As I write this, there is an event that is possibly of historical
import that is occurring in the nation's capital. It is October 16th,
1995; and the date of the "Million Man March."
It is with mixed feelings that I view this march. First, many of
the ideals are obviously true and many needed to be instilled in the
men of this nation, whatever their race. Personal responsibility,
integrity, honesty, being good husbands, sons, fathers and citizens
are things that the men of any nation and in any era need to be
encouraged in.
But there are mixed reactions to the main leader of this march.
Louis Farrakhan, the spiritual leader of the Nation of Islam, has been
joined by many, though by no means all, black Protestant and Catholic clergymen. Some them praise him as "a righteous man" and one whose "words every black man must follow." But Mr. Farrakhan would tell us that Jesus is not the Son of God; the Logos; God incarnate. He would deny the blood of Christ; in fact, would insist that Jesus never died on the cross at all (Muslims believe it was someone else crucified that day whom the Romans thought was Jesus). It seems to me that "Christian" clergymen who would say to follow this man have betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be better for them to simply join the Nation of Islam and stop pretending to be Jesus' friends.
Some of the marchers insist that Farrakhan does not speak for them.
Good, I hope not. Hatred is sin whether it is spewed from the lips of
a white man or a black man. But I wonder how many German citizens were happy to cheer for Hitler because he was lifting Germany out of its post World War One miseries, but would never have taken an active part in the tyrant's hideous treatment of the Jews. They didn't have to, all they had to do was support the dictator and turn a blind eye to the atrocious things he said. I am afraid that the more power Farrakhan is granted, the more bold he will become; and that will eventually spell trouble for everyone of all colors.
I hope good results from this march. I hope that the targets of
this march, the black male, is encouraged in things that are right and
good and noble. I also hope that legitimate grievances are addressed
and corrected. Racist cops do great harm to our society. Certainly in
the final analysis, there is a leader who can most help all
communities in our nation. His name is not Farrakhan; but it is Jesus.
He is our hope, and His message is a message of true peace, love and
