit. One of the reasons Christ came to earth was to interpret and apply the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17) as well as the New Testament (2 Timothy 3:16), and to teach us how to do the same.
As an aside, as more pastors in the NW are moving from the true inerrant (incapable of being wrong) Word of God, you can do your own homework and discover great Bible teachers around the world who are teaching Truth. You will discover that you will be more biblically educated than many of the Social Justice pastors. It is time that the “priesthood of the believers” step forward and step it up. YOU AND I ARE CALLED PRIESTS, AND WE CAN SHOW PEOPLE THE WAY TO GOD! Every one of us can do this with a little more preparation!
“And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God” – 1 Peter 2:5 NLT
13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, whether good or evil” – Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV
At what level do you fear (in a healthy way, Yahweh God? Circle the number that best reflects your level of healthy fear today (1 is the least and 10, the most)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Oh, friends, do you need a minute to catch your breath after reading and applying these Scriptures? I need more than a minute. These verses are penetrating, convicting, encouraging, motivating and challenging all at once! What a true Shepherd and wise Teacher we serve!
Below are some SJM definitions. Many of these you have seen in previous articles, but I have tried to streamline them a bit and put them all in one place for easy reference.
One of my intentions in defining these terms is to equip you to become discerners of the times we are living in, and to be able to recognize, explain, and dialogue with your family and friends. By grasping these, you will be able to counter the heretical philosophies raised up against the Truth.
2 “He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘[It will be] fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 “and in the morning, ‘[It will be] foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot [discern] the signs of the times” – Matthew 16:2-3 NKJV
Glossary of Terms
(Here are 35 helpful definitions listed in alphabetical order)
- Biblical Justice
Conforming to God’s moral standard as revealed in both the Old Testament (book of the covenants) and the New Testament (the renewed or ongoing covenant).
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” – Micah 6:8 ESV
— Biblical Societal justice: is living in right relationship with God and others. It is giving people their due as image-bearers of God.
As a point of interest, I have heard SJ advocates quote this verse as the basis of the SJM. It is an incomplete treatment of true justice because justice is more than acting with a sensible and kind disposition toward all people. This is what anyone living in a healthy society should do. Notice the verse from the NT below. This reinforces what our general behavior ought to be.
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people” – 1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Complete biblical justice, however, must be meted out as Judicial Justice, especially since the accusations of the SJM proponents are so life-altering for all of society, with legal ramifications which are replete in the Bible.
— Biblical Judicial Justice:
“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly” – Leviticus 19:15 NLT
“So, you shall come to the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict in the case” – Deuteronomy 17:9 NASB
The preponderance of Justice in the Word of God is explained, or defined, as taking place in the legal court system. It is easy to miss this, especially in the New Testament, but there are many passages that demonstrate this reality.
Below is just one.
38 “If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges. 39 And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.” – Acts 19:38-39 NLT
2. Black Lives Matter
There is so much to say about the BLM movement, but I will attempt to keep it simple.
In 2013 the BLM movement was co-opted by three radical black feminists, Patrisee Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza who began to organize around the phrase and make it productive for their style of neo-Marxism accompanied with black liberation ideology and identity politics. Not all followers of the movement espouse the Marxist ideology, but they still support the essential premise of the movement which is: “the oppressed must overthrow the oppressors.” If black lives matter, so should advocates include the lives of Mexicans, Asians, Indians, Police, Whites, and other people groups.
The movement, and related organizations took off significantly in 2015 following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, by a (white) police officer, Darren Wilson. I wrote about this incident in my article titled “The Emergence of the SJM”, dated December 28, 2020. It bears repeating, that the narrative employed by BLM around this police-killing, “hands up, don’t shoot,” is based entirely on a falsehood claiming wrongly that Brown had his hands up in a compliant manner when Wilson shot him dead.
Most— if not all—of the police brutality narratives of BLM (the social movement and formal organizations) follow this pattern of dishonesty and extreme mischaracterization of the events at hand, which are followed by vigorous disruptive and destructive social unrest. All of this unrest clearly supports the neo-Marxist dimensions of the movement. Relatively few people realize the original narrative because so called “social justice” is meted out in the “court of public opinion” and reinforced by the mega-phones of the leftist press, academic elites, politicians, as well as organizations like the NFL and the NBA. Objective verification is passé and virtually non-existent.
3. Cisgender
Cisgender (sometimes abbreviated to simply cis) is a term for people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth. Cisgender is the opposite of transgender. CRT (Critical Race Theory), however, does not recognize the relevance of biological sexes because they falsely claim that gender is a social construct and, therefore, available to choose any which way a person decides to identify. President Biden, in the month of January 2021, enacted an executive order declaring that any person can identify as they so desire. This means that any man can identify as a woman and play women’s sports if they so choose.
4. Colorblind
The common idea of claiming “color blindness” is akin to the notion of being “not racist”— the colorblind individual by not seeing racism falls into racist passivity. The language of color blindness is a mask to hide racism. Once again friends, one cannot win because CRT even has a definition (colorblindness) for those who think they don’t see color or that claim they are not racist.
5. Critical Consciousness
Critical Consciousness is the core of social justice teaching. It is heightened awareness of the world and the power structures that are shaped by the power brokers who are the oppressors who dominate the oppressed.
6. Critical Race Theory
CRT starts with the critical critique that all of American culture is rooted in systemic racism and oppression. It’s three primary values are: 1. Who has the power because power supersedes truth. 2. It promotes identity politics, and 3. It values equity over equality. The word critical means that it’s intention and methods are specifically geared toward identifying and exposing racial problems and injustices for the marginalized in order to facilitate revolutionary political change. The process of researching and discovering resulting outcomes for exposing these oppressions can be identified as Theory. CRT is THE ideology that drives the SJM! It performs the necessary power like an engine provides for a car.
7. Diversity
The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences. It is also means moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.
Under the influence of CRT, the above definition immediately asks for more. First, that differences be explored in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It also requires embracing and celebrating diversity. Therefore, under the auspices of Critical Social Justice, diversity mandates creating and maintaining such an environment, which in turn means controlling the environment by…you guessed it, the SJ police. Welcome to a new America.
8. Equity
As defined by the social justice advocates, the meaning of “equity” takes pains to distinguish itself from that of “equality.” Where equality means that citizen A and citizen B are treated equally, equity means adjusting the shares in order to make citizen A and B equal. In that sense, equity is a kind of “social communism” —the intentional redistribution of shares, not for economic reasons, but to correct current historical injustices that are perceived and defined by those who advocate for Social Justice. They alone define who deserves “equity” treatment.
9. Fatphobia
Fatphobia is the fear and dislike of fat people and the stigmatization of individuals with bigger bodies. It can be easy to assume that something like fatphobia only exists on an individual level. In reality, it is layers of complex beliefs and institutional systems that treat fat bodies in need of correction and discipline. It feeds the bias, discrimination, silencing and correcting fat people simply for existing. Some fat people have to contend with this bias on a daily basis.
10. Hate Speech
Since WWII, many nations have passed laws to curb the incitement of racial and religious hatred. These laws started out as protections against the kinds of anti-Semitic bigotry that gave rise to the Holocaust. We call them “hate speech laws,” but there’s no agreed-upon definition of what hate speech actually is. In general, hate speech is speech that attacks and insults people on the basis of race, religion, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.
Currently in the United States, hate speech remains Constitutionally protected speech under the First Amendment. The arguments for banning hate speech typically range from the ways that it can allegedly uniquely cause harm and trauma to ways that it can potentially be used to promote and spread intolerant ideologies, like racism and sexism.
Within Critical Social Justice, hate speech is considered intolerable. It is defined solely according to their understanding of systemic power, which means it is supporting any forms of systemic bigotry and reinforcing the dominance of those in power. It would fall into the category of speech that promotes oppression, which is motivated by the worldviews of the elites who are in power. Once again, the major hegemonic (an overarching culturally held view) ideologies, which is “white culture” permeates all of society. Because hate speech can subjectively be determined when it opposes the SJM ideology it can be labeled “hate speech.” I attended a Christian leaders conference a number of years ago and a pastor from Canada told me that Romans 1:18-26 is considered hate speech and that pastors could be arrested if the authorities discovered them teaching on that particular passage. The thought police in action.
11. Identity Politics
A simple way to explain identity politics is that it crafts political special interest groups out of identity groups and advocates for them. The resulting outcome is tension, division, and disruption. This, of course, is the goal. Under Obama’s presidency, divisions between blacks & whites, rich & poor, male & females, diverse genders vs. straight people were intensified, all by design. The media continues the narrative of identity politics through the explosive antagonism between the police and black people.
12. Institutional Racism
Refers specifically to the ways in which institutional policies and practices create different outcomes for different racial groups. The institutional policies may never mention any racial group, but their effect is to create advantages for whites and oppression and disadvantage for people from groups classified as people of color. The SJM believes ALL American institutions are inherently racist and oppressive.
13. Intersectionality
Kimberlé Crenshaw has transformed the culture as a founder of Critical Race Theory. She is the progenitor of the concept of intersectionality. She popularized the metaphor of an arrow in a roadway intersection pointing to several directions to examine the way in which different forms of prejudice can “hit” an individual with two or more marginalized identities. She argues that —just as someone standing in the intersection of two streets could get hit by a car coming from any direction or even by more than one at a time—so a marginalized person could be unable to tell which of their identities is being discriminated against in any given instance. For example, a black, lesbian women could be discriminated against for any one of her identities or even for all three. Crenshaw is highly respected for her famous paper “Mapping the Margins” which has profoundly transformed and empowered the SJM. Many people diagram intersectionality as three overlapping circles. Please do not underestimate her influence.
14. Metanarratives
Metanarratives is the principle of having an overarching view of the world. Disciplines such as science or religion, provide metanarratives about their particular discipline and, therefore, legitimize their claims of “truth.”
Postmodernism in regard to metanarratives is particularly skeptical of these grand narratives because it denies absolutes. However, we notice that Critical Race Theory is explained as the only absolute expression of truth and, therefore, they are providing a metanarrative, while at the same time disregarding past narratives that do not fit their interpretive grid.
15. Multiculturism
Multiculturism is the presence of, or support for the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society and recognizing that all cultures have equal value. We as Americans, of course, believe that we ought to be inclusive with regard to these cultures. This definition is from the Websters Dictionary.
However, in the modern world of present-day academia, the way multiculturalism is taught and defined is based on the relativist assumption that since all cultures are inherently equal, therefore differences of power, wealth, and achievement between cultures are most likely due to oppression and injustices. Of course, the oppression resides in the past Western civilizations and past and present America.
Observe Dinesh D’Souza’s comments on pages 337 in his fantastic book: The End of Racism.
“Just as “institutional racism” is held responsible for the failure of African Americans to meet hiring standards, activists have come up with an equally bold and ingenuous theory to explain why blacks do not compete effectively in schools and colleges. This explanation is Eurocentrism, which is said to express racism. The curriculum in higher education is alleged to be Eurocentric because it conveys the predominance and superiority of a culture that Americans inherited directly from Western Europe” (Look to J.M. Blaut, The Colonizer’s Model of the World, page 8.)
Multiculturalism and Afrocentrism (regarding black or African cultural as pre-eminent) are two systems of antiracist education which are sweeping American schools and universities.
I think it is so intriguing that the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) was very explicit in pronouncing that the Jewish culture based on the commands and degrees laid out in the Bible, was considered superior! Why? Because it was! Wow! Is this ever a politically incorrect assessment!
6“Obey them (laws and decrees) completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ 7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?” – Deuteronomy 4:6-7 NLT
16. Oppression
The systemic and pervasive nature of social inequality woven throughout social institutions as well as embedded within individual consciousness. Oppression fuses
Institutions and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that saturate most aspects of life in society.
17. Political Correctness
PC is shorthand for speech codes (written or unwritten) wielded to silence opposing viewpoints and cower or humiliate those who hold them. Political correctness, supposedly is a way to shield the oppressed, is used to inflict penalties on violators—public defamation, shaming, fines, the loss of employment or reputation, and mandatory reeducation (under the guise of sensitivity training). All this is simply a precursor to policies and laws that ban unacceptable viewpoints and anyone with the temerity (excessive confidence, boldness, or audacity) to espouse them.
18. Postcolonial Theory: a precursor to Globalism.
Postcolonial theory describes the study of the oppressive results of colonialism and attempts to systematically undo it in all its manifestations in the world. Colonialism means the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country by occupying it with settlers and usually exploiting it (but not always) economically. President Obama was and is the most popular anti-colonist and now Joe Biden and Kalama Harris will take his place in promoting anti-colonialism, thus attempting to bring America in line with the rest of the world. Anti-colonialism is a most powerful necessary strategy to promote and enact world-wide globalism. The Bushes were also globalists, but their naïve intention was to bring the whole world into enjoying the rich benefits of what has been afforded to Americans under a
Constitutional Republic, while the Clintons, Obama, and Biden administrations wish to bring America down in order to promote equality. Get ready friends…we have seen nothing yet.
19. Postmodernism
Look to Scott David Allen’s fine book, Why Social Justice is not Biblical Justice, where he defines premodernism, modernism, and postmodernism (page 45). I will simplify his thoughts here.
20. Premodernism (prior to the 17th century) defined reality in the Spiritual and material where the Supreme Authority was God and His Word.
21. Modernism (18th to 20th centuries) defined reality in the material realm where Science was the ultimate authority.
22. Postmodernism (20th century to the present) where the human mind makes up reality and the autonomous (a law unto themselves) self, thus propounding the view that there are no-absolutes.
23. Problematizing
Is the functional core of Social Justice. To problematize something is to identify, manufacture, and expose the problems of social injustice as defined by Critical Race Theorists. There are now well-paid problematizes in just about every institution of America to find institutional racism, white fragility, oppression, unconscious bias and many other so-called injustices manifested through systemic power.
24. Queer Theory
Queer does not mean an individual is gay or lesbian. Queer means “strange or odd,” which is the normal understanding, but has pretty much been co-opted by thinking of it as person with an atypical way of life.
Great amounts of intellectual labor by CRT scholars goes into placing and promoting queer ideas of identity formation and social relations to texts that might otherwise be taken for granted as part of normal sex-gender understanding. For example, one might imagine that two women in a mainstream magazine advertisement are perhaps lovers and then consider the social and political import of such a reading.
25. Racism
Racism is an ideology of intellectual or moral superiority based upon the biological characteristics of race. Moreover, racism typically entails a willingness to discriminate based upon a perceive hierarchy of superior and inferior races.
26. Social Justice
SJ is the deconstructing of traditional systems, and structures deemed to be oppressive, and redistributing power and resources from oppressors (usually the rich and white) to their victims in the pursuit of equality of outcome.
27. Standpoint Theory
Just when I think that a definition is not relevant, or I think I am providing too much information for fear that I might overwhelm you, I discover another cultural altering concept!
Standpoint Theory postulates each oppressed group can learn to identify its distinctive opportunities to turn an oppressive feature of the group’s conditions into a source of critical insight about how dominant society thinks and is structured. Thus, standpoint theories map out how a social and political disadvantage can be turned into justifiable and knowledgeable as well as a scientific, and political advantage. The other day a close friend told me that one of his black friends made the suggestion that he just might “pull the race card” to his advantage even though there was not a clear verifiable indication that the situation was racism. This is standpoint behavior in action, but used to manipulate the situation to their advantage.
28. Systemic Power
In order to oppress, a particular group, (whites of course), must hold power in society. In this way, the group is in the position to impose their worldview on others and control the ideas, the political and social rules that are taught to be normal, natural, and required for a functioning society. This domination is historical, long term and automatic.
As I have said many times in my articles, power is of chief interest in the SJM because it believes power to be systemic, and, therefore, an intrinsic part of society and its operation. The SJM’s understanding is broader than the Marxist view of power because CRT believes that social forces, and social conditioning are much more important than the economic status of classes. From the swiftness of its broad cultural ascendancy this appears to be true.
29. Systemic Racism
The institutional practices and policies based on the belief that a particular race, i.e. the white race is superior to others. This often results in depriving individuals and groups of civil liberties, rights, and other resources, hindering opportunities for social, educational, and political advancement. My source for this was The National Multicultural Institute, and I researched Newdiscourses–translations from Wokish by James Lindsay.
30. Toxic Masculinity
TM is a set of attitudes and ways of behaving stereotypically associated with or expected of men, regarded as having a negative impact on men and on society as a whole. The destructive messages associated with toxic masculinity can lead to men feeling entitled to engage in violence against women. Terry Kupers, developed the term toxic masculinity in his research on the discourses about masculinity that emerge in prisons and defined by him as “the constellation of socially regressive traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence.” This controversial concept has proven instrumental in applying Theory to the supposedly urgent questions of why American society was willing to elect the boorish (course) Donald Trump.”
In CRT men’s and masculinity studies often rely heavily on the concept of “hegemonic masculinity,” developed by Austrian gender Theorist, Raewyn Connell. Hegemonic masculinity refers to dominant forms of masculinity, which are understood to maintain men’s superiority over women and perpetuate aggressive and competitive expressions of maleness, which are socially enforced by hegemonic—dominant and powerful—discourses around what it means to be a real man. It is ironic to think that the SJM does not tolerate white people rendering an opinion about blacks, but it is perfectly permissible for Connell, who is a female, to be a leading “authority” on masculinity. Oh, the double standard that never gets questioned.
31. Unconscious bias also known as implicit bias
Unconscious bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases attribute to the stereotyping, for example, against black people. Someone may think they are not racist or even antiracist but in their subconscious they are. Once again you are in a no-win situation.
32. Whiteness
Critical scholars define racism as a systemic relationship of unequal power between White people and people of Color. Whiteness refers to the specific dimensions of racism that elevate White people over people of Color.
33. White Fragility
Is the state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable— triggering a range of defensive moves in white people. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress inducing situation. The reason for this reaction is people have been indoctrinated into believing that their whiteness is a superior race, and their dominance is the norm. These behaviors in turn function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and to secure the ongoing reinforcement of their superiority. Racial stress results from an interruption to what is racially familiar.
34. White Privilege
From the critical social justice perspective, privilege is defined as systemically conferred dominance and the institutional process by which the beliefs and values of the dominate group (whites, of course) are made normal and universal. The ultimate criterion rests in social and institutional power. As I said throughout my articles the end game for the SJM is POWER!
35. Wokeism
The notion of getting woke is defined as being acutely aware of racial and social injustice—not just awareness and acknowledgement of isolated incidents, but awareness of systemic and institutional racism. Wokness calls for the perpetual state of being woke enough to know you are never woke enough. Friends how would you ever desire to get on that treadmill?
My Conclusions:
The exhortation from the Apostle Paul is apropos here for he was aware of the potential reality of Christians becoming captives to false philosophies and creeds.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” – Colossians 2:8 NASB
Colossians 2:8 Explained…
“Takes you captive” is a term for robbery. False teachers (including those that arise from within the Church) who are successful in getting people to believe lies, rob them of truth, salvation, and blessing.
“Philosophy and empty deception” “Philosophy” (lit. “love of wisdom”) appears only here in the NT. The word referred to more than merely the academic discipline, but described any theory about God, the world, or the meaning of life. It includes the claims to higher knowledge! Paul, however, equates the false teachers’ philosophy with “empty or worthless deception.”
The elementary principles of the world.” Far from being advanced, profound knowledge, the false teachers’ beliefs were simplistic and immature like all the rest of the speculations, ideologies, philosophies, and psychologies that fallen satanic and human systems invent.
The warning from the Apostle Paul is going unheeded in many of these SJ churches! Many pastors have not led their congregations with a discerning spirit or sense of urgency, but have accommodated and embraced the theory. Most Christians and leaders truly do desire not to be racist, and they believe it is loving to believe the incomplete, and-in-some-cases simply not true experiences, from people of color. They are intimidated by people of color and are afraid to confront the possibility of them not telling the whole story when they interact with them personally. The people of color will make statements like: “I feel I was treated differently because I am a female.”
“My son felt ostracized by kids in his school because he’s black.” The statements are varied, but when a “feeling” is expressed, feelings override facts. This is the accepted and the demanded lens that one must look through to see and eliminate unjust behaviors.
You Are The Remnant!
I realize I am speaking and writing to the ever present Godly “remnant,” whom God sustained in the past, is sustaining in the present, and will sustain in the future.
“Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above” – Isaiah 37:31 NIV. Isn’t this verse powerful?!
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” – Romans 11:5 NIV
“Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant (literally “those who were left or survivors”), We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah” – Isaiah 1:9 NKJV
Isaiah uses the title for God— “Lord God of hosts” 60 times in his book. It pictures God as a mighty warrior, a leader of armies, capable of conquering all of Israel’s enemies and providing for her survival. The masculine descriptions of Yahweh God are replete in the Bible and they are anything but “toxic” or what I call “tenderized” versions of what it means to be masculine. Because so much of Christianity is soft and sensitive, it is difficult for SJ churches to exegete (expound biblically or textually) these descriptions of our God and His masculine traits.
The word “remnant” used in the KJV is superior because this term designated the faithful among the Israelites throughout its history. Paul cited this verse to prove the ongoing existence of faithful Israelites even in his day (Romans 9:29). Such a remnant will constitute the nucleus of returning Israelites in the nation’s regathering when the Messiah returns to earth.
There will always be a preserved righteous remnant in the midst of national apostasy. This was true in Israel and it is also true today.
I do not want to be overly dramatic, but I believe the events happening in our world are one of the ways God is sifting out those who are true Christ-followers and those who are pretenders (Psalm 26:4 NASB).
“Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN
– Isaiah 37:31 NIV
Hey, the last time I checked we truly are IN THIS TOGETHER!
In Christ,
Dale