Charlottesville Events and how the Church Reacts

There has been a heated debate ever since David Duke and his group went marching, clashed with Antifa counter-protesters, and people were even killed. Background story: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/us/charlottesville-protest-white-nationalist.html Now, to be clear, when people that call themselves "Christian" go out in support of racism and perhaps even slavery, the Church needs to say this is not who we are. However, that has already been done many times and there is no reason to assume that that position has changed. This country currently in the grips of political division unlike at any other time, and part of the reason is this sentiment that you are either "for us or against us". In other words, you must _fully_ support our cause, and view the world from our point of view, or else you are part of the problem. I hear words like complicit, tacit approval, silence is to condone, etc. With this mentality, its easy to start going after people, for example Donald Trump. You may start with a request to denounce. If that denounciation is not in the "correct" format, or comes too slowly, you may demand additional acts of penitence. Finally, only established members of the "righteous" club can decide when a person has repented, denounced, condemned or rejected strongly enough and correctly whatever is the issue. This tactic will backfire. First of all its manipulative and subjective and has nothing to do with a person's real beliefs and actions, and everything to do with a person's desire to appear good in the public eye. History knows many evil people, who have vocally decried and judged the very things they secretly do. The solution from the church needs to start with the simple but hard realization that God is not left or right, but up. Even Joshua, the leader of the ancient people of Israel got this answer when asking if the angel was for him or against him: "No; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come" (Joshua 5:14). Likewise, God's solutions to slavery, racism and now the traumas and divisions in society are not of this world. The church needs to take note. Our job is not to become the most vocal advocates of the civil rights movement, but rather to present a real solution to real individuals seeking elevation from bondage. To my black brothers I suggest the following: forgive, then turn to God for answers on how to go forward in life. Go to church and ask them. If they are racists, you can find another church. But in any case, God is your salvation, not man nor man-made movements.