Jenner, Dolezal, Roof – and Identity

Bruce Jenner

Rachel Dolezal

Dylann Roof

An Olympic champion decathlete who now identifies as a woman; a white woman who told others she was black; a young man who walked into an African-American church prayer meeting Wednesday night and killed 9 people, saying, according to reports, “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”

What is the link among them?

They certainly are dramatically different from each other – most obviously in that neither Jenner nor Dolezal has assaulted another person, while Roof has committed a horrendous act of terror.

But look at these three through the lens of identity, through the question, “Who are you?” Each seems to be trying to find an identity they lack:

  • Jenner reports to have dressed in women’s clothes secretly for years, and looks to find freedom by now publicly acting like a woman.
  • Dolezal identifies with “the black experience,” as she calls it, and became the head of a local branch of the NAACP. By all accounts, she was quite effective in that job. But she lied about her white biological parents, claiming her father was African-American.
  • From the pictures on his Facebook page, Roof seems to glory in white supremacy, to find meaning in seeing his race as better than and threatened by blacks.

Jenner is trying to find joy, fulfillment, and freedom in gender identity. Realize that Jenner is not among those whose biological development goes awry in the womb, resulting in a difficult-to-determine sex. He is a biological male. Indeed, no woman has ever run 400 meters in 47.51 seconds as he did – and if any woman ever does, she certainly will not also be able match Jenner in putting a 16 lb shot over 50 feet, long jumping over 23’ 8”, pole vaulting over 15’ 8”, and high jumping over 6’ 7”. (All time only 14 women have long jumped farther, 9 women have vaulted higher, and 17 women have jumped higher – and no woman appears on even two of those lists.)

But gender, say many today, is a social construct, distinct from biological sex, and Jenner is simply choosing to live as his/her genuine gender, not trying (at least not yet) to change sex.

Certainly many of the expectations a culture has for men’s roles and women’s roles are social constructs, with little if any relation either to biology or to biblical manhood and womanhood. The way we dress, the way we walk, the work that we do, the jewelry or make-up we wear, laws concerning voting and land ownership and inheritance – all these are social constructs. We Christians have to be careful not to claim that our own sub-culture’s expectations for how men and women act are all rooted in biblical revelation.

But while we must agree that some aspects of any culture’s conceptions of manhood and womanhood are social constructs, biology tells us there are some unique roles for the sexes, and Scripture tells us our Creator’s prescription – a prescription which may seem to be constraining, but in fact, as one aspect of submission to Christ and being transformed through the renewal of our minds, will lead to freedom.

Jenner stated, “As soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I’m free.” Jenner is trying to find freedom and joy in a change of identity, a change of public persona, a change of outward gender role. But Scripture tells us our identity is to found in Christ and obedience to Him. No other identity will lead to eternal joy.

Dolezal and Roof in quite different ways are trying to find joy and fulfillment through racial identity: Dolezal by pretending to be black and becoming a defender of black interests; Roof apparently by deluding himself into thinking of whites as superior, and finding identity in being the supposed noble defender of the superior race. Roof’s sense of identity then leads to the horror and carnage of Wednesday night.

Note that race is completely a social construct. Race, unlike sex, is not biologically determined. Some ethnicities are biologically distinct – but not races. That is, there are no genetic markers common to everyone we perceive as black, or to everyone we perceive as white – just as in India there are no genetic markers common to everyone in one caste or another. Yet this social construct of race (like caste) influences the way we see ourselves and others, and deeply impacts how others treat us (horribly, even to the point of hating and persecuting and killing).

So since race is a social construct, what’s the problem with a person society labels “white” as a child deciding to live as “black” as an adult?

The problem – for Jenner, for Dolezal, for Roof, and for us –comes down to: Where do you primarily find identity?

We all have multiple roles and identities: Our families, our jobs, our income, our nationalities, our ethnic heritage, our language, our education – all of these as well as race and gender feed into who we are.

But where do you primarily find identity.

Scripture tells us: Our first and foremost identity, the identity that defines us most vitally, the identity that determines our future is this: Who we are before God.

For God created mankind in His image and by right that creation rules as king. All mankind shares His image. Yet all mankind has defiled that image, rebelling against our rightful king, setting ourselves up as the arbiter of right and wrong – indeed, attempting to find our primary identity in something other than what God says about us. We deserve His punishment; we deserve eternal separation from Him. But God determined and promised that He would call from all types of mankind one people for Himself to be His treasured possession – to delight in Him above all things, and to be His great joy for all eternity. In an act of sheer grace, He sent His Son, the Second Person of the godhead, to become man and to live the life we all should have lived. Through His death on the cross, He suffered the penalty due to us for our rebellion. But God raised Him from the dead, proving the penalty was sufficient. To all who come to Him by faith in the Son, submitting to Him as King, rejoicing in Him as the greatest Treasure, He grants an identity that defines all else: Beloved by God. A part of the Bride of Christ. God’s precious possession.

So the Apostle Paul writes:

In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)

Paul is not denying that ethnicity is important – any more than he is denying that sex is important. He is saying that in Christ, we have a new identity: Members of God’s family! We have put off the old self and have put on the new self – a restored image of God! (Colossians 3:9-11). We retain our sex, our ethnicity, and, at least for a  time, our roles in the economy – but none of these define us. We may be black or white or Chinese or Indian – and our ethnicities can serve to glorify God (Revelation 7:9-10) – but we are all primarily Abraham’s offspring, heirs of the promise to him, fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

So by all means pray that Jenner and Dolezal and Roof will find their identity in the only source of true freedom, true fulfillment, and true joy – Christ Himself.

But also ask yourself: Who am I? What most defines me?

Scripture tells us: Our relationship to God must define us most. If we do not know Christ, our separation from Him, our position under His wrath, defines us. If we trust in Christ, He gives us an identity. He calls us God’s children. He makes us His Bride – without spot or blemish or any such thing.

That is who we are. This defines us – more than race or gender or income or class. May we delight in that identity – and live it out fully – to the glory of our Lord.

Ferguson and Race

On August 9, Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Wilson is white. Brown was black.

Was that shooting racially motivated?

In the summer of 1975 I worked in a program for disadvantaged high school students at an historically black university, Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte. Late one evening I was washing my clothes in a public laundromat. No one else was present. The door was open as there was no AC and it was blazing hot. A group of five guys walked by, noticed me, and yelled racial slurs through the door. A few minutes later they came back, hyped up the racial slurs, started tossing some of my clothes in the air, and then, when I leaned over to gather the clothes, slammed me against the washing machines and hit me in the face. My left eye tooth pierced my upper lip. I was able to get away and run out of the laundromat (perhaps only because the perpetrators were not completely sober).

There was no question in my mind that this event was racially motivated: I was the only white person anywhere along Beatties Ford Rd that evening, and I was the one beaten; the racial slurs were many.

Later that evening, however, after the hospital and the police, I met with my African-American boss and colleagues. They were sympathetic and helped in numerous ways.

But they also assured me race had nothing to do with this. I was alone and vulnerable. A group of thugs walked by and took advantage of that vulnerability. The same can happen – and did happen regularly – to African-Americans.

Most of my white friends said the opposite: This was an example of racial violence.

Who was right?

The point is this: We hear of a crime or a tragedy, and immediately was interpret the facts through the lens of our societal assumptions: Policemen are our friends, protecting us from criminals, or the police are instruments of the oppressive forces of society, taking advantage of their power to abuse us and harm us. Society is fair, and you get what you work hard for, or society is rigged against us and with rare exceptions we can’t advance.  Whatever our societal assumptions might be – and there are many more possibilities – we tend to interpret events in a way consistent with those assumptions.

So what was the true interpretation of this minor incident in 1975?

Undoubtedly, had I been 6’9” and 250lbs instead of 5’8” and 135lbs, this incident would not have happened. In that sense, it was my stature rather than my race that led to the beating.

But what if I had been my actual size, but African-American? Would it have happened just the same, only without the racial slurs?

We’ll never know.

Take that tentativeness to your interpretation of the Michael Brown tragedy in Ferguson. Remember the warnings of Scripture:

Proverbs 18:13 If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

Proverbs 18:17 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

There were many – many of all shades on the political spectrum –who gave answers about the meaning of the Michael Brown tragedy before they heard from all of those involved. There were many who jumped on one eyewitness account or another and, ignoring other eyewitness accounts, said, “This is what happened! See, here is more evidence that my view of society was right all along!”

What then should this tragedy prompt in us?

First, prayer: Prayer for those involved, prayer for the grand jury presently meeting (which may have reported by the time you read this), prayer for genuine justice to be done, prayer for healing of the racial divide that still stains our country, prayer for fellow believers not to be used by politicians of any persuasion, but to test all through the lens of Scripture.

Second: Acknowledge and recognize the facts of the case and of our society. Here are a few:

  1. There are markedly different eyewitness accounts of what happened, stated by people who are trying to be truthful.
  2. The police in Ferguson at a minimum have made numerous procedural errors.
  3. The powers of the state have been used against many African-Americans for hundreds of years.
  4. Similarly, for many years, state institutions and even many churches taught that African-Americans were an inferior type of humanity. (I once flipped through a book, published in the early 1900s, which included a chapter entitled, “Can the American Negro love?”)
  5. Much has changed with regard to racial oppression in this country in the last sixty years, but horrible incidents of abuse of power occurred during the lifetimes of many of us. And some such incidents continue today, regardless of whether or not Michael Brown’s shooting is one of them.
  6. The church of Jesus Christ must stand up for the weak and powerless. As God says in Psalm 82:3-4, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.  Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Third: Be humble. Talk to others whose initial take on this tragedy is different than yours. Listen to each other. Don’t give an answer before you hear. Ask both white and black friends about past experiences of being the victims of apparent racial violence. Ask both white and black about past cases of apparent unfairness in school or in the workplace. Ask those from other countries about their own very different experiences with ethnic or racial tension and oppression.

The point is not to magnify anyone’s victimhood. The point is to avoid being manipulated by politicians, to be able to understand another’s perspective, to appreciate the facts and experiences that influence how we interpret events like Ferguson – and to overcome the sin of hubris that leads us to judge others and to exalt ourselves.

May God be gracious to give us ears to hear, and so to grow in our union with one another and with Him.

Trayvon, George – And You

Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman.

Who are they?

Many have labeled Trayvon and George: Victim and Murderer. Attacker and Self-Defender. And much worse labels, on both accounts.

Many have tried to use the tragedy of Trayvon’s death and the sensation of George’s trial to advance one societal narrative or another.

But who are they?

Trayvon and George are not labels. They are not representatives of a class. They are not representatives of a race or a group.

They are individuals. With birthdays and classmates and friends. With plans and longings and desires. With mothers and fathers and siblings.

They are individuals – made in the image of God for the glory of God.

One of them is dead at the age of 17.

The other receives numerous death threats daily at the age of 29. He is “free.” But he and his family are in hiding.

How can we respond biblically to Trayvon’s death, to George’s trial and acquittal?

There is much we might say:

Let me instead offer ideas for prayer: Pairs of praise and cries to the God of the universe, thanking Him on the one hand, and beseeching Him on the other:

  • Praise God that through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, not one of us must be cut off from God the Father, but whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life;
  • And pray to God that He might use this tragedy in the lives of George, and George’s family, and Trayvon’s family so that they might see Him, know Him, and love Him.
  • Praise God that we live in a country where we don’t let our justice system become the vehicle for political show trials;
  • And pray to God that the inequities that exist in our justice system would be removed.
  • Praise God for the “reasonable doubt” standard – and thus that we would rather set nine guilty free than wrongly convict one innocent;
  • And pray to God that those nevertheless wrongly convicted would be cleared, and those wrongly set free would face genuine justice; furthermore, pray that we as a country might be united in seeing the wisdom in this standard, even when justice may not have been done in a specific case.
  • Praise God that in the five decades since Martin Luther King, Jr penned these words – “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty” – we have seen genuine advances in racial equality and racial harmony;
  • And pray to God that the remaining, significant dark clouds of racial prejudice will finally pass away, and the fog of misunderstanding that still hovers over our fear-drenched communities will truly lift.
  • Praise God that, as a country, we trust the constitutional process governing politics and law more than we trust individual political parties, elected officials, or popular demagogues;
  • And pray to God that that trust- so rare in history, so rare even around the world today – would survive and grow and spread.
  • Finally, praise God that in Christ “there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:11);
  • And pray to God that the church in general, and DGCC in particular, might live out this reality, displaying that unity with Christ across ethnic differences in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

Running the Race of Faith

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

The Bible is full of images that help us to understand the Christian life: we are part of the army of God, engaged in battle; we are part of the body of Christ; we are Christ’s ambassadors, his envoys, representing him in this world; we are a building, being built up into Christlikeness; we are branches, Christ is the vine; we are the bride of Christ; we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. All of these analogies are rich and useful.

My favorite analogy, however, compares the Christian life to running a race. This analogy is not common throughout the Bible, but Paul loves it, as he uses the running and racing image at least nine times in his epistles. In addition, the author of Hebrews uses the analogy once.

The analogy is particularly rich for me because I am a product of the running boom. I grew up during a period when mile world records would be the lead headline of the sports section; when an American set two of those world records; when 100,000 fans filled a stadium to witness a track meet between the US and the Soviet Union. Then came the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. That summer, as a 16 year old who had been running competitively for less than two years, I watched Jim Ryun, the mile world record holder and my boyhood hero, fall in his 1500 meters heat and thus fail to make the final; I watched Steve Prefontaine, an American runner only five years my senior, make a game effort to win Olympic gold in the 5k; and, most importantly, I watched Frank Shorter demolish the field to win the Olympic marathon. After those Olympics, millions of Americans began running, many hoping to complete a marathon. Every teenage boy in the country who was already running competitively began to dream of mile world records and marathon victories. I was no exception. (more…)