Setting the record straight: THIS is Christianity
Rev. Franklin Graham recently called for prayer and repentance.
At Advocates for Love and Religious Freedom (ALRF), we think he's got it all wrong! In fact, our “THIS is Christianity” project was created to show that Christianity is about spreading God's love. We are about advocating for equity and justice for all, caring for the least among us, and educating the public about the dangers of Christian Nationalism.
That’s why the Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, an ALRF founding board member and pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ in DeKalb, IL set the record straight on what Christianity is really about: justice, peace, and love.
“Last week we celebrated a holiday commemorating one of this nation's most beloved and courageous citizens - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was he who reminded us that "true peace is not the mere absence of tension, but the presence of justice."
As a local church pastor, I thought of that when I read Franklin Graham's call to prayer, repentance, and humility.
I find it disturbing that Franklin is more disturbed by peaceful protestors than he is by an untrained and illegally deployed armed militia authorized to kill unarmed citizens with impunity (and even worse with what our Vice President says is complete immunity). This pastor's heart is broken after repeatedly watching Renee Good swallow three bullets from point blank range by a masked ICE agent.
My heart is broken again listening to our top government leaders portray her as a terrorist who got what she deserved - this mother of three whose blood spilled over the stuffed animals left by the children she had just dropped off at school.
What Graham is asking for is the peace that comes when authority figures like him use their power to silence the voices of the oppressed, the marginalized, the traumatized, and the wounded.
It is not the peace that emerges from true justice.
That is what this pastor is in search of - justice for the immigrant, the trans community, the poor. The peace that comes from their forced and tortured silence is the peace of the empire - not the peace of Christ.
Franklin Graham can keep his calls for prayer and penance and humility.
My prayers will be heard with the marching feet of the citizens crying out for justice.
My penance will be to use whatever privilege I have been given not to silence the marginalized but to uplift them and let their cries be heard.
My humility will be to adhere to the demands not of the powerful but of the oppressed.
Jeremiah once derided the prophets of the empire who cried 'Peace! Peace!' when there is no peace. Graham is such a prophet shilling for the empire and asking for those who disturb its enforced peace to be silenced. He wants the peace that comes from the absence of the tension that makes for Shalom.
This pastor will continue to agitate, resist, persist, and cry out until justice comes, true peace can endure, and the prophets of the empire are the voices we no longer hear.”
Learn more about “THIS Is Christianity” and how our advocacy for human rights, justice, compassion, and freedom is one way we follow Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors. We welcome everyone to join us.
If you are interested in getting involved or have questions, please reach out to Executive Director Ellen Cobb Church or get in touch with us here.