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Articles

Learning about racial injustice: My family’s journey

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February 27, 2017

Each time I hear about another shooting of a black person by police and see the subsequent protests around the country, my heart aches. It aches for the families who have just lost loved ones, and the communities who do not feel safe. It aches for the families of police officers who are now fearful to send their loved ones to work.  It aches for the centuries-old wounds and divisions each incident exposes. But underneath it all, it aches for the brokenness and injustice that is ever-present in our fallen world.  

Yet, if I am brutally honest with myself, once the news cycle moves along to the next week’s story, the heartache is shamefully pushed to the back of my mind.  

I am not black. I am not a police officer, nor do I have any in my immediate family. I am a white woman who grew up in a predominantly white community, whose primary understanding of modern racism comes from living for several years in post-Apartheid South Africa.

I do not understand what it’s like to grow up in an urban environment, scared for my safety and fearful of those whose sworn duty is to protect me. I have never been looked at differently by a store clerk because of the color of my skin, nor have I been asked to do a job where my life is put in danger every day.  

I struggle to truly empathize with those losing lives, facing dangers and living in the constant shadow of the deadly consequences of sin in our world. Yet, Romans 12:15 makes it clear that God’s people are to “mourn with those who mourn.” My fleeting heartache is not enough.  

In the wake of the tragic deaths in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas, my husband and I began to wrestle with our own lack of understanding. One Sunday following a shooting, we wept silently at church as our pastor challenged us to move beyond the sin-drenched divisive debates and talking points in order to love our neighbors in the midst of their pain.

My husband and I resolved to no longer allow our hearts to be unchanged as those around us mourned. We longed to have a deeper understanding of their pain so that we could authentically mourn alongside them as Scripture instructs.  

We set out on a sometimes awkward, but ever fascinating journey of asking honest questions and listening. The next time we had close black friends over for a meal, we asked them how they were doing in the wake of the shootings. We asked what it was like for them to grow up in predominantly black neighborhoods and what experiences they and their neighbors had with law enforcement. We spoke with our black church friends and asked what they thought white Christians needed to understand. We connected with black colleagues at the forefront of racial reconciliation ministries and asked what we could do to help.

We also reached out to friends who work in law enforcement, asking how they were handling increased tensions and pressures. We asked what their perspectives were on each shooting and what solutions they saw to the current unrest they were facing.   

Our first attempts at broaching these challenging subjects were not seamless. We fumbled with the right wording, tone and timing. But the wisdom we gained in spite of our clumsiness was immeasurable. In each conversation, our friends could see past our inelegance to the heart of our questions. Can we sit with you in your pain? Can you help us understand your hurt? Can we help be a solution in any way?  

Through the gracious candor of our friends, we were given a glimpse into the depths of the pain. As we sat and listened to their powerful stories and raw perspectives, our heartache began to give way to heartbreak. At the end of the day, we didn’t come away from each conversation agreeing on tactics, policies or even where blame should be laid in each particular tragedy. But listening to our friends, and entering into that deep hurt with them, united us with them in their mourning. Although we may never understand the full breadth of the challenges surrounding racial reconciliation in America, our friends helped us walk one step closer toward being a part of the solutions.

In her seminal book on racism in the south, Harper Lee wrote that you can never truly understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. For white Christians like me, the burden is on us to realize the limitations of our perspectives, to seek out our black brothers and sisters and to learn how to view the world as they do.  

There is no easy way to enter into someone else’s pain. When Jesus Christ entered our fallen world to pay the price for our sins, he modeled this concept to us and proved just how costly it can be. He now calls his redeemed to take up our crosses and enter into the pain of others so that we may bring his grace and redemption to the darkness.  

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in Letters from a Birmingham Jail,

There was a time when the church was very powerful—in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.

May we be a people who suffer and sacrifice alongside one another. May the gospel bring us humbly to our knees so that we may hear the cries of our brothers and sisters. May our actions of walking alongside each other in the midst of deep grief be a thermostat that transforms our broken and hurting society.  

Palmer Williams

Palmer specializes in legal and policy analysis related to international human rights, sanctity of life, and government affairs. As a licensed attorney specializing in international law, she has extensive experience advocating for human rights on the international stage, including at the United Nations. She earned her Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt … Read More

Article 12: The Future of AI

We affirm that AI will continue to be developed in ways that we cannot currently imagine or understand, including AI that will far surpass many human abilities. God alone has the power to create life, and no future advancements in AI will usurp Him as the Creator of life. The church has a unique role in proclaiming human dignity for all and calling for the humane use of AI in all aspects of society.

We deny that AI will make us more or less human, or that AI will ever obtain a coequal level of worth, dignity, or value to image-bearers. Future advancements in AI will not ultimately fulfill our longings for a perfect world. While we are not able to comprehend or know the future, we do not fear what is to come because we know that God is omniscient and that nothing we create will be able to thwart His redemptive plan for creation or to supplant humanity as His image-bearers.

Genesis 1; Isaiah 42:8; Romans 1:20-21; 5:2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2 Timothy 1:7-9; Revelation 5:9-10

Article 11: Public Policy

We affirm that the fundamental purposes of government are to protect human beings from harm, punish those who do evil, uphold civil liberties, and to commend those who do good. The public has a role in shaping and crafting policies concerning the use of AI in society, and these decisions should not be left to those who develop these technologies or to governments to set norms.

We deny that AI should be used by governments, corporations, or any entity to infringe upon God-given human rights. AI, even in a highly advanced state, should never be delegated the governing authority that has been granted by an all-sovereign God to human beings alone. 

Romans 13:1-7; Acts 10:35; 1 Peter 2:13-14

Article 10: War

We affirm that the use of AI in warfare should be governed by love of neighbor and the principles of just war. The use of AI may mitigate the loss of human life, provide greater protection of non-combatants, and inform better policymaking. Any lethal action conducted or substantially enabled by AI must employ 5 human oversight or review. All defense-related AI applications, such as underlying data and decision-making processes, must be subject to continual review by legitimate authorities. When these systems are deployed, human agents bear full moral responsibility for any actions taken by the system.

We deny that human agency or moral culpability in war can be delegated to AI. No nation or group has the right to use AI to carry out genocide, terrorism, torture, or other war crimes.

Genesis 4:10; Isaiah 1:16-17; Psalm 37:28; Matthew 5:44; 22:37-39; Romans 13:4

Article 9: Security

We affirm that AI has legitimate applications in policing, intelligence, surveillance, investigation, and other uses supporting the government’s responsibility to respect human rights, to protect and preserve human life, and to pursue justice in a flourishing society.

We deny that AI should be employed for safety and security applications in ways that seek to dehumanize, depersonalize, or harm our fellow human beings. We condemn the use of AI to suppress free expression or other basic human rights granted by God to all human beings.

Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14

Article 8: Data & Privacy

We affirm that privacy and personal property are intertwined individual rights and choices that should not be violated by governments, corporations, nation-states, and other groups, even in the pursuit of the common good. While God knows all things, it is neither wise nor obligatory to have every detail of one’s life open to society.

We deny the manipulative and coercive uses of data and AI in ways that are inconsistent with the love of God and love of neighbor. Data collection practices should conform to ethical guidelines that uphold the dignity of all people. We further deny that consent, even informed consent, although requisite, is the only necessary ethical standard for the collection, manipulation, or exploitation of personal data—individually or in the aggregate. AI should not be employed in ways that distort truth through the use of generative applications. Data should not be mishandled, misused, or abused for sinful purposes to reinforce bias, strengthen the powerful, or demean the weak.

Exodus 20:15, Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:13-14; Matthew 10:16 Galatians 6:2; Hebrews 4:12-13; 1 John 1:7 

Article 7: Work

We affirm that work is part of God’s plan for human beings participating in the cultivation and stewardship of creation. The divine pattern is one of labor and rest in healthy proportion to each other. Our view of work should not be confined to commercial activity; it must also include the many ways that human beings serve each other through their efforts. AI can be used in ways that aid our work or allow us to make fuller use of our gifts. The church has a Spirit-empowered responsibility to help care for those who lose jobs and to encourage individuals, communities, employers, and governments to find ways to invest in the development of human beings and continue making vocational contributions to our lives together.

We deny that human worth and dignity is reducible to an individual’s economic contributions to society alone. Humanity should not use AI and other technological innovations as a reason to move toward lives of pure leisure even if greater social wealth creates such possibilities.

Genesis 1:27; 2:5; 2:15; Isaiah 65:21-24; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-16

Article 6: Sexuality

We affirm the goodness of God’s design for human sexuality which prescribes the sexual union to be an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman in the lifelong covenant of marriage.

We deny that the pursuit of sexual pleasure is a justification for the development or use of AI, and we condemn the objectification of humans that results from employing AI for sexual purposes. AI should not intrude upon or substitute for the biblical expression of sexuality between a husband and wife according to God’s design for human marriage.

Genesis 1:26-29; 2:18-25; Matthew 5:27-30; 1 Thess 4:3-4

Article 5: Bias

We affirm that, as a tool created by humans, AI will be inherently subject to bias and that these biases must be accounted for, minimized, or removed through continual human oversight and discretion. AI should be designed and used in such ways that treat all human beings as having equal worth and dignity. AI should be utilized as a tool to identify and eliminate bias inherent in human decision-making.

We deny that AI should be designed or used in ways that violate the fundamental principle of human dignity for all people. Neither should AI be used in ways that reinforce or further any ideology or agenda, seeking to subjugate human autonomy under the power of the state.

Micah 6:8; John 13:34; Galatians 3:28-29; 5:13-14; Philippians 2:3-4; Romans 12:10

Article 4: Medicine

We affirm that AI-related advances in medical technologies are expressions of God’s common grace through and for people created in His image and that these advances will increase our capacity to provide enhanced medical diagnostics and therapeutic interventions as we seek to care for all people. These advances should be guided by basic principles of medical ethics, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice, which are all consistent with the biblical principle of loving our neighbor.

We deny that death and disease—effects of the Fall—can ultimately be eradicated apart from Jesus Christ. Utilitarian applications regarding healthcare distribution should not override the dignity of human life. Fur- 3 thermore, we reject the materialist and consequentialist worldview that understands medical applications of AI as a means of improving, changing, or completing human beings.

Matthew 5:45; John 11:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Galatians 6:2; Philippians 2:4

Article 3: Relationship of AI & Humanity

We affirm the use of AI to inform and aid human reasoning and moral decision-making because it is a tool that excels at processing data and making determinations, which often mimics or exceeds human ability. While AI excels in data-based computation, technology is incapable of possessing the capacity for moral agency or responsibility.

We deny that humans can or should cede our moral accountability or responsibilities to any form of AI that will ever be created. Only humanity will be judged by God on the basis of our actions and that of the tools we create. While technology can be created with a moral use in view, it is not a moral agent. Humans alone bear the responsibility for moral decision making.

Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 1 John 2:1

Article 2: AI as Technology

We affirm that the development of AI is a demonstration of the unique creative abilities of human beings. When AI is employed in accordance with God’s moral will, it is an example of man’s obedience to the divine command to steward creation and to honor Him. We believe in innovation for the glory of God, the sake of human flourishing, and the love of neighbor. While we acknowledge the reality of the Fall and its consequences on human nature and human innovation, technology can be used in society to uphold human dignity. As a part of our God-given creative nature, human beings should develop and harness technology in ways that lead to greater flourishing and the alleviation of human suffering.

We deny that the use of AI is morally neutral. It is not worthy of man’s hope, worship, or love. Since the Lord Jesus alone can atone for sin and reconcile humanity to its Creator, technology such as AI cannot fulfill humanity’s ultimate needs. We further deny the goodness and benefit of any application of AI that devalues or degrades the dignity and worth of another human being. 

Genesis 2:25; Exodus 20:3; 31:1-11; Proverbs 16:4; Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 3:23

Article 1: Image of God

We affirm that God created each human being in His image with intrinsic and equal worth, dignity, and moral agency, distinct from all creation, and that humanity’s creativity is intended to reflect God’s creative pattern.

We deny that any part of creation, including any form of technology, should ever be used to usurp or subvert the dominion and stewardship which has been entrusted solely to humanity by God; nor should technology be assigned a level of human identity, worth, dignity, or moral agency.

Genesis 1:26-28; 5:1-2; Isaiah 43:6-7; Jeremiah 1:5; John 13:34; Colossians 1:16; 3:10; Ephesians 4:24