In light of White Supremacists in Virginia

In light of the horrors that happened in Virginia, both with the white supremacists and the attack by one of the members, I think it is important for people to know the churches stance on those issues. Let’s take a quick look at history.

Perhaps one of the greatest and most influential church leaders at the prime of white supremacy, (AKA Nazi Germany) was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer fought long and hard against Nazi beliefs and protocols. He smuggled many of his Jewish friends out of Germany, refused to preach only what the Nazi party told him, frequently condemning Nazism and was even involved in a plot to kill Hitler; a plot that is now made famous by the movie Valkryei with Tom Cruise. Bonhoeffer was arrested and killed by the Nazi’s a month before Germany surrendered to the allies. His legacy shows the proven message of the Gospel; that men are created in God’s image, and the church stands hard against racism of any kind, time or place.

Our own Declaration of Independence declares the equality of all men and women regardless of race. But we often forget that the grounding for that equality was ‘that all men are created equal’ something purely grounded in scripture. Perhaps, we can argue that the founders did not mean to make a Christian nation, but men being ‘created’ is clearly something grounded in their Christian beliefs.

Finally, it is clear in Jesus own example that race and gender was not something Jesus viewed as separating us. His talk with the Samaritan woman at the well was something uncomfortable even for Jesus own disciples, who perhaps did have some of their own prejudices against Samaritans. They were shocked to see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman, but Jesus thought it the most natural interaction and said that it gave him spiritual food.

All of this to say, white supremacists do not represent Christianity.

‘Racist Christians’ is a more contradictory statement then ‘racist followers of Martin Luther King. Racism and Christianity are incompatible.

1 John 4:20 says it best “If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?”

Racist Jesus isn’t a thing. Racist Christian isn’t either.