Race Riots, Political Protests and Social and Economic Justice: Whose Side is God On?

By Allen Taylor

2020 has been a crazy year. Race riots, a pandemic, presidential election, police brutality, and chaos from coast to coast. How should Christians respond to the social changes going around us? Should we join in? Should we choose sides? Is God on our side or on their side? How do we know?

In this short booklet, a super-quick read, Allen Taylor addresses this question head on, with wit and deep insight. It's not a political tract, nor is it a come-to-Jesus religious tract. It's a spiritual call to action for true believers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allen Taylor
• Release date: Nov 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393775362

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Copyright © 2020 Allen Taylor

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INTRODUCTION

Reading the headlines, one might think America is coming apart at the seams. The year 2020 has largely been a year of hysteria characterized by pandemic fears and a racial war. On top of that, the pending election has everyone along the political spectrum ramping up the volume. It’s gotten noisy out there.

The coronavirus public health crisis has been compared to the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918[1] which affected nearly one-third of the world’s population. It’s estimated that fifty million people died worldwide. Over half a million of those were in the U.S. While the impact of COVID-19 has been nowhere near that, many public health experts believe the primary reason is because U.S. political leaders, the public health community, and citizens acted quickly to implement spread reduction strategies like social distancing and the wearing of face masks.[2] The surge of infections in July and August[3] appear to be because states began economic reopening plans.

To make matters worse, there seems to be a growing war over face masks, social distancing, and disease-fighting measures. Face masks have become a political dividing line, with conservatives making bold public statements about why they aren’t wearing them[4] and liberals answering with their own rebuttals. One face mask confrontation led to a security guard being murdered.[5]

While still reeling from pandemic fears, the nation was suddenly catapulted into deeper and more threatening waters. The death of a black man at the hands of a white police officer gave rise to a conflagration over police brutality and white supremacy. The country was soon divided along racial lines in a way not seen since the early 1970s on the heels of the Civil Rights movement.

On top of all of that, election year jitters have brought out the worst in Democrats and Republicans as the two parties fight over how to manage public health, the economy, racism, unemployment, and the next Supreme Court justice. 

What’s going on? How did we get here? Is there any way out of this mess?

BLACK AND WHITE: HOW AMERICA IS DIVIDED

On May 25, 2020, a white police officer named Derek