Tim Keller: HARD On Racism, SOFT On Abortion!

Tim Keller’s Strong Condemnation of Racism

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to the channel where the Bible and critical thinking meet to give you real Christian commentary about the things that matter. Thanks so much for watching, let's get into the video.

So this video is not coming from someone who's above the teaching of Tim Keller in some big way. For significant portions of my life as a Christian, I listened to many Tim Keller sermons. And I still believe the Lord used these things in my life for His glory as well.

But there was a time, as there always is, where I had to go from milk to solid food. And I know that many of you have had similar experiences. In today's video, I want to simply survey the difference between Tim Keller's position on racism and his position on abortion.

Because one is crystal clear, and the other, well, it's a bit muddy. Here's a quote from Tim Keller on the issue of racism. How should Christians, and especially those with an Anglo-white background, respond to last weekend's alt-right gathering in Charlottesville and its tragic aftermath?

He asks. Christians should look at the energized and emboldened white nationalism movement and its fascist slogans and condemn it, full stop. It is time to present the Bible's strong and clear teachings about the sin of racism and the idolatry of blood and country, again, full stop.

End quote. You see, Tim Keller has no problem looking at a controversial cultural issue in the face, staring at it, and condemning it with the strongest and clearest possible language. Of course, as long as it has to do with racism, that is.

For those of you who don't know, the Charlottesville rally, sometimes called the Unite the Right rally, was one attended by, at most, even according to the most liberal of sources, a few hundred neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

A few hundred. At this rally, there was an evil and tragic event wherein a person was murdered by someone in a car who drove into the crowd, injuring over a dozen people as well. So the situation is tragic.

And this should never have happened. Justice should be done. I am in no way supporting or excusing this action in any way. If legally found guilty of premeditated murder, the individual driving that car should be justly executed by the authorities.

I believe that strongly. Leviticus 24 .17 says, quote, Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death, end quote. I believe that this is the just penalty for the horrifying action that occurred in Charlottesville.

But the point is, we have a situation here where, at most, according to the most generous estimates, there were a few hundred people espousing racist political views. And the result was the tragic and wicked murder of one person, and the injury of around a few dozen, at most.

Tim Keller's response to this situation was clear, sharp, and definitely condemning of what took place. He even made it abundantly clear that all white Christians, in general, should take a good look at their beliefs and challenge themselves and these hateful views that presented themselves at the rally.

So not only has Tim Keller been willing to risk offending racist people in his response, but he's also willing to risk offending anyone who's white, even if they weren't involved. That's how passionate he is about condemning this sin of racism.

And just to be clear, I do agree that it is a grievous sin. Romans 2 .11 says, quote, God shows no partiality, end quote. Therefore, we should not be partial against or for people based on their skin color.

That's obviously sinful. But let's compare this view with Tim Keller's view on murdering babies through abortion, shall we? Tim is quoted as saying the following, quote, There's a real danger that we preach on it, abortion, in order that we can pat ourselves on the back and say that we've addressed a difficult cultural issue.

But that can't be right, especially when there are non-Christians out there who do not believe the authority of the Bible and cannot see it's wrong. The danger is that we just put them off, end quote.

So Tim Keller says that there is a, quote, danger that we, quote, put off unbelievers by having firm stances on abortion. His words, not mine. In an article, Tim cites the example of this in action when he talks about a woman who approached him after one of his church services.

Here it goes, quote, Do you think abortion is wrong? She asked. I, Tim Keller, said that I did. I'm coming to see that there may be something wrong with it, she said. As we spoke, I, Tim, discovered that she was an Ivy League graduate, a lawyer, a longtime Manhattan resident, and an active member of the ACLU.

She volunteered that she had experienced three abortions. I want you to know, she said, that if I had seen any literature or any reference to the pro-life movement, I would not have stayed through the very first service, end quote.

Notice that Tim says this woman, quote, experienced three abortions. Not that she intentionally requested them and paid for them even, possibly. No, she just experienced them. Intentional or not, this has the distinct effect of removing some level of her moral guilt through this language.

And contrast this with the fact that Tim has no problem at all telling all white people, regardless of their involvement, to do the right thing and change their response. Meanwhile, the woman who is directly responsible for the murder of three people just had an experience of something.

But all white people must respond for what happened in Charlottesville even if they weren't there. So Tim Keller is deeply concerned with offending or otherwise putting off people who are in favor of murdering infants at will.

This is a danger, according to Tim Keller, to the extent that he is exceedingly cautious about making any type of harsh public statement regarding abortion. Contrast this with the Scriptures and you will see how truly out of balance it is.

Jesus’ Teaching on Murder and the Devil

In John 8, 44, Jesus says this, quote, You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, end quote. You see, murder is from the devil.

Killing babies is satanic. It's demonic. It's from Satan. No Christian should ever do it or participate in it. It's a scheme of the enemy. The Bible clearly condemns murder in the strongest possible terms.

As I cited earlier, murder was rightfully a death penalty offense under Old Testament law, with some caveats. So Tim Keller's deep concern for putting off those who practice and support murder is completely out of touch with Scripture.

You just won't find it in there. But that's not the only thing that's inconsistent here. Remember what I said the point of this video was, to compare his perspective on racism to that of murdering children.

And we have two situations here. In one situation, one person was killed, brutally murdered, and maybe a few dozen injured at most. And at most, we have hundreds of people who are espousing hateful, unbiblical views about people of other races.

This is bad. But in the other situation, we have in the year 2019 alone, 1 ,729 innocent lives being taken every single day before they even have the chance to be born. And at least half of the United States voting bloc believes that's perfectly ethical.

One person is killed, and Tim Keller is willing to offend whoever it takes to condemn it strongly. 1 ,729 people were killed on that very same day, and Tim Keller is deeply worried about putting someone off if he talks about it.

A small minority of hundreds of people were gathered together to espouse a hateful position, and Tim Keller is so distraught, so upset, that he will ask all white people to check their response to this, even if they weren't even involved.

And at the very same time, tens of millions of Americans espouse murderous hatred towards the unborn, and Tim Keller is deeply worried about coming off as harsh or unloving by condemning them. The imbalance here is so totally obvious, it's palpable.

It's so clear, it's astounding. One person is murdered, and Tim Keller stands up straight, declaring strongly to all the world the wickedness of this action. Millions are murdered, and Tim Keller will stop at nothing to make sure the people who support it and encourage it will feel coddled and helped.

Let me point you back to the previous passage about partiality, because it's really relevant here. Romans 2 .11 says, quote, God shows no partiality, end quote. We should have consistent standards, and I will be the first to admit that I myself do not always have the equal weights and balances that I should.

But that doesn't excuse us from trying, and that doesn't excuse us from repenting. We must try, we must attempt to have consistent standards according to God's Word, and we must repent when we're wrong, and by God's grace we will be forgiven.

The Call for Consistency, Repentance, and Biblical Standards

So I would urge Tim Keller and others who think like him on this to repent and change. This is not justice. This is not right. When you strongly rebuke the evil of racism and virtually ignore the much more widespread evil of abortion, that's a problem.

And unfortunately, I think I know where all of this is coming from. I think we all do. It's coming from the world. Philippians 2 .15 says, quote, That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

You see, we are supposed to speak truth to the world, not coddle them and make them feel better. Only Christ can truly help them. Only Christ can truly restore them. And we must pray that He will. The media, academia, and the culture at large have been on a tirade against racism for multiple years now.

Everyone who disagrees with the slightest view of theirs is called a white nationalist neo-Nazi hateful bigot. Meanwhile, women who have abortions are called brave and amazing and wonderful, and anyone who dares to stand up against them is shot down.

At the very worst, these women are called just people who were in difficult situations, who just had no other way out. I guess you could say they just experienced something. Is it a coincidence, though, that just as the world condemns racism and promotes abortion, we see leaders in the Church, like Tim Keller, hardening their views significantly on the issue of racism and softening their views significantly on the issue of abortion?

I don't think it's a coincidence at all. I think it's precisely in line with the spirit of our age. It's very clear what's happening here. But we were not meant to reflect the world. We were meant to reflect Christ.

Romans 12 says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Our churches are not supposed to do our best to reflect and exhibit the moral standards of the current political climate we live in, but rather the moral standards of God and His Word.

I have no superiority ethically to Tim Keller. I'm a wretched sinner saved by grace. I'm no better than anybody. I'm inconsistent sometimes, too. But I'm just laying out the facts for you. As Doug Wilson has said, somebody's got their thumb on the scales here.

I think that has become painfully obvious to those of us watching all this play out. So let's pray that Tim Keller and others like him would balance out their views with Scripture, that they would recognize this and change it immediately, according to the truth of God's Word.

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