I believe the present emphasis on social justice and critical race theory rather than God’s impartial justice disparages all humans by treating them as something less than they are, which is created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28). First, they do so by being based on a Marxian materialistic view of reality. Second, because white and black people are judged and categorized as oppressors and oppressed based on skin color rather than on their hearts as God judges them (1 Sam 16:7). Third, social justice degrades black people by contending that their lack of achievement can be blamed on others (social injustice) rather than considering that some of their lack of success and development may be related to other factors not associated with social injustices.
As with a white person, a black person’s lack of accomplishment can be the result of such factors as a lack of personal responsibility, poor work ethic, socially inherited attitudes, or factors beyond their control that are not the product of racism (such as geography, parental dynamic, or familial and cultural value systems). These and many other factors can affect outcomes for blacks and whites. In contrast to social justice, which degrades blacks and whites, God’s impartial justice judges the heart, and a person is held personally responsible for his actions. Blacks and whites are essentially no different because we are all God’s image-bearers.
While there have been times in which the lack of accomplishment of blacks was due to racial injustice such as with slavery and to a lesser, although a significant degree, post-slavery agreements made by whites to keep blacks down and the Jim Crow laws, it is not always the case. It has not been true since the victory of the civil rights movement.[1] Blacks and whites are both equally image-bearers of God and can, therefore, choose to act responsibly or irresponsibly with the freedoms they have.[2]
Further, while the continued presence of areas of racism makes their success more difficult than for others who do not have to contend with that obstacle, that does not mean others do not have significant barriers to overcome as well. They may even have greater ones or more of them, such as severe physical handicaps, more debilitating inherited assumptions and attitudes about life, worse geographical location, devaluing of education or lack of access to a good education, or a worse familial experience.
These kinds of obstacles can be present for both white and black people and may be present with a greater or lesser degree depending on the individual. Lastly, in our current era (as has also been true in the past), many blacks advance to either equal or surpass their white counterparts, which evidences that more is at play when a black person fails to develop than just social injustices. That is to say, unequal outcomes do not necessarily evidence the presence of injustices.
On a personal note, I would like to say that my nephew, whom we raised for several years, married a black girl with my blessings, and they have three children; resultantly, I am happily the great uncle of a biracial great-niece and two biracial great-nephews. I have performed marital counseling for biracial couples and performed biracial (black and white) weddings. The church where I have pastored for over twenty-one years is composed of ten different races. Our associate pastor adopted four black children, and our worship pastor adopted five black-American, two Haitian, one Hispanic, and two Korean children. There is no other church on earth that I would rather pastor. Also, I think I am safe to say; no one would desire to be a member of our church if they were an actual racist. And yet, according to critical race theory and Black Lives Matter, all of the white people in our church are racists. This includes our associate pastor and worship leader. The Bible says differently.
Ronnie W Rogers
Senior Pastor Trinity Baptist Church
[1] This is not a denial of individual prejudice toward others, which can be found in every race. It is, however, as many black conservatives contend, a denial that those prejudices are sufficient to stop a person from being successful. Additionally, race is not the only place we find a prejudice with which people have to contend appearance, weight, handicapped, or even the way a person talks.
[2] Some of the same problems such as black on black crime exist in areas governed by black and liberal leaders, city councils, mayors, police chiefs, and governors, which means that “white privilege” is not the cause of the problems. Moreover, many blacks in these and worse situations choose to act responsibly as one who is created in the image of God and further their personal development.
