Black Berea article: Love in the face of lynching

In May 2020, I was asked by my friends at "Black Berea" (for more about them see here) to write an article addressing the highly publicised death of Ahmoud Arbery. While written and submitted earlier, it was published the same day as the death of George Floyd at the hands of police who were apprehending him. Together, these two events poured petrol on the fires of racial division in America, already fanned by a decade of social media exposes of police brutality and stoked by the rhetoric of President Donald Trump and his acolytes. I have posted the article in full below. To read it at its original site, visit Black Berea. 

Ahmoud Arbery is seen on camera jogging down a leafy Georgia road. A parked truck waits ahead. A man stands in the road with a shotgun, another in the back of the truck with a handgun. Arbery swerves to go around the truck, avoiding the gunman in the road. The gunman circles to the front of the truck where we hear a shot, before Arbery emerges into full view, clearly fighting for his life to push away or get away the gun from his assailant. More shots ring out, and Arbery turns, lurches forward, and falls on his face - dead.

Another unarmed black man killed. Why? Well, when it comes down to it, perusing a construction site while black. Maybe he was there to steal something - his assailants thought - or maybe he was responsible for stealing things in the past. In other words, he was killed for an alleged offence, without a legal trial - indeed, without any trial: the very definition of a lynching.

The order of events that followed was, for many, predictable: 1. Accept the shooters’ narrative, and cover up, 2. Respond to media leaks with arrests months later, 3. Create a narrative that incriminates the victim, Arbery.

And while many lament the personal and systemic injustices on full display, a chorus of tone deaf voices trying to articulate their own alternative narratives has arisen, as usual.

“They suspected him of burglary.” But suspicion is not enough, and burglary is not a capital offence.

“He had a criminal record.” Lots of people do - should they be gunned down in the streets for it?

“He was fighting for the gun.” You would too if your choices were “run and be shot” or “wrestle and possibly survive.”

“Let’s wait till all the facts come out”. Already, whatever the context, the facts to hand are incriminating enough in light of a Christian world-view and pro-life ethic. An unarmed man was shot dead in the street by two armed men in a pick-up truck who had seen no crime, had no evidence, possessed no lawful authority, represented no legal entity, initiated the confrontation, and used deadly force out of an entitled sense of right to police the black body that lay bleeding out in front of them.   

“There’s no unequivocal evidence, no smoking gun that shows one side to be more correct than the other.” Yes, this is a real quote. And there is quite literally a smoking gun… held by a man with no positional authority, legal mandate, personal right, or meaningful evidence, pointed at the unarmed body of another man.

“You can’t know this was about ‘race’”. Such an argument fundamentally does not understand American racial dynamics, unjust disparities, or implicit biases. It is possible that this comes from a sweet, naive person whose mind is simply too pure to comprehend the possibility that someone could have such a mixture of entitlement, fear, hatred, and cultural self-interest in their heart that they could take a black man’s life. But I find that this objection often originates from someone whose paltry definition of racism is no broader than the tip of a Klansman’s hood. It refuses to ponder power structures and privileges, or wonder why a black man exploring a construction site should be any more suspicious than the millions of white people who do exactly the same. It doesn’t stop to ask why in America today, a black man is 2.5 times more likely to be shot by police than a white man, and is twice as likely to be unarmed. It does not consider the mentality that encourages two white civilians to suspect without evidence, pursue without cause, command without authority, and kill without license an unarmed black man not threatening anyone or anything. It does not contemplate why there is greater fear of unarmed or perhaps in some cases lightly armed individual black men and women, than the small armies of heavily-armed masked up Libertarian white men storming court houses to protest Coronavirus lockdowns. It does not consider that historically and to the present day, America not only has a power problem, and a gun problem, but a racism problem that is objectively demonstrable empirically and anecdotally. It does not examine the deceitfulness of the questioner’s heart, and ponder the eagerness to find a reason for why Ahmaud Arbery “probably deserved to die”.  

Like Job’s friends, some people are full of answers but low on pastoral listening and encouragement. They are loud, but not authentically prophetic, because they use their voices to maintain the sinful status quo (Micah 2:1-11). They may be considered credible, because of their influence and good things they have said or done, but here they are not being priestly, or they would confess the continuing sins of the nation to God (Nehemiah 1:4-11; Daniel 9:1-19). Perhaps they think their contributions are noble, but they are not kings, or else they would speak for the voiceless and defend the oppressed (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Let’s not fall into such muck. In biblically processing all of this, let’s let the Holy Spirit through Romans 12:9-21 be our guide, and with Martin Luther King in his speech, “Where do we go from here”, learn to say to ourselves “hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love.” What does that love look like?

It is a meaningful love - Let love be genuine. The Greek word translated here as genuine or sincere, anypokritos, carries the sense of “not playing a part”. Don’t be fake, putting on a show, in your demonstrations and displays of love. Don’t virtue signal or accuse others of virtue signalling - just be virtuous and truly love! Such love looks like Jesus, whose life was unjustly taken by a mob - yes - but who gave his life up for us in redeeming sacrifice and rose from the grave to give us eternal hope.

It is a moral love - Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love unequivocally acknowledges and affirms the existence of good and evil. It believes in the radical depravity of humanity, tainting every aspect of what we think, say, and do with sin, but also the real dignity of God’s creation and the redeemed identity of Christ’s new creation. Hating evil and hold to good is an act of love, thus lamenting injustice and longing for justice is truly loving.

It is a mindful love. It is mindful of who you love: Love one another with brotherly affection. It is mindful of how you love: Outdo one another in showing honour. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit. It is mindful of why you love: Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 

It is a ministerial love. It is ministerial to the faith-family, seeking to identify the needs of brothers and sisters, not only materially but emotionally, not adding to trauma but administering deep soul care: Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. It is ministerial to those who cause suffering by remembering to pray the saving grace and abundant forgiveness of God over them even as you condemn their injustice: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. It is ministerial to those who personally or collectively suffer: Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. If you are incapable of this kind of harmony, please be quiet. Now is not the time for yammering “Ackchually” hot takes. Your voice is not “just” noise, it’s harmful noise. Also, check yourself before you go looking for a black person who agrees with you, or hide behind black family, friends, and colleagues. Confirmation bias is a logical fallacy and does not make for a good or acceptable argument. Worse still, this particular practice is tokenism, which treats people as pawns to be sacrificed in an argument, not kings and queens made in the image of God.

It is a merciful love. When hating “the white man” seems the way to go, when vengeance feels right, remember to Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,  “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Breonna Taylor. Steven Taylor (no relation). Jah’Sean Hodge. Dreasjon "Sean" Reed. Adrian Medearis. Ahmoud Arbery is not the only black person who has been killed in transparently unjust or questionable circumstances. How we need the Holy Spirit and the word right now! And though everyone may be uncomfortable at some aspect of this particular passage, we must obey it if we are truly people of the gospel, that is good news, in a world of bad news. It shepherds us through collective grief and trauma toward lives defined by faith, hope, and yes, love.