In Part 2 we gave specific definitions for Justification, Sanctification, Equity and Equality. In Part 3 we discussed definitions for Racism, Justice, and Oppression. In Part 4 we finally get to quotes from James Cone, and continue discussion on Justice, Welfare and Mercy for the Poor.
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[I always want to point to good resources and attribute everything that I can to give proper credit. I was able to pull these James Cone quotes from a video that Jon Harris showed on his website www.worldviewconversation.com page titled “SBC Professors Caught Pushing CRT & Liberation Theology, Where are Honest Leaders?” (also his podcast is Conversations that Matter) that combines videos put together by the New Christian Intellectual and Enemies Within the Church.]
Now we get to the heart of the people that Jarvis Williams and so many others say have influenced them in their thinking. Look at what Cone says about the Bible, racism, and oppression in some of his writings and talks. He tears out the heart of the Gospel and attempts to replace it with his “justice” from his Marxist Liberation Theology.
The Cross and the Lynching Tree book by James Cone (The god-Father of Black Liberation Theology)
- “The Gospel is found wherever poor people struggle for justice.” [Ed Note: Remember that justice is defined as stopping oppression.]
- “The Gospel of Jesus is not a rational concept to be explained in a theory of salvation but a story about God’s presence in Jesus’ solidarity with the oppressed.”
- Cone speaking in public: “Racism has to do with power. If you switch the power and you’ll get black racism. Yeah you would. It has to do with power. It has nothing to do with biology. And that’s why the redistribution of power is so essential. If you’re not talking about redistributing power you’re just joking around. You wanna feel good. It’s not about feelin good. It’s about distributing power. And people don’t want to do that. That’s why the …That’s white power right there. That’s what it is.
James Cone speaking at event: White Power. People can have it and smile at you at the same time. That’s what I tell the people at Union [Theological Seminary], that’s white power. Cause whites have all the power. All they have to do is vote. That’s why they love democracy at least for a moment. But soon they’re gonna figure out a way so democracy won’t count.”
- Cone wrote Martin & Malcom & America : A Dream or a Nightmare – he wanted to wed the Christian Faith with the Black Power of Malcom X.
- In one of his public talks he combined Jesus, Blacks and Gays and said that white people despise them.
Notice that “racism” is redefined as only being able to be held by white people because according to Cone, white people have all the power. This is what Matthew Hall, the Provost of Southern Baptist Seminary (Second only to Al Mohler), means when he says that he is a racist. (Watch the video noted above on Jon’s website). This is what SBC Pastor Thabiti Anyabwhile means when he calls all white people to repent of their racism. However, racism as it has usually been defined is when one person with one color skin looks down on, hates, hurts, etc. another person just because they have a different color of skin. Oxford Dictionary defines it as “Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” Today we see that CRT proponents are actually pushing the first definition given by Cone, that essentially all white people are racist, while still hinting at the classical definition. How do they do this? They do this when they claim that all white people are complicit in racism and need to repent. They do this when they call all white people Nazis or Neo Nazis. To date, I have not personally heard Anyabwhile or Strickland or anyone define what it means to repent exactly. When has a person done enough repenting? What is the end goal and how are people rebuilt after repenting?
I have mentioned it before but all of the people that I have heard pushing the ideas of Liberation Theology are Democrats. The Democrats are the party of slavery and the KKK. If you have any doubts about this then you need to read Dinesh D’Souza’s book The Big Lie and watch his documentaries on Hillary, Obama, and Trump. Read Mychal Massie’s article called “Slavery myths that keep blacks ignorant and angry.” There is no talk of calling the Democrats into account but rather they uphold the Democratic party and decry the Republicans. How exactly does this work? Someone somewhere is getting their lines crossed or they truly don’t care and are just seeking power. Critical Race Theory seeks to destroy and does not provide any real solutions.
Because the Republicans were against slavery does not make them sinless saints and it does not mean that they always did everything right or as quickly as they could have. However, if the institution of slavery is what CRT and Social Justice Warriors are fighting against, don’t you think they would attack its true foundations? The first Republican president was Abraham Lincoln. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War was fought partially over slavery. For a short history of the Republican party watch this 5 minute video from Prager U called “The Inconvenient Truth About the Republican Party.” And watch this video “Why Did the Democratic South Become Republican.”
Let’s get back to the biblical view of justice. How is biblical justice defined throughout Scripture. In James 2:1 ff.. we see a call to not treat the rich and the poor differently in regards to access to the Gospel, when they are in a public space or even when taking them to court. There was to be no partiality shown to the rich or the poor. They were both to be treated equally. Oppression in this passage is treating poor people somehow as a lesser person or as people that did not deserve to be treated respectfully.
Proverbs is full of guidance on how to treat poor people. Proverbs 22:16 says “He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.” So if a person oppresses the poor as in through slavery or perhaps by unjust legal action, God says they will come to poverty. In other words, this goes against God’s will. Justice which is rooted in God’s nature is not carried out in these cases. Proverbs 14:31 also echoes many other passages throughout Scripture on how the poor are to be treated. “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.” Notice the connection with honoring God and care for the poor and mercy. SJWs want to say that it is the “right” of the poor or oppressed person to receive money, housing, sustainability, etc.
Scripture, however, does not say that the poor deserve these things because it is their right. It connects mercy which is biblically defined as God not giving us what we do deserve in regard to punishment. Mercy and Grace are deeply connected in the Gospel. Neither mercy nor grace are deserved. Grace being God’s “Unmerited Favor”. The favor and care shown to the poor is not through any merit of their own but it is part of living righteously for the Christian. The Christian in having mercy on the poor is obeying God’s command to care for the poor. Mercy is also not defined as ending oppression.
Welfare and Mercy for the poor
Our politicians tell us that healthcare for illegal immigrants is a right. They tell us that people have an innate right to come into America illegally and receive welfare. They read Scripture to us to act like the Bible supports this notion. They never talk about the God hating people like atheist, George Soros who are funding people’s travel for thousands of miles from third world countries to come to American illegally so that he can help to destroy America’s sovereignty.
However the Bible says that if a person doesn’t work, they shouldn’t eat. II Thessalonians 3:10. Welfare and free handouts, rather than helping people that need to get back on their feet often actually disincentivizes work. (Also listen to Thomas Sowell talk about how welfare has hurt black people in America). At times as II Samuel 2:7 says “the LORD makes poor and makes rich.” And verse 9 ends with “…He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.” At times God will use poverty as a punishment and riches as reward. Poverty was highlighted repeatedly with Israel when they turned away from Him to worship other gods.
Tim Keller upholds the perverted definition of care for the poor when in his book Generous Justice he says “If you do not actively and generously share your resources with the poor, you are a robber, you are unjust.” He also says in his article The Gospel and the Poor “To fail to share what you have is not just uncompassionate but it’s unfair, unjust.” This is from what Jacob Brunton with the New Christian Intellectual calls the Need Based Theory of Justice. This is the Marxist theory of justice. Keller may want to keep the government out of the forced redistribution of wealth but he is promoting the same idea from the individual perspective. I would argue that his ideas only lead to government control in the end.
Form of welfare in the Bible – In the story of Ruth and Boaz we see one of the ways that rich people had mercy on poor people in their day. Boaz instructed his workers not to harvest to the very edge of the fields so that the poor could come and harvest the rest. The workers did not bundle up every last stalk of grain in the field so the poor could again come and work in the field to gather food for their families. These commands were given in Deuteronomy 24:14-22. Principles we see from this passage are things like: Day laborers should get their pay that day because they may be poor and in need of it that day. Fathers would not be put to death for sins of the son and the son would not be put to death for sins of the fathers. The borken application for this today could be in the call by the SJWs to say that all white people need to repent of the sins of their fathers.
Another principle is in the area of law. Justice was not to be perverted when dealing with the poor. In other words, partiality should not be shown to one person over another because of economic status. Finally, caring for the poor involved allowing them to work for their food by harvesting from the edges of the fields, olive trees, and vineyards. Notice that justice is not equated with making a person equal in regards to money or power.
God’s call to his people constantly highlighted impartiality as well as the need to care for HIS PEOPLE that were poor. It was not necessarily to make them rich but to be merciful in looking out for the widow and orphan. One way that God blesses people is to give them riches. In Job’s account we see that the Lord blessed Job in many ways and one of those ways was with wealth. Job was thankful for this and had mercy on the poor. Just the term “mercy ministry” is offensive to SJWs today. How dare you think that you may be coming into a situation and being merciful. Rather the idea is that the poor person is owed what the rich person has.
In Part 1 we looked at black men who do not apparently like or at least don’t trust white people and we defined the Gospel. Part 2 – Justification, Sanctification, Equity and Equality. Part 3 – Racism, Justice, and Oppression. Part 4 – James Cone, Justice, Welfare and Mercy for the Poor. In Part 5 we will get to quotes from J Deontis Roberts and finalize our thoughts on the Gospel, Justice, Racism, etc.