種族問題淺談

On The Race Issue 1& 2

編者按

本文作者胡晟宇（Sheng Hu）4歲半來美國。大學畢業工作幾年後，於2015年蒙神的呼召就讀三一神學院，獲得道學（MDiv）學位；現於土桑華人基督教會英文堂事奉。本文為教會長老翻譯，英文原文附後。下面的兩個音頻不是本文的語音資料，而是作者在本教會的英文證道信息，題目是“Social Justice”。

 

目前華裔年輕的第二代對“社會公義”、“種族歧視”等議題，與第一代的父母親可能持不同觀點。作者身為在美國長大的90後青年傳道人，力求從聖經角度出發來探討今天年輕人所遇到的挑戰。相信他的文章及證道，會對同代人有啟發，有幫助。歡迎各位讀者將此文轉發給您的子女或教會中的第二代。

以下兩個音頻為胡晟宇傳道6月日證道信息（英文）：

一、關於種族問題

On The Race Issue_1

二、什麼是社會公正？

一，美國真的從骨子裡歧視有色人種並需要改變嗎？

二，即便是，教會需要參與嗎？如果需要，如何參與？

對這兩個問題，我的答案都是否定的。

On the Race Issue_1

The killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 has set in motion a series of political and cultural movements that have sparked intense debate in America about race-relations and social justice. A comprehensive examination of these topics would take far too long than I have time for, but I will seek to address some of the major issues that in my assessment pertain to Asian American Christians (AAC).

Racial tension has always run deep in America. But in the past decade or so, beginning with the death of Trayvon Martin, followed by that of Mike Brown, Eric Gardner, Philando Castile, and ultimately George Floyd, the issue of police brutality has seen the most public discussion and scrutiny. And while Latinos, Asians, and Jews are certainly part of the larger discussion of racial injustice, the center of mass seems to lie between whites and blacks, and particularly between white cops and black young males.

There are many questions that need to be addressed from the perspectives of AAC’s. 1. What is the real issue, with respect to American history and politics? 2. What is the current milieu in the church among young, mostly second-generation, Asian Christians? 3. As AAC’s, where should we stand on this issue politically and spiritually in this article, I will address the first and second question: What is the real issue? (for first-generation immigrants who do not feel knowledgeable in American politics and history). Furthermore, where do most AAC’s stand?

From a historical-political perspective, everything that has happened in the past few weeks has been in response to the death of George Floyd. I won’t belabor the event itself; I recommend you read the news for yourself with the accompanying video, I think it speaks for itself. The police officer has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial. The GF’s death is really just the straw that broke the camel’s back. The protests that have occurred are not only in response to GF, but as a response to the cumulative anger within the black community over other incidents including the death of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, and others. The most vocal noises have claimed that the American police force is inherently racist against blacks. This then is an example of social injustice in America, at least in regard to race. The argument can be broadened to include other areas of economics, education, healthcare, politics, etc. The overall premise vocalized is that America as a nation is fundamentally racist and her institutions are dominated by white supremacy. Therefore, we need to restructure the institutions of America so that it is less racist and unjust for people of color (blacks, but also Asians, Latinos, Jews, etc).

Critics of the protests have raised concerns about the riots, looting, and unreasonable demands for reform. For example, in Seattle, protesters have actually taken over 6 squares of downtown and declared themselves to be a separate nation called CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone). As well, Minneapolis has officially voted to dismantle their police department altogether, with other cities (including Tucson) having similar discussions. It is worth mentioning that not all protesters agree with the developments of CHAZ or dismantling the police. However, the voice calling for such measures seems to out-sound the more conservative voices. I think it is fair to say that most Americans, no matter what political persuasion, seem very worried about the political-cultural future of America.

Most ABC’s in my estimation seem very ill-informed on these issues. Albeit, it is a very complicated issue, I have noticed that the degree of political-cultural literacy is quite low on average. Most college students just seem to regurgitate what they hear from their professors and friends. Most social media posts are very liberal in their political persuasion. Dissenting voices are usually silenced, ignored, or canceled. And this pattern trickles down by age. The younger they are, the less they care and less informed they are.

I find that within the church, younger pastors tend to be pro-social justice, while older, first-generation immigrants tend to just not get involved at all. I myself do not subscribe to the ideology of social justice, and I find it inherently dangerous to both the church and society at large. However, most of my millennial peers do not share this sentiment. Among millennial Asian pastors, in my experience, most are pro-social justice. Lay AAC is thus mostly pro-SJ. However, this is mostly due to the fact that they trust their pastors and go along with what they say. They often have not spent too much time studying the issue for themselves. The downside to this is that, by implication, most 2nd generation AAC’s will tend to be pro-SJ. The upside to this is that, when they are presented with new information, their worldview can be more easily challenged and their minds swayed to the other persuasion. Church leaders are harder to change, for various reasons, both institutional and personal. I won’t go too much into details on this point, for fear of depreciating the authority of the pastoral office.

Interestingly enough, one issue I find quite odd is that even among conservative evangelical AAC’s, they cannot see the underlying ideologies that the SJ movement poses. Oftentimes these AAC’s are very personally devoted to the Lord. They oppose gay marriage and abortion. They are conservative in their daily lives. But then when it comes to the particular issue of race, they subscribe to abstract principles that are very inconsistent with their Christian beliefs – principles, which, if taken to their logical extremes and implemented in real life, would lead to outcomes that would hardly find acceptance anywhere. I do not say this to blame anyone – after all, discerning God’s will take time and practice (Rom 12:2). I say this as an encouragement because I believe that most AAC’s are reasonable, and with enough teaching and information, will be able to form coherent worldviews that are consistent with biblical values through and through.

Race issue - 2

Whatis Social Justice?

“Social Justice” is a rather vague term being floated around these days. The most concise definition I’ve come across is this: equity in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunity, privilege, and resources in a society. Regarding the issueof race, social justice pertains to the idea that America is fundamentally racisttoward people of color and we need to change the system to achieve more equitableresults for people of color. There are two areas of debate pertaining to this discussion. First, is it actually true that America is fundamentally racist and in need of change? Second, even if the premise is true, should the church participate in this effort? And if so, how?

Regarding both questions, I answer no.

❏ Is America fundamentally racist?

There is a political narrative being pushed today that America is fundamentally racist. Before we address this issue, it is important to first define what we mean by “racist.” Traditionally, to be racist means to look down on someone and treat them as inferior on account of their skin color. In other words, it is favoritism or partiality based on skin color. Racism can be manifested economically or politically through discriminatory practices based on one’s skin color. So, for example, ifa colored man wanted to eat at a restaurant, he would not be allowed to eat thereon account of his skin color, even if he were a willing customer able to pay forthe food. Or, for example, during the Jim Crow era of the South, there were oneset of laws for whites, and another set of laws for blacks. There are two differentstandards for people, based on their skin color. This is no longer true in Americasince the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when discrimination on race has been made illegal.

However, starting in the 1960-70s, and more and more prevalent today, thedefinition of racism has changed. Proponents of social justice today employ theterm “racism” differently. Today, it pertains primarily to inequality of outcomeand inequality of power. That is, if a colored man does not achieve the same levelof status, or wealth, or privilege as a white man while participating in an institution,then the institution is “racist.” And those who disproportionately benefit fromthe institution are “racist” by association.

Biblically speaking, there are various texts that condemn racism in thetraditional sense of the word (Acts 10:34-35, James 2:8-9). That is, we are notallowed to treat different people by different standards. However, the second senseof the term racism is unbiblical. The bible nowhere demands that society be structuredwith equality of outcome (i.e. privilege and power) between different tribal groups.

To take an example, Israel was composed of 12 tribes, but not all twelvehave equal power or privilege. In Genesis 49, Jacob gives different blessings toeach son. Some had more blessings than others, even though it is not obvious whysome should have more while others less. Then later during the period of the conquestof Canaan, each tribe were to be allotted according to their size (Num. 33:54). However, this was not actually the case, as the tribes of Dan, Issachar, and Zebulunreceived disproportionately smaller shares of the land, even though they were threeof the most populous tribes (Josh. 19:10-23, 40-46). One may say that this is unfair. However, none of the judges, kings, prophets, not even God himself, ever condemnsthis uneven distribution of privileges. However, the Mosaic Law always applied toevery tribe, and every individual within that tribe. God is concerned about impartiality(Lev. 19:15, Ex. 23:2-3). But he does not demand that every people group have equalityof outcome. The secular mantra that “inequality of outcome is unjust” does not standbiblical scrutiny. As Christians, we cannot tolerate an unbiblical redefinitionof justice. To do so is to call evil good and good evil (Isa. 5:20).

Furthermore, even from a common sensical perspective, there is a fundamentalflaw in this type of thinking. This framework doesn’t account for human agency andpersonal responsibility. Equal outcome can only be expected if every person, orgroups of people, were exactly the same in terms of talent, intelligence, values,culture, and work ethic. Real life experience tells us that any such expectationsare absurdly unrealistic. For example, Asians are extremely underrepresented inAmerican pro-sports. Is America systemically racist against Asians? While I willnot deny that there are individual instances of racial discrimination (i.e. JeremyLin), it is very disingenuous to say that racism rather than culture accounts forthe Asian underrepresentation in pro sports. The fact is Asian people just do notvalue sports as much as other racial groups. There is an inequality in outcome,true. But let’s not kid ourselves and blame it on the system or white people whenthe reality is that most Asian families and students care more about grades andviolin than playing professional basketball.

This same principle can be applied to other issues. For example, blacksand brown people are under-represented in colleges. That is true. But what do wedo with the well-documented fact that there is an anti-intellectual culture withinmany black communities? Or regarding the example of the prison system, young blackmales are disproportionately represented in prisons compared to whites. This istrue. But what do we do with the fact that young black males commit a disproportionateamount of violent crimes (over half of violent crimes are committed by black males,which is eight times the rate of white males)? Is it possible that these culturaldifferences between racial groups account for the disparities in educational attainmentand incarceration rates? One would have to purposely ignore a large swath of datato push for the narrative that every major institution in America is purposely discriminatingagainst people solely based on their skin color.

❏ The Case Against Social Justice

Even if it can be granted that America is an imperfect society (which canbe said of every society), to what extent should the church get involved in political-socialactivism? It would be helpful to remember that the mission of the church is to goand make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19). Our job as a church is to savepeople’s soul from hell. The only way that can happen is for individuals to recognizetheir individual sins, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And in order for that to happen, the church needs to preach the gospel (Rom.10:14).

Now many people cite Jesus’ example of helping the poor and healing thesick as a model to engage in “holistic missions” (i.e. we preach the gospel andmake the world into a better place). However, a few qualifications are needed.

First, there is a difference between helping the poor and ending poverty. The former entails helping the poor out of a regenerated heart. That is, it is anatural act flowing from a compassionate heart. The latter is a mission, a goal,a program. Jesus certainly helped the poor, but he was not interested in endingpoverty. He healed lepers, but he did not seek to end leprosy. Jesus calls us tohave compassion, and compassion will naturally flow toward our neighbors when thesituation presents itself. But Jesus also affirmed that there will always be poverty,pain, suffering on this side of heaven (Matt. 26:11, Rom. 8:18-21). To expect thechurch to actually succeed in ridding injustice and suffering in the world, evenif we tried, is quite naïve.

Second, whatever physical healings Jesus performed served to authenticatehis preaching (Mk. 1:38, Jn. 20:30-31, Acts 2:22). The miracles and healings werenot primarily meant to make people’s lives better physically. Jesus worked thesemiracles to credit the gospel message he preached so that people can put their faithin him as the messiah. In cases where his miracles did not produce faith in himself,Jesus withheld his providence and miracles (cf. Matt. 13:58, Jn. 6:26-66). The callfor social justice today often times is an end in itself, as if somehow making theworld a better place has intrinsic value apart from regenerating the hearts of individualmen and women.

Third, whatever good we can bring to this world will ultimately be burnedup in the end when Jesus returns and makes the New Heaven and New Earth (2 Pet.3:10, Rev. 21:5). Let’s say you were on the Titanic as it was sinking into the ocean. Everyone on the ship is going down with it. But then another cruise ship comes alongto save the passengers. It would be extremely foolish to expend your energy tryingto salvage the Titanic from its inevitable demise. The proper response would beto spend all your energy getting onto the other ship and helping others to do thesame. When it comes to salvation, the analogy is the same. This world is destinedfor destruction. God is creating a new world, a new kingdom – one without sin, pain,suffering, and death. He’s calling us to believe in Jesus so we can have a placein his kingdom. But if we instead focus our efforts on salvaging this current kingdom,we’ll go down with it. Our job is not to patch up the current kingdom, but to getourselves and as many people as possible to God’s kingdom.

The goal of the church is to make disciples. If we can make the world intoa better place along the way, then great. But if not, then we are not to worry aboutit. When Jesus comes back, he will make all things new. Our job is to participatein the work of the Holy Spirit now and get people into God’s kingdom. Ten thousandyears from now, the church will not look back on this life and regret the temporalphysical sufferings we could have alleviated in this brief generation. However,we will regret the souls who suffer eternally in hell. In that place the worms neverdie and the fire never quenches. The damned are forever shut from the presence ofGod, without rest, without light, without hope. If you truly want to do the workof God, pray and work for the salvation of those yet to know Christ. Let him takecare of the rest.