Thabiti Anyabwile, a Baptist pastor in the Cayman Islands
and one of the members of the Gospel Coalition has two very important postings
for Martin Luther King Day. One is a posting on his blog, Pure Church, “A
Few Reasons King’s Vision for America Remains Unfulfilled.” The other is an
interview of him by Trillia Newbell, “What
we need to learn from the minority experience.” The latter is also on the
Gospel Coalition site.
Anyabwile begins has article on King’s vision and why it is
still unfulfilled with this:
Across the United States,
persons will commemorate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rightly so.
God used Dr. King to save America from her fratricidal hatred of her darker
brothers. In an unanticipated and much longed for historical moment orchestrated
in the councils of Divine Providence, God raised Dr. King onto the national
scene as the visionary, orator and martyr for Civil Rights. Before the
Montgomery Bus Boycott, full civil rights seemed distant and nearly impossible
to achieve. After roughly 20 years of public ministry and agitation, the denial
of full Civil Rights seemed unthinkable. What happened in between must surely
be one of the most remarkable records of God’s deliverance of any people in any
place.
After explaining how King should be seen as the only true
American hero since the ending of WWII, Anyabwile gives several reasons why the
dreams are not fulfilled. One is the lack of any in-depth knowledge of King,
his concerns, purposes and writings. Anyabwile writes, “Most Americans–White
and Black–know little more of King than the fact that he was a preacher and a
“slain civil rights leader.” Fewer still have read any of his writing while
assigning him iconic status. But the problem with icons is that they rarely
communicate the depth and substance of the thing pictured.”
Anyabwile goes on to write of the impersonal American wars
of our times, which include the use of drones in “civilian areas,” and of
President Obama and abortion. He writes:
Does anyone else find it a
tragically sad irony that the new icon of civil rights progress, President
Obama, has with his presidential policies regarding abortion ended untold
numbers of Black lives when King fought to save them? President Obama’s
position on abortion actually represents the most vile and fundamental betrayal
of King’s legacy. King fought against the country so that the country might
live up to its ideals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” King
sought the extension of life and the full thriving of humanity for African
Americans who were systematically denied it. President Obama’s policy
systematic ends life even before it begins. His policy on abortion must surely
be the grossest violation of basic humanity and civil rights in American
history. Grossest because his victims are unborn and defenseless children.
Those with tender consciences will object to this word choice, but we can only
call the President’s policy and its effects “demonic.”
These are strong and important words with a clarity that should
cause many to take notice. There are also words on King’s view of the “Beloved Community.”
Read the article here: A
Few Reasons King’s Vision for America Remains Unfulfilled.
The other article, an interview, centers on how Christians in
the United States might learn from the minority experiences of the black
community, as they themselves enter into a similar experience. To get a sense
of the kinds of answers that one can find in this article here are two of
Anyabwile’s thoughts:
3. Learn
how to suffer.
What American believers are now
calling "persecution" is mild compared to the brutality Christians
face in other parts of the world. What we're facing is almost loving treatment
compared to what African Americans from the early 1600s beyond the mid-1900s
faced. Black people have been a suffering people and have managed to endure
that suffering with tremendous dignity. Right now, the church in the United
States doesn't seem to know how to bear reproach very well. The theologies
dominating the airwaves are prosperity theologies—of the materialistic
word-faith type as well as of the more mainstream American triumphalistic and
moralistic type. So when the church hurts it quickly finds the fetal position
and whines its way through the conflict. African Americans didn't have that
luxury of meeting suffering with whining—and no one was listening! We had to
learn that suffering wasn't the end, and that our humanity was proven by our
suffering even if it was sometimes distorted by it as well. The church must
draw from those resources.
4. Learn
how to persevere when everything is against you.
Are we going to close our
churches, withdraw from the public square, avoid our neighbors, and hide our
faith because we're opposed? We won't if we're genuinely Christians. We'll have
to press on in the face of minority status and systemic repression. This also
means learning not to whine and to get on with living. So what if the deck is
stacked? It's not going to change by complaining. No one is going to give you
anything. If you have a case to make, you're going to have to make it from the
floor of the lion's den. Everything about it is unfair. Get over it. Get on
with it.
Again here is the link to the article, “What
we need to learn from the minority experience.”
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