Vance and Trump propagated lies about Haitian immigrants eating pets. One reason they can do so is their unwavering support from Evangelical Christians.
I have a special place in my life for Haiti and Haitians: I met some Haitians online who had connected with my son when he was in Haiti after the Gwo Tranbleman tè a (Great Earthquake) of 2010.
We chatted on social media, and then after a while we began talking on video. And I made a very ignorant statement about Haitian Creole to which my friends were kind enough not to burst out laughing about, and they then proceeded to ask me to learn their language.
Which I began doing, and after 2.5 years of study I can . . . sometimes carry on a conversation for two back-and-forth responses without exhausting my brain. :)
But learning the language requires the student to learn about the nation, the people, the history, the culture, the economics, the religion - in short, so much of the language is connected to the Haitian experience that simply learning words and grammar will not get you very far.
Learning about Haiti - and learning from Haitians who've become my friends, my teachers, my mentors, my brothers - has been transformative for how I see the world. I'm not going to ever fully get out of my skin, so to speak, but there was a moment when I saw that my white Evangelical way of looking at the world wasn't just ignorant but was also destructive and reductionist.
I'm grateful to my Haitian friends. I'm grateful for the connections. I'm grateful to have my worldview expanded and I've had my small, cold heart warmed and healed through the relationship we've made.
And so it is saddening, even infuriating, to see my co-religionists become so overtly hateful _about my friends and chosen families_. How does this hatred and this desire for destruction express the love of Christ for all humanity? How does this reflect a heart changed by the love and mercy of God?
My Haitian connections are genuinely concerned, even frightened, by this response to their mere existence. "Why do you white Christians hate us? What have we done to you? Why do we deserve this?" The cries are made in anguish and fear. My friends just want to be alive and to prosper along with their families - just like everyone else on this planet. And the invective _stirred up by "Christian" politicians alarms them, and it makes me ashamed of my own people.
I lose less and less hope about the transformative power of Christ when I see the twisted faces of hate that are snarling with delight at the pain and terror inflicted upon this beloved community. My faith in Jesus is not tested by problems with the religious texts or with doctrines or even with theological conundrums. My faith is most tested when I see people claiming to love Jesus and claiming to know what he wants doing everything they can to destroy their holy siblings who are, like them, bearers of the Imago Dei and worthy of all love, care, affection, and trust.
I have a special place in my life for Haiti and Haitians: I met some Haitians online who had connected with my son when he was in Haiti after the Gwo Tranbleman tè a (Great Earthquake) of 2010.
We chatted on social media, and then after a while we began talking on video. And I made a very ignorant statement about Haitian Creole to which my friends were kind enough not to burst out laughing about, and they then proceeded to ask me to learn their language.
Which I began doing, and after 2.5 years of study I can . . . sometimes carry on a conversation for two back-and-forth responses without exhausting my brain. :)
But learning the language requires the student to learn about the nation, the people, the history, the culture, the economics, the religion - in short, so much of the language is connected to the Haitian experience that simply learning words and grammar will not get you very far.
Learning about Haiti - and learning from Haitians who've become my friends, my teachers, my mentors, my brothers - has been transformative for how I see the world. I'm not going to ever fully get out of my skin, so to speak, but there was a moment when I saw that my white Evangelical way of looking at the world wasn't just ignorant but was also destructive and reductionist.
I'm grateful to my Haitian friends. I'm grateful for the connections. I'm grateful to have my worldview expanded and I've had my small, cold heart warmed and healed through the relationship we've made.
And so it is saddening, even infuriating, to see my co-religionists become so overtly hateful _about my friends and chosen families_. How does this hatred and this desire for destruction express the love of Christ for all humanity? How does this reflect a heart changed by the love and mercy of God?
My Haitian connections are genuinely concerned, even frightened, by this response to their mere existence. "Why do you white Christians hate us? What have we done to you? Why do we deserve this?" The cries are made in anguish and fear. My friends just want to be alive and to prosper along with their families - just like everyone else on this planet. And the invective _stirred up by "Christian" politicians alarms them, and it makes me ashamed of my own people.
I lose less and less hope about the transformative power of Christ when I see the twisted faces of hate that are snarling with delight at the pain and terror inflicted upon this beloved community. My faith in Jesus is not tested by problems with the religious texts or with doctrines or even with theological conundrums. My faith is most tested when I see people claiming to love Jesus and claiming to know what he wants doing everything they can to destroy their holy siblings who are, like them, bearers of the Imago Dei and worthy of all love, care, affection, and trust.