The Birmingham Void

democratic America?

This semester I am dedicating a 30pg research paper to the creation of anti-lynching legislation in Alabama. Who was in favor? Who was opposed to anti-lynching legislation? Was anyone prosecuted for lynching? How did lynching occur in democratic America? These are the questions I hope to answer.

I choke just saying the word "lynching". One cannot find a more savage act in 20th century America. This was not Russia under Stalin or Germany under Hitler. This was America under the Bill of Rights. Yet all avenues of justice were cut off to satisfy animalistic desires of supremacy and calm irrational fears of danger. What it is even more disturbing is the notion that those who performed lynchings had the audacity to praise God the next Sunday with blood stained hands. What are the social and psychological consequences of lynching? How deep are the mental and emotional wounds left by lynchings?

W.E.B. DuBois spoke of a veil between the races in The Soul of Black Folks. In 2006 I see the veil being transformed into a void. There is a void in Birmingham today that has created a gulf between those who don't look alike. I see it everywhere as I walk the streets of downtown. While people of different shades pass in silence, yet strangers of similar pigment great each other like close relatives. I don't mean to say Birmingham is alone in creating the void. The void is being created in most cities across America and sadly in many churches. The void prevents fellow human beings from communicating with each other. The lack of communication allows people to mistake irrational assumptions for truth. If we mistake assumption for truth, then we consequently mistake murder for justice. When we mistake murder for justice, then inevitably we will lynch.

How do we bridge the gulf the act of lynching has helped to create? How do we fill the void? Again the answer can be found in the unconditional love of Jesus Christ who was himself the victim of a Roman lynch mob. If fear, vengeance and hate created the void, then we have to fill it with trust, forgiveness and love. Is it possible to fill the void? Absolutely. If the unconditional love of Jesus Christ can fill the void between us and God, then it is through the same unconditional love that we may one day soon fill the Birmingham void.


CJE


Coming Next Week: War Before Education Pt. 2

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The History of Christ

The history of Christ

"The reason I cannot be a pacifist is because of my long-time study of history and especially German history. I saw what the likes of Hitler, Himmler, and Heydrich and others did when gentle souls "turned the other cheek." Instead of modifying their behavior, they took such actions as signs of weakness and increased the level of their atrocities. Nevertheless, I admire the Quakers greatly and I see a firm place for them in this turbulent world."
- Dr. Tent




It's hard to believe it's been over a month since my last post. My post on Ira has taken on extreme importance for me in light of Ira's return to the hospital. I felt obligated to keep Ira's story front and center so people wouldn't forget. I hope to post more often, but to be honest my thoughts and hope are with Ira's slow and intense recovery.

Today's post is inspired by the quote above by my graduate professor last semester. The quote comes from the end of his critique of my oral presentation on the pacifist Quaker organization, AFSC, which provided relief aid in wartime. On the surface the quote makes a legitimate defense for just-war theory, but the Christian cannot take this quote at face value. While the history of Germany has to be considered, the Christian also has to take into account the history of Christ. The history of Germany teaches us about the awful consequences of blind nationalism,intense racism and extreme violence, but what does the history of Christ have to teach the world?

The history of Christ begins not in a palace, but in a manger. It ends not with a state funeral, but on the cross.He was not surrounded by servants his entire life, but came to serve his entire life. The history of Christ teaches us that there is strength in weakness, power in humility. In Christ's history we learn that his kingdom is not of this world and stands in complete contradiction to the empires of this world. In Christ's history the poor are rich, the fools are wise, the dead are alive.

Most importantly, the history of Christ teaches us how to communicate with our enemies. In Christ's history he taught us not to overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good. In Christ's history he instructs the hungry enemy to be fed. Finally, in Christ's history he did not overcome his enemy with brute force, but laid himself low so that even his enemies maybe lifted up and forgiven.

If Jesus Christ wasn't born, then one could accept the lessons of German history and the notion of just-war. BUT Jesus Christ was born. If Jesus Christ didn't die for his enemies, then we could embrace the destruction of other human beings. BUT Jesus Christ did die for all mankind. If Jesus Christ wasn't raised from the dead, then one could discount the power of pacifism. BUT Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.

One cannot ignore the lessons of German history, but neither can one disregard the history of Christ. The history of Germany reveals the destructive potential of man. The history of Christ reveals the powerful unconditional love of God. The history of Christ teaches us that there has always been more power to be found in the unconditional love of God than in a thousand cruel dictators. The unconditional love of God is still the most powerful force on earth, more powerful than death itself. One can see the power of revenge from the history of Germany, but one can also learn about the power of forgiveness from the history of Christ.



CJE


Coming Next Week: The Birmingham Void

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