God is Not a White Man

But Whom Say YE That I Am?

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 6:13-18

It is critically important who we believe Jesus to be and how we represent Him to the world.  The world may not have a clue who Jesus really is, but part of the salvation experience is an inner revelation by God the Father about the identity of Jesus Christ.  In fact, Jesus says that it is on "this rock" - the revealed truth of Jesus as the Anointed Messiah, the Son of the Living God - that Jesus will build His church.

Yet, as many of you are aware, there is an effort underway to deny who Jesus really is and to even redefine who God is.  This ecumenical message is being drummed into society in many ways via churches, schools, and the media. One example is a song by Michael Gungor entitled "God is not a white man".

Gungor is described as a Christian worship music singer & songwriter whose most noted work "I am a Friend of God" earned him a Dove Awards "Song of the Year" nomination in 2006.  According to his website, he and his band have been developing a "new understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus".  Much of this new understanding however seems to be for the birds...as depicted on their website, which invokes images of drinking blood and repeatedly incorporates symbols of death (skulls & crossbones) into their logo designs.

This better understanding of Jesus caused them to start their own church called "Bloom" which led them to the following conclusions about Jesus:

We aren't sure that God is all that into labels, so we aren't either.  At Bloom we  have tied ourselves to the story of God found in Jesus, which makes us decidedly Christian, but we gladly welcome anybody among us regardless of creed, race, sexual orientation, or any other division that we humans like to divide ourselves into.  Our hope is that everyone who wanders into our community will come to love and embrace Jesus and his story too."

Do you see how they have completely redefined not only Christianity, but Jesus Christ Himself?  Being Christian is not about repentance from sin and turning in faith to receive Jesus as Savior through a born again experience.  Being Christian simply means that one has "embraced" or appreciated the "story" of Jesus.  Jesus is not God Himself, but someone in whom the "story of God" may be found.  While The True & Living God tells us to have no fellowship with darkness, Gungor says they will have fellowship with all no matter what one believes or the lifestyle they live.  Do we show love by preaching acceptance of all beliefs and lifestyles or do we show love by obeying God's words? (John 14:15)

And, of course, this new revelation of God also impacts how they view worship music:

"“If leading worship is just about bringing a group of people into a room so we can get goosebumps and sing songs together, there’s not much value in that. But if leading worship is a means to an end, that we leave this place as a different kind of people, as part of a new humanity that God wants to create – the people that are caring for the widows and orphans, that aren’t bound by the systems of this world but becoming free, becoming fully engaged in our world – then that matters.”"

They see themselves as having moved from 'people pleasers' to those urging others to become more "fully engaged" in the world.  Notice, the vehicle or the "means to the end" of getting people more into the world is their music.

It would appear that Gungor has never had a Biblical understanding about what worship is.  Worship is not about what pleases people or what is acceptable to the world; it is that which is inspired by God's Spirit and His Truth.  If "worship" is not grounded first in the Spirit and truths of God...it is not worship.  And that leads us to the band's song "God is not a white man."

This song can best be described by the video itself, as that illustration gives a clear depiction of the "god" being promoted in this song.  In tearing down what they depict as false images of God, the song's conclusion is very simple, "God is love and He loves everyone."

In one scene, there is a child with a sad face because she is sitting before a plate full of vegetables.  But then "love" comes in and changes these nutritious foods into candy...and that is what Gungor has done in this song.

In this song, he has stripped away from his presentation of "God" any of the saving strength and power of the Gospel, and replaced it with a message that is sugary sweet & pleasing to the flesh, but has no spiritual value.  It would seem Gungor has not moved as far from being a 'people pleaser' as he may think.

What parent would cater to a childish whim to let kids eat candy instead of vegetables just because candy tastes better?  How would such a decision affect the development of the child?  Would not depriving him/her of essential nutrients and replacing that with empty calories actually be feeding sickness and death to them?  Yet this is exactly what Gungor's "god of love" does and that is also what he is doing spiritually to those listening to such "worship" music.

Why am I even bothering to write about this?  Because the church is being sung lullabies of false gospels and feel-good doctrines which are simply rocking many to sleep.  We need to stop swallowing what every "artist" puts out and giving ear to every "song" when such is devoid of true spiritual food.

There is a saying in the computer industry of "Junk in, Junk out."  It means that if you put bad data into a processor, you will only get out bad data.  What are you feeding on?  Do you not know that you are what you eat?  And it is not just Gungor; he is but one example.  There is a whole horde of "Christian" music which is about anything BUT Christ, yet many in the churchworld continue to embrace it.  They play them on the radios, buy their CDs, and even sing them in the church fellowships; becoming increasingly indoctrinated into a one world Babylonian religious system that denies Jesus Christ.

As people sing along with this song (and others like it), I hope they truly understand who they are worshiping.

They are worshiping a "God" who is mocked as someone just like man, an imperfect sinner.  Jesus then is no longer your Savior, but He has now become your "homeboy" as shown in the T-shirt graphic.

They are worshiping a "God" who is one with cross-dressers and transvestites.

They are worshiping a "God" who cannot "be owned by religion".  In other words, God is SO big, that there is not just one way you can access Him.

They are worshiping a "God" who is a "friend" to "atheists, charlatans, communists, lesbians, and terrorists" to name a few.  Yet we know from Scripture that God is not a friend to sinners.

These are just some of the messages promoted in this song.

Is that what God means when He says that He is love? The problem is not whom God loves, but the fact that man loves darkness more than he loves light (John 3:19).  And according to this song, even embracing deeds of evil and darkness is "good".  This is the "god" they are promoting.

So I ask you, "Who do YOU say that God is?"