Dinesh is a friend. He is not white like I am. I have many friends like Dinesh who are not caucasian. However, Dinesh and my other friends of color make it clear to all who will listen that they are followers of Jesus Christ.
And Jesus was a Man of color.
Jesus was not white like I am. His skin was darker hue, and His hair was wooly and textured. Jesus was a brown middle-eastern Man, not a white European man. The only biblical text we have of how the Messiah looked physically is "there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2).
On Dinesh's podcast, I am telling a couple of stories about two white men who were followers of Jesus Christ in the 1800s: 1. I will tell the story of U.S. Brigadier General Richard Pratt and his passion to lead American Indians to faith in Jesus Christ, and 2. I will also tell the story of African explorer Henry Stanley and his passion to lead African natives to faith in Jesus Christ.
In our modern-day Critical Theory society, there are "cancel culture" advocates who would call Richard Pratt, Henry Stanley, and me "white supremacists."
Nothing could be further from the truth. I follow a Man of color. I see nothing "supreme" about the white race.
I'm a Christ supremacist, not a white supremacist.
The Creator of the world sent His Son into the world as our Kinsman-Redeemer. The LORD says of His Suffering Servant (the Messiah):
"It is too small a thing for You to be My Servant to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6).
When Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch in Pisidia on their first missionary journey, Paul told the people in Pisidia (what we call Turkey today) the Good News that salvation (deliverance) from despair, destruction, and death is found in Jesus the Messiah. The people who heard the Good News from Paul and Barnabas were Gentiles - in a faraway nation - and they "rejoiced" at what they heard. But there were objections made by the intellectuals of Antioch. They were angry that Paul had "come from Jerusalem" to share Jesus with natives of Pisidia. Paul responded to their forcible objections (they eventually persecuted him and ran him out of town) with these words:
"For this (taking the Good News of Jesus to foreign lands and to the Gentle people) is what the LORD has commanded us to do. For the LORD said, "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." (Acts 13:47).
Paul quotes Isaiah 49:6 for the reasons why he unashamedly, unabashedly, and unapologetically takes the Good News of Jesus Christ to other nations and other peoples.
Paul was a Christ supremacist.
There is no other religion, no other god, no other faith that brings individual liberty and freedom from lifestyles and behaviors that lead to despair, destruction, and death, but the life that follows Jesus and receives His Word as truth.
Don't get confused. Don't let this mad, modern culture mislead you. If you follow Jesus, you are following a Man of color. You don't believe in white supremacy.
But you, like I, believe the only way to deliverance is to listen to the One who tells you how to live and to obey Him.
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor durnkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (I Corinthians 6:9-10).
I listen to Jesus and His Word. I believe in Jesus and His Word. I follow this Man of Color.
I'm a Christ supremacist, not a white supremacist.
By God's grace, may the immoral nature of every human being of every nation be destroyed by the power of Christ that the individual may be saved.
This Man of color is the Light of the world. Christ reigns supreme. You and I will either bow to Him now, or we will bow to Him at the judgment (Philippians 2:10-11).
27 comments:
Wade,
GREAT POST
It sure knocks that old saying in the head: “I’m free, White, and twenty one.”
Dinesh defended Christianity in formal debates against well-known atheists like Michael Shermer and the late Christopher Hitchens, and earned their respect. Dawkins ran away from him as fast as he could. In an open letter, D’Souza contrasted Dawkins’ eagerness to entrap non-scientist Christians on his TV shows with a refusal to debate a strong opponent on level terms:
“To be honest, I find your behavior extremely bizarre. You go halfway around the world to chase down televangelists to outsmart them in an interview format that you control, but given several opportunities to engage the issues you profess to care about in a true spirit of open debate and inquiry, you duck and dodge and run away. … [D’Souza, D., cited in: The rout of the New Atheists, http://voxday.blogspot.com, 21 July 2008.]
“If you are so confident that your position is right, and that belief in God is an obvious delusion, surely you should be willing to vindicate that position not only against Bible-toting pastors but also against a fellow scholar and informed critic like me!
“If not, you are nothing but a showman who takes on unprepared and unsuspecting opponents when you yourself control the editing, but when a strong opponent shows up you manufacture reasons to avoid him.”
Yeah, but all of those films of Jesus in the 60s through the 90s show that he was very white with blue eyes. And check out all of those pictures in Christiane's church!
My godmother of blessed memory was of Ukrainian (Byzantine rite) Catholic heritage and she would have pictured Our Lord as a Middle Eastern man likely, as is shown in the icon of this Byzantine Church at 2:12 setting:
https://youtu.be/eHi-1taeqeo
Another possibility of Roman Catholic imagery might be the reverse-image discovered when the Shroud of Turin was photographed.
In any case, the teaching about the Incarnation in Catholicism is that Our Lord took our WHOLE HUMANITY to Himself in order to heal it. And when we pray about this at Christmas Eve, the entire Church, which stands for the reading of the account of Christ's birth in the Holy Gospel of St. John,
pauses and kneels at the words
" “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14)
The 'old ways' reflect on 'the sacred' in the liturgy (ways of praying), some of which pre-date the formation of the 'canon' of the sacred Scriptures, so that Our Lord is always identified as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity: God.
I do not see that the Holy Trinity is much referred to in some denominations, or that there is much recognition of 'the sacred', but that may be because it is difficult to witness other ways of praying and to fully know what people are meaning in how they observe 'the holy'.
The old ways were more 'vivid' in presenting 'the Good News' to people who were, for the most part, illiterate.
So there is more overt acknowledgement in the old liturgies of the Divinity of Christ. Most modern Christians today are literate (able to read for themselves) and 'the Word' itself calls us to image the 'holy' and the 'sacred' with awe.
Is anyone concerned about Afghanistan?
Afghanistan updates: US Embassy destroyed some Afghans’ passports during evacuation - ABC News (go.com)
Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Biden requesting information about his "plan" for Afghanistan.
"For months, we have been asking you for a plan on your withdrawal from Afghanistan. You failed to provide us with one and based on the horrific events currently unfolding in Afghanistan, we are confident that we never received your plan because you never had one."
Did Biden think he was a hero by saying? “The buck stops here!”
There were 640 crammed into a U.S. Airforce plane while hundreds of others ran after it. A movie showed two people clinging to the outside of the plane falling to their death.
Women and girls will now be ‘given’ to their soldiers.
I keep waiting in vain for this age of "informed" and "woke" Christianity to get beyond skin deep.
Especially in the U.S.A.
Rex:
Biden stands by his decision. He's not a monster like Trump ;)
He's created ALL men (male/female) from one source material.
Pointing to Christ helps the ones who are witnessed to
and also the ones doing the witnessing, sometimes in silence, always with hope for the healing found only in Him
https://youtu.be/wsQw2UPHdS0?list=RDMM
Scott Shaver,
America didn’t go to the ‘dogs’ under Trump, but can’t say that with Biden, and God didn’t create male and female from one source; He created Adam from dirt, and Eve from ‘refined dirt’.
π
Dwight McKissic recently discovered that Jonathan Edwards was a slave-holder. Quite upset by it. Now suggesting that Edwards was more of a "monster" than a Christian.
Can't wait to see what McKissic does with Abraham and Sarah et al from biblical history.π
borrowed from Dee's Wartburg Watch site, because . . .
https://youtu.be/TKUWvF8lcKI
You thought Al Queda was a threat before? Wait until the Middle East watches them come birding in on American made Black Hawk helicopters.π‘
Wade, just watched the entire "Dinesh D'Souza podcast" with you as a guest.
What great stories about Stanley, Livingstone and especially the origins of the NFL! Really good stuff.
Thanks, RB!
Wade,
This is on Post 8-9-21:
nobody001 said...Π‘ΠΊΠ°ΡΠΈΠ²Π°ΠΉΡΠ΅ ΠΎΠ½Π»Π°ΠΉΠ½ ΠΈΠ³ΡΡ, ΠΈΠ³ΡΠ°ΡΡ Π»Π΅Π³ΠΊΠΎ, ΠΏΠΎΠ»ΡΡΠ°ΠΉΡΠ΅ Π±ΠΎΠ»ΡΡΡΡ ΠΏΡΠΈΠ±ΡΠ»Ρ. ΠΠ°Π³ΡΡΠ·ΠΈΡΠ΅ ΠΏΡΠΈΠ»ΠΎΠΆΠ΅Π½ΠΈΠ΅ ΠΈ ΠΏΠΎΠ΄Π°ΠΉΡΠ΅ Π·Π°ΡΠ²ΠΊΡ Π½Π° ΡΡΠ°ΡΡΠΈΠ΅ Π²ΠΎ ΠΌΠ½ΠΎΠ³ΠΈΡ ΠΎΠ½Π»Π°ΠΉΠ½-ΠΈΠ³ΡΠ°Ρ .
ΠΡΠ±ΠΈΡΠ°ΠΉΡΠ΅, ΡΡΠΎΠ±Ρ Π»Π΅Π³ΠΊΠΎ ΠΈΠ³ΡΠ°ΡΡ Π² Π²Π΅ΡΠ΅Π»ΡΠ΅ ΠΈΠ³ΡΡ Ρ ΠΌΠ½ΠΎΠΆΠ΅ΡΡΠ²ΠΎΠΌ ΠΏΡΠΈΠ»ΠΎΠΆΠ΅Π½ΠΈΠΉ.
ΰΉΰΈ«ΰΈ₯ΰΈ SlotXO Mon Aug 09, 08:30:00 AM 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh2qBY4pEhw
Laura Ingraham nailed it by saying “We have an invisible President.”
When I was 15, there were a lot of us swimming in Red River. Our Dad, Dave Ray, had returned from being a Chaplain in World War II. He stayed on the front the whole war and never lost in wrestling. His 210 pounds was solid muscle and he was strong as an ox. He was our hero.
I crossed the river where it was deep, narrow, and fast. I swam with the current and it was easy. Dad decided to join me but was down-river and tried to swim upstream. The river got wide, and the current took him farther away.
I followed on the bank. We were about 200 yards from the others. I was admiring how he could swim so long and hard until he commanded, “HELP ME!” He was exhausted. No one could hear him but me. I ran upstream to where the current would take me to him. He thought I was running away. He called: “PLEASE HELP ME!”
He kept his hand on my shoulder. He could have sunk me like a bug, but he didn’t apply much pressure. I started angling downstream to the bank a hundred yards away. In a panic, he yelled, “GO TO THE BANK!” (It was 50 feet upstream.) I yelled back, “I AM!”
When we reached the bank, he laid on the sand a long time. Finally, he said. “I wouldn’t have made it without you.”
Translation?
Scott Shaver,
The way I take an “Invisible” is we don’t have a president. I told a guy yesterday the reason Biden hasn’t been impeached is America believes his replacement would be worse.
CHRISTIANE,
Thanks for the link that had songs for the heart.
Just woke up from a dream where I helped Hez pull a trick. We disguised ourselves and with empty guns took what money two of our friends had. Afterwards, we were all laughing about it, but they’d called the police. Police didn’t think it was funny.
Yes, I dream of Hez often.
Instead of a pain pill every 8 hours, ‘Aunt Bee’ has lets me cut one in two, and I can take one every 4 hours. :)
Now enough time has passed I can have one in 2 minutes. Home Health comes tomorrow to change the dressing.
Good Morning, REX RAY
I'm sorry your pain is as severe as it sounds, and I hope the doctors keep faith with you and try to heal the wound so you can get off of those pills. God BLESS Judy (aka 'Aunt Bee') for helping you supervise your meds!
I loved your stories, and I know how it can be that we can dream of those we loved who have passed away. Sometimes I think those dreams are a kind of 'grace' to somehow help us in our grief. I don't question God's ways but I know that those who grieve are 'comforted' and that our grief is holy to God.
I found something special and it connects up with WADE's post concerning 'race' and the hope it is that ALL people have potential to succeed, given a chance to know they are each gifted and challenged, even if the circumstances of their early experiences in life are not promising. Take a look and tell me what you think:
https://youtu.be/9VJ6Lsx5aTI
CHRISTIANE,
Judy and I had a hard time hearing your link, but for some reason it reminded me of this story:
Our father was the principal of a grade school. On the first day of school, he wanted students to write what they'd done in the summer. He came to my mother's class. She told him they couldn't do that. "Sure, they can! He gave them a pep talk and in a little while, a girl brought him her paper. "Honey, what does this say?" "I don't know; I can't read." (She was in the first grade.)
Jim Wilson was an engineer at Bell Helicopter. Many years ago, he left to be a missionary in Mexico. His only support was what he’d saved. After several years his children got sick, and he returned to Bell because Mexico didn’t have good doctors and medicine.
At one time, people had been killed when a helicopter fell when it was only three feet from the ground. Jim designed a door that prevented the blades from cutting through it. He also designed their pitch so they made less noise.
I’m writing this because my ‘best man’ at our wedding called today and said Jim’s wife had died from Covid. Jim and I had been on several mission trips to Mexico. We’d also won a ping-pong championship.
I called Jim, and he was taking it well, knowing his wife was in heaven. Her name was Judy.
Our tribal ways of 'excluding the others', unconsciously carried, are also a part of our (in)humanity which Our Lord assumed to Himself in order to heal it.
Hence, it is from Him that we get the parable of 'the good Samaritan' in answer to the young man's quest of Our Lord 'And who is my neighbor'.
And it is in that parable, that Our Lord sets a challenge to those who 'judge' their own self-worth based on non-essentials over the worth of those who live intently the ancient 'golden' rule.
What 'makes us 'human' extends beyond the limits of 'helping our OWN kind' and is shown by the immensely superior humane example of how someone of another race/tribe cared for a wounded man, beaten and left to die by robbers, somewhere on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Of this parable, as our eastern Christian brothers and sisters would say:
'let us attend'
CRT as feared by some makes me wonder 'why?' because we know that a very deep infected wound needs to be re-opened and drained and cared for in order to heal it up. Opening the wounded scar on our nation's history would be painful, it would take time and attention, it would provoke anger and reaction but also lead to contemplation and repentance and understanding of why it is that even today, the children's children of 'slaves' suffer still as do the children's children of the 'owners' from something that was so profoundly evil to the human spirit that only by opening that wound can we as a nation finally find peace in the 'process' of healing it.
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