Want a glimpse of where the Southern Baptist Convention is headed in the coming years? Keep reading. The Bible is the Word of God — so actual Christians believe this anyways. But for some, including those who profess to be Christians and Christian denominations, it can be a hurtful, racism-filled book that white people use to exert power over minorities.
One of the most quoted Bible verses of all time — one that details who Jesus is as the Son of God — is 1 John 1:5, “…God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all.”
Evidently, the woke, social justice camp of the denomination — which is essentially all of them — took offense to this verse that was published on the denomination’s Facebook page which ultimately led to the denomination publishing an apology for posting it.
One person commented under the post, “Please consider the racial implications of what you are saying here. There is no darkness in him- really??? I assume exclusion (from God) is not your intent, but that is the impact. Please apologize and remove this post,” and another, “Please don’t ever again pretend to be confused about why we’re 97% white. This post tells me so much about how my church is in relationship to my dark skin.”
Then, a pastor in the denomination responded,
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Just because it’s a bible verse does not mean it can’t be used to inflict harm on our siblings of color and perpetuate systemic racism in a church that is 98% white. The bible has been used to silence women, oppress LGBTQIA+ persons, and justify slavery. We need to choose our imagery carefully. We need to do better and not (unintentionally or not) alienate our fellow siblings in the body of Christ.
The absurdity that one could read “racism” into this Bible verse is beyond mind-boggling. The lunacy of the woke leftists who are outraged over this post is a perfect example of why all God-fearing Christians must separate from those who are given to even an ounce of social justice — because this is the logical end of the movement.
The ELCA ended up publishing an apology on their page for the post, stating,
Dear siblings in Christ,
We have been paying very close attention to the conversation created by this post. Thank you all who have voiced your experiences and concerns regarding the language used.
The verse shared here comes from last week’s lectionary readings. As themes of darkness and light will appear again in lectionary readings later in Lent, we have chosen to leave this post and its discussion here so that it can inspire deeper conversation and reflection as we prepare for the season ahead.
We apologize that the language in this post has caused harm, and we recognize that this image can be a painful reminder of the harmful power dynamics, racism and inequity that exist in this church. It is our responsibility to be intentional in our use of images and language. We are committed to this work, and we are committed to learning from our mistakes.
