Jesus says, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement (John 7:24).”
Too often, we disagree with Jesus.
We tend to believe that judging by appearances is righteous judgement. We seem to believe that superficial, presumptive judgements are more God-honouring than careful evaluations.
So when I defended President Donald Trump against accusations of racism yesterday over his Truth Social post that included a two-second clip that portrayed Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, many people—including some conservative Christians—angrily accused me of defending blatant racism.
Angry over my so-called defence of racism, people called me racist slurs like “Uncle Tom” and “coon”. One woke pastor suggested I am in the “sunken place”. Meaning, I am not actually black; I am a racist white man inside a black body.
Those people do not hate racism; they just hate Trump and anyone who doesn’t hate him.
All indications suggest Donald Trump did not intend to post the clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Trump’s since-deleted post was a screen recording of a reel about voter fraud. The two-second clip of the Obamas is the beginning of an unrelated, auto-played reel.
It was foolish of Donald Trump to post that. It’s also foolish that the White House has attempted to blame the mistake on a staffer. The President of the United States should be the most careful person on social media. However, we have all made similar mistakes on social media. For instance, I once shared what I thought was an innocent music video from one of my favourite bands. However, I was later informed that there was a quick shot of full-frontal male nudity that I (and YouTube) didn’t notice.
Some people refuse to believe that Trump didn’t intend to depict black people as apes. They are refusing to believe Donald Trump’s account. But the Bible says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).”
In the absence of evidence that contradicts his words, it is my Christian duty to believe Donald Trump. We can criticize his lack of wisdom without falsely accusing him of racism.
Many people, however, are convinced that, regardless of his intentions, because of the historically racist trope of black people being depicted as apes, the clip of the Obamas is inherently racist.
But that is an illogical argument. This is a woke argument that defines racism by outcome, not intent. This dangerously makes black people the authoritative judges on what is considered anti-black racial sin, not God. Many conservatives apparently remain unaware of the corrosive effects of critical race theory.
This destructive definition of racism is the foundation of woke ideology. The most popular woke book is Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility. In the book, she says, “[White fragility] is rooted in the false but widespread belief that racial discrimination can only be intentional…the simplistic idea that racism is limited to individual intentional acts committed by unkind people is at the root of virtually all white defensiveness on this topic.”
In my review of the book, I said:
That is a complete rejection of the biblical and logical definition of racism. Racism is biblically defined as a form of partiality or hatred against another person because of their skin colour. The Bible says: “show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory…have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1, 4)
Racism is always an intentional and unkind thought or deed. That isn’t a simplistic definition of racism by white people. That isn’t even a simplistic definition of racism by me. That’s a simple, scriptural definition of racism by God.
The full video of the two-second clip of the Obamas also depicts Joe Biden as an ape and other black people as different animals. The full video (which isn’t the video Trump posted) doesn’t make distinctions against black people. It is a ridiculous, foolish video mocking Democrats.
But context doesn’t matter to some people; they accused me of partisanship. Since I refused to join their mob, they claimed that I was showing favouritism toward Donald Trump. They said I wouldn’t defend a Democrat if they posted that clip.
I do not expect people to follow my work closely. I am not important. However, that is an offensive false accusation against me. At the risk of revealing too much, the cost of trying to be faithful to the truth and a man of integrity has cost me many opportunities.
I have the unpopular distinction of being one of the most vocal critics of both woke ideology and white nationalism in evangelicalism. That isn’t a great financial strategy for an independent writer in our polarised society.
One of my favourite quotes is from Martin Luther, who said, “Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” That doesn’t mean I am always right, but it means I strive to be truthful about what I really believe.
Therefore, despite my strong opposition to Justin Trudeau, when he was accused of being a racist for wearing blackface, this is what I said:
“Wearing blackface might prove a person’s ignorance and insensitivity, but it doesn’t necessarily prove that they are racist… It’s unfair and unkind to believe Trudeau and his supporters are White supremacists based on the photos.”
I am not interested in diving into the latest current that will carry me into rivers of performative outrage. After all, like most black people, I can’t swim.
We should all be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labour is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
In other words, let’s stop acting like monkeys instead of rational human beings.