The Restoration of Dignity (Further Thoughts from "Unbroken")

I appreciate all the fun comments and scoop you’ve shared (here and on Facebook) in response to my last post, about April’s IQ Book Club selection, Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand.

I wanted to write a little more, about one passage in the book that stood out to me. I don’t remember another point in the book when Hillenbrand so clearly broke from the narrative to give commentary, as she did here:

“When the guards weren’t venting their fury at the captives, they entertained themselves by humiliating them… 

The crash of Green Hornet had left Louie and Phil in the most desperate physical extremity, without food, water, or shelter. But on Kwajalein, the guards sought to deprive them of something that had sustained them even as all else had been lost: dignity. This self-respect and sense of self-worth, the innermost armament of the soul, lies at the heart of humanness; to be deprived of it is to be dehumanized, to be cleaved from, and cast below, mankind. Men subjected to dehumanizing treatment experience profound wretchedness and loneliness and find that hope is almost impossible to retain. Without dignity, identity is erased. In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live… 

…Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man’s soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it. The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure, and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty.”

The passage grabbed me, because it echoed a theme taking shape in my heart over these years, as I have worked among ethnic minority communities and learned some of their stories.

I’ve come to a greater understanding of how my people—white Americans—have systemically oppressed, abused, and ignored minority communities in our country for centuries. (Not to mention the genocide we inflicted upon Native peoples, just so we could call it "our country.") And how in doing so, we have deeply damaged the very psyche of these communities.

My friend and co-worker Eric articulated well how the above passage is related to my calling, in his comments on my MLK post:

“I've become convinced…that if [we] are truly going to live out the gospel that it must include a fight for dignity and worth for ethnic minorities. It cannot be only about the plan of salvation. It must include the gospel, and that must include worth and dignity. 

Contextualized ministry has always been explained as strategic; it needs to also be explained as restoring the worth to human beings who have had it stripped away from them and internalized that as inferiority.”

The more I learn about how my (white American) people have used our power to create and sustain systems of oppression of ethnic minority peoples, and how those systems have worn away at the dignity and humanity of those peoples, the more grieved and burdened I become.

Not that I—or almost all the white people I know—ever intend to cause pain to minorities. But all white Americans are, by default, a part of this system. A system that has dehumanized and denigrated entire communities of people. In our time, the methods may be more subtle than those the Japanese guards at the POW camps employed, but the effects are just as damaging.

I believe there is hope, however. With my God, there is always hope.

Because my God is a God of redemption. He loves to lift up that which has been cast down. Which means that where my people have caused damage and created shame in the past, my God can provide a way for us to bring healing and restore honor in the future.

This is the very nature of the gospel. I believe that if we—the white American Church—could get this right, if we could learn what it means to restore dignity to our minority communities, the Spirit of Christ would pour forth on our nation like never before.

It will take work. It will take intentionality. It will require that we humble ourselves. It will take sacrifice.

We’ll need to listen with new ears and see with new eyes. We’ll need to re-examine our assumptions. We’ll need to be okay with making mistakes, because we will surely make them. We’ll have to step down from our places of power. We’ll have to learn to be uncomfortable for long periods of time. We’ll need to be willing to be misunderstood.

But it will be worth it. To see all peoples honored and esteemed as uniquely displaying the image of God, to the praise of His glory.

Yes, it will be worth it.

Who’s with me?

IQ BOOK CLUB: Unbroken

I finally took the plunge and read Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken last month. Since the time it was published in 2010, it seemed everyone and their brother was reading it and raving about it.

I kept putting it off, because I wasn’t sure I could handle reading about the brutality experienced by Louis Zamperini, the subject of the book, while he was a prisoner of war in Japan during World War II. I finally caved and added it to my book club this year, so I wouldn’t have the chance to chicken out. :)

However once I actually started the book, I couldn’t put it down. I’m a pretty slow reader—and I finished it in a week. I did have to skim over several different paragraphs—my heart couldn’t handle everything. But overall, I found the reward worth the risk.

I loved Hillenbrand’s story-telling style. And she clearly amassed a huge amount of background research. I appreciated how she filled in the main story with helpful historical context. Of course, she also chose a fascinating subject!

But as amazing as Louis was, my favorite person in his story was his older brother Pete. I was in awe of his ability to know his little brother so well, to see the potential in him, and to advocate for him. No wonder he made such a terrific coach.

I’ll write some more about how Unbroken impacted me in my next post. But for now, it’s your turn:

What did you think of Unbroken? Was it what you expected? Did any of you, like me, wonder several times, “How on earth did he live through this???” My husband and I remember watching a short profile on Zamperini on TV during the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Does anyone else remember seeing it? Is anyone aware of plans to translate Zamperini’s story into film or another medium?

Even though it’s half past May, it’s not too late to join me in reading this month’s IQ Book Club selection, Isabel Allende’s My Invented Country. It’s a short book and easy to read (I’m only part of the way through).

IQ BOOK CLUB: A Heart For Freedom

My heart holds a special place for the country of China and its peoples. So it was with great anticipation that I began reading Chai Ling’s A Heart For Freedom in March for our book club.

Maybe my expectations were set too high, but I felt a little disappointed in Chai’s book. I certainly found her life fascinating…but I wish her editor had helped her shape her story into a more cohesive narrative.

The first half of the book—up through the Tiananmen Square Incident—zips along quickly. And I continued to stay emotionally engaged through her period of hiding following June 4^th. But once she escaped her beloved China, she kind of lost me.

Ironically, I found her story of coming to faith in Christ and her subsequent calling to ministry a bit lacking. I’m so happy for her that she trusted Christ—that she experienced Him as a rock and a stronghold, where she could finally lay her very heavy burdens down.

But I still sensed a tone of defensiveness woven throughout her book. In some ways I can’t blame her: I’d want to take the opportunity to try and set the record straight if I’d been accused of being responsible for the deaths of others, too. But something about the way she wrote seemed a bit myopic and self-promoting.

Alas, perhaps I’m being too harsh. I’d love to know what some of the rest of you thought about the book?

I did make a couple of observations about the nature of protest and revolution, from reading A Heart For Freedom back-to-back with MLK’s autobiography:

1)   In both cases, the powers that be utilized very specific, inflammatory language to label the protesters and thus discredit them. The Birmingham pastors called MLK and his people “outsiders” and “agitators,” while the Chinese government pronounced the student demonstrators “dong luan” (or “turmoil.”)

2)   I was struck by both movements’ commitment to non-violence. In both situations, the leaders recognized the inherent power infused to a cause when its people are subjected to undeserved suffering. I think they are right—because undeserved suffering on behalf of others is such compelling component of the gospel of Jesus.

I do want to close by honoring Chai’s latest calling to help fight against the evils that inevitably flow from China’s “one-child policy.” Specifically: the incredibly high incidence of women forced to abort their babies, and the effective gendercide that occurs against girls because of the Chinese cultural preference for boys. These are not easy issues to face.

But then, Chai Ling never did seem one to back down from a challenge.

What did you think about A Cry For Freedom? Am I being too hard on Chai? Who was inspired by her story?

Please join me for April’s IQ Book Club selection, Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I must admit I’m a bit hesitant to start the book. Although everyone who’s read it absolutely loves it and highly recommends it, I’m a bit worried I won’t be able to handle the intensity and violence. *Deep breath*…Here we go!

Will We Listen to Trayvon?

“This morning new evidence turned up in the case of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin…”

New video footage.

New recordings of 911 phone calls.

New eyewitness accounts.

And so again, we Americans get caught up in a news story about a tragedy, a violent death. If history repeats itself, we will spend the next weeks, months—or even years if it goes to trial—sorting through every detail of the case.

Each side will pick and choose which aspects of the story we would like to focus on, while conveniently leaving out or minimizing other points. We will build our own case for why our side is right, and the other side wrong.

And once again those “sides” will largely fall along racial lines.

Today I want to ask a question of my fellow white Americans:

Will we listen to Trayvon?

Because Trayvon’s death, as tragic as it is in and of itself, is not just about Trayvon.

Trayvon has become a symbol, an embodiment, of generations of pain and anger carried by our African-American brothers and sisters. They see their sons in Trayvon. They see themselves.

Trayvon has become a face, a name, that African-Americans can speak, to help give voice to their anguish. To help them express the emotions they usually hold in when they are around us, as part of an instinctive survival mechanism.

So now that they are speaking, will we listen?

Instead of focusing on the details of the case, can we call up an African-American friend and say, “I don’t understand your anger. But I want to. What does Trayvon mean to you? What is your experience with being black in America?”

Can we invite the African-American pastor from down the street to come speak to our congregation, to help our understanding.

And once we’ve asked, can we just listen?

Not argue back. Not become defensive. Not take what is said personally.

Just listen. And pray to God, to give us a heart to understand.

Trayvon Martin can’t speak for himself anymore.

But thousands of African-Americans are rising up and speaking in his name saying, Something is terribly wrong.

Will we listen?
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In this video, African-American men and women from NBC's news department share what Trayvon means to them:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(Click here if the video doesn’t show up in your feed.)

IQ BOOK CLUB: The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I’m not quite finished with The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. But I want to keep the book club on schedule, so I’m sharing my thoughts on it today anyway.

His entire story has inspired me so far—as evidenced by the underlined passages on almost every page I’ve read!

What a gift, to get inside MLK’s head as he…

…processed his experience as a minority in our country:

“The first time I was seated behind a curtain in a dining car, I felt as if the curtain had been dropped on my selfhood.”

 …formulated his theology:

“Any religion that professes concern for the souls of men and is not equally concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried. It well has been said: ‘A religion that ends with the individual, ends.’”

“The more I thought about human nature, the more I saw how our tragic inclination for sin causes us to use our minds to rationalize our actions…Reason by itself is little more than an instrument to justify man’s defensive ways of thinking.”

 …and his ministry philosophy:

“Nonviolent resistance…was effective in that it had a way of disarming the opponent. It exposed his moral defenses. It weakened his morale, and at the same time it worked on his conscience. It also provided a method for Negroes to struggle to secure moral ends through moral means. Thus, it provided a creative force through which men could channel their discontent.” “The believer in nonviolence is the person who will willingly allow himself to be the victim of violence but will never inflict violence upon another. He lives by the conviction that through his suffering and cross bearing, the social situation may be redeemed.”

 …trusted God to speak powerfully through him, when he did not have adequate time to create a speech:

“Right here in Montgomery, when the history books are written in the future, somebody will have to say, ‘There lived a race of people, a black people, “fleecy locks and black complexion,” a people who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights. And thereby they injected a new meaning into the veins of history and of civilization.’”

 …discerned underlying issues of the heart of man:

“I came to see that no one gives up his privileges without strong resistance. I saw further that the underlying purpose of segregation was to oppress and exploit the segregated, not simply to keep them apart.” “You see, equality is not only a matter of mathematics and geometry, but it’s a matter of psychology…It is possible to have quantitative equality and qualitative inequality.”

 …became convicted about his own sin:

“’You must not harbor anger,’ I admonished myself. ‘You must be willing to suffer the anger of the opponent, and yet not return anger. You must not become bitter. No matter how emotional your opponents are, you must be calm.’”

 …defined his movement on his own terms:

“This is not a war between the white and the negro but a conflict between justice and injustice. This is bigger than the Negro race revolting against the white. We are seeking to improve not the Negro of Montgomery but the whole of Montgomery.”

 …wrestled with leadership decisions, admitted to and learned from his mistakes, described the role of Negro spirituals in bolstering his people’s courage, and so much more.

I also loved reading more of the backstory behind MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which I blogged about in January.

Once again, I feel grateful to be mentored by such an amazing leader. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand our country’s history more fully, or to anyone seeking a godly role model as they fight for justice and work to change our world for the better.

Who else read MLK’s autobiography this month, or previously? What impacted you the most? What were your favorite quotes or stories?

Will my book club hot streak continue? Let’s find out! Join me in reading March’s selection, A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of a Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, and Her Quest to Free China's Daughters by Chai Ling.

IQ BOOK CLUB: The Hiding Place

“We must tell people what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here.”

So implored Corrie ten Boom’s sister as she lay ill as a prisoner at Ravensbruck concentration camp, during World War II. I’m so glad Corrie listened to her sister, and told us their story. What an incredible story it is.

I don’t want to say too much about the particulars of the story, just in case there’s one other Christian in the world besides me who had not read The Hiding Place before. If by any chance you fall into that category, YOU MUST OBTAIN A COPY OF THE BOOK AND READ IT NOW!

When I finished the book, I thought of Philemon 1:6, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Something happens when we share our own faith stories—and listening to others’—that draws our hearts closer to God’s. When I read a story like The Hiding Place, I’m reminded: My faith, my God, is real. I’m not making this stuff up.

I have also found it true that our greatest ministry and our surest credibility as Christians flow from our darkest hours. Corrie ten Boom saw the glory of the Lord shine most brilliantly in the black hell of a concentration camp. When the ten Booms say, “There are no ‘ifs’ in God’s world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety,” I’m prone to believe it. Because this is no Sunday school cliché thrown out by someone like me, who’s never known real danger.

I marveled at the clarity of Corrie and Betsie’s visions, and at Betsie’s wisdom about one of the reasons God gives them: “That’s why He sometimes shows us things, you know—to tell us that this too is in His hands.”

I was fascinated by the discussions among Corrie’s family about whether it was OK to lie or steal to protect the lives of the innocent. And I loved that God honored those who fell on both sides of the argument.

I was reminded of this wisdom, which I so often forget: “And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” I couldn’t believe Corrie was able to forgive all her captors. But she knew by that living in bitterness, she would only keep herself imprisoned, not those who so brutally mistreated her. She knew she couldn’t possibly forgive in her own power, so she asked God to forgive her tormentors through her. And in God’s power, she not only forgave but lavishly loved on them, and so displayed Jesus for all to see.

I have new heroes.

The first of many (I hope) to learn from this year! Join me in reading The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. this month. (FYI, I noticed the Kindle edition is only $4.99 right now.)

Who else loves The Hiding Place? How has it impacted your life? Have you read any of Corrie ten Boom’s other books? Or did anyone have the privilege of hearing her speak or of actually meeting her in person?

Quite a Different House

Dolmabahce Palace – Istanbul, TurkeyDolmabahce Palace Dolmabahce Palace Dolmabahce Palace

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to build that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Thanks, Nancy :)