What Position Should Christians Take on the Michael Brown Shooting?

I had thought that the highly divisive case of George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin was spitting our nation and maybe our churches, often along racial and political lines. I remember how bitterly uncivil our conversations could get when any mention of either name was mentioned. Even in our family and in our local congregation, we refrained from mentioning the case because of the controversies. Currently, a case, located very close to where I live--Ferguson, Missouri--has proved to be just as controversial and divisive. We hesitate to discuss the case even with family or close friends whom we sense may disagree with us.

I'm talking about the Officer Darren Wilson/Michael Brown case.

Since this current case broke over two weeks ago, it has continued to unfold. I remember when I first heard about the 18 year old being gunned down, and that it happened right in my area. I learned about it in the local morning news; later in the day it was mentioned in the national news. That evening, we were saddened to watch our local news show, in real-time, the looting that took place, that night, in response to the shooting. A couple family members dismissed the perpetrators as thugs: "They are scumbags. They don't care about that teenager who was just killed; they just want to steal from stores and cause trouble." It didn't do any good for me to counter: "There is no excuse for that and they are just giving that community a bad name. But these people probably grew up with hopelessness from the beginning; they don't see anything to look forward to and so they decide to grab all the gusto they can." The offending officer had kept his name secret for over a week. We still know little about him, except that he was divorced, had no disciplinary history, and claims that he shot Brown in self-defense, feeling bad about "having to do so." From the beginning, protesters have been marching in the streets to call for justice for Brown and to end unjustified police shootings. One or two autopsies reveal that Brown was shot at least six times. And this case continues to unfold before our eyes.

In this over this past week, dozens and dozens of arrests were done in Ferguson. Police officers, heavily armed, arrested even journalists just doing their jobs and one protester who was a Holocaust survivor. Protesters, often harassed by cops and pepper-sprayed, marched in the streets to show their anger and frustration at the devaluing of Black lives. This recent shooting, the last straw in long line of cases of the shooting of Blacks who had not gotten any justice, has drawn the Black community together. Our Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon, even called for a curfew and declared a state of disaster. Later, he summoned the National Guard and Ferguson looked like a scene out of the Middle East. Most of this has died down, fortunately. The St. Louis Prosecutor on this Brown case, having lost a loved one at the hands of a Black youth and with strong ties to police officers, is seen to be unable to be unbiased on this case. Yet even after many of us signed a petition for him to resign, he rejected the 70,000 signatures and our Governor, Jay Nixon, said no to calls to ask him to step down. Currently, an audiotape, currently unconfirmed as legitimate, reveals up to ten or eleven gunshots were fired and a conversation was engaged in at the time. Who knows what will be learned tomorrow?

I have seen many comments that have been trashing Brown, just like Martin was trashed when his case was front and center. Even in a Christian publication, Brown was called a "thug" just as Martin was called a "thug" on a Christian pro-life Facebook page. Brothers and sisters in Christ, would Jesus have referred to anyone, let alone any teen gunned down, as a "thug"? I don't think He would. Maybe we should not, either, whatever we may think of Brown or Martin or other victims who have been exposed as not living squeaky-clean lives. What can a video of thievery or possibly doctored photos tell us about the character of a person, anyway? In the case of Brown, when the suspect cop released his name, he released a video that sparked outrage in the Black community because it made Brown look bad. In the video, Brown was involved in stealing and assault of a store clerk minutes before he was shot and killed. In the Trayvon Martin case, Zimmerman supporters hacked into Martin's supposed Twitter account, which showed pics of Martin flipping his "birdie," puffing on marijuana and brandishing a gun. It showed tweets full of foul language. I cannot count the number of times when Christians have posted articles that posted articles that cast Martin as a person who caused his own death, and that capitalized on that leaked material from his supposed Twitter account. An account that may have been hacked. Hacking websites is a felony and can crime-based "evidence" be the basis to discern anything? Christian Pastors have criticized Martin and defended Zimmerman. Is it no surprise to us that, sadly, many Blacks are converting to Islam because they are being turned off by many of us in the Christian Church?

What can we do about this? Here are some steps to regaining credibility with more people in the Black community: Listen to Black people, especially those closest to us. If we are Caucasian, we need to admit the reality of "white privilege," even those of us who may feel oppressed in other ways, because of disabilities, gender or class. We need to apologize for "the sins of our fathers," and maybe our own (if applicable). We need to talk about racism and admit that it remains alive and well. We need to pray for loving Christian ministry among those in the inner-city ghettos and be willing to become an answer to our prayers if called to be that.

And as for our law enforcement, they need better race relations understanding and training in difficult situations, involving people with racial or disability differences or other differences. Police shootings based on poor training needs to stop. As suggested, maybe more Blacks should be encouraged to become police officers. If you are tired of hearing about Michael Brown and Ferguson, think about how those with racial and other differences are tired of how so many in law enforcement deal with them.

Time will not make this racial discussion go away. Only prayer and action will. Aren't we tired about hearing of Micheal Browns or Trayvon Martins?

Why We Christians Must Pay Attention to Iraq & Radical Islam

It has been a few weeks that many of us in the Christian community have been aware of a genocide. It has been unfolding in the international news. It has finally gotten President Obama's attention. Many of us, who follow the news of persecuted believers worldwide, have been aware of this growing war for awhile before that. One nonprofit states that they saw this exact thing coming years in advance. This is being driven by a radical element. An element that shows signs of impacting us in the West if we do not become proactive in educating ourselves and speaking up.

I'm talking global persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, and radical Islam.

According to my Facebook experience, persecution nonprofits have hundreds of thousands of page "likes" on their pages. That is good. But there are millions of people, in the US alone, who call themselves Christians. In over the past week, in my Facebook Newsfeed, I have seen far more posts about the police shooting of eighteen year old Michael Brown than I have about the atrocities going on in Iraq at this time, let alone the crimes against our brothers and sisters in Jesus (and other religious minorities) in other parts of the world. Yes, Michael Brown was a young man whom Jesus loved and died for, and God's heart was broken, is broken, at his death. He is grieved at is what has been going on in Ferguson, Missouri, for over a week. But our national and international media, which was faithfully covering the radical Muslim (known as ISIS) atrocities against the Iraqi people last week, has been covering the Michael Brown case far more now. What does this say about us, whether Christians or non-Christians?

Obviously, many of us are much more drawn to or energized by sensational and controversial cases like Michael Brown. Persecution against religious minorities, mostly our brothers and sisters in Jesus, cannot be sensationalized like many of our domestic celebrity scandals or many of our true crime stories. Coverage of radical Islamists and their acts of terror cannot be sensationalized and we universally denounce their acts of terror. The media give us what we want to hear, what fascinates us. The horrors of global persecution of fellow believers and the terrorist acts of radical Islamists plain do not fascinate even most of us Christians. Maybe it is because these terrorists and their victims seem distant and unreal to us. Maybe it is because it is all so depressing to think about it. I know that many of us and our families are facing real problems. Though we believe God, we may not want to hear any more problems. We may not feel that speaking out against the atrocities of radical Islamists or persecuted fellow believers, are "our calling." After all, as Christians, we are focused on other worthy missions. That is wonderful. But does that rule out taking time to educate ourselves about global religious persecution and about probably the greatest world religion enemy of Christians (and of all people, including moderate Muslims)--radical Islam.

Besides, what does radical Islam have to do with us in the West? How does it affect us, anyway?

Sadly, it has taken the recent beheading of a courageous American journalist, to bring this home and get more of us to take seriously the atrocities that have already been going on for many weeks. Guess what? Radical Islamists do not wish to stop there, either. Noise is being made about their plans to bring more of this to the West. Plans are made to traffic girls in parts of Western Europe, and to attack more and more interests of the US. Will we ever learn, not only nationally, but also spiritually?

We know, as Christians, that we have been called to care for those in need. We are called to "Remember those in chains, as though bound with them." And yet, it seems that many, maybe most, Pastors and members are silent on global religious persecution. I have never heard it preached from a pulpit, ever. I have never heard it discussed in any Bible study. I suspect that many in my network on Facebook, who call themselves believers, appear not to see my posts that pertain to the persecution of our global Church family, or my invitations to join my Facebook group. I read a recent book about the radical Muslim war against Christians, with many, many heartbreaking stories about atrocities against Christians all over the world, including children. The author, Raymond Ibrahim, states that ignorance of global religious persecution not only enables radical Islamists to persecute Christians all the more, but this can empower these terrorists to Islamize us in the West! Is that what we want? There are graphic, heart-wrenching photos of instances of this savage persecution, including adults holding a child's dead body. Some of us may have heard of the stories of the genocide of religious minorities, mostly our brothers and sisters in Christ. But we may believe we are helpless and unable to do a thing, so why bother trying? But there are things we can do to educate ourselves about radical Islam and about global religious persecution. May I share a few with you?

Educate yourself about radical Islam here.

If you use Facebook, join this group.

To learn about persecuted Christians and how to show them your support, go here.

A Few Ways to Help Iraq

So much has been happening over these past few days involving loss of life. A senseless shooting near my area that was done by the powerful against the powerless. An apparent suicide by a beloved celebrity who seemed to have everything to live for. But one situation is more urgent, more desperate, more disturbing and more heartbreaking. Why? The murders are being committed on a mass scale. The victims are our brothers and sisters in Christ (for the most part). The survivors are suffering endlessly.

If you have been following the news at all, you have heard about the dire situation in Iraq. You may have seen the heartbreaking and graphic images of suffering, terror and bloodshed. You may, like me, wrestle with feelings of helplessness and perplexity. You may admire the heroic efforts of those who are right there, on the ground, helping these endlessly suffering individuals. You, like me, are probably in no position to go and help our suffering brothers and sisters in Jesus. If you have been hearing about the beheading of children, the raping and murders of women, and the hangings of men, you are no doubt sickened, disgusted and heartbroken. Yet what can we ordinary people do to begin to be a solution?

1). Pray, pray, pray. We can all pray, as Christians. We need to pray that God will use these horrors to open the hearts of radical and moderate Muslims and grant many "Saul to Paul" conversions to many Muslims in and out of Iraq. We need to pray that survivors of these horrors will be given safety, shelter, care, and peace. Let's pray for God's mercy and comfort the Christians remaining in Iraq, many elderly or disabled and forced to convert to Islam. WE need to call on God to deliver Iraq. God uses our prayers to work His wonders!

2). Advocacy. Get the word out and tell others! It is clear that use of social media for advocacy can make a powerful difference, and the more we post about this, the more people will be reminded that this is not going away and remains urgent! You can start with sharing this post. If you use Facebook, join my group right here.

3). Give. If you feel it in your heart to do this, there are two nonprofits that exist to serve our persecuted brothers and sisters in Jesus all over the world. Both have accessible giving tabs if you elect to give online. They have physical addresses for those who prefer to send checks or money orders. These nonprofits are Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors.

The time clock keeps ticking for these believers, even as they will need help over the long haul. WE can help, at least in the first two ways.

Are Sociopaths and Sex Offenders Beyond Redemption?

A psychological condition or a character trait that cannot be rehabilitated? A Pattern of behavior that is impossible to change? Yes to both. When most of us, even Christians, discuss or think of certain traits of character or certain behaviors, we put them in a class of their own. "This person is beyond rehabilitation. Put him or her away forever. Change is not possible" or "This person will re-offend; you can count on it. Lock him or her up and throw away the key." Are some people just incapable of change?

The Belief of Who Cannot Be Rehabilitated

Persons exposed as sex offenders are almost universally believed to be people who cannot learn new attitudes and behaviors and change course in life. Most of us, Christian and non-Christian, would (and may have said) "They will re-offend." "People like that will never change." "That is the way they are and that is why they must be kept away from us and our children." I don't think I need to define who sex offenders are, except that while many target women, many others target girls or boys. Sociopaths are psychopaths, especially if officially diagnosed, are seen as "incurable." Sociopathy (defined as the condition in relation to the society the person lives in) and psychopathy (defined as in relation of the person to his own emotional state) are defined as the "lack of a conscience" and the "inability of a person to feel or exhibit empathy." I have heard so many commentators and talk show hosts and guests say that no person with either of these conditions can ever change, as "by definition" they lack the conscience that would even motivate them to change. But are sex offenders and sociopaths actually unable to change? How would the Bible address that?

Sin, Repentance & Transformation

From a purely human standpoint, these persons and indeed all of us, are hopeless. Left to ourselves and our own powers, we are unable to change our motives, attitudes, and behaviors. "People like that do not change," is often said of many people with life-dominating character flaws. Left to ourselves, that statement is true of any of us. It does NOT matter if the sin is pedophilia or gossiping. It does not matter if the sin is sociopathy or greed. It does not matter if the sin is psychopathy or pride. Jesus taught, "Everyone who sins is a slave of sin." He said that not to any notorious sinner, but to the self-righteous religious leaders! He was talking about them, specifically, but he had anyone without Him in mind. But He added, "But if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed!" May I suggest That this would include any sex offender or psychopathy, who truly repents of their sin and trusts in Jesus to save them from its power, as that promise applies to any of us?

Forgiven People May Have to Face Consequences

The fact that even violent or "gross" sinners can be forgiven and live changed lives, does not negate one fact of life! Forgiven sinners may still have to face consequences, often for the protection of society. Years ago, Karla Faye Tucker, who brutally murdered a woman, had to face execution. This was in spite of the fact that, during her imprisonment, she professed to have receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. But even she had embraced the fact that she was forgiven and had found peace in that, her obviously changed heart made her willing to face her execution, though she had expressed a desire to be kept alive "so I can share Jesus with other prison inmates." Karla faced her death with peace. I had seen and her as she was facing her final moments. Convicted sex offenders and murderers and other criminals, even when they turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior, should still face the consequences of their crimes. This is to protect society and to keep people free of fear. Also, we Christians retain our sinful natures until death and are subject to temptation. But, praise God, redemption is possible for all, despite the need to maybe face the fallout from our wrong acts or poor choices!
Praise God!