Unleashing the Powers of Hell
“Every time we ignore or deny the Divine Dignity in another human being, we unleash the powers of hell upon the earth”. [1]
Strong words; challenging words. Filled with the brimstone-power of judgment - and rightly so. But let me start at the beginning, where all transformations must begin.
This is a difficult blog to write; I’ve been struggling with it for days. Some are easier than others, that’s the nature of writing. But this? It’s a hard thing to realize that one’s life has been lived in silent acquiescence of a fundamental injustice so monumental, it has shaken the very core of my being. It’s not like this injustice is news; tragically, it’s not. Woven through the headlines in this past year of political sniping, election drama, and pandemic statistics was the ever-present, dark and blood-stained thread of racial injustice, and the tragic consequences of generations upon generations of prejudice, hatred, anger, fear, apathy and strife.
That news came - and continues to flow - with many labels: racial inequality, systemic racism, inherent bias, white supremacy, “Black Lives Matter”. So much so that I fear we’ve lost our hearts. Our eyes and ears have been so bombarded with the white-washing of our wrongs, we no longer see the wretched details of the tragedy. Instead of looking inward to ourselves, and seeing how we fit into this dark picture of racism, we put “social justice” labels upon our nation’s history and the tragic consequences of our actions as a society, and push the discussion to books and journals and universities, shutting away the niggling of guilt and doubt that might plague us if we were to look too closely at our own personal culpability.
It is hard work to look within and see that I am as much to blame for today’s social unrest by my passive silence as any one man or woman who actively spouts hate-words, or intentionally hurts another because of society’s imposed standards of “equality” and “justice”. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated simply but eloquently during the reign of Nazism in Germany: “Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” I feel the painful truth of these words deep in my soul.
The quote at the beginning of this blog comes from my Pastor’s discussion with the congregation this past Sunday. It was an introduction to a panel discussion with Black and White men who had spent several months reading a book on racism [2], and dealing honestly with their own fears, sorrows, prejudices and anger. This was a turning point for me, not only in listening to these men- several of them friends - open up their hearts to the wounds of prejudice they’ve carried their entire lives, but to understand just how deeply we are all wounded when racism and inequality rule a society.
To listen to a big bear of a Black man confess to his visceral fear when he walked into a room, or situation, in which no other Black man was present; to watch another Black man talk of his bitterness with all non-Black men because of the wounds he suffered throughout his life as one who was “less than”, “not equal to”- but then recount the miracle of grace when he confessed and acknowledged the need for all men and women to confess their own hurts and bitterness - and to learn to let go, and forgive.
I saw in this discussion group a microcosm of what could be when people of all stripes and colors come together with the specific intent of speaking truth, exposing wounds, and learning to love. It was a powerful moment for me; a turning point. Deep inside my heart came a song that crescendoed through the day. It was time to step up, step out and speak up. It was time to cross the line into acknowledging a wrong, and doing what I could to set it right. Not an entire history or country all at once, but one heart at a time. One word, one phrase, one song - put forth into the world to reverse the powers of hell.
“Every time we ignore or deny the Divine Dignity in another human being, we unleash the powers of hell upon the earth”.
This is a hard pill for any believing Christian to swallow. We inherently believe that we are called to love, to spread love and hope and joy - so making such a statement is throwing down the gauntlet of battle before every Christian. If we go to church and read our bible, then we’re good, right? If we do not participate in the hate mongering, then we’re good, right? If we do not call out derogatory names, or beat up others, or intentionally demean or debase another, I’m good, right?
Turns out - I don’t think so. If I believe that each and every human being is created in the image of God, that the Divine nature of God is embedded deeply into the nature and heart of every human being, be they man or woman; Black, White, Yellow, Brown, or Red; children, elders; born and unborn; Christian, Jewish, Buddhist or Muslim. Each and every one, with no exception, bearing the very image of God, the Creator, the “divine” in each of us; if I believe that? Then I am not “good” when I fail to acknowledge inequity, when I turn away from evil, when I fail to speak out when confronted with injustice, inequality, hatred - with all manner of atrocities leveled at all humanity. It’s an all or nothing proposition - there is no neutral territory. No safe harbor.
The very nature of being the Image Bearer makes each and every one of us worthy of honor, deserving of dignity. I simply cannot get around that. It is a sobering thought, then, to think that when I ignore or deny that “divine image’ in any person, I unleash the powers of hell upon the earth. My failure to respond with grace and love fuels the very fires of destruction. My failure to speak, to act, to defend - even to acknowledge - wreaks havoc upon the world.
And it is not just in actions that hell bursts forth: it’s easy to see the molten hatred of hell in brutal, outrageous acts of violence. But what about the smoldering flames of ignorance? of apathy? of turning away so as not to see or not to speak? Truly, I think those fires of hell burn even brighter. Apathy and silence never appear to be evil. They seduce us into seeing only what we choose to see, and convince us we cannot do anything, we have no voice. Thus, fear and hatred smolder unabated, ever deeper, always wider, until those fires burst hot and red - no different than the hellfire of violence.
My God’s call for solidarity with all people from every language, tribe and nation is not elective. If all men are Image Bearers of God, then I don’t get to choose to be involved or not. I have no choice if I will be true to the calling of being a human being - and a Christ follower.
So the million dollar question? What do I do?
I don’t know what you can do, but this is what I’m going to do:
I am going to read The Third Option, and see about tearing down my own protective walls, and seeking to understand the situation of racism and injustice better than I do now.
I am going to seek out one of the many persons in my sphere of influence to discuss this issue, to try and understand what I can do in my world, in my village, in my area of influence.
I am going to reach out to those friends I have who are not White. I’m going to step out of my comfort zone and step into the uncertainty of asking hard questions, and risking getting hard answers.
Finally, I’m not going to continue my old ways of silence and of turning away. I am going to take a stand, beginning with these words, today, and see about doing what I can to not only see the Divine Dignity in my non-White brothers and sisters, but to celebrate that Dignity that is, thankfully, gloriously different from mine.
These are not grand gestures, but that’s not what we are called to - the grand. We are called to be wise in the simple things, even when those simple things are hard. As I’ve said, I don’t think we get to choose. It’s all or nothing. It’s grace and love - or the fires of hell.
[1] Lance Bane, December 6, 2020.
[2] Mile Mcpherson, The Third Option. Howard Books: 2018.