Join Antipas Harris for a live conversation about faith, Marxism, and Black Lives Matter.

Update: Follow the link below for watch the dialogue.

I would like to invite you to join me TONIGHT for an intellectually and spiritually invigorating Live Streaming conversation with highly acclaimed sociologist and practical theologian Bryan Froehle, Ph.D.

In light of the current social unrest, we will be having a dialogue concerning the Church, social structures, and social justice.

Simply click on the link below or join me on my public Facebook page TONIGHT, Tuesday, August 25, 2020, at 9 pm EDT/ 8 pm CDT/ 6 pm PDT. 

I hope to see your comments tonight on either YouTube or on my public Facebook page @drantipas. Be sure to “like” and “share” the live conversation on your social media outlets.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

Sincerely,

Dr. Antipas

Bishop Harry Jackson, Bishop T.D. Jakes, James Robison

From the April 27, 2015 Press Release.

On the eve of the second national meeting of The Reconciled Church (TRC) – a historic multi-racial, multi-denominational and apolitical gathering of church leaders in Orlando, a growing response to Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, North Charleston, and now Baltimore – TRC founders Bishop Harry Jackson, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and James Robinson have this statement:

“What news cameras were to Civil Rights, cell phone cameras and real-time recordings are to this generation. They help ordinary Americans see the madness. Our hearts bleed for the suffering families, and not just for them. We grieve for every person who encounters injustice and brutality with no camera to show the underbelly of anger that turns standard situations into a travesty of ‘protection.’ And though we can’t give all Americans a recording device, we can give the voiceless a voice.

“Now from Ferguson, North Charleston, Baltimore and the lengthening roll call of wounded cities, we cry for justice – the lasting justice of changed minds and hearts. Black, brown and white, solutions lie not in reaction but in unified action.”

– TRC Founders Bishop Harry Jackson, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and James Robison The Reconciled Church: Healing the Racial Divide is a multiracial, multi-denominational, non-partisan expression of the Church uniting in response to current social unrest.

Bishop Harry R. Jackson organized The Reconciled Church inaugural conference. He is senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C., area.

Bishop T.D. Jakes is senior pastor of The Potter’s House, a New York Times best-selling author, leader and speaker. He hosted The Reconciled Church’s inaugural event.

James Robison, evangelist, teacher, missionary, author and television host, founded and heads Life Outreach International.

The second national meeting of The Reconciled Church is occurring on April 29, 2015 in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center, as part of T. D. Jakes’ International Pastors and Leadership Conference 2015, April 29 – May 2. Watch it live: http://www.tdjakes.org/echurch/pastorsandleaders

Though he admits he is not an expert on evil (17), N. T. Wright writes Evil and the Justice of God in light of a new concentration on evil in postmodern Western society. His work is particularly significant in light of the perceived evil involved with such events as the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States; the devastation of Hurricane Katrina; and the Tsunami across the Indian Ocean. Wright defines evil as “the force of anti-creation, anti-life, the force which opposes and seeks to deface and destroy God’s good world of space, time and matter, and above all God’s image-bearing human creatures” (89). Wright notes that postmodern Western society either typically ignores or denies the existence of evil when it is not directly impacted. However, when postmodern Western society is directly impacted by evil, its typical response is to either blame everyone else or blame themselves (24). Consequently, this reaction has direct implications on the notions of how one exacts justice in order to combat evil. Given its ambiguous notion of evil, can postmodern Western Society clearly define and (more importantly) exact justice in response to evil being manifested? In contrast, what is the Judeo-Christian response to the problems of evil and implementation of justice on an individual and societal level? These are the key questions that Wright so provocatively addresses in his book.

Evil and the Justice of God is comprised of five chapters. Chapter one is entitled “Evil is Still a Four-Letter Word” and discusses the new and practical problems of evil existing in postmodern Western culture. For example, though the culture is often shown examples of evil through channels such as the television, its citizens are typically not directly threatened by that evil. This lack of engagement produces a false notion that evil is under control. Likewise, political leaders and the media also seem to be surprised by evil when it manifests in such a way that postmodern Western society is affected (25–26). Wright notes that this may be because they hold an abstract or philosophical understanding of the problem of evil. However, he asserts that the problem of evil is not an abstract or philosophical dilemma. Rather, it is a practical issue that has been largely ignored since the time of the Enlightenment (78). Additionally, for Wright, when postmodern Western society is directly impacted by the problem of evil there is often an immature, dangerous, and ineffective reaction to it. This is evidenced, for example, for Wright, by a “lashing out” at those perceived to be evil (28). But such reactions do not address the reality of evil—both super-naturally and naturally (32). For Wright, the problem of evil, however, is well addressed in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Chapter two is entitled “What can God do about Evil” and presents a Judaic perspective on the problem of evil and the Justice of God. Relative to the problem of evil, Wright points out that in the Old Testament there is evidence of a divine pattern of dealing with the problem of evil in that God judges evil but also offers grace in the wake of evil (50). For example, in the story of the flood (Gen 6–7), God judged the continual evil of humanity (6:5, 11–13), but offered grace through the family of Noah (6:8, 18; 7:1). Likewise, because of their hubris ambition to build the tower of Babel in order to be like God, the inhabitants of the earth were deemed evil, and God’s judgment was to confuse their language, thereby limiting their creativity (Gen 11). Later, God offered grace to humanity through the “Abramic” covenant (Gen 12: 1–3). Though the notion of God offering both judgment and grace in response to evil may appear paradoxical, the Old Testament witness has been consistent on this matter. For, it is those who participate in evil who are judged, but God’s grace is extended to all of humanity.