Dignity: Law and Order Explores the Dignity of Life

Dignity:

Law and Order Explores the Dignity of Life

Like many conservative pro-life people, I am nearly always disappointed by how network TV dramatizes pro-life versus abortion issues. “Fair and balance” rarely comes to mind.

So … I was hesitant to watch the October 23, 2009 episode of Law and Order when I heard it was their third attempt in twenty years at addressing this vital issue.

Ripped from the Headlines

This “ripped from the headlines” episode “fictionalized” and “dramatized” the summertime shooting of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who was killed on a Sunday morning while at church in Wichita, Kansas.

And … so … I was totally shocked, as was my wife, as we watched the episode.

Two main characters (Kevin, one of the lead detectives, and Michael, the head prosecuting attorney) actually verbalized pro-life positions—and did so in intelligent, rational, passionate, empathic portrayals.

In fact, Kevin boldly told Jack McCoy (his boss and the District Attorney) that Roe v. Wade needs to be revisited because of scientific, medical, and moral advances. He also said the tide has turned and America is a pro-life nation. He even links the modern pro-life perspective to pro-emancipation views during slavery (a link I have blogged about previously). And, believe it or not, he acknowledges that cats and dogs have more rights than unborn children.

Another main character (Connie, one of the prosecutors) began to shift positions from a life-time “pro-choice” view to a pro-life perspective. And, due to the powerful drama of the episode, it did not seem contrived or naïve that she would move down such a remarkable and unexpected path of change.

Primary guests powerfully depicted intelligent, normal, passionate, reasonable people--who were pro-life! The entire jury (along with my wife and me) was in tears as one character shared on the witness stand how she refused to abort her baby who was sure to die soon after childbirth. Her depiction of the precious twenty-one-hours that she, her husband, and their other children shared with the baby before she passed away was a moving narrative of the dignity of life.

Richard Thomas, yes, that Richard Thomas of The Waltons fame (John-Boy), plays a pro-life lawyer with perfectly calibrated restraint. His nuanced performance anchors the episode.

Lest anyone imagine that Law and Order was one-sided, other main characters and guests portrayed equally plausible and powerful pro-abortion roles. Thus the episode aptly conveys the current debate and the many intricate issues involved in it.

Your Thoughts?

I was able to TiVo the episode. I hope you can find it online. I’ve only been able to find one link to a short four-minute clip. You can see it here, though it does not do justice to the entire episode: http://bit.ly/4btuxB.

If you can locate the full version online at HuLu or other legal sites, please email and I’ll let everyone know.

If you saw the episode, what do you think?

I imagine that some pro-life people will not be fully satisfied. I imagine that other pro-life people will be pleasantly surprised as my wife and I were.

I imagine that many pro-abortion people will be quite unhappy. I wonder if any pro-abortion people will begin to see the issue in a different light.

The Bitter Waters and the God of All Comfort

The Bitter Waters and the God of All Comfort

AP science writer, Randolph E. Schmid reported on November 25, 2008, that Marine archaeologists had found the remains of a slave ship wrecked off the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1841, an accident that set free the ancestors of many current residents of those islands. Some 192 Africans survived the sinking of the Spanish ship Trouvadore off the British-ruled islands, where the slave trade was banned.

This report reminds us that millions of free Africans experienced the horrible progression from freedom, to capture, to baracoon, to inhumane inspection, and then to the holds of the slave ships. Historians have variously labeled their months-long crossing of the Atlantic as “the trans-Atlantic passage,” “the Middle Passage,” “the slave holds,” “the bitter waters,” and “rupture.”[1]

Barbara Holmes, in Joy Unspeakable, explains the terminology while introducing the tragedy. “Although the event is often referred to as the Middle Passage, this label fails to depict the stark realities of a slave ship. Captured Africans were spooned together lying on their sides in ships that pitched with every wave. Together they wept and moaned in a forced community that cut across tribal and cultural lines.”[2]

Creative Communal Expression of the Inexpressible: The Moan

The air was thick with stench and panic as ships like the Trouvadore departed the Slave Coast laden with their human cargo. The gruesomeness of their voyage of terror was akin to something out of a horror movie.

But how could they articulate such suffocating physical suffering and psychological agony? And if articulated, would they be understood since the slavers pitilessly ignored all tribal associations? Groans that could not be uttered and words that could not be communicated became the primal sustaining language of known as the moan.[3]

As the ships lurched back and forth with each wave, each soul rocked and swayed with despondency. Out of their despair “the moan became the first vocalization of a new spiritual vocabulary—terrible and wonderful, it was a cry, a critique, a prayer, a hymn, a sermon, all at once”[4]

As such, it was desperately defiant. Seemingly destitute of all power, the sufferers grasped hold of the universe, wordlessly shouting, “This is not the way it was meant to be!” The pain of enslavement dared them to succumb—to give up hope by losing their voice. In the moan, they reclaimed their voice, their inner personhood, their God-given right to express themselves.

Following the North Star: Portals of Hope

We follow the North Star guidance of the enslaved Africans’ responses to capture and rupture by reminding ourselves and our spiritual friends that we are never alone. Most of us would consider ourselves condemned prisoners in solitary confinement if we were stowed in the suffocating hold of a slave ship with little air, no portals, and no access to the outside world. Our African forebears teach us that there are always three open portals providing a way of internal release from captivity.

Portal one is God—the God of all portals, the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulations. Kidnapped from their homes and hijacked across the world, enslaved Africans encountered a wilderness experience that raised ultimate questions and brought them to a breaking point. On the brink between sanity and insanity, many encountered God—their good God who hears, sees, and cares. Theirs was a dual journey—away from their human home to their heavenly Home. As they journeyed, the chains still clanked, yet their hearts still hummed, or at least moaned.

Portal two is people—when the God of all comfort comforts us, he does so in order that we can comfort one another with the comfort that we receive from him. Individually and corporately they tapped into the Holy Spirit at every turn. In bound community, they shared with one another the Spirit of God within them, their hope of glory. The collective gathering of the power of his presence in their inner being provided life-sustaining strength in the midst of death-bidding despair. The all-surpassing power of God (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) shared among these captured souls transformed them into “Jesus with skin on.”

Portal three is self—not the self of self-sufficiency, but the self created in the image of God and infused with the Spirit of God. Ramming into the breakers of life, these enslaved men and women could break or conclude that there is no need to break. At their breaking point, those slaves who entrusted themselves to God discovered a bottomless resourcefulness that enabled them to transform physical bondage into spiritual freedom.[5] Through God, they absorbed the ache of life without abandoning the ship of hope. Even while stowed like animals below deck, they saw the shining North Star of God with upturned eyes of faith looking out spiritual portals.



[1]Excerpted from, Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering, Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Baker, 2007.
[2]Holmes, Joy Unspeakable, pp. 69-70.
[3]Holmes, pp. 72-74.
[4]Noel, “Call and Response,” p. 72.
[5]Thurman, Deep River, p. 39.

William Wilberforce: An Anniversary Well Worth Celebrating

An Anniversary Well Worth Celebrating
William Wilberforce: 1759 to July 29, 1833

(175 Years Ago Today)

*Note: For the actual radio interview with Dr. Kellemen on Moody Prime Time America, please follow this link: http://tracyhaney.wordpress.com/

Summary of William Wilberforce’s Life and Ministry

Most people know William Wilberforce, if at all, because of the 2007 movie Amazing Grace. And while the movie did a good overall job depicting his crusade against slavery, it did not, and no movie could, totally depict the depth of his struggle nor the cause of his motivation.

His struggle was so great—over eighteen years—that he lost his health and at times even lost his will to continue.

His motivation was not primarily political. It was spiritual. He fought against the sin of slavery because he had already been freed by Christ from the slavery of sin. Wilberforce had lived a life of luxury and even decadence. But in 1786, at age 27, he saw his personal sin against God and his personal need for a Savior and committed his life to Christ. From that day forward he was a changed man.

We can all learn from him today that the true motivation for any of our social causes must begin with an internal surrender to Christ as our personal Savior from sin.

After his commitment to Christ, he found his purpose:

“God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Morals.”

A William Wilberforce Time Line

1759 Born, surrounded by wealth and a life of ease.

1780 Age 21, elected to parliament.

1786 Age 27, converted to Evangelical Christianity

He now saw that, “My life is a public one. My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me.”

1789 Age 30, he begins an eighteen-year battle to end the slave trade.
Under the influence of Thomas Clarkson, he became committed to the abolition of slavery.

“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the consequences be what they would: I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.”

His resilience: he was vilified; he was opposed. The battle was overwhelming and costly to his health.

The amazing grace that saved and changed him was the same amazing grace that empowered him to live out a courageous mission despite years of defeat and discouragement.

His friends’ encouragement: “We understand that you are struggling to decide whether to do the work of God or be a political activist. We humbly suggest that you can do both.”

1807 March 25, Age 48, Parliament abolishes slave trade in the British Isles. After 18 years!

1833 July 26, Britain outlaws slavery in all its territories—giving freedom to all slaves in the British empire.

1833 July 29, he passes into glory.

Impact of His Mentor, John Newton

After yet another defeat of his bill, this one in 1796, (after seven years of concerted effort) Wilberforce’s hopes were crushed. He contracted a severe fever, followed by excruciating intestinal troubles. Gravely ill, exhausted, and emotionally spent, he serious considered retirement from public life. Seeking counsel from his spiritual mentor, John Newton, he wrote his friend on July 21, 1796.

Newton both empathized with Wilberforce and encouraged him. “You meet with many things which weary and disgust you. But then they are inseparably connected with your path of duty; and though you cannot do all the good you wish for, some good is done.”

Ultimately, Newton pointed Wilberforce to the Bible—to Daniel in particular, and to Daniel’s God. “It is true that you live in the midst of difficulties and snares, and you need a double guard of watchfulness and prayer. But since you know both your need of help, and where to look for it, I may say to you as Darius to Daniel, ‘Thy God whom you serve continually is able to preserve and deliver you.’ Daniel, likewise, was a public man, and in critical circumstances; but he trusted in the Lord; was faithful in his department, and therefore though he had enemies, they could not prevail against him.”

Newton continued, “The great point for our comfort in life is to have a well-grounded persuasion that we are where, all things considered, we ought to be.”

Neither man knew that 11 long years would pass before the goal was finally reached. Newton died the same year the slave trade was abolished in 1807, but not before hearing the news from his friend and disciple, William Wilberforce.

African American Testimonials to William Wilberforce

When news of Wilberforce’s death on July 29, 1833 arrived, the officers of the Free People of Color met at the Presbyterian Church in New York to draft this resolution honoring him. “The most extensive manifestations of feelings be recommended to the people of color throughout the United States, particularly in this state.”

Frederick Douglass saluted the work of Wilberforce “that finally thawed the British heart into sympathy for the slave, and moved the strong arm of government in mercy to put an end to this bondage. Let no American, especially no colored American, withhold generous recognition of this stupendous achievement—a triumph of right over wrong, of good over evil, and a victory for the whole human race.”

Wilberforce’s Impact on the Abolition of Slavery in America

Impact on William Lloyd Garrison

When news reached the American shores in 1833 that the British government had at last voted to emancipate the nearly 800,000 slaves in bondage throughout its empire, the leaders of the American Anti-Slavery Society took this as their cue to formally launch their efforts to secure emancipation in America. William Lloyd Garrison and the other leaders of the AAS believed that the momentum established by Wilberforce was a harbinger of better days for America.

Impact on Maria Stewart

Garrison had already been moved and motivated by another Abolitionist—a young, widowed, female African American—Maria Stewart. Married at 23, widowed at 26, converted at 27, she challenged a nation at 28. In the fall of 1831, she entered the offices of Garrison, the editor of the newly established abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. Stewart handed Garrison the manuscript of her challenge to African Americans to sue for their rights.

Referencing what was happening in Britain and beyond, she notes, “All the nations of the earth are crying out for liberty and equality. Away, away with tyranny and oppression! And shall Africa’s sons be silent any longer?”

Like Wilberforce, she was motivated by Scriptural convictions. “Many think, because your skins are tinged with a sable hue, that you are an inferior race of beings; but God does not consider you as such. He hath formed and fashioned you in his own glorious image, and hath bestowed upon you reason and strong powers of intellect. He hath made you to have dominion over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea (Genesis 1:26). He hath crowned you with glory and honor; hath made you but a little lower than the angels (Psalms 8:5) . . .”

Impact on Political Leaders

He also influenced George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, many of whom he met and/or corresponded with, and all of whom read his writings and followed his career with admiration.

Impact on Josiah Wedgewood

He encouraged Josiah Wedgewood to design a medallion of a slave in chains on his knees with the inscription, “Am I not a man and a brother?” This was powerfully used also in the United States to communicate the personhood and equality of African Americans.

Implication for African Americans Today—and for All Americans

But God . . . We are image bearers—we are equal in worth and value. We are equal in intellect and dominion.

Freedom from the slavery of sin is the motivation for us to fight for freedom from the sin of slavery or any other societal sin.

Resilience comes ultimately not from our self-effort, but from God’s grace empowering us.

We all need mentors like John Newton who will dare us to be Daniels and Esthers.

Wilberforce’s “Other” Ministries

He supported 69 philanthropic causes. He gave away one-quarter of his annual income to the poor. He fought on behalf of orphans, child laborers, single mothers, and juvenile delinquents. He also was active in Foreign Missionary Societies and Foreign Bible Societies.

Common Themes in African American Acceptance of Christ

Common Themes in African American Acceptance of Christ

Note: Excerpted from Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, by Kellemen and Edwards

During slavery, if spiritually famished African Americans were going to convert to Christianity, then they had to convert on the basis of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection as revealed in the Bible, not on the basis of Christianity revealed in the lifestyles of the Christians they knew. Ironically, to find redemption in Christ, African Americans had to redeem Christianity as they saw it practiced. “By some amazing but vastly creative spiritual insight the slave undertook the redemption of a religion that the master had profaned in his midst.”[i]

Christ’s suffering for humanity’s sin was the key that unlocked their hearts and enlightened their eyes. “Jesus quickly became the ardent personification of the slaves’ own suffering.”[ii] Their suffering at the hands of Christians caused them to identify with a suffering Savior who suffered at the hands of religious leaders.

At the same time, African American Christians clearly recognized and constantly emphasized the difference between Christ’s sinlessness and their personal need for forgiveness from sin. The recurring theme of the conversion narratives was salvation from sin, not from suffering. Yes, Christ shared with them the experience of unjust suffering. But more importantly, they shared in Christ’s suffering for their sins.

The Sin of Slavery and the Slavery of Sin

Pastor James W. C. Pennington, reflecting on his conversion, seamlessly expresses his understanding of suffering and of sin. Without minimizing for a moment the evils of slavery, he maximizes for all eternity the horrors of his own enslavement to sin and Satan.

"I was a lost sinner and a slave to Satan; and soon I saw that I must make another escape from another tyrant. I did not by any means forget my fellow-bondmen, of whom I had been sorrowing so deeply, and travailing in spirit so earnestly; but I now saw that while man had been injuring me, I had been offending God; and that unless I ceased to offend him, I could not expect to have his sympathy in my wrongs; and moreover, that I could not be instrumental in eliciting his powerful aid in behalf of those for whom I mourned so deeply" (Pennington).[iii]

Rejecting the “slaveholding gospel” of the institutional Church of that era, the enslaved African Americans gave birth to a regenerated Christianity that reflected fundamental Christian doctrine while maintaining compatible African traditions. Their cultural practice of biblical Christianity provided the new orientation toward existence that they needed given their shattered external circumstances and sinful internal nature. It created the new narrative of present resilience made possible by a Savior who suffered with them because they were sinned against. It also created the new narrative of future hope made possible by a Savior who suffered for them because they were sinners.

Their focus offers an indispensable caution for all soul physicians. While we are called to sustain and heal people in their suffering, if we neglect to address their sinning, if we fail to offer reconciling, then we may enable people to become more self-sufficient sinners. Such one-sided ministry attempts to empower people to live this life more successfully while giving them little incentive to turn to Christ’s resurrection power for eternal life later and abundant life now. We should shudder at the thought.


[i] Thurman, Deep River, p. 36.
[ii] Andrews, Practical Theology, p. 18.
[iii] Pennington, “The Fugitive Blacksmith,” in Katz, Five Slave Narratives, p. 52, emphasis added.

Reconciliation Triangle

Reconciliation Triangle*

On 9th December 1999, as its final act of the Millennium, Liverpool City Council unanimously passed a motion apologizing for the city’s role in the Slave Trade, linked to a commitment to policies that would end racism and work to create a community where all are equally valued.

International Conference

In December 1999, at the invitation of President Mathieu Kérékou of the Republic of Benin, an International Conference was held in Benin, attended by people from Africa, the Americas and Europe affected by the Black Diaspora, including representatives from Richmond, Virginia, and Liverpool. The President apologized for his country’s role in selling Africans to the slave traders.

Racial Healing

At the Benin Conference Lord Alton of Liverpool presented a small maquette of the large public sculpture ‘Reconciliation’ created by Liverpool artist, Stephen Broadbent, which already stands in Liverpool, Belfast and Glasgow along with a statement signed by the Liverpool’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Joe Devaney and the Leader of the Council, Mike Storey.

In April 2000 a ‘Ceremony of Racial Healing‘ attended by 4 Government Ministers from Benin, took place in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. The intention was to extend the process of reconciliation.

As a next step, with encouragement at senior government level in Benin, Liverpool and Richmond, it was decided to raise funds to donate to Benin a 4 meter high bronze edition of the ‘Reconciliation’ sculpture, with specially designed panels by young people in Liverpool, Richmond and Benin. It was also decided that a further casting of the Reconciliation sculpture would be made to be sited on the slave trail route in Richmond.

The site for the sculptures erection in Benin was identified, a specially designed ‘Reconciliation Garden’ in the city of Cotonou was to be built. President Kerekou said “that it would establish a meaningful international connection which would reflect the infamous slave triangle. The three statues would be a physical and symbolic manifestation of a process of bringing together in an expression of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation - the descendants of those that profited from the evil trade, those on the continent from which they were taken and those now living in the place to which many slaves were taken.”

Project chair, Joe Devaney was invited to an International Conference in Washington D.C. in the summer of 2001. The ‘Connecting Communities’ delegates welcomed the Reconciliation Triangle Project as a major initiative in the understanding and healing of slavery’s wounds.

Joe and artist Stephen Broadbent both visited Richmond in 2001, addressing the City Council and presenting the Mayor with a model of the original Reconciliation Sculpture. Representatives from Richmond visited Liverpool on three occasions. The city fully supports the project.

Broadbent, the sculptor, worked with fellow artist, Faith Bebbington, along with children from six of Liverpool’s inner city schools to incorporate new low-relief scenes on the four flat sides relating to the slave trade between Liverpool, Benin and the Americas.

The final sculpture, based on these designs, was finished by Liverpool artists Broadbent and Bebbington. The sculptures were then cast in bronze ready to be shipped to Benin and Richmond. In Liverpool it is hoped the bronze reliefs will be mounted and exhibited adjacent to the existing Reconciliation statue.

Beyond the Suffering

In October 2004, at a Civic ceremony hosted by the Maritime Museum on the dockside in Liverpool, a finished 'Reconciliation Sculpture' was handed over to representatives of the Benin Government, this significant event was also attended by a representative from Richmond. The leader of Liverpool City Council, quoted the words, ”the only way to bring reconciliation is to face the pain of history with courage, and then to change.” He went on to say, “We have begun that process of change, and this reconciliation initiative is one more step on that journey.”

*Article adapted from: http://www.reconciliationtriangle.org/#history

Amazing Grace and Amazing Change

Amazing Grace the Movie and the Books and the Amazing Change Campaign

February 23, 2007 marked the release of a much-anticipated movie about William Wilberforce’s fight to end slavery in Britain. See the movie trailer for Amazing Grace at www.amazinggracemovie.com. Though some Christians have complained that the movie somewhat downplays the Christian faith that inspired the political protest (I don't agree), seeing the movie and reading either of the books outlined below, will provide the context to understand and motivate all of us to apply our Christian faith in the fight against abuse, racism, slavery, and all forms of social injustice in our day.

The Amazing Change Campaign

William Wilberforce's work is far from finished. There are still an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today. Modern-day slavery can come in many different forms. Entire families may work long days in rice-mills, brick kilns, or on plantations. Children may be abducted and forced to fight in a rebel's army. All of the people in these examples are slaves—they cannot come and go as they please and are often beaten or threatened with violence. They have no autonomy in their day-to-day lives and deserve the right to be free.

In conjunction with the release of the film Amazing Grace, the Amazing Change Campaign has been launched to abolish modern day slavery and allow children and adults around the world to live in freedom. This campaign seeks to motivate students and communities to make their mark on history by speaking out against modern day slavery.

At theamazingchange.com, you'll learn about the "two great objects" that were central to William Wilberforce's Life: the abolition of slavery and the reformation of society.

Visit www.theamazingchange.com and learn more about what efforts you can take to make these two great objects a part of your life. Educate yourself by reading stories about modern day slavery, learn how to start your own Clapham Circle, and sign the petition to end modern day slavery. Here you will find all the tools you need to take action against social injustice. Here you can also sign the following petition.

We, the undersigned, affirm the inherent dignity and worth of all people and the right of every child and adult to live free from slavery and involuntary servitude. We call upon world leaders to commit themselves to the abolition of slavery around the world. Let our signatures demonstrate our desire to see the emancipation of slaves and accountability for slave masters and others who benefit from the enslavement of people.

Amazing Grace the Movie

Amazing Grace the movie is based on the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce, played by Ioan Gruffudd. Gruffudd plays Wilberforce, who, as a Member of Parliament, navigated the world of 18th Century backroom politics to end the slave trade in the British Empire. Albert Finney plays John Newton, a confidante of Wilberforce who inspires him to pursue a life of service to humanity. Benedict Cumberbatch is William Pitt the Younger, England's youngest ever Prime Minister at the age of 24, who encourages his friend Wilberforce to take up the fight to outlaw slavery and supports him in his struggles in Parliament.

Elected to the House of Commons at the age of 21, and on his way to a successful political career, Wilberforce, over the course of two decades, took on the English establishment and persuaded those in power to end the inhumane trade of slavery. Romola Garai plays Barbara Spooner, a beautiful and headstrong young woman who shares Wilberforce's passion for reform, and who becomes his wife after a whirlwind courtship.

Youssou N'Dour is Olaudah Equiano. Born in Africa and sent as a slave to the Colonies, Equiano bought his freedom and made his home in London, where he wrote a best-selling account of his life and became a leading figure in the fight to end the slavery of his fellow countrymen.

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper

Just in time for the debut of the movie by the same title, Amazing Grace is John Piper's snapshot of the life, faith, and practice of William Wilberforce. Piper, a leading Evangelical pastor and author, succinctly (75 pages) outlines the spiritual forces that motivated Wilberforce's lifelong battle to end slavery in the British Kingdom.

Unlike the flurry of other books recently released on Wilberforce, here readers will find the theology behind the man. Further, readers will be engaged to ponder how theology should impact practice today, especially in the area of how a lay person relates biblical truth to social action in today's world.

Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas

Eric Metaxas provides the story behind the movie Amazing Grace. Metaxes' book clearly hightlights Wilberforce's faith in Christ as the primary motivator for his campaign to end slavery in Britain.

Metaxas vividly portrays the real and raw experiences that Wilberforce endured including intense opposition. Readers see in Wilberforce, as the subtitle suggests, a heroic and resilient Christian whose faith impacted not only his life, but the lives of millions. It was Wilberforce's freedom from the slavery of sin that led him to fight for freedom from the sin of slavery. Read Amazing Grace and learn the rest of the story.

Generational Repentance and Reconciliation

Generational Repentance and Reconciliation

By now I'm sure that you have read the news. The state of Virginia officially apologized for their role in legalizing and supporting slavery, and they also apologized for their mistreatment of Native Americans. Though the vote was unanimous, it was not without some contention, as one particular lawmaker stated, "Just get over it!"

Another related item in the news was the proposal out of the US House of Representatives that urged Japan to officially apologize for their role in the Korean "Comfort Women" tragedy of WW II. "Comfort Women" were the 100s of thousands of Korean women who were raped by Japanese soldiers.

What is a biblical view of repentance and reconciliation? Do descendents of people of one generation have a biblical responsibility for how their ancestors treated other people?

Corporate Generational Identity

In our individualistic Western society we are quick to shout, "No!" However, most cultures for most of human history, including Jewish culture in the Old Testament, had a much more collective, corporate view of personhood, personality, and responsibility.

While it is true that salvation is an individual decision that a person makes before the God of the universe, it is false to assert that God never views people groups and nations corporately. God not only treated nations corporately in the Old Testament, He viewed them generationally. God held entire past generations of past nations accountable for their past mistreatment of God's (corporate) people.

Clearly it is not an unbiblical concept to say, "For what my ancestors did to your ancestors I am deeply sorry." Nor is it an unbiblical concept for a descendent of a majority race to recognize the lasting imprint that enslavement and abuse has left generationally on a minority race. Such humble repentance and responsibility-taking can lead to present reconciliation and relational restoration.

Though my ancestors were in Romania being persecuted and abused during the time of American enslavement, I still accept a sense of responsibility for the harm that White Americans brought upon Black Americans. I also understand something of the lingering impact of that horrible mistreatment.

Recognizing responsibility and impact does not mean that I think a current member of a past harmed group "needs" my "help" in order to "make it." However, all human beings need understanding, empathy, and reconciliation. They don't need to be told, "Just get over it!"

Thus, I applaud the people of Virginia and the members of the US House of Representatives on their recent movements toward generational repentance and reconciliation. May God honor their efforts and produce the fruit of peace.