ON RELIGION

A Celebrity Chef Appeals to a Legacy of Black Forgiveness

By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN @ THE NEW  YORK TIMES

Published: June 28, 2013

(note: these are highlights from the story)

“The tradition of forgiving was central to the civil rights movement, and it’s grounded in two things,” said the Rev.Jonathan L. Walton, a professor of Christian morals at Harvard and minister of its Memorial Church. “One cannot be held accountable for how others treat us, but we can be held accountable by God for how we treat others. So forgiveness and reconciliation are central to us. Particularly for Martin Luther King, it was not about defeating an enemy but defeating injustice by bringing people from opposing sides into beloved community.”

“Forgiveness is just expected,” said the Rev. Douglas A. Slaughter, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Aiken, S.C.“Even as a child, we were not allowed to hate the racist but to hate racism, and to fight against it. We were taught ways to understand that the racist is more in need of understanding than we were. It’s just how you were raised.”

Black Christian theology holds in creative tension the social-justice teachings of the Old Testament prophets and the conciliatory principles of Jesus and his disciples. Verses like Colossians 3:13 (“Forgive as the Lord forgave you”) and Luke 6:37 (“Judge not and ye shall not be judged”) are regularly cited. A famous gospel song popularized the phrase “God is not through with me yet,” a sinner’s plea for a second chance.

Applying such an ethos to the political arena, Dr. King was capable of saying in the aftermath of the 1956 bombing of his Montgomery, Ala., home, “We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us.” Some current black ministers also cite Nelson Mandela’s statement about making peace with South Africa’s apartheid government: “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

The Rev. Thurmond Neill Tillman has had a particularly close view of the Deen controversy. As the longtime pastor ofFirst African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., he shares a home city with Ms. Deen. He has seen the positive elements of her operation — hiring parolees from a postprison transitional program he is involved with — and he has also heard her admission. “The question is, have lessons been learned?” Mr. Tillman said. “Are there new mandates? If you had black people saying, ‘I wish I could work for Paula Deen,’ ” he added, “that would be a lesson learned.”

The minister summed up with a parable. “We shall not judge,” he said, “but we do get a license to be a food inspector. Judge the tree by the fruit it bears. It’s not our job to get rid of the tree — that’s God’s job. We hope it will bear different fruit.

Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness. Micah 7:18

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors. Matthew 6:12

For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14

But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses Matthew 6:15

And behold, they brought to Him a man paralyzed and prostrated by illness, lying on a sleeping pad; and when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven and the penalty remitted. Matthew 9:2

But whoever speaks abusively against or maliciously misrepresents the Holy Spirit can never get forgiveness, but is guilty of andis in the grasp of an everlasting trespass. Mark 3:29

Dear Friends,

I have a question for you today. Should Paula Deen be forgiven? For most Christians this should NOT be a question at all. She has repented you should understand that YOU have no choice, but I believe it goes much further. 

At the top, above, I have snipped paragraphed highlights from an article by a Columbia professor and award winning writer. He has carefully done a good job of remaining neutral, which shows his ability to be award winning. He has recorded the discussion accurately EXCEPT he has called it “BLACK FORGIVENESS” instead of Christian forgiveness. This is the world that we live in today. No one wants to stick up for Christ!  Next above, I have taken highlight verses on forgiveness from something which should be more important to you, the Word of God.  Notice how Micah reflects on anger continuing in those who fail to forgive.

This is what I call the anger, sin, guilt cycle which is straight from hell. Christ came to break that cycle. 

After that are a few scriptures which indicate that if you fail to forgive, YOU will not be forgiven. It is a central theme of Christianity. How many people do you think are walking around like this today? 

The next to last Scripture may even be more important to you today. Jesus forgave a man before healing him. Why? Most legitiment people who God has allowed to pray and have people healed will tell you that the number one cause of healing not working is unforgiveness. 

Finally, for those hesitant, there is only one unforgivable sin. That is degrading, speaking against etc. etc. the Holy Spirit. 

What Can We Do?

1. Practice forgiveness ourselves. Invite Jesus into your heart, even for those things that you may not realize you have not forgiven.

2. Promote forgiveness and this discussion to those people around you.

3. See who brings this up in our society, world, and corporate America. Certainly there must be Christians there? Watch what happens to those Corporations etc. that will not forgive and set examples of it.

God has already blessed Paula Deen for this action as her cookbook has become a best seller overnight. 

4. If you see a large number of people avoiding forgiveness in this case, realize that it is part of the signs of the need for Jesus to come back again and take the dwindling number of people who will remain faithful, home.

5. Avoid encouraging those who have failed to forgive. Do not enable them. This may even mean, not giving the money that God has blessed you with to them.

In Jesus Name,

Minister Bob Cutting

PS: It is assumed that you have already prayed along these lines, haven’t you?