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Print August 14, 2006 Letters I love surprises! Well, most surprises that is! And I
love giving them also, or at least being part of the surprise process. So, that
said, you—our readers—can expect a major surprise in two to three
weeks. No hints, just be aware. Thanks to all who have submitted college
articles. We’re still seeking more (of every type), but appreciate those
that have come in. Finally, we have a fair number of letters this week. (Please
be cognizant of our 350ish word limit on letters, or they will be edited down.
If you have something longer to say, please submit it as an article, as we have
a long history of articles arguing important issues back and forth.)
It seems that Racism
triggered some sensitive experiences with many people. It seems that everyone
agrees on problems, but what’s your solution to these problems? (Maybe
this is a future Survey
Sez question.) Re: “Home
Missions in New York City”
As the outreach coordinator for Pentecostal Tabernacle, I can
easily say that Elim Tabernacle was a true blessing to our church and to our
outreach event. They gave selflessly, with the heart of true believers. We
welcome any group interested in helping us accomplish the vision of Jesus Christ
here in Staten Island, NY (NYC). Travis Carter, New York Re: “Racism—America’s
Demon in the Closet” I agree whole-heartedly with Joshua Remington’s article.
Racism has no place in the church. I believe that God disapproves of and is
saddened by some of the attitudes and beliefs that people can have about other
races and interracial couples. If God disapproved of interracial couples, I
think He would’ve done something about Moses marrying an Ethiopian woman. I attend a church in central North Carolina that has almost
as many African-American members as it does Caucasian members. And the number of
Hispanics is rising at a steady pace. Racial diversity is one of the reasons I
love my church so much. (The more races, the merrier.) A couple months ago, one of our young African-American men
married a Hispanic young woman. Our pastor happily performed the ceremony.
They’re two of the sweetest, most in-love-with-God people I know. And I
believe that God smiled the day they joined in holy matrimony. I like what Bro. Jack Cunningham had to say about racism,
“If you can’t get along down here, you ain’t going up there.” Amen! Niki Lawson, North Carolina Re: “Fresh
Links” When I clicked on this link, the very first thing I saw was a
scantily clad woman advertising “It’s nice to be naughty. Find sexy singles
now!” Perhaps you ought to screen your outside links more carefully. Linda Pulliam, Oklahoma (Editor’s note: Argh! Thanks for flagging us on this. Many
sites sell rotating advertisements, and while we certainly do not condone nor do
we encourage sites with scantily clad women, we are unable to monitor every ad
that other sites sell. We apologize for this and will do our best to prevent
this in the future.) Re: “Racism—America’s
Demon in the Closet” This is the great sin of the modern Pentecostal church.
I’ve seen this up close and personal and all too frequently in our midst from
the pew to the pulpit. It is not isolated to any particular geographic area. In my lengthy involvement with the UPC, I have heard this
topic preached on once! And, that wasn’t in a UPC church. Our pastors
need to stand up in the pulpit and call racism what it is—a sin. Offer the
altar as a place for forgiveness with a warning that those who persist in this
sin should consider themselves persona non grata and should make their home
elsewhere. Our pastors are supposed to be leaders. We would never tolerate such
grave sins against our fellow man in other arenas. We should do no less here.
Where are the leaders? Reginald Tullos, Persian Gulf Re: “Racism—America’s
Demon in the Closet” No doubt that we all need to do our best to love our brothers
and sisters (red, yellow, black, and white) from the heart.
Surely the church should be a haven for every individual person, no
matter their race. Can I just say, though, that after
spending a year in Europe recently, I have come to realize that America is
actually head and shoulders above many nations when it comes to the lack of
racism. Many small European nations
don’t show problems statistically with racism because they don’t allow other
races permanently in their countries. The
large majority of people in Russia and Eastern European countries really do
despise darker skinned people quite openly.
You can ask any African, Indian, or Arab folk about it, and they will all
have tales to tell how they have been verbally or physically assaulted.
(These darker skinned visitors are often professionals who come to these
countries for training as doctors and so forth.)
The racism experienced in the vast majority of
“civilized” Europe today has not been seen in America for several decades.
(This is not reported in their local media because everyone acts like
this problem does not exist.) Yes, I know we still have a long way to go, but I
am thankful for the progress that predominantly Christian America has already
made. Ellie Neumann, Georgia Re: “Racism—America’s
Demon in the Closet” This a pervasive poison in our society. Unfortunately, it’s
also a very long-lived, mutating strain. My mother, who grew up in Birmingham during the 1950s, saw
far more visible symptoms of it than I have in my youth, in Wisconsin and
Indiana. It may have become less
frequent in its violence, but it may be no less harmful in its modern guise.
Mainstream America, who cheer for Michael Jordan, laugh at
Chris Rock, and dance to hip hop, think of overt racism as a bad habit, a
regional throwback. It’s always
Southerners, or rednecks, or generally awkward people, the consolation goes.
No one at the heart of our society is still racist.
Certainly no one at the top of our economic strata feels superior to
people because of “race.” Therein lay the real problem of addressing racism.
Most of us feel like racists are an “other.”
Racists are visibly flawed, rustic goofballs.
Generally, we only see them depicted as such.
No one using the N word on TV ever looks like “us.”
They’re either wearing a hat with earflaps, or they’re dressed like
cowboys. Or they’re some
doddering relic, safely relegated to the past.
Racism is their problem. It
marks the racist as ignorant, and we feel all the more righteous ignoring them
because they aren’t people we ever associate with. Who cares about correcting, or trying to change, the
attitudes of people with whom we can’t identify? We’re giving that mindset a valuable in.
Without serious challenge, racist attitudes can grow into something
particularly unfunny. They grow
into hate. They blister into hate
crimes. Embarrassed by our formerly
dismissive stance, we balk, say triumphant things about how wrong this
“was,” and demand it never happen again. But it does happen again.
Largely, hate crimes continue because we always see them as a
part of the past. Each one is a
throwback to the slave days, or the Jim Crow era. No, they aren’t. They’re
as modern as interracial marriage, as a black Secretary of State.
That they coexist with the same America as Ms. Rice and Mr. Powell proves
racism’s presence. Right now, there is racism in America.
There are people who hate other people because they are different faiths,
different colors, and speak differently. People
are calling themselves nice things like “Christians,” who say Hurricane
Katrina took its terrible toll as an act of wrath against a pervasive society
who allowed gays to, well, exist. And,
right now, there are so-called Americans, who honestly don’t care that
thousands of blacks wo lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their lives in
the same tragedy. Racism appears to sever our ethics regarding color.
But once slashed, no ethic can regard the world and its people fairly.
Anytime we hate, we sin. Hating
gays, or blacks, or immigrants, or even hating racists themselves violates our
profound mandate to love one another. It
trammels up our best means to solving the problem—a direct communication with
the decision to make hate a personal value. Anytime we believe in an “us,” and a “them,” we are
no better than the overt racists we so eagerly separate from ourselves—and we
come no closer to solving the problem. Dan Gregory, Indiana Re: “Racism-America’s
Demon in the Closet” Bravo Joshua Remington!
I admire your courage in taking on the subtle and insidious bigotry that
exists in the American church. I have often wondered how we can justify sending money to
missionaries in foreign fields and yet not fellowship with those in our churches
whose ancestors lived in those same foreign fields. Shame on us! And shame on me, when reacting to current events, I speak in
generalizations that are not respectful of other cultures and peoples.
Why is it so hard to keep in the forefront of my thoughts that the Christ
I serve died for them just like He died for me?
Racism is a curse and iniquity that we must break in
our own lives before we can truly obey the second greatest commandment of loving
our neighbors in the way Jesus intended. Joy Taylor, Oklahoma Re: “Brown
Grass Green Heart” Thanks for providing both a laugh and a serious message.
Truly, we need to be plugged in and stay faithful to be able to receive
constant showers of blessings. Sorry to hear that your region has been dry.
In case you’re wondering where your rain went—we got it.
We have had such a wet summer that parts of southern Ontario are taking
on the look of a tropical rainforest. Last
week with the front lawn of our condo completely submerged, it occurred to me
that I could put my place up for sale as a waterfront property. Brook Tyler, Ontario, Canada Re: Last week’s “Survey
Sez” Just a note to add some additional light on the number of
UPCI ministers under 30 years of age. I
have been concerned for some time about the number of young ministers or at
least young ministers who choose to become licensed with the UPCI.
It is not quite as dire as the survey respondent suggested.
There are presently over 600 licensed or ordained ministers under 30 in
the UPCI. This number definitely
needs to grow. Robin Johnston, Missouri Re: “Hymnals
are Dead! Long Live Praise Choruses!” This to me is a crazy debate, but one that I’ve been
involved in on various occasions. I’ve
never understood why people feel they have to be on one side or the other.
Those who are for hymnals despise new praise choruses, and vise versa.
I agree with you that the change in style is not a symbol of
spiritual backsliding, but rather an indicator of changing times.
On the flip side, there are certain hymns that, in my opinion, will never
lose their powerful effect. Our
church always stays on top of the newest choruses, but every now and then a
hymnal will come out. Just last
week our pastor’s wife sang “Heaven’s Jubilee.” It brought the house
down, the anointing of the singer added to the message of the song created such
an atmosphere of praise that we never got to the preaching or even to the
announcements. Three received the
Holy Ghost and one was baptized. “I’ll Fly Away” is another one . . . “I See a Crimson
Stream of Blood.” These are songs whose message surpasses time because of the
anointing and passion of the writers. I love the new praise choruses; I feel many will become the
future’s classics. However, we
shouldn’t count out all the hymnals just because they are older than we are;
when sang under the anointing and with passion, these hymnals still show the
life and heart of their writers. Great article, I enjoyed reading it tremendously. Joseph Castorina, Texas ninetyandnine.com
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