Christians and Race

[eddie1987]

Dr. Mike:

I am one of your out of state listeners to your podcast, which I listened to over the weekend.  The topic was Christians and Race.  First, thank you for your podcasts (I've listened to several of them).  You are very fair, and even when I don't agree with you 100% I feel like you have given the specific issue much thought with the Bible as your authority.

I believe racism is sinful, in general, because it violates the command to love our neighbor as ourself.  And as Christians we are to consider others as more important than ourselves.  There is probably specific scriptural authority against racism as well, though I haven't studied it in depth.

During the podcast, the subject of George Floyd's death came up, which was tragic and most likely a clear case of police brutality.  George Floyd's death was universally condemned as unjustified from both ends of the political spectrum.  You, your guest, and the moderator discussed George Floyd's death with the assumption that he was a victim of either police racism or systemic racism.  Yet I didn't hear any specifics about what made it an act of racism other than the fact that the police officer was white and George Floyd was black.  If there is evidence of racism, I haven't heard or seen it, but you may have?  But in addition to George Floyd we have observed terrible civil/racial unrest following several other unarmed blacks being injured or killed by police officers.

Finally, here are my questions:

1.  Is it un-Christian for us to even ask the basic question on a case-by-case basis:  what makes this incident racist?  Or should we just assume it's racist since our black brothers and sisters have experienced racism and we shouldn't really question their perspective?  I have a feeling that if you had asked your guest these questions, he would not have appreciated letting the facts get in the way of the assumed "narrative", but maybe I'm wrong.

2.  If George Floyd was white, would we even be talking about his death, much less having to endure civil unrest and rioting that was triggered by it?  (I think not, since there are many many unjustified white on white police killings we never hear about, and what about all the black on black murders all over the country that get no attention, but I would be interested in hearing your perspective).

3.  Do we risk bearing false witness (via false accusation) against the white police officer by accusing him of being a racist without any evidence that racism played any part in George Floyd's death?  Why can't we just say the officer appears to have violated God's law because he assaulted and killed George Floyd, who bears God's image.  The officer clearly devalued the man's life, regardless of the color of either man's skin color.  If we falsely accuse the police officer of being motivated by race, without any evidence, isn't that an offense to God?  I don't know how many listeners you have, but are you concerned you have broadcasted this all over the world without any evidence?

Thank you again for your podcast, and I look forward to your responses.

[Mike Miller]

Hi! Thanks for listening. And thanks for these excellent questions. First, let me say that I didn't mean to imply that I know for certain that George Floyd's death was racially motivated. I honestly don't know. The point I was trying to make was that seeing a white police officer unlawfully brutalize a man of color is something that hurts the black community--whether racism is the motivation or not--because they do have a history of being treated differently than white people in some cases (not universally, of course). If I was not clear about that, I apologize. Now to your questions:

1. Honest questions posed in an effort to know the truth are never un-Christian. I don't think Robert White would disagree with that at all (but I'll ask if he would mind responding here as well). I am of the opinion that Christians should never assume the worst of anyone, but that we should always assume the best unless there is adequate reason to do otherwise. As for questioning the perspective of people of color, I think we should also assume the best--that they have good reasons for their perspective. I think having conversations across racial lines in an effort to better understand each other is always helpful.

2. I hope we would be talking about such a death if the victim were white, but I don't know. The truth remains that many black people have been singled out/profiled by police for the color of their skin (again, not universally), and white people have not. That's why a case like this gets so much attention. It is at least perceived as further evidence of a problem, whether racially motivated or not.

3. Accusing anyone of any kind of wrongdoing without knowing the facts is wrong and definitely risks bearing false witness (and if I did this, I am sorry). I do not agree with accusations of racism unless there is evidence to support those accusations.

Thanks again for engaging on this topic. I'd love to hear from you further.

[eddie1987]

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate that you would spend time to answer my LONG question! I certainly don't blame you for discussing George Floyd as if he was a victim of racism. Everybody was doing it, and the black community was hurt and we want to comfort them. But are we really expressing love to our hurting brothers and sisters when we promote a false narrative in order to comfort them? Every funeral I go to we are told the our friend or family member is now in heaven with the Lord, even though we know that's probably not true in every case, but the minister is trying to comfort us. The truth might actually be more comforting. If blacks realized that racism is rarely a motivation behind these terrible incidents, then maybe they could start looking at each case independently, case-by-case, instead of assuming that white police officers are racist when a black person is hurt or killed. I know a lot of blacks who do not assume racism, and they are not shy about pointing it out when it is clearly evident. They see white people's promoting this narrative as very patronizing, even if well-intended. Thank you again for you time.