Why the Church Needs to be able to say "Black Lives Matter"

 This is a difficult topic for some. The words have become politicized. People have chosen sides and demonized each other. Before judging these words, I ask you to take a step back from the politics and the way they have been spun to make us angry at one another. Try to see this from a different point of view.

The church needs to be able to say "Black Lives Matter." This is because Black lives do indeed matter. There is no need for debate or questioning of this point. Black Lives Matter.

The counterpoint to this statement that is often made is that all lives matter. In saying this, there is a suggestion that saying Black Lives Matter somehow means Black lives matter more than other lives, and singling out one group of people is placing them above others.

My stance on this depends heavily on how the word "all" has been used in the past of our nation. If there is national scripture, some writings of our government that have risen to be revered above others, there is possibly none more important than the Declaration of Independence. This document, memorized by many of us, is foundational to what it means to be a citizen of the United States. The first sentence in the second paragraph is quoted as much as any sentence in national history, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

These are inspiring words, written by a group of people seeking to be released from subjection by a king and working to create a nation that lived by these principles. But the word "all" is deceiving. We might think that "all" means every man. At this point, these same Rights did not extend to women. In this case, "all" means "some."

That's the root of the problem of saying "all lives matter." On its face, it is certainly true that all lives matter, just as it is true that Black Lives Matter. But given the history of the United States, where in our foundational documents we can say "all" men are created equal, while still forming a nation that subjugated some to slavery and when these were regarded as people counted them as 60% of a person, we realize that the word "all" is insufficient. Regarding someone as 40% less than another human is the very definition of dehumanization. Clearly not "all" men were regarded as having been born equal. Clearly not "all" men were even considered men.

The statement "Black Lives Matter" takes any uncertainty from that statement. If "all" can mean "some" or "elite" or "white land-owning men," then we need to have different language if we want to make sure to include everyone when we say "all."

The church must affirm that Black Lives Matter because the church must affirm that every life matters. All people are created in the image of God. All people are precious to God. This is affirmed in our scripture and in our theology.

Saying "all lives matter" literally white-washes the notion that each and every life matters in the same way the Declaration of Independence did. As people of God, as followers of Christ, we must be able to say, along with our Black sisters and brothers that Black Lives do indeed matter.

We also need to be able to say "Indigenous Lives Matter," "Women's Lives Matter," "Immigrant Lives Matter," "Non-Christians' Lives Matter," "Poor Peoples' Lives Matter," and many many more. We need to say this, loudly and clearly, because for centuries we have said the opposite in word and deed. Saying something specific like this isn't disrespectful to "all" lives, but refusing to say something like this is a reminder that those lives have often been left out. They haven't always mattered. And they must. They must matter, if we believe in the Creator who made all in the Creator's image.

That's my view today.