There are a lot of really bad ideas swirling around our culture right now.  (That headline is one of them.)

Among many bad ideas, I am concerned about the things being embraced by various people and groups in a manner that has been termed “virtue signaling.” If you have not heard of this, think of Nike’s new commercials decrying racism, as if the whole world was eagerly waiting to know what a shoe company thinks. After all, we all know that the shoes we wear impact how we speak and behave towards each other. We must all think good things about Nike now. Their shoes care.

This is akin to white guilt.  It is something I also do not understand. I have enough of my own faults to deal with in the here and now. I do not need to take on the sins of people I never knew, people I had no impact upon, and people who did things 150 years ago that I wouldn’t ever do. I can declare such things as evil, but I feel no need to wring my hands and apologize for the wrongs of the ancient dead.

The problem of humanity is sin, and it is universal. Racism is a sin. It is not a sin unique to one’s color or to this point in history, and it is certainly not unique to America. (For starters, we did a lot wrong, but we are also one of the only nations to ever violently spill our own blood to end slavery.)  Yet, this issue has taken on almost a cultic status in some circles, including churches, as the be all and end all defining issue.

So, with the understanding that racism is wrong, how do we address it without embracing wrong ideas or ideologies?

To perhaps jump start your thinking on this . . .  I would encourage you and your family to make a point of watching the incredible thinker and speaker, Voddie Baucham, in this important talk titled, “Ethnic Gnosticism.” I believe you will find this educational and something helpful for discussion of this within your family.

This article was originally published by AFA of Indiana.