I’m in over my head with the details of planting a church. I asked some of my internet friends to provide a guest post so I could spend some time trying to get ahead.
First up is Clay Morgan from the ultra famous EduClaytion.com. Clay is a 90′s enthusiast, pop culture pro, part time Alligator wrestler, and a great guy. He sent me a post in honor of the season premier of part 2 of season 2 of The Walking Dead. Enjoy the writing styles of Clay…
___________________________________________
The Walking Dead is becoming my favorite TV drama of all-time (sorry Quantum Leap). It’s terrific zombie fiction with gobs of existential questioning. Season 2 features a farm owner named Herschel, a religious fundamentalist type who lives in denial about the extent of terror outside his land. The world is ending, but he’s trying to convince himself and everyone who will listen that the living dead ghouls really aren’t so terrible. They’re just sick.
Herschel is portrayed as hypocritical and narrow. He goes from reading the Bible and giving mini sermons to forcing vulnerable guests away from the safety of his property and back into death’s way. The story makes viewers wonder who the real monsters are.
During one recent episode, I found myself going from disgust with Herschel to sympathy for him as a shocking event exposed the fallacy of his shallow views that were only able to survive in the bubble of denial he had created.
Then a few days later I heard about some Kentucky church leaders who voted to pass a ban on interracial marriage. No, I wasn’t reading old newspaper clips from 1953. This story is happening now, in 2011.
I didn’t have any details for many hours after hearing about this story, but I did have a knot in my stomach. Here are the approximate reactions I experienced upon first hearing about the racist ruling.
1. Whaaaaat?
2. That’s messed up.
3. Great, just what Christianity needs, another reason for critics to attack.
The rest of my focus on the subject had to do with how people can call themselves Christians and do all kinds of rotten things, but they aren’t upholding any kind of biblical model of what Jesus did or taught.
Since first hearing this story I’ve learned that the vote was carried by nine individuals. That’s nine too many but at least not a Deep South bigot fest. It’s also been reported that the church has rescinded the ban and called the vote null and void, so we’re not heading for some big-time legal showdown. What we have is a sad yet thought-provoking incident.
I started to wonder if those nine voters really believed that they were justified in their racist views. Will some of them honestly be shocked by the widespread condemnation of their views? How painful must this be for the families caught between the people they love and the congregational leadership that’s brought so much anger upon them, even hatred in many cases?
But then I started thinking about that old fictional farmer Herschel. He believes himself to be a good man, but he’s confused about the reality of evil. He only sees himself protecting what is good and prohibiting that which is evil even while violating the superior law to love others.
Like Herschel, those Kentucky Christians are too sheltered in their own little world to recognize the proper view of others and absolute standard of God. Rather than focusing on the value of others, they expel those who don’t fit into their mold of what is right. They pass judgment on others.
And we pass judgment on them.
I remember times when people instantly judged me because I am a Christian, as if that word tells them everything they need to know about me. Forget the fact that they have no idea who I am or what the word “Christianity” even means to me. Forget the fact that I’m happy to articulate the reasoning behind any view I hold and try to do so out of love. To those who judge out of hand I am a Christian, so I must be simple, abrasive, self-righteous, ignorant, judgmental, etc… You know, kind of like those Southern Jesus freaks who hate black people.
My initial reaction to Kentucky Christian racism instantly put me on the same side as some of the people who have come against me in the past. And then I started to wonder if we were all really that far apart after all.
Something is stinging me. I’m thinking about my negative knee-jerk reaction towards those Kentuckians who profess Christian faith while upholding a racist position. My anger went straight for the people rather than their views. My first response is to call them names rather than recognize that they’re humans who screw up and need truth as much as the rest of us. We quickly forget the rules on hypocrisy once we hear stories about people who do really bad stuff. I hate to be judged, but it’s okay to hammer those creeps in Kentucky, right? I mean, after all, they’re racists!
It’s so hard to not respond to hatred with more hatred. Controversy breeds ugliness. It’s hard to not condemn and dismiss nine Kentucky church leaders in the same way that I’ve been condemned and dismissed in the past for simply calling myself a Christian. No, I don’t believe my views are shallow, hateful, or wrong like the ban on interracial marriage. But for me, the challenge is to not attack those errant leaders even though I do think their belief on this subject to be completely twisted.
The common theme is that it’s hard for us to show grace to others regardless of what we believe. Forgiveness doesn’t come naturally whether we are people who worship God or human leaders or zombies. We all create bubbles of comfort and fight to keep out whatever we don’t like or understand. We start off with good intentions, but human nature tends to push us towards fanaticism. If we’re not careful we can become like Herschel, confused about why no one can see the monsters out to get us. But in reality, the monsters are already inside our bubble with us.
Did you watch the Walking Dead last night? Have you dealt with racism before?
-2.jpg)
I watched TWD last night, it was phenomenal. My wife and I cancelled our cable a few months ago but still “barely” get AMC, score! I deal with racism on a regular basis, I work at the shipyard
It was phenomenal Ryan. Looking forward to how the new twists unravel!
I know this sounds naive, but I have rarely seen racism here in New Mexico. It has always baffled me.
Haven’t watched TWD. Don’t like blood and guts, and we don’t get cable.
You’re missing out Ricky, on TWD not racism.
I haven’t began watching it. The good reviews it is getting has got me thinking I should. I grew up in Georgia so you see racism a good bit in the small towns. I have never understood how some Christians try and make the argument against interacial marriage by taking bible text out of context.
It’s a great show fo sho. As for the arguments about interracial marriage, I’m with you on the confusion as to how people read the Bible like that.
It says something when tne only support you have is out of context, it says that you have nothing worth saying.
A really well written post that got me to thinking. This is blogging at its best. Nice tie-in with the notion of zombies as well. Great guest post that will survive in my mind for longer than the brief time it took to read it.
Thanks Daniel, I love mixing up pop culture and meaning of life questions.
Rob and Clay, I grewcup with racism and still fight those effects on a weekly if not daily basis.
I have not ever watched The Walking Dead though.
I work in a lot of different settings and am always fascinated at how some people never deal w/ bigotry of any kind while folks like yourself experience it everyday. That’s what I was trying to turn over in my mind with this post, the idea of the bubbles we all live in.
Don’t have cable, so I am waiting for Netflix to add new epsidoes of Walking Dead. Racism, I deal with it almost every day at my job. I am usually the target.
I’m sorry to hear that Rich. We might not all be able to relate to being the victim of racism, but bigotry of all kinds exist. We look down on each other at times for a variety of reasons, and that’s always hurtful. As for TWD, I was careful to write this w/out giving any season 2 goodness away!
It angers me that people call other people “racists” because they don’t want thugs, drugs, murder, crime, trailer trash etc.. in their neighborhood. I am a Christian and I LOVE JESUS, but I don’t like that kind of behavior and I don’t want to live near it. Am I a racist? Maybe. Call me what you want to. I know I love Jesus and I love people and I’m dedicating my life to serving others. However, I am NOT Jesus and I do not have the capacity to live among thugs, thieves, and drug dealers.
I don’t like that kind of behavior either Nicole, although I’m not sure how your comment relates unless your assuming that such behavior only comes from one ethnic group. The word racism is a term that identifies the act of feeling superior to someone based on racial differences. It’s not a subjective term. I’m simply stating that a ban on interracial marriage is a racist policy.
But I agree with you about not being Jesus, and that makes it hard for us to not react in ways that we as humans always struggle with when confronted with people and behavior that we don’t naturally like.
I’m not big on zombie stuff, seeing as how my whole family was killed by zombies.
It’s very interesting living in Mississippi, a place where we want to keep our past in the past, but also aren’t sure how to make the future better. Growing up, I watched as people fled the capital city to avoid the rising amount of drugs and crime. The problem is, now we’re stuck with a capital that we’ve ignored, and aren’t sure what to do with. Really, it’s not just race, but an issue of not knowing how to reach past socioeconomic barriers.
It’s weird, but I try to always remember a lyric from a phenomenal group called The Procussions:
“Giving hope to lost souls in streets left for dead.”
I’m sorry about your family. It’s mostly embarrassing when you can’t even help one person since zombies are really slow.
On the serious side, your comment is very thoughtful. I can imagine what a struggle it is in a state like Mississippi to celebrate heritage w/out painful memories reinforcing modern divides.
Good stuff clay. I’ve never seen the Walking Dead (don’t judge me), but I’ve seen some racism. I like your take on it. The root cause of racism is in all of us. To want to identify “us and them”, even if “them” equals the racists.
I’ve always believed that racism is a nasty result of fear + ignorance. Bigots are really just afraid. It’s a story as old as time.
Love me some vintage Clay, taking on Everything.
I have a few random thoughts:
- Not watching TWD, though it’s my kind of show. I watched 5 min of this season’s fall premiere and still can’t get it out of my head. Not being able to watch on-edge series is a direct result of having kids. I now empathize way way too much.
- It’s SO hard not to judge those whose ideas are hurtful and wrong. But I agree with what you’re saying. Your words remind me of Justin Trudeau’s words in the eulogy to his father, Canada’s former Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Justin recounted a story of how his father told him to critique the idea but not the person.
-I had a great sushi lunch with two girlfriends on Saturday. One asked me why I went to church. One of the three reasons I gave was intellectual stimulation. She nearly gagged on her pickled ginger. But then I gave a precis of last week’s sermon, where my pastor gave an overview of gnosticism, as seen by the Greeks, the early Christians, French philosophers, and how it applies to the oil sands. Her parting words, “Can you get me a copy of that sermon?” I tell this because the perception of Christians can be pretty narrow. And I secretly delight in shattering that perception. Is that wrong?
Blah blah blah I’m babbling!
Hi Rob!
I wanted to reply earlier but got this comment on the day I had to pack and leave Florida. An author/speaker named Amy Orr-Ewing tells a story about being in a London pub the night before she was to speak on her Christian faith. When some angry guy asked her why she believed such rubbish she told him that off the top of her head Christianity is intellectually stimulating and existentially satisfying. That’s a good base, and a 50/50 split towards braaaaaains. So many people think faith is a thoughtless thing. Couldn’t me farther from the truth for me anyway. I never stop thinking.
I can love any post about God and zombies. I haven’t seen Walking Dead, but I’m making plans to watch it. I don’t like racism, mainly because it makes no sense: “My skin is white, Your skin is brown, I must be better than you,” and this makese sense…how? ‘Nuff said. I can understand paranoia due to stereotypes or something, but that shouldn’t lead you to write everyone like that off.
Thanks for reading Sean. Sorry for my delay in responding but travel controlled me lately. I like how you point out the absurdity of racism. True.
“We have seen the enemy, and it is us.”
This will linger in my mind for a long time to come, Clay. Bravo on a truly well-written, thought-provoking post. I tried my own hand at this last week, but mostly stunk it up. You have your finger on the pulse of pop culture in such an amazing way.
Thanks so much for that Chad. But I’ve read your stuff. Doesn’t stink. Zombies on the other hand…
I did watch The Walking Dead Sunday night – my favorite show.. everrr! I have dealt with discrimination. You hit it on the head. People hate that which they do not or will not understand.
Great post.
You get it! SUCH a great show. Thanks for reading Darlene.
Zombies know that we’re all the same color on the inside.
I think you are right about people living in their own little bubbles and not wanting to venture out of them. And I guess it’s okay for people to be racist and hang out with their own racist buddies, it’s when they want to spread that racism to others that problems arise. Pushing your agenda (no matter what it is) on someone else is never right. So those Kentucky church leaders don’t want black people and white people to marry. I couldn’t care less. But when they try make their belief law of the land, that is wrong.
That’s exactly it. We do things in our bubbles for so long that a shock hits when we try to move away from our comfort zone. It’s that awareness that reality isn’t something we can connect with. Bubbles are safe. Great point also about zombies. We ALL look the same to them!
Great thoughts, Clay. “It’s hard for us to show grace to others regardless of what we believe” – this is so true and so apparent in our society.
I wish racism would die. How do people consider themselves better than others? Can’t we learn anything from the genocides that have eradicated millions?
Then, I have to take a good look at my own life. Is racism dead in me? Or do thoughts of superiority surface? I don’t see any superiority complex in my own life, but I pray God will reveal it to me and help me remove it if it exists.
“No, I wasn’t reading old newspaper clips from 1953. This story is happening now, in 2011.”—Unbelievable!
But it’s not just in Kentucky. A coworker was just telling me the other day about her experience when she tried to take her biracial children to a local church. It wasn’t good. =(
As the Jewish girl in the room, I hate it every time some dumb Jewish douche-bag does something that I feel reflects badly on the rest of the tribe. There are so few of us. (0.1% of the world population.)
But there are losers in every race and religion.
I just wish the zombies would eat those losers.
You can try some of the online freelance website but you will end up paying commissions for their services of getting you connected with freelancers. It will be better to contact freelancers directly.
There are a great many racist Blacks (and Browns and any other color) in the world today. So much so that Blacks (particularly) have become the “new racists” in Western societies, yet…few wish to address this fact. Most would rather continue to perpetuate the lie that Whites are THE racists (and often still believe the lie that ONLY Whites are capable of even being racists). If we, as a society, truly ever wish to reach a point where racism is minimal (as it will always exist to some small degree), than we, as a society, must be honest with ourselves (ie: it’s fine time for Blacks to do what Whites have been doing for decades now, which is to look in the mirror).