We Need To Talk

[Gregory Matthews]

NOTE:   On the surface, one might wonder why I have placed this post in a section on Adventist Issues.  If you read this post through, and think about it, you may understand?

Derak Black seemed preordained to play the role in society that he took.  His godfather was David Duke a former grand wizard of the KKK.  His father created Stormfront, an Internet headquarters  for racist hate groups.   While holding to the following listed three beliefs, he was elected to a Republican committee seat in Florida, at the age of 19:

*  Black people have lower IQs than do White people and are more likely to commit crime.

*  The  Jews controlled the media and the banks, and unfairly defamed Hitler.

*  Immigration and affirmative action were leading the US toward a White genocide. 

Wanting to further his education, Derek Black enrolled in The New College of Florida, in Sarasota.  Due to posting a message related to his beliefs on a college message board,  he became the center of attention.  More than 1,000 replies took him on.

One reply was different.  An Orthodox Jewish student simply invited Derak Black to join with him and a group of friends for a Shabbat dinner, where all could talk.  Black accepted and that meal became a weekly tradition.  For two (2) years Black shared in the baked salmon and challah.  [NOTE: Baked salmon was the only dish the Jewish student knew how to make.]  By the 2nd year, Black was beginning to question his beliefs.

As he continued in his college education   he took classes in medieval history and in Jewish scripture.

In 2013 he visited his parents and made a decision to distance himself from their beliefs.  So, at that time he wrote a letter to the Southern Poverty Law center in which he disavowed his prior beliefs and renounced his white nationalist ties.

Today, Black continues on in his graduate studies in history.

The preceding came am article written by Molly Simms, titled, "We Need To Talk,"  and published in the April 2018 issue of O, Magazine, on pages 116 & 117.

I wonder:  What If:  An Orthodox Jew had not reached  out to Black to enjoy a meal of fellowship, talk and friendship?

 

[Gregory Matthews]

You hit the target.

 

[JoeMo]

16 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

Well, on that note, how do we explain this?

Maybe we need to expand our view of what the "church" is.  Just because EGW was an SDA pioneer does not mean that her writings are strictly to SDA's.  God has a WAY bigger church than just SDA's; and some are better at being inclusive and welcoming of all than many SDA churches.  God's church are those who have a deep relationship with Him - not a deep relationship with a man-made organization.