I see so many Christians on social media sites, and in correspondence to newspapers, objecting to #BlackLivesMatter. When I see this I can’t help thinking, “not very Christian, are you?” Let’s take a look at some of the most common objections:
- I kneel for no man but God
- What about blue lives, white lives, farmers’ lives, or all lives matter
- The church should not get involved with politics
- This movement supports other policies such as LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, an expansive welfare state and so on with which I don’t agree
- It’s a Marxist movement
I kneel for no man but God
Why, as a Christian, do you reduce God to a common man? You want to equate God to man in this objection but nobody has asked you to kneel for a man. You are also not requested to treat it as a religion. If you do kneel it will be in solidarity with a movement that’s asking you to treat all men equal. Treating all men equal happens to be an instruction from Jesus.
What about blue lives, white lives, farmers’ lives, or all lives matter
This objection is frivolous. Nobody said that no other lives matter or are less important. Every person is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) which means that we are all the same in God’s eyes. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4 : 18-19) He does not mention the rich, those not in prison, the sighted and the oppressors. What conclusion are we to draw from this? That Jesus doesn’t care about all lives? Of course he does, the point is that we should support those who need it. In this case #BlackLivesMatter who are encouraging us to see all people as equals, exactly as God does.
The church should not get involved with politics
This argument is facile. Churches do shape politics. How you view the world and who you vote for is very often determined by what you hear in church. If this argument is true should churches allow politicians to attend their services? People can be swayed to vote for someone by seeing them in the same church. That ties the church directly to the politics of the area. Does the church have views about society? Then it is involved in politics. This argument holds even less water in America where the churches are very active in politics.
This movement supports other policies such as LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, an expansive welfare state and so on with which I don’t agree
This argument doesn’t make much sense. The main aim of the #BlackLivesMatter movement is to end racism. If you support that ideal the other issues should not stop you from doing so. You support your church although the members of the church may have differing views on these matters. You send your children to school even though they may come into contact with teachers and pupils with different views. You still support the school. The other issues can be debated and you can show your disapproval at the ballot box. The fact that they asking that all people to be treated equal, as God intended, should be the focus of your thoughts and clinch the deal.
It’s a Marxist movement
This is just not true. There is absolutely no proof whatsoever that #BlackLivesMatter has any Marxist tendencies. In fact, if you do some research, you’ll find that it’s extremely unlikely that Marx and Engels would have supported #BlackLivesMatters. There is no connection between their ideals. This is classic scare tactic by white-supremacists who are afraid of giving up their privileged position.
Why, as a religious person, you should support #BlackLivesMatter
What they’re asking for is, in fact, a common thread across religions so it confuses me why so many would have a problem with it. Personally I’ll prefer to play it safe and trust God when he says that all men are created in his image and secondly trust Jesus when he says love they neighbour like thyself. All of the religions listed below point to the fact that supporting #BlackLivesMatter is a duty.
- Christianity – Love thy neighbour like thyself & Do to others what you want them to do to you.
- Islam – As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don’t do to them.
- Judaism – Love your neighbour as yourself:.
- Hinduism – If the entire Dharma can be said in a few words, then it is; that which is unfavourable to us, do not do that to others.
- Buddhism – Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
- Taoism – Regard your neighbour’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbour’s loss as your own loss.
- Baha’i – And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself