Critical Race Theory has been getting a lot of press over the past year because conservatives are looking for another way to make white skinned people afraid of those who aren't white skinned, so they are lifting up Critical Race Theory as another bogeyman of how liberals and people of color hate America. At it's core, critical race theory has two premises: 1. that there isn't any biological basis for splitting people into races and 2. that the socially constructed concept of race has been used to separate people so that those who have don't have to share it with those who have not. For example, after WWII, the GI Bill sent millions of Americans to college for free in thanks for their service and helped them grow their income and wealth of the families, but these college scholarships were denied to those who weren't white. And then, suburbs were being built and GI's were given low interest loans so they could buy homes, but, again, those loans were denied to those who weren't white. And then, those mortgages had riders in them that said that the owners couldn't sell their houses to those who weren't white and that was written into the mortgages when they were sold again. And THEN, banks and government agencies would put a red line around the inner city places which were minorities were the majority and denied loans for homes, business's, and community development. So this is not saying that white people didn't work hard in college, at jobs, and improved their neighborhoods and communities. Critical Race Theory says that no matter how hard minorities worked or how smart they are, the cards are stacked against them based upon laws of this country and our cultural values that see them less than created equal and deserving life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We have become a nation of individualism, where everyone is responsible for his or her own success and failures. Never mind that we have families, schools, community organizations, religious bodies, businesses, and all levels of government. We think Jeff Bezos is rich because he personally boxes and sends out each order. We think that people of color have no wealth and education because they are too lazy or not smart enough to hand their business. We have allowed these myths to rule our nation, our laws, and often our religion. We have forgotten, or at least put aside, the notion we are our siblings keeper, we are to clothe and feed each other, and the success of one is nothing if it doesn't lift up those around and the world. God's kin-dom come!
We heard about King David last month bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, now the capital of Israel. Things are good, very good for the nation of Israel, for King David, for most people. Things are going so well that David sends out the army and sits back home, living the life, the good life. So while he is surveying Jerusalem, he spots a woman, Bathsheba, who is instantly attracted to and sends for her. Now, we have turned this into a love story, that they fall in love and she gives birth to Solomon who becomes king after his father David. Now this presumes that Bathsheba also falls instantly for David. But, however, in point of fact, that Bathsheba probably has no say or power here, she is taken out of her house to the palace and is gotten ready for King David's lust. Even if she refused or protested, she is now in the King's house and he is very powerful and will take what we wants. Women who were higher class in those days were traded to another family in hopes that their families wealth would increase, those women whose families didn't have means, were sold to other families so they may produce children. They were property in the laws of the nation and religion. Continuing this story, Bathsheba becomes pregnant and David to cover his tracks, summons Uriah, the Hittite, back from the war so that he may sleep with his wife and believe that he is the father. Uriah refuses to go into his house while his men are out in the battle, so King David sends a message along with Uriah back to the front. The message basically says that Uriah is to be sent to the worst part of the battle and left out there so be killed. King David is king so Uriah is killed. And after an "appropriate" time of mourning, Bathsheba is brought to the palace for good.
Nathan, the prophet, speaks to King David about this by telling him a story of a rich man and poor man. About a rich man stealing a poor man's sheep and David is rightly angered that someone could be so callous and cruel. And then when asked to expose this man, Nathan points to David and tells him, "You have done this." David, who has many wives and over 500 concubines, steals Uriah's wife and kills him to cover his tracks. Nathan pronounces David's sentence and David acknowledges his sin, but David still gets to keep his crown, his freedom, and his new wife. There is no court, no oversight, no place to appeal the killing of this man and taking his wife.
The early Europeans who came over to America and stole the land from the people living here looked to the Bible and the Israelites coming and conquering the Promised Land as inspiration and justification for doing what was done. This is our first sin of our nation, slavery is the second. They are not original sins in this world as we find stories and justification in our Bible. King David who conquers Jerusalem to make it his new capital and takes the wives, the property, of those who have to power to stop him. Uriah was a Hittite, one of the conquered, but rose to General in the army, but it made no difference that when King David ordered his murder, no one stood up for him and no one went against the King's orders. He was just a Hittite, not worth the trouble. Bathsheba was not even a person, just another one of David's countless wives, even if she was a favorite.
The Bible is 66 books of trying to explain God, our relationship, and show how God is in our world and in our lives. Each book has a different view point and story to tell. What I can say for sure is that the view of God evolves over the course of the Bible from God being the god of Israel, YHWH, to the creator of the world, to all people created God's image, to God working to save all people. King David's grandmother Ruth was from Moab, one of those tribes whom fought with the Israelites in the book of Joshua and were deemed to be enemies of God. Slavery is sanctioned in the Bible, but God works to free slaves in many stories. In the book of 1 Kings, the story of Bathsheba and Uriah are erased, and King David only did good. Thankfully, 1 Samuel kept the story to show us the full picture of what happened back then.
Our nation's beginning has some heroic stories, but it isn't the only story. The founding fathers were not gods, were not saints. They did some extraordinary things, but they kept slavery and they stacked the deck to favor those who were deemed white. And each generation, we moved closer to making all equal, but we also by neglect or selfishness, kept minorities, women, and others who didn't look like me, from fully participating in all levels of government, our economy, and building up their own communities as we have had the freedom to do so.
So, now, in our generation and in our day, are we doing to continue to deny them the right to participate in our government with all these new voting restrictions being proposed, are we going to continue to deny them their freedom by locking them up for much longer times than white people for the same crimes, and are we going to continue to deny that they have worked just as hard as us to build our country, our families, and their communities but have been denied the services and help that most of white Americans have received again and again? I sure hope not. One step we can take is to contact our elected officials in Washington, DC and encourage them, demand even, that they pass H.R. 1 For the People Act of 2021. As a Just Peace church, we also need to have a discussion about this and look at what we can do and take some action.
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