04/06/2020
So yesterday, yours truly read a naughty post shared by a most naughty theologian who quoted the Parable of the Lost Sheep as the basis for racial discussion.
The 1 lost sheep was equated to the plight of the Black people in USA while we are left to assume that the 99 would be the Whites (and others?), leaving us with the saccharine message that Black Lives Matter instead of All Lives Matter. Truly a naughty, naughty theologian! Context was thrown aside and discarded in a dumpster fire although Jesus very clearly said that the 1 lost sinner is in more need of salvation than the 99 righteous who do not, referring to personal, spiritual salvation, and not material need nor social security or protection.
We are left to assume that the shared post meant that the Blacks are the lost sinners while the Whites (and others? Hello, there are also Middle Easterners, Asians, and Samoans, y'know?) aren't, because we're like the holy riders on the righteous hallelujah train. Truly, a naughty theology was practiced that day!
In response, here is a passage from Proverbs which is colour-blind and avoids elevating any one race above the others (otherwise it would be, in the most correct context of the word- racist):
Proverbs 3:27-32
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
who dwells trustingly beside you.
Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,
but the upright are in his confidence.
The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he gives favor.
The wise will inherit honor,
but fools get disgrace.
Now this hits the sweet spot, this hits the nail on the head.
Abuse of authoritative power to cause violence, bodily harm, and death? Boom,
[Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.]
Seeming delay in enforcing justice when you can pursue due process immediately? Boom,
[Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.]
Organised police countermeasures that was obviously planned to crush the protest? Violent backlash from shameless opportunists who exploit social injustice to cause looting, mayhem and violence? Boom,
[Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
who dwells trustingly beside you.]
Again, back to the officer who knelt on the unarmed dead man's neck?
Boom,
[Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.]
What about those who glory in what the police officer did?
Boom,
[Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,
but the upright are in his confidence.]
What about his colleagues and those who stood with him, protecting him?
Boom,
[The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he gives favor.
The wise will inherit honor,
but fools get disgrace.]
The Lucan passage in question, Luke's 15th chapter, deals with parallel parables that answer the central theme of the non-Hitlerian Jewish question, as in, how do the Jews factor in the Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus vs how do the Gentiles factor in the kingdom. To the Jews, the Gentiles did not count, but apparently to Jesus, they did. While the Jews prided themselves on being the Children of Abraham, they assumed it would be a free pass for them into Paradise, while the filthy, uncircumcised, Godless Gentiles, wouldn't. Not so, says Jesus, and opened the membership into God's family by Gentile adoption. Needless to say, the Jews were not exactly pleased, leading to their endless skirmish with Saul of Tarsus regarding who holds the coveted title of Daddy's favorite child- Jews, or Christian Jews and Gentiles.
Now THIS is how Theologians who are not naughty theologise our times.
*drops mic*
