My Open Response To An Open Letter To Black Evangelicals

by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

 I recently came across a letter by Dr. Michael L. Brown. It was entitled, “An Open Letter To My Black Evangelical Friends.” Dr. Brown is a “converted” Jew who is on a mission to lead other Jews into accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Dr. Brown holds a B.A. in the Hebrew language and a Ph.D in Near Eastern languages and literature. He has written a number of books.

Those who know me may be wondering why I as a Devout Agnostic would take the time to respond to Dr. Brown’s letter. Well, for 30 years of my life I was an “Evangelical” and as it turns out, I happen to be Black. Without further ado, I present Dr. Brown’s letter.

Dr. Brown’s Letter To Black Evangelicals

Michael Brown: An Open Letter to My Black Evangelical Friends

Published on Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:00

Written by Michael Brown

I am not writing this letter to accuse but rather to advance understanding. And even though I am white, I am not writing as an outsider but as a fellow evangelical, part of the same spiritual family. May I pose some candid questions?

Are you guilty, on any level, of blind allegiance to the Democratic party? And, on Election Day, did any of you compromise your convictions out of racial solidarity?

I have been very open in my criticism of white evangelicals, pointing out how we often put our trust in the Republican party and how we look to the latest candidate as some kind of political savior, only to be disappointed time and time again, complaining that the Republicans wanted our votes but did not stand up for our values. “We won’t get fooled again,” we say, only to repeat the same cycle four years later.

On Election Day morning, I posted an article entitled “A Warning to Moral Conservatives,” raising concerns that if Mitt Romney was elected, we would be making a grave mistake in looking to him to advance our moral and social agenda. I even wrote an article in June entitled “Mitt Romney Is Not the Answer,” and I often told my evangelical radio listeners that I would not argue with them if they could not vote for Romney because he was a Mormon. So, I do understand black Christian reticence towards Romney (for these reasons, among others).

I simply do not understand how my black evangelical friends who so staunchly oppose same-sex “marriage” and who stand against abortion could cast their vote for the most radically pro-abortion, pro-gay-activist president in our history.

Was there no moral compromise involved in voting for him? Are there no issues that could disqualify him in your eyes? And must Barack Obama be elected and then reelected in order to make up for past injustices, as one black evangelical woman claimed?

In the last few months, black Christian leaders came on my radio show to express their disapproval of the president’s policies, urging their parishioners not to vote for him (without endorsing Romney). And in a recent article, my colleague Bishop Harry Jackson went as far as to say that, “President Obama has become a personality akin to the biblical figure ‘Ishmael’ for the African-American community instead of the ‘child of promise’ we had hoped for. In a nutshell, he has attempted to create a new, unbiblical standard of social justice that promotes abortion, same-sex marriage, a distrust of Israel, and a diminishing of religious liberties.”

Yet when it came to time to vote, the same percentage of black Americans who voted for Obama in 2008 did so again in 2012 (roughly 95%). How can this be? Again, I am not attacking, I am inquiring.

And I am not the only one inquiring. I have been receiving emails and calls from other African American evangelicals asking these same questions.

More disturbingly, some of these black Christians have told me that they have been cut off from family, friends, church members, and even pastors because they opposed the reelection of President Obama. To ask again, how can this be?

One black pastor explained to me that he is convinced that “many African American believers compromised God’s Word during the election in the name of Obama Care and social program such as foods stamps etc.” Is there any truth to this?

If so—and again, I am asking, not accusing—this is not only wrong, it misguided, since Democratic policies have hardly advanced the economic well-being of black America. As noted by Congressman Allen West, “Since 2007, black median household income has declined by 11 percent—the largest decline of all major racial and ethnic groups … In 2011, the poverty rate among black Americans was 27.5 percent. The poverty rate among blacks living in families headed by women is 41 percent.”

To be sure, Republicans have done little to win the confidence of black Americans, and I understand the history of distrust in recent decades. But does this justify the overwhelming black allegiance to the Democratic party?

According to the BlackDignity.org website, “A black baby is three times more likely to be aborted [than] a white baby.” (The BlackGenocide.org website claims the figure is substantially higher; that website should be visited.)

BlackDignity.org also reports that, “Twice as many African-Americans have died from abortion than have died from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined.” And today, in New York City, 60% percent of black babies suffer the fate of abortion, never to see the light of day.

Does it trouble you, my black evangelical friends, that the Democratic platform, not to mention the Democratic National Convention, was almost a celebration of abortion?

In 2008, I warned my listeners that Mr. Obama, if elected, would support the goals of gay activism, including redefining marriage, but many listeners did not believe me. Now that President Obama has actually abused the teaching and example of Jesus to advocate same-sex “marriage,” how could you vote for him again?

One caller to my program on Monday told me candidly that he was shaking in the voting booth, knowing that he couldn’t support President Obama’s pro-abortion, pro-gay-activist policies. Yet, he confessed, he voted for him because he was black.

Was he alone in doing so? Again, I am not accusing. I am only asking.

Michael Brownis the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience.

My Response

First of all, I find Dr. Brown’s concern heart warming, and highly suspicious. Black people are only 13% of the population. Not all Black people are “Evangelicals.” When you drill down even further, yes President Obama received better than 93% of the Black votes, you must remember that not 100% of the Black population voted or is even eligible to vote. Census data includes everybody, including children.

Thus, for some peculiar reason, Dr. Brown finds himself not only concerned but feels compelled to address his concerns to an extremely small subset of society. I love his rhetorical flourish wherein he claims to be “one of us.” When did that happen? I do make a point of knowing the people sitting around my dinner table. He doesn’t look familiar. If in fact he was a “family member” he would not be asking the questions he is asking.”Advancing understanding” is a euphemism for setting us Black Folk straight, by bestowing upon us his version of the proper understanding.

Blind Allegiance And Racial Solidarity

Here revealed, are his real concerns. Frankly? I find this highly offensive… and it is racist! What he is really saying is that we poor Black folk – Evangelicals in particular – are blind. We are limited in our vision and understanding. We poor Black folk don’t know what’s best for us and Bless God! Deliverance has come! A converted Jew is going to lead us into that promised land! Hallelujah! NOT!

Too add insult to injury, we’re voting for President Obama merely because we’re Black and he’s Black. Did white Evangelicals vote for Mitt Romney merely because he’s white? Well, truth be told, most of them did!

Hypocrisy

In an effort to rehabilitate his argument, Dr. Brown really puts his foot in it. In classic polemic style, he endeavors to strike a balance by declaring that he warned the white Evangelicals against believing that the Republican party would advance their goals or that Romney would support their aims. This smoke screen is a false equivalence. Why? It lacks the interjection of race. It is like that spoonful of sugar to make his rather bitter medicine go down. Look! I made similar claims about Romney and the Republicans! Actually? No you didn’t! A similar claim would be asking if they were voting Republican and voting for Romney because he’s white? Those words did not pass his lips and the presumptuous assumption – though unstated – is that white people are above voting for a candidate based entirely on his color.

Abortion, Gay Marriage, Activism And Other Nonsense

The mantra that President Obama is the most activist, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage President in history is a claim made out of either ignorance or intentional mendacity. Roe v. Wade has been a Constitutionally protected law since 1973. On Inauguration day in 2008, we and the entire world watched as President Barack Hussein Obama, placed his hand atop a Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution does not define marriage but it does call for equality under the law. Today there are laws forbidding discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender and sexual orientation. These are the laws President Obama swore to uphold and this is exactly what he’s doing. He could have ended DADT with an executive order. He did not. He allowed it to work it’s way through the congressional process

Clearly Dr. Brown needs to take a refresher on basic civics. He should have learned how our government works when he was back in high school. Presidents sign Bills into law – or they veto them – after they are presented to him by the United States congress. Activist? One of the main complaints from the “Left” was that President Obama was not out selling either his programs or his accomplishments. While the “right” has been calling him an activist without citing examples, the “left” has been complaining that he has not been activist enough! Know what that means? He’s probably got it just about right!

Please do not come crying to the Black Community about your abortion problem. Yes, that’s right! It is your problem. White people, Evangelical or otherwise haven’t given a damn about Black people since we’ve been here. Our roots in this country go back to 1619. How far back do yours go? One half of my family was here to greet the Pilgrims, the other half was brought over as cargo. We have a long an ugly history when it comes to our interactions with white people.

The only religious institution that took a principled stand on the abortion issue from the very beginning was the Catholic Church. They were against it from day one. The Protestant faiths, uttered not a peep until the “bean counters” did a study in the mid 80’s and discovered two things that shocked them.

1. More white babies were being aborted than any other race.
2. By 2050 white people would become a minority in the USA.

It was then that all hell broke loose! I was there sitting on the front row when Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority” was brought on board with Dobson’s “Focus on the Family,” The Schaefers, both Francis and Franky, to crank up the religious opposition to abortions. For 10 years not a peep. Then overnight, abortions became the sin of our nation.

I know abortions came from the Eugenics Movement of Nazi Germany. Margaret Sanger, the founder of “Planned Parenthood” was a fan of the Eugenics movement and fully supported the reducing of what they called the “undesirables” in society. When abortions became legal, clinics began popping up in minority/Black and depressed communities all around the country. You never find an abortion clinic or a Planned Parenthood office in an affluent/white community. This isn’t by accident. This is by design. What they never counted on was the fact that white women would go wherever they had to for abortion services.

I actually break all of this down at length in my piece on Abortion Myth-Direction. You’ll have to pardon my schadenfruede. When people create a program designed for my genocide and it backfires and gets them instead? Yeah, I’m going to smile and probably feel pretty good about it.

The Mendacity of Dr. Brown’s position is further buttressed by his ignoring of the Republican positions on what we do to preserve life after it gets here. Let’s call a spade a spade. What this things is all about, is forcing white women to get pregnant and have more babies. In essence lets turn them into breeders…in Jesus’ name amen! Why do I say this? Look at what they’re now taking issue with. Birth control? If your issue is with decreasing the number of abortions, making access to birth control readily available is a no-brainer! But of course abortion is only half of their problem. What they really want is to get the white birthrate up. Good luck! Black people, Evangelical or otherwise are not going to become the tip of your spear in the war to preserve a white majority in this country. Not going to happen.

Theological Implications

Let us be frank. The Bible says that the hope of the hypocrite shall perish. It is the very height of hypocrisy to promote the theory that God is sovereign and in control, to pray that his will be done in this election and them to throw a tantrum because things didn’t go your way. Have you stopped to consider, perhaps the problem is, you’re not on God’s side? Either God is in control or he is not. Of course, I could be getting this all wrong and perhaps you believe that Black people are more powerful than God and that we – our 13% – can thwart the very will of God merely by voting. I begin to understand all the voter suppression attempts we had to endure just to cast our votes.

The deeper issue is the fact, Dr. Brown and other Evangelicals believe the Government should be used to enforce their beliefs on a secular public. They are really admitting that the Church has failed in it’s mission and probably ought to be allowed to wither into oblivion. We do not live under a theocracy and it is not nor should it ever be the Governments responsibility to support the ideology of any religious institution. Yet we see religious institutions fighting tooth and nail to seize governmental power and bend the government into alignment with their particular brand of theology.

The fact abortions are legal doesn’t mean you have to get one. I could fly to Las Vegas tonight and spend the evening at a legal brothel. It is legal and I certainly have the means to do so. I am happily married and I have no desire to do so. The fact that it is legal doesn’t mean I have to do it.

In the Bible, Jesus said, “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” Was Jesus lying? If not, then the Church must not be lifting him up. It is not the Government’s job to lead people to Christ, that’s the Church’s job. Preachers get paid a lot of money – dare I say too much money – to now be whining about the Government.  We did not elect a “Pastor in Chief.” We voted for and elected an “Commander in Chief!” Don’t get it twisted!

While we’re on the subject of theology… I noticed no where in Dr. Brown’s polemic where he actually addressed the problems with Mormonism.

Galatians 1:8

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.