POSITION PAPER on “DEIJ” (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice)
Introductory Comments:
To maintain fidelity to the doctrinal positions taken by Tri-City Covenant Church and to the Mission Statement[1] of Tri-City Christian Academy, it is necessary to affirm and explain the church and the school’s commitment to the virtues of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ). The following paragraphs are an attempt to do this with a particular focus on their applications in our Christian school.
A, or perhaps the, foundational premise of Tri-City Covenant Church and Tri-City Christian Academy is that the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, are Truth – Absolute Truth. They are God’s revealed Word to us, and they are to be read, studied, applied, and obeyed in every area of life and thought – even, or perhaps especially, when they may conflict with individual or societal accepted norms.
Orwellian “Newspeak” can rule our thinking and worse, the thinking of the souls placed in our charge, if we do not “cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”[2] Murdering pre-born babies can become “choice” in Newspeak. The most twisted perversions of sex practices, even sometimes augmented by surgery and pharmaceuticals can become “transitioning.” Legalized theft can become “progressive wealth re-distribution.” Libel, slander, and rejection of our national heritage in various forums can become “enlightenment.” And, sadly, so much more.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in their proper denotations, and in their once-normal connotations, are good things. But when their contextual applications and meanings deviate from the Holy Scriptures, they can become, and indeed they then do become, bad things. They become evil things.
Diversity:
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Revelation 7:9 – 10
God loves diversity, especially diversity in His Redeemed New Humanity, the Christian Church. He is surrounding, and will eternally surround, Himself with His diverse peoples throughout all eternity. People from diverse nations, diverse families, diverse people groups, diverse social and economic classes, and diverse languages and cultures all worshipping and glorifying Him are the goals and the zenith of this New Humanity. Often in the Holy Scriptures we are commanded to show compassion and provide hospitality to the stranger as well as to those closer to us.
But nowhere in Scripture are we told to disregard the difference between the breaker and the keeper of God’s supernaturally revealed laws. There is radical difference between these two categories of people, their trajectories through this life, and their final destinies. And there is a radical difference between the proper Christian responses Christians are to demonstrate towards each.
A murderer is not to be accepted and treated in the same manner as a non-murderer. An unrepentant adulterer is not to be accepted and treated in the same manner as a non-adulterer. An unrepentant thief is not to be accepted and treated in the same manner as a non-thief. Unrepentant slanderers and liars are not to be accepted and treated in the same manner as non-slanderers and non-liars. And an unrepentant covetous man is not to be accepted and treated in the same way as a non-covetous man.
Equity:
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness [equity]. Psalm 9:8
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Isaiah 11:4
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27 – 28
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:10 – 11
God values equity highly. Indeed, equity is an aspect of His very nature. Those bearing His image, especially those who have been redeemed to bear the image of Christ, are likewise commanded to display, and embody equity in their character.
But we are to administer God’s negative sanctions, to the unrepentant criminal, to the unrepentant lawbreaker, those who continue to threaten our well-being, as God’s laws demands.
Inclusion:
And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:29 – 32
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? James 2:2 – 4
The God of the Bible is the epitome of the virtue of inclusion. He even sent His Son to die for His enemies (previously us, prior to our conversions to Christ!) so that they (we) could be born again to new life in covenant with Christ, become His friends, rule with Him, and dine with Him at His Communion Table.
We, who bear His image, are commanded to do likewise. But there is a fundamental distinction in humanity, which is to have implications for our relationships with others. There are friends of God, and there are enemies of God. And that distinction has implications for how the respective groups are to be treated. The good news is that God and His redeemed followers are in the business of reconciling humanity to Himself.[3]
Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Psalm 139:21 – 22
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. Proverbs 8:36
Justice:
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. Job 37:23
Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Psalm 89:14
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Jeremiah 23:5
God takes justice very seriously. He is the personification of Justice. He takes justice so seriously that He sacrificed His only begotten Son, Jesus the Anointed One, so that we, sinners, could be “justly” pardoned from our sins. This pardoning justice came at great expense.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust [Jesus suffered for us], that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: I Peter 3:18
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3:9
But accepting, condoning, excusing, ignoring, and pardoning sin without repentance is not justice. Such actions are wickedness and perversions of true justice.
Conclusion:
In summary, good and true Diversity can and should be celebrated; good and true Equity can and should be pursued; good and true Inclusion can and should be promoted; and good and true Justice can and should be enforced and promulgated. It is therefore the task of the Christian educator and parent to aggressively and self-consciously model, promote, and teach these biblical virtues.
However, when these good and true things, which normally are Christian virtues, lose their goodness and truth, when they are re-defined to take the form of precise opposites of their good and true definitions, and most significantly, when they deviate from and oppose God’s Law, they then become an affront to Him, to Christian social cohesion and morality, and even to basic common sense. It then becomes the task of the Christian parent and the Christian educator to recognize and oppose them in their perverse and twisted applications.
There is good DEIJ, and there is bad DEIJ. God’s revealed law provides the Christian parent, the Christian educator, and the Christian leader with the necessary and proper distinction.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13 – 14
…Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
[1] To advance the dual propositions that Jesus the Christ is Lord over every area of life and thought, and that Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, Tri-City Christian strives to ‘glorify God and enjoy Him forever,’ Tri-City Christian Academy strives to guide students in academic achievement and in Christian character maturation, as these aspirations are derived and articulated from the Word and Sacrament ministries of the Church Universal.
[2] II Corinthians 10:5
[3] II Corinthians 5:18 -19
