The nature of evil and our place in this world...

While I haven't been silent on the current state of things in our country and my city, I hadn't committed everything to words. In face of the mounting evil, pain, loss, hatred, and more I believe there are things we must acknowledge and come to terms with as people, as Americans, and especially to those who claim "Christian" as their identity. This is long, but I have to say it all at least once-
1) Evil is evil. There's no middle, there's no grey area, we either stand for or against evil. There isn't anything justifying the taking of life or moving into violence for a cause- not even heinous racism, opposition to said racism, or evil itself- outside of self defense or the saving of lives (FYI- I agree with Bonhoeffer: our job is to love as long as possible hoping there will be change, but then to do all in our power to stop the madman driving the bus not merely patching up the wounded in their wake. That was his logic and decision in the case of someone dedicated to the eradication of a people.). Nothing should be capable of pushing us to that- unless we prefer our opponents doing similar things for what they believe is right and the guaranteed outcome of that line of thought. Life is precious and we need to treat it as such- otherwise there is no justice. Black, white, racist, progressive, facist, communist- whatever- each individual is important and we cannot as a society condone violence because we disagree, no matter how justly we may feel the disagreement, how peaked our emotional state may be, or how right we think/believe we are.
2) Truth is truth, period. To say that there is anything else out there is to lie to ourselves and others. We can shade the truth, speak partial truths, or outright lie- but the truth is always exactly what it is regardless of our perspective. As someone who believes in the Way, the Truth, and the Life- I cannot hold to anything less. Any attempt to force people to shade the truth or attempt to convince people of half truths is as despicable as the lie itself. Truth always wins- we must remain on the side of truth, stand for it, and live in it- no matter how painful the truth might be!
3) Facism and Communism are two sides of the same coin and equally evil. The Holocaust tragically claimed the lives of around 15-20 million people & Communism has claimed the lives of 60-100 million people. There isn't a middle ground there- if you have Che Gueverra on a shirt/poster or something with the hammer & sickle you support murdering innocents on behalf of the state and fall into the same camp as those wearing swastikas. Period. History shows that they are literally moral equivalents. Both are 100% evil (the mass graves of both ideologies don't lie)- to argue otherwise shows deep ignorance at best and intentional deception at worst. Neither have any place in decent society because of what they stand for- the brutal murder of millions of people and eradication of those they don't like, oppose them, or are simply "not them."
4) There is no room in the gospel for dividing, discriminating, or labeling people for any cause- all are made in the image of God and the Christian faith requires us to treat them as such. Anything short of that means not claiming the name of Christ. Period. The Bible is abundantly clear- you either love others and are of Christ or are a liar and the truth isn't in you. It doesn't mince words or have shades of grey. Everyone. Read that again- everyone- is made in the image of God and immensely valuable to Him, and therefore to anyone who wears His name. You cannot choose both- either serve an evil that divides or the gospel that includes everyone as made in the same image as you. The church has to be the unifier- because that is the call of the New Testament. Tribalism is dead- wearing our tribal identity means we've missed out on our identity in Christ.
5) Love is the only option for a Christian- no matter who or what. If those of us who claim the name of Christ cannot love those who hold repugnant views & speak with them- we're the ones with the problem. Agree, disagree, or indifferent- love is the prescription and calling if we know Christ (and the only indicator to the truth of our knowledge of Christ)- and the only way to see actual change. I cannot remember where, but I have a quote from my office that says, "The love we have for the person we like least is the most accurate reflection of our love for God." May we love like Him especially in the cases of those we like the least..
Things that are worth doing are never easy- and this is something we must stand firmly on even in the face of absurd difficulty. Racism has no place in America. Racism has no place in the church. Hatred (in any form) has no place in the hearts of those who form the church- unless we wish to further the crazy cycle. We have to be the difference and work for the common good, highlighting the gospel through our love and actions. Unless that happens, there isn't much hope for our society- but if it does, then I have absolute faith that we'll see meaningful change because of changed lives.

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