Andy Gill
I mean, not really, but kind of…
Piper’s opening is predictably cringeworthy, but his conclusion is surprisingly refreshing.
The better question: Is this something in which nonwhite evangelicals should be happy about? Is it a step forward, and can it be utilized by progressive Christians as a means to bridge the gap between our conservative brothers and sisters?
“And as I was watching all of this happen, I wondered what to think about it, what to say about it, and I googled and found: There is a website called blacklivesmatter.com. And I read it and, oh my goodness, it was awful. I mean, I didn’t like it, because it featured three women who claimed to be the founders of Black Lives Matter — Alicia Garza, Opal Tometti, Patrice Colors — and they self-identified as “queer black women.” And in big, bold banners on their HerStory, not history, HerStory page, they say that they are queer-affirming and transgender-affirming. Well, this did not excite me, as, of course, it wouldn’t most of my Christian black brothers and sisters. And I was so surprised, I tweeted this link so that people could be aware of these roots.”
But, he goes on to seemingly embrace the underlying theme of what I feel movements such as the blacklivesmatter movement, but not limited to, have forever been striving after, intersectionality.
He admits to “blowing it” in the past, having his eyes opened “the sorrows of the black community here in the Twin Cities” going on to say, “that I would have never felt without this friendship. And then goes so far as to hit the nail right on the head in regards to why saying “All lives matter” can be insensitive.
“…before we say anything like, “All lives matter,” before we say that, we need to pause. Because if you quickly add that, it sounds like a rebuke. It sounds like a minimizing of what was just said. It sounds like the point that was trying to be made isn’t worth being made. So you don’t want to make that point. You don’t want to say that. So you learn that pretty quickly in that conversation if you added, “All lives matter.” Of course that is true, all lives matter, but oh how timing matters and how context matters.”
I don’t think this means we should jump on the Piper train, join his former church, and all become conservatives. He’s said a lot of outlandish things, and continues to profess ironically bigoted statements (as seen above), but I am happy to see the progression made, and the inkling of humility in which he’s shown [at least, in this podcast of his] to his own racial failures. John Piper, in comparison, to his evangelical counterparts is a progressive [on this issue of race]; it’s unfortunate, but still a step forward.
Where culture is progression goes ahead of. [Progressive is the New Evangelical]
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this confrontation of injustice and the pursuit of future justice, it’s that in order to sustain, our movements need positive consistent upward trajectories. They can’t all be about deconstruction; positive neural interaction (PNI) is an absolute necessity for future success [or in anything, for this matter].
Just think, several years ago homosexuality was outlawed; today, we’re seeing inclusivity of the LGBTQ community quickly becoming the status quo. This says to me, anything is possible; including a racial reconciliation allowing no future need for movements such as these, but equal treatment of all despite, race, color, sexuality, or gender.
You can download and/or listen to John Piper address the question, “What Can We Learn from ‘Black Lives Matter’? on his most recent podcast, here.
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