Comments on: Racial Justice and the Godness of God

By: Samuel Inbaraja

Samuel Inbaraja — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:42:37 +0000

@Tyler O.,
Hi the bible does teach ,
“Love your neighbour as you love yourself”
and also teaches that , “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” Gal 3:28
So God works insides out at the heart level and changes people’s attitude towards slavery , ethinic superiority, gender biases to establish unity.
You are asking for a outside to inside change , passing laws and punishing offenders. That’s has not removed racism though it has prevented slavery and segregation.So the disease of racism and superiority still remains and racists still exist.There is no way humanism and evolution are going to give you a basis for equality or dignity, because nothing is absolute according to them, not even human equality.
We are consider human beings equal because God made them in his own image and Paul says in Acts 17 “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
Jesus summarised the ethical teaching of the whole bible in one line , “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”.
This goes against slavery and racial injustice as well. http://quiettimesamz.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/message-from-the-letter-to-philemon/ is a short blog on the book of philemon which deals with slavery.

By: Racial Justice and the Goodness of God | Justice in the Eyes of God

Racial Justice and the Goodness of God | Justice in the Eyes of God — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:46:17 +0000

[...] Racial Justice and the Goodness of God Posted on February 16, 2011 by Mitchell J. Kim The civil rights movement succeeded not simply because the arc of history bends toward justice but because, embedded in our common humanity, we know that Someone is bending it toward a Judgment Seat… READ MORE FROM RUSSELL MOORE [...]

By: The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation « Blog Stan the Man:

The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation « Blog Stan the Man: — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:05:47 +0000

[...] a link to the entire post: Racial Justice and the Goodness of God Posted by Stan Filed in Uncategorized Leave a Comment » LikeBe the first to [...]

By: Greg Metzger

Greg Metzger — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:19:52 +0000

God bless you for this wonderful meditation. Great to see it.

By: Luke T.

Luke T. — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:00:04 +0000

@Tyler O.,

God has frowned at using a people group as slave labor. This was in instigation of the exodus event. But even more than that, God is concerned with man’s slavery to sin, which Dr. Moore very well demonstrates that Jim Crow laws were such.

Also, “Jim Crow laws could never have existed and the Civil Rights movement could have never been needed if God had shown any interest in humanity’s respect for humanity” is a peculiar assertion to me. God gave many commands such as “Don’t kill” and “Don’t covet,” yet these remain problems today.

I am afraid that we will not be able to see eye to eye on this, for as a humanist, your god (meaning what a person honors with his or her worship, energy, time, etc) is humanity’s progress. As a Christian, my god is YHWH, the trinitarian Creator God. Therefore, what is best in yours eyes, I assume, is what makes humans happy and prosperous. What is best in mine is that God would be known, glorified and worshiped. You would have God create rules to prohibit slavery that man could attempt to follow, legislating human behavior, and I would have him transform hearts through the Gospel, getting to the root of humanity’s sin problem. I recommend studying the Bible more, especially salvation history. It is not until recently that I myself am coming to understand the purpose of the Mosaic law for the setting apart of Israel.

As for the issue of slavery in the Bible, I recommend a few books: Rodney Stark’s “For the Glory of God” (It has a single chapter focusing on slavery and the Christian church)
C.J.H. Wright’s “An Eye for an Eye” (This has a great section on why God did not prohibit slavery, and the treatment of slavery in the OT)

Finally, I’m sorry if I misstated your point of view. I am merely trying to help you understand from where Dr. Moore may be coming.

Also, I don’t want to downplay your question of “Why didn’t God have a rule against slavery?” It’s a good one and I suggest you research it more.

By: Dr. Moore Reflects: “I Am A Man” | The Just Life

Dr. Moore Reflects: “I Am A Man” | The Just Life — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:01:02 +0000

[...] you missed Dr. Russell Moore’s piece, “Racial Justice and the Goodness of God,” be sure to take a read. The article offers [...]

By: Racial Justice and the Godness of God « Swimming Upstream

Racial Justice and the Godness of God « Swimming Upstream — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 01:41:54 +0000

[...] Read the entire blog. [...]

By: I Am a Man « robservations

I Am a Man « robservations — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:11:16 +0000

[...] Read Russ Moore’s article. LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]

By: eric michael.

eric michael. — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:03:37 +0000

this is a great article!

God bless!

By: Combing the Net – 1/18/2011 « Honey and Locusts

Combing the Net – 1/18/2011 « Honey and Locusts — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:50:47 +0000

[...] Racial Justice and the Goodness of God — Didn’t see this in time to get it up for MLK Day, but Russell Moore delivers another great article on one of the biggest social issues of our time. [...]

By: perciful

perciful — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:42:59 +0000

Dr. Moore,

You’re so right in saying that all iniquity is the same in it’s cruelty and cunning deception.

With that similarity in mind here’s a connection not directly related to the your article but perhaps still relevant.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that abortion is the evil of our present day most corollary to Jim Crow. The shockingly disproportionate rate of abortions among the poor is like to the especially base racism among poor whites you highlight in your third paragraph.

You might have written in another article:

“Those with power were able to keep certain questions from being asked by keeping poor and working-class white and black people sure that they were superior to someone: to the unborn who inconvenienced them.”

Sad that we have not learned from the evils of the past to avoid the evils of today. As you implied, at their root all dark evils are the same and are exposed as such by the penetrating light of the gospel of the incarnate Christ.

Thanks very much.

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:04:36 +0000

Life is not about how you survived the storm…It is about how you danced in the rain. In everything God works for the good of those who love Him. Therefore, follow Dr King’s example and let God’s love set your heart on fire, and let your fire bring light, heat, hope and warmth to those individuals who are suffering and oppressed!

By: Around the Blogosphere 1/18/2011 | Servants of Grace

Around the Blogosphere 1/18/2011 | Servants of Grace — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:38:45 +0000

[...] Racial Justice and the goodness of God by Dr. Russell Moore: http://www.russellmoore.com/2011/01/17/racial-justice-and-the-godness-of-god/ [...]

By: Race, Sin and Shepherding « Him we proclaim…

Race, Sin and Shepherding « Him we proclaim… — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 05:26:23 +0000

[...] Racial Justice and the Godness of God [...]

By: Happy MLK Day! « Deeper Roots + Wider Branches

Happy MLK Day! « Deeper Roots + Wider Branches — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:24:33 +0000

[...] Racial Justice and the Godness of God [...]

By: Tyler O.

Tyler O. — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:52:14 +0000

How can you say that, “The white supremacists believed they could deny human dignity to those they deemed lesser. They had no right to do so.” As a humanist I whole heartedly agree with this statement, but anyone who reads the Bible knows that owning slaves and treating others as less than human was not frowned upon by God. Never once does he show any disapproval at using a group of people as slave labor. Jim Crow laws could never have existed and the Civil Rights movement could have never been needed if God had shown any interest in humanity’s respect for humanity. I don’t think it’s any stretch to say that “Thou shalt not enslave any group of people whatsoever” or “Thou shalt not treat any person as less than human” would have proven more useful commandments than say, “Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain”.

By: I am a man « just after sunrise

I am a man « just after sunrise — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:14:01 +0000

[...] Russell Moore’s post Racial Justice and the Godness of God. From the post: I love that picture because it sums up precisely the issue at that time, and at [...]

By: Linda Smith

Linda Smith — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 01:22:05 +0000

@Mathew Bartlett, Jim Crow refers to the laws of racial segregation. The term meant “African American” and comes from the work of Thomas D. Rice, a white man who performed in black face in the 1800’s. One of his routines was called “Jump Jim Crow”. Wikipedia and other sites has more information on Jim Crow and segregation.

By: MLK Day Round-Up « johnbotkin.net

MLK Day Round-Up « johnbotkin.net — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:39:50 +0000

[...] Russell Moore: Racial Justice and the Goodness of God [...]

By: I Am A Man | square pegs

I Am A Man | square pegs — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:59:25 +0000

[...] I discovered that I was wrong about his parents’ motives. At least, I think so. I came across these words and photo from Russell Moore. My ignorance of the civil rights history kept me from recognizing [...]

By: Louis

Louis — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:00:39 +0000

Well put Russell.

Have you thought about taking the place of some of the Brothers who are type cast as the only voices on race at some of the large conferences?

By: Jim Crow is About Theology » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog

Jim Crow is About Theology » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:47:01 +0000

[...] Moore on racial justice and the “Godness of God”: The struggle for civil rights for African-Americans in this country wasn’t simply a [...]

By: Russell Moore: Racial Justice and the Godness of God « Above Every Name

Russell Moore: Racial Justice and the Godness of God « Above Every Name — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:41:17 +0000

[...] More Here from → Academia, Bible, Bible Doctrine, Biblical Languages, Biblical Themes, Blogs, [...]

By: MLK, Jim Crowe and Theology | Redemption Church of Northridge

MLK, Jim Crowe and Theology | Redemption Church of Northridge — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:19:23 +0000

[...] appreciated the following quote from an article by Russell Moore. It is a call for us to think about ourselves and others in relation to our [...]

By: Mathew Bartlett

Mathew Bartlett — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:06:43 +0000

What an outstanding article!

But, dear “commentors” on this blog, please forgive my ignorance, as I am not an American. Can any of you tell me, just who was Jim Crow?

By: Racial Justice and the Godness of God – The Gospel Coalition Blog

Racial Justice and the Godness of God – The Gospel Coalition Blog — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:38:01 +0000

[...] Note: This commentary first appeared at Moore to the Point. Posted here with [...]

By: Jim Crow Is About Theology – Justin Taylor

Jim Crow Is About Theology – Justin Taylor — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:43:26 +0000

[...] Russell Moore: White supremacy was, like all iniquity from the Garden insurrection on, cruelly cunning. Those with power were able to keep certain questions from being asked by keeping poor and working-class white people sure that they were superior to someone: to the descendants of the slaves around them. The idea of the special dignity of the white “race” gave something of a feeling of aristocracy to those who were otherwise far from privilege, while fueling the fallen human passions of wrath, jealousy, and pride. [...]