“On Evangelical Paradoxes” (Part 2)

Two years ago, I signed a book contract with @wipfandstock to publish a text tentatively called “Evangelical Paradoxes: American Evangelicalism and the Destruction of American Christianity.” The book is a critique on “the evangelical worldview” and to engage some of the socio-political ills and cultural malaise in contemporary American Evangelicalism. (Yet these issues and “evangelical practices” have deep theological foundations and associations.) It is also a very personal book, as I attempt to chronicle my own struggles to understand how Evangelicals have responded and continue to react to some of the most urgent issues of our time and in our culture, such as political party’s affiliation and advocacy, immigration, police brutality, mass incarceration, abortion, white supremacy, race, gender and sexuality issues, social justice issues, etc.

I also attempt to write about my personal journey in Evangelical schools and circles such as @BCF, @SBTS, & @SWBTS and express my discontent about the theological curriculum and religious education in my own affiliated denomination, which are very inclusive, white, male, ideological, homogeneous, and monolithic. The book is also a critique on the problem of diversity, Christian fellowship, and interracial relations in Evangelical circles and Christian churches in America.

In addition, I explain my experience with race and of racism and “cultural prejudice” in the schools cited above, as well as the humiliation and isolation that I have endured in Evangelical places. “Evangelical Paradoxes” is intended for pastors, seminarians, and lay people. My ultimate goal for writing this book is threefold: (1) to disturb the evangelical conscience; (2) to foster candid conversations among Christians around these pivotal and problematic issues; and (3) to redirect the Evangelical conscience from its crave for political power and cultural influence to embrace a Christ-centered politics and ethics, and a Biblical-centered anthropological relationality that give primacy to hospitality, self-sacrifice, servant leadership, mutual reciprocity, justice, and compassion, as well as to attend to the existential needs (and be concerned about the living conditions) of the poor, the vulnerable, and the economically-disadvantaged populations in this country. As I am wrapping up this manuscript, I begin to think seriously about how this book will be received among friends whom I dearly love and the schools that I have trained me and informed me theologically, but not socially. (The latter I received from my secular education at the University.)

On the other hand, and in the course of time, I have written two manuscripts to engage the notion I call “Evangelical Paradoxes.” Two weeks ago, I submitted the second volume (about 400 pages) to the publisher even before I was through with the first volume (about 400 pages also). The second volume, “Theologizing in Black,” is intended for scholars and Christian thinkers, while the first one is directed toward the people in the pew and the thinking christian. The second volume attempts to provide some possible solutions to the Evangelical paradoxes. It seems to me that the second volume will be first published, as I intend to submit volume one to the publisher by the beginning of August this year. Yet the first volume is a very personal book. It reveals mon cri de coeur for shalom, renewal, transformation, and a kind of radically Gospel-centered rebirth in contemporary American Christianity.

The more I study American Christianity and American Evangelicalism, the more I am realizing that contemporary American Evangelicals have destroyed Biblical Christianity and have become perhaps the greatest enemy of the Gospel and perhaps the greatest opponents of social justice and racial issues in this culture.

May God give us enough grace and radically transform the Christian conscience in this nation to turn away from its obsession with cultural practices, religious habitus, and political idols that have taken captive the liberative message and teachings of Christ to become a dangerous community of faith that champions human flourishing, the common good, and a great people who embodies God’s grace compassion, humility, and love in public!

“On Christian Miracles and “Religious Myths”

It is interesting to imagine that the things that are called “myths” and “legends” in various religious traditions and in the field of (secular) anthropology are called “miracles” in Christianity. Two examples of the latter are the incarnation of God in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth and his bodily resurrection substantiated by eyewitness testimony—the two cardinal truths of Christianity concerning the (divine) identity and (soteriological) function of Jesus Christ. If one wants to truly embrace the Christian message, one has to believe in the supposedly “christian myths and legends.” Hence, one can infer that the essence of Christianity is embedded in its myths.

By contrast, Orthodox Christianity uses the language of myth and legend to label what might be considered supernatural phenomena and events in other religious traditions. In this way, Orthodox Christianity establishes its distinctive religious identity and truth-claims from other religious faiths and its bold claim of divine origin or authorship.

“Evangelical Paradox # 1”

(Evangelical) Christian history in the United States of America is a narrative of redemption and conflict, but not a story of reconciliation and unity. The notion of redemption here is often portrayed as spiritual, but the narrative of conflict is social and interpersonal. Evangelical theologians accentuate the significance of the Gospel as spiritual transformation; yet they jettison the social aspect and responsibility embedded in the content and message of the Gospel to manage/solve conflict and achieve reconciliation and unity.

Theologically speaking, redemption just like the concept of biblical justification and justice has both a spiritual & social dimension. Evangelicals emphasize the former while undermining the power & value of the latter. Contemporary American Evangelicals must admit these are deep “Gospel problems” of our times that need to be resolved. Gospel issues are also social and human problems that need to be diagnosed, effectively treated, and taken seriously.

The practical truth is this: American Christians or Evangelicals have never been reconciled socially and interpersonally; hence, the promise of Gospel unity, interracial harmony, & ethnic bonding in society and Christian circles and Churches will continue to be delayed.

The attitude of American Christians toward redemption & conflict resolution & their unwillingness to alter their ways and behavior to support one another and promote the dignity of all people will continue postponing the manifestation and empowering presence of the the Spirit in their lives and his cleansing intervention to heal their deepest wounds.

“Natural Evil and Disasters and Haitian Reponse Toward Religious Belief and Spiritual Conversion”

Haiti is often called the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. It is also one of the top countries in the Americas that has often affected by natural disasters and natural evil. The goal of this presentation is threefold. First, it provides an overview of the major natural disasters that have complicated the human condition in Haiti. Second, it explores the ecological problem that has contributed to Haiti’s underdevelopment and infrastructures, and the collective suffering of the Haitian people. Third, it engages the religious response to this Haitian crisis, chiefly how Evangelical (American) Christians and American religious-supported NGOs atttempted to assist Haitian victims and alleviate their pain– especially in the contest of the most deadly earthquake (Janurary 10, 2010) that has devastated the nation of Haiti, contributed to the tragic death of 300,000 human lives, and caused about a billion dollars in infrastructure damages and deficit. As a result, this paper also investigates how natural disasters have hightened collective response to faith and religious conversion in Haiti, resulting in the tremendous increase of Haiti’s Protestant population in the past 50 years. Toward this goal, this paper incorporates the socio-historical theory of religion and spiritual conversion, as this phenomenon has shifted the Haitian response to religion or attitude toward faith.

To say Yahweh is the sovereign Governor of the universe is to make a political statement and to assume that all forms of human government and political administration share in Yahweh’s political power and control.

Spiritual Formation and Leadership Training Director

“A Man Between Two Worlds”

I’m happy to live in the United States, but am glad that I was born in Haiti. I rejoice that I left my soul in Ayiti cherie 🇭🇹, but I’m delighted that my heart is buried in America 🇺🇸.

When I die, I want both worlds to be reconciled in my Haitian-American body, and both lives to be united in my next life and future.

When I die, I want my soul to be migrated to America and my heart to be transferred to Haiti.

When I die, I don’t want to be resurrected in both countries or in one or the other; rather, I want a new nation to rise from my experience in both worlds.

When I die, I don’t want anyone to whisper the Haitian “La Dessalinienne” or the America “The Star-Spangler Banner”; rather, I want a new hymn, a new anthem, and a new melody to be made from both anthems.

When I die, I will leave behind in both worlds the “Haitian-American” hyphen; I want to meet God as a son, and hug Jesus as his image bearer.

God Will Win At the End….

The biggest problem with humanity in relation to God is not natural sin per se, but the control and pursue of sovereignty. God has an intended plan for everyone and humanity as a whole; therefore, he desires all individuals and all people to walk humbly before him and under his sovereign control.

On the other hand, man and woman have their own desires and plans that are somewhat autonomous and more often contrary to those of God. They want to pursue their own desires and objectives without any divine interference or external constraint. The desire for man and woman to live in isolation of God’s sovereign grace and sovereign will belittles the glory and majesty of God in the world. It is an act of dehumanization and human pride that challenges the authority of God and questions God’s loving-kindness.

The crisis between God and humanity is the passion to be (totally) autonomous and sovereign. Human sovereignty apart from God’s tutelage is one of the gravest transgressions committed against God the Sovereign Lord and most Loving King. While we human beings may act autonomously or long for sovereignty, which defies the pedagogy of God’s sacredness, God will ultimately win at the end.

“The Legacy of Jesus the Palestinian-Jewish Peasant and the Meaning of Biblical Christianity for Today”

Christianity is a religion of the poor as its founder-Savior was a poor Palestinian-Jewish peasant who had no where to lay his head because he was born to an economically-disavantaged class and family.

This poor Messiah from the ancient Region of Galilee, located in Northern Israel, lived in an environment that was crushed by abject poverty and hunger, and terrible living conditions. The people of his surroundings were subject to all kinds of social ills and political woes. Socially, like him they experienced dire poverty and hunger; they suffered all kinds of illnesses including end-of-life diseases; the well-to-do and power-seeking religious class and leaders humiliated them and isolated them from religious fellowship and social interactions; and these poor Galileans constituted a large pool of individuals who lived on the margins of society including prostitutes, addicts, underclass fishermen, beggars, the intellectually and mentally-challenged, the crippled, the physically-handicapped, the disabled, those with speech problems, etc. He taught them that God was on their side and for their liberation and welfare.

He became their friends while other individuals in society did not want to associate with them. He hanged out with them, ate (tablefellowshiped) with them, fed them, and cured their illnesses. As a custom, he spent his entire day teaching them about a God who loved them and cared about their daily needs and life necessities including the food they had to eat to sustain them physically and the clothes they had to wear to look presentable in society. He also taught these underclass peasants and oppressed individuals how to be good to other poor people like them and be compassionate to all people. He offered to them good moral and ethical principles to live by and persuaded them to imitate his character and religious life pattern. He taught them deep things about God their Creator and Sustainer. Through his teachings, he used figures of speech and metaphors to reveal to them about the character and virtues of God, which they also must covet and teach to others. He told them to pursue what makes God happy, to do what God likes, and oppose what God dislikes such as injustice, oppression, abuse, and all kinds of human sin and transgressions. He also inferred in his teachings that God was the God of the poor and oppressed people.

This poor Galilean Messiah also instructed his followers and friends to love and practice justice where they lived and to take a stand for what is right, honorable, and moral in their community. He charged them to be a community of conviction and correspondingly to be a people who are known in society for their righteous actions and love of justice just like God their Father and Creator.

He also taught them to care for other poor and oppressed people like them in society by attending to their needs and life necessities: giving food to the hungry; clothing the naked; assisting the sick; visiting the prisoner; supporting the economically-disavantaged; caring for the orphan and the widow; showing hospitality and love to the stranger and the visitor among them; and loving and treating all people equally, equitably, and indiscriminately.

Although those colonized (they lived under the political yoke and the colonial burden of Roman Empire.) and uneducated peasants suffered all kinds of abuse, injustice, and exploitation (i.e. class, gender, social, religious, political) from those in seats of power and influence, he instructed them not to worry about their living conditions because God will make provisions for them; not to retaliate against their oppressors and exploiters because God will give them justice and punish their oppressors; not to be troublemakers because God has called them to be peacemakers and ambassadors of justice and reconciliation; and not to be a power-hungry-and-seeking community because God will humble the pride and raise the weak.

Yet this poor Galilean Messiah convinced his followers to go change society and the world by living his legacy and teaching all things he had taught them to all people: to love all people, to tell all people to repent of their evil ways and turn to God for liberation, to practice justice and forgiveness, to oppose in society what is unjust and anti-human, and to imitate his ways and his ethic. His followers believed that he practically embodied in his life and his teachings what God is like in character and nature. In fact, they believed Jesus of Nazareth was not only the Savior of the world, but the most terrifying truth about this poor Palestinian-Jewish peasant is this: God existed in the person and actions of Jesus. In Him, God experienced full humanity and what it meant to be weak, vulnerable, economically poor, politically oppressed and subjugated, morally dehumanized and demonized, and socially isolated and abandoned.

God is not the God of the philosopher or the bourgeois-theologian or the arrogant rich who trusts in his wealth for comfort and stability, but the God of the poor and the most vulnerable people in society who have no cultural status, political power, or any constructive human resources to offer to God, but a humble heart and submissive will.

“Going to the #SBC19? Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from @tomascol @JoshBuice @TomBuck @PreacherMiller and Tom Nettles as they discuss the issues of social justice. https://t.co/T5qGXMDDnQ #WokeChurch #SBC #SocialJustice https://t.co/2Bo9fIfY5F””

A bunch of white guys, including a retired SBTS Professor, getting together to talk about social justice in the church? Are you serious? What a shame!

This is a clear example of how white privilege and white supremacy operate in today’s American Evangelicalism and Christian circles.

It would have been a much better & Gospel-centered choice for these gentlemen to meet to discuss what the Church in the twenty-first century can do to end police brutality, mass incarceration, anti-immigrant laws, sex slave & trafficking in America, poverty and gun violence in the hood and the ghetto, improving our broken education system in our dysfunctional schools, attending to the needs of the poor widow and the single mother of four children who can’t afford healthcare and pay for their overdue medical bills, etc. These are Gospel issues, folks!

***Did you notice the “Black Power” Fist on the social justice’s graphic?

#Unbelievable!

These are the same individuals who believe they have authority and cultural credentials to tutor people on racial reconciliation and unity in the church!

How shall one pursue unity and improve interracial relations in the church and society in that context?

***The Gospel is also about justice of God in society and his plan to create a new humanity, created order, and a new government that are socially and politically just and equitable– in Jesus Christ. The promise of total and global justice is the promise of the Gospel and it is not just a future or eschatological event. Justice including its divine, biblical, social, economic, political, judicial, legal (i.e food justice, water justice, education justice, healthcare justice) etc., aspects are all embedded in the content and message of the Gospel. God the Creator of all people and the Sustainer of the world, through the Gospel of Christ, has called both men and women, both government and society, both christian and non-christian, and both religious and non-religious, not only to repent of their sins to find hope in Jesus alone, but also to practice and pursue justice and compassion in all spheres of life and areas of the social order.

The Gospel is about the justice of God in society and in the world, and one of those “justices” has a social component. The Word of God always calls men and women in both civil and political societies not just to make a spiritual decision for Christ; correspondingly, the Gospel has called men and women to make moral decisions and ethical choices and to orchestra and live by moral principles and political structures that are just and godly, which could contribute to a transformed society and human flourishing in the present. Hence, public policies (i.e.state, county, local) and Federal laws should be democratically just and equitable; they should not disenfranchise the most vulnerable and economically-disavantaged populations in our society nor place their lives on the margins.

The Gospel is not just what one just believes theologically and affirms intellectually. It is also the ethical and moral principles that one inhabits and lives out in the world and in relation to other individuals. The Gospel is not just a set of theological beliefs one embraces; It is also a set of practical convictional actions one performs. The Gospel is about identifying with Christ, imitaring his gracious and redeeming character, and demonstrating in public his liberative teachings and actions for the transformation of both spiritial condition and living conditions of human beings.