WEBVTT

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 sort of uptick in quality and ambiance here. Are other people feeling that?

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 It's always great to be back every year and kind of see the incremental changes that happen.

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 A lot of memories have been made in this room, a lot of great, amazing conversations,

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 a lot of wonderful times of prayer, a lot of laughter.

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 Hopefully we'll have some more of that tonight.

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 But this weekend's very exciting because as this retreat does every year,

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 this is an opportunity for us as a community to take those central values that define our community

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 and our vision and really dive into those.

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 And our values are the values of generous hospitality, spiritual formation,

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 and then missionary faithfulness, living all of life in reference to the mission of God.

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 And so that first value, what does it mean to be a community that is generous

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 and even extravagant in our hospitality?

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 Our willingness to embrace and to make space for and to welcome into our family all those who God sends us.

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 And how do we welcome people as we've been welcomed by Jesus Christ?

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 And so that's why we have the Reverend Dr. Erwin Ince with us.

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 Erwin is a veteran pastor.

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 He pastored a church for 10 years in Columbia, Maryland.

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 He is a father of four, right?

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 He has a sort of historical connection with our church family.

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 He was a part of Res and a friend with the people who got Church of the Resurrection started all those years ago,

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 and a friend of Dan Clare's and now a friend of ours.

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 And so we're excited to have him because he's come back to D.C. to be a pastor at Grace D.C.

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 and to start the Institute for Cross-Cultural Ministries that is – well, he'll tell you more about all that they're doing,

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 but I can tell you that their sort of central statement of vision is this,

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 that the ICCM is a church-based entity dedicated to equipping churches with the confidence and competence to welcome others the way Jesus welcomes us.

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 So that's right in line with the kind of thing we want to be talking about.

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 And as a community, you know, we always want to be in a posture of learning from people who are leading and doing great things in the kingdom.

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 And so our hope and prayer is that we learn from Erwin.

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 And so I'm just going to say a brief prayer, and then I'm going to invite him up here.

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 Lord, we pray for this time.

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 We pray for all of us who are gathered here.

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 Lord, we've all been welcomed at one point or another into the kingdom, though we did not deserve it.

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 We've all been embraced into the arms of Jesus Christ, Lord.

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 And if there are any people here who have not yet felt that embrace, we know that your arms are wide open for them.

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 And we pray for Dr. Enz as he speaks this morning.

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 We pray that he would be an instrument in your hand, Lord, that his voice would be your voice, his word, your word.

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 We pray that our hearts would be open to receive it.

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 In your son's name we pray.

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 Amen.

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 Amen.

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 Amen.

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 Good morning, folks.

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 Yes, good, good morning.

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 I hope we're all well satisfied in our bellies and well caffeinated.

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 I am well caffeinated.

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 And so, Lord willing, we'll be relatively sharp this morning.

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 So, yeah, we are this weekend talking, as you can see in the booklet and on the screen, about a new we, image, identity, and community in Jesus Christ.

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 And I will say at the outset, I have far too many slides for our time together.

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 So, my goal is not to get through every slide that I've got, but to work through this in a way that is enriching for you all.

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 And I know that we have got some time set aside for discussion with questions, but I invite you through this process to interrupt me if you have a question.

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 And if it's something that I want to defer to later, I'll say that, but I'm all about dialogue.

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 All right?

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 So, let me start off by just kind of talking about what I call my core conviction.

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 And this comes out of my own story, coming out of a very racialized worldview.

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 In my college years, I rejected the faith, the Christian faith, during my high school years.

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 I thought playing football was much more important than Jesus.

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 And so, but that rejection of the Lord became active as an undergraduate, as I was studying electrical engineering.

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 And I joined a group that had a very Afrocentric worldview.

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 It was called the Sons of Africa.

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 And I, for me, you know, Christianity became the white man's religion.

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 I was immersing myself in people who had a very black nationalistic worldview.

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 And so, I mean, I was, I would go to bed during those years.

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 There was a period of months where I would go to bed watching a Louis Farrakhan speech on video that I had on video.

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 Like the same speech from 1985 Madison Square Garden speech that I had on video.

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 And every night, that's what I went to sleep doing, watching that, because I wanted to get that.

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 Like, I wasn't interested in being a black Muslim.

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 I just wanted to get that deep into my, into my bones.

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 And so, when I, when I came to faith and the Lord brought me to himself at a historic African American church in Washington, D.C.,

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 particular lights began to go off for me.

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 I began to realize that my true family, my eternal family, were those to whom I was united by faith in Jesus Christ.

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 From every racial and ethnic background.

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 And so, the problem that I saw was that, oh, okay, I'm reading the scriptures now, and I'm seeing this is God's plan and God's vision.

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 But I don't see it in the church.

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 Like, the church I'm at, we're all black.

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 There's a church down the road, they're all white.

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 That one's all Asian, that one's all Latino.

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 So, I'm not seeing the living out of what I see in the scriptures in any practical way.

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 And I know that there are valid, actually, reasons, at least in America, for these kinds of divisions within the church.

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 But that, I wasn't able to kind of shake that.

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 And it created in me what I call a divine dissatisfaction.

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 And that's a phrase I borrowed from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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 That he would use to describe, saying, what is it that you see, as far as God's standard and God's word,

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 that you don't see being lived out in the society or in the church.

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 And it's this divine dissatisfaction.

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 I have to live into it.

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 And so, that's a long way of getting around to, did I go backwards?

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 I did.

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 All right.

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 Well, I'll go back to what was on the slide before.

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 My core conviction, which is that the ministry of reconciliation,

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 as demonstrated in the local church by the gathering of people from diverse backgrounds,

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 ethnicities, and cultures, ethnicities, and cultures,

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 it is the natural outworking of a rich biblical commitment.

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 If we're committed to God's word,

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 then what we will be pursuing is the ministry of reconciliation

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 demonstrated by the gatherer of people in the local church

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 from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

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 And so, this is what I've given my life to in pastoral ministry,

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 and now as we build this Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission.

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 And so, here are three things we're going to, in these two sessions,

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 we're going to try to cover.

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 Right?

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 Image, identity, and community in Christ.

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 We're going to talk about being formed to image God.

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 We're going to talk about the God that we image,

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 kind of laying the groundwork, the biblical foundation.

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 We're going to talk about being formed for identity in Jesus Christ.

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 We're being formed to have our core sense of who we are,

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 being rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ.

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 Not to say that ethnicity is unimportant.

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 Not to say that we're striving to be colorblind.

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 No, you see me, you need to see that I'm a black man.

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 But, my ethnic identity is subordinate to my identity in Jesus Christ.

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 And then, we're going to talk about being formed for identity in community.

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 And so, look, let's talk about the God that we image.

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 I've been just captured probably the past year or so.

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 I don't know how it happened.

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 But, just with this notion of beauty.

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 Right?

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 To reflect on the beauty of God.

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 That God is the standard for beauty.

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 Yes, and beauty is an attribute of God.

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 He's got lots of attributes, right?

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 But, I think in this case, it's beneficial, at least it was for me,

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 for us to study as we consider God's nature.

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 Who is God?

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 And, who are we?

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 If God is beautiful, what does it mean for the humanity that images God?

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 And so, here's the question.

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 Like, what is beauty?

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 Alright, why do I have a picture of camels on the screen?

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 Well, camels are beautiful, aren't they?

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 Well, like, earlier this year, January, there was a scandal.

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 In the camel beauty contest pageant in Saudi Arabia, in January.

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 There were 12 camels who were disqualified from the pageant.

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 Why were they disqualified?

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 Because they had found a veterinarian who had injected them with Botox

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 to make them more attractive.

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 Injecting their lips to be fuller.

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 Their nose.

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 They had to perform some procedures.

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 They have the beauty pageant in Saudi Arabia for camels.

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 They have documents of the standards of camel beauty

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 that you've got to utilize to make an adjustment.

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 And, right, it's funny, right?

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 But, right, this is no laughing matter.

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 There are, it's, the article said that there's over $31 million in prize money

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 at these pageants.

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 So, you know, I mean, I've got to get my camel looking good.

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 So, that begs the question, right?

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 Like, what is beauty?

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 Now, we don't, we're not going to have any camel beauty pageants here

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 in the good old U.S. of A.

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 Right?

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 But we know what it's like to commodify beauty.

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 Right?

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 We know what it's like to parade women and men on stages

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 and make judgments about their physical appearance

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 and their value based on that appearance

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 and calling that beauty and calling them beautiful.

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 And so, really, the question is, what is beauty?

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 What does it mean to be beautiful?

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 All right, I'm just going to ask the question.

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 Y'all tell me.

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 What, if I, what is beauty?

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 What does it mean to be beautiful?

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 Some sort of pleasure.

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 Yeah.

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 Yeah.

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 It makes you feel like things are, you know, in a right way.

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 Yeah.

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 It's an ideal, like platonic ideal that you see.

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 Yeah.

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 Yes, but some kind of pleasure, right?

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 It's, there's a, there's a light to it.

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 Yeah.

00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:53.740
 Uh-huh.

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 I'd say a lot of self-esteem.

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 Self-esteem, right?

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 It's connected with beauty.

00:14:00.620 --> 00:14:00.899
 Yeah.

00:14:01.540 --> 00:14:01.980
 Yeah.

00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:02.899
 What else?

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 Curves.

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 Curves.

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 Curves.

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 All right.

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 So, I was looking at this, okay, we're all adults in here, right?

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 There's a, this guy made this video on, he put on Facebook about how he's, it's him as the dad

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 and all of the old school 1980s music that he's teaching to his child.

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 Like, you know, they don't make music like they used to.

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 And so, it's a, this is, this is me, right?

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 I'm going to show you what real good music is, right?

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 And there's this, there's this one song by the Gap Band, A Brick House.

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 Right?

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 That's the Commodores.

00:14:52.579 --> 00:14:52.859
 Thank you.

00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:54.339
 That's not the Gap, thank you.

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 The Commodores.

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 She, she's a brick house, right?

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 And, and, and, uh, and, uh, the dude says, as he's seen the song, right?

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 I got two brick houses, the one I pay for and your mother.

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 So, that's me, right?

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 Right?

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 Curves are an aspect of beauty, right?

00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:16.979
 But, question is, right?

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 Here, so I'm going to borrow, I'm going to borrow from, um, uh, from an old theologian.

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 Um, you know, beauty, is beauty simply, you know, you know it when you see it?

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 Right?

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 Is it, right?

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 Is it this subjective thing?

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 Is it only in the eye of the beholder?

00:15:37.699 --> 00:15:42.459
 Um, is, uh, um, you know, what do we mean, right?

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 That song, we're marching to Zion.

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 Beautiful, beautiful Zion.

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 We're marching onward to Zion, the beautiful city of God.

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 Um, I, um, uh, I'm going to, I'm going to run through these.

00:15:58.100 --> 00:15:58.400
 Okay.

00:15:59.259 --> 00:16:02.019
 Because I know I'm going to, how much time do I have, by the way?

00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.320
 What time are we going to need to be done?

00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:07.600
 Oh, okay.

00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:08.120
 All right.

00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:09.300
 So, I'm running through this.

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 We're not, we're not going to stop here.

00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:17.439
 Um, um, uh, but, uh, yeah, I'm going to keep going.

00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:17.799
 Sorry.

00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:22.139
 Um, I'm going to, but I'll read that last quote.

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 This is from, um, a, uh, an art historian, um, who is critiquing notions of beauty.

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 Um, and, uh, and she says that she's not, she's not a follower of Jesus, but, uh, this is,

00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.299
 she makes this true statement in her critique.

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 She says, only God can act as origin and end of beauty, incontrovertible enough to stop

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 the seepage that pollutes the ostensibly close, otherwise pure system of aesthetic judgment.

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 That we've got to have a standard, in other words, for beauty.

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 And only God can act as that standard.

00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:06.380
 Um, uh, yeah, I'm going to skip through this too.

00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:14.360
 Um, uh, Herman, Herman Bavank, one of my favorite theologians, uh, but, but he's making

00:17:14.360 --> 00:17:20.160
 the same case that God is supreme, uh, supreme beauty.

00:17:21.100 --> 00:17:27.660
 Um, so, here we go.

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 All right.

00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:36.840
 So, I want to say that beauty is theological in nature.

00:17:37.060 --> 00:17:46.380
 It is essential to beauty is what we find in the scripture, a grand narrative of the defeat

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 of the formlessness of chaos, a grand narrative of God bringing order out of chaos.

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 This is the story of Genesis chapter one.

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 In the beginning, the, the, the earth was formless and void.

00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:05.800
 Darkness was, um, was covering the, the, the, the earth.

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 It is a, a story of, uh, of chaos.

00:18:11.320 --> 00:18:14.680
 Uh, and that's the pattern of Genesis chapter one.

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 Uh, the, the six days of creation are God bringing order out of chaos,

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 forming and filling.

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 Day one, he forms the light in the parallel day.

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 Day four, he fills what he has formed with the, the sun and the moon.

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 Day two, he forms the firmament and the sky.

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 And day five, he fills it with inhabitants, birds and fish.

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 Day three, he forms the dry land and vegetation.

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 And in day six, he fills it with land animals and, of course, with, uh, with people.

00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:55.020
 This is, uh, essential to beauty.

00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:59.140
 And so there are three aspects of beauty I want to engage us with.

00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:10.740
 I get this from, uh, St. Thomas Aquinas, um, where he defines beauty, uh, this way.

00:19:10.820 --> 00:19:17.320
 He says, species of beauty has a likeness to the property of the sun, S-O-N.

00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.319
 For beauty includes three conditions.

00:19:20.899 --> 00:19:22.279
 Integrity or perfection.

00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:24.700
 Proportion or harmony.

00:19:25.379 --> 00:19:28.419
 And lastly, brightness or, or clarity.

00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:35.259
 And this is kind of morphed into three Ps, uh, helpfully by a guy named Stephen Guthrie.

00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:40.220
 Wrote a book called The Creator's, The Creator's Spirit, The Holy Spirit,

00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:43.500
 and The Art of Becoming Human.

00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:46.380
 And he puts it in three ways with three Ps.

00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:48.799
 First, perfection.

00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:50.500
 All right?

00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:54.859
 We, beauty, uh, includes perfection.

00:19:55.940 --> 00:20:00.940
 Uh, the, the reality that in the scriptures we see this, uh, Guthrie says,

00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:07.720
 To hope for the kingdom of God in its fullness is to hope for beauty.

00:20:08.259 --> 00:20:09.720
 The psalmist says in Psalm 50,

00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:15.500
 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:19.100
 And here's the deal.

00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:28.039
 By perfection, we don't necessarily mean, there's a mystery there.

00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:36.740
 Uh, we don't, it's gotta be a perfection that can accommodate scars.

00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:43.139
 And what I mean by that is, Jesus Christ is beautiful.

00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:53.019
 He, the risen Christ, the risen, ascended Christ, is glorious, majestic, and beautiful.

00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:57.160
 Yet he still bears the mark of crucifixion on his body.

00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.119
 He still bears the scars.

00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:01.920
 And so there's a mystery here.

00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:06.059
 There's a, that's a perfection that can accommodate scars.

00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:11.799
 It's not the perfection, Gaff Guthrie says, of, uh, the sheen of the fashion magazine

00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:22.099
 that has been kind of glossed over so that you've removed anything that, uh, that might, uh, uh, be seen as, as off or, uh, or warped.

00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:28.619
 The marks of human history, this is Guthrie,

00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:32.000
 indeed of human sinfulness, depravity, injustice,

00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:37.920
 he says, are indelibly inscribed upon the flesh of the resurrected Lord,

00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:43.660
 carried into the life of the new creation by the Spirit and transfigured.

00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:48.380
 These marks in no way tarnish the glory of the new creation.

00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:55.220
 Those wounds, as we sing, yet visible above, are in beauty glorified.

00:21:55.220 --> 00:22:04.180
 And so, it's right, he says, to speak of the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth,

00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:08.660
 uh, uh, as the work of the Spirit is beautifying it.

00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.220
 By this we mean the perfection of integrity.

00:22:12.019 --> 00:22:16.640
 The work of the Holy Spirit is to perfect the creation by bringing it to completion,

00:22:17.100 --> 00:22:23.500
 making humanity in each created thing what it most truly and fully is.

00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:27.359
 So, there's perfection and there's proportion.

00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:33.240
 The new creation, Esther Lightcat Meek says in her book, Loving to Know,

00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:38.099
 the new creation will be beautiful because there will be harmony and right relationship

00:22:38.099 --> 00:22:41.140
 between God and humanity, among humanity,

00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.759
 and among all that God has made, each thing will be most truly what it is

00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.099
 and what is more amazing.

00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:53.140
 The utterly distinct character of each being will contribute to the beauty of the whole.

00:22:53.140 --> 00:23:00.540
 And this reality of proportion and right ordering of harmony is true of God first.

00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:02.880
 So, there's perfection, there's proportion,

00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:07.420
 and there's the third P that our brother spoke of already, pleasure.

00:23:07.840 --> 00:23:11.280
 Simply put, beauty delights.

00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.860
 Esther Lightcat Meek puts it this way.

00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:22.259
 She says, rather than drawing the beautiful object into the orbit of my concerns,

00:23:22.819 --> 00:23:24.379
 I'm the one drawn in.

00:23:25.219 --> 00:23:30.679
 The work captures rather than serves my interests.

00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:36.500
 To submit to something is to acknowledge its weightier presence,

00:23:36.639 --> 00:23:38.899
 to treat its presence as weighty.

00:23:38.900 --> 00:23:43.240
 We find ourselves in the presence of something that's already won our respect,

00:23:43.320 --> 00:23:45.900
 that's already changed us.

00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:51.680
 The word in Hebrew for glory that we find in the Old Testament,

00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:57.700
 as translated as glory, its root means to be weighty, to be substantive.

00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:01.700
 So, when we're talking about the glory of God,

00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:05.299
 we are acknowledging his weighty presence.

00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:09.140
 In the presence of something, someone,

00:24:10.039 --> 00:24:13.620
 that has already won our respect.

00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:21.559
 It is characterized by a decentered delight in another.

00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:27.379
 For perfection, and pleasure.

00:24:27.659 --> 00:24:35.700
 And I want to say that God's beauty particularly is seen in his Trinitarian life.

00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:39.240
 I don't remember who I'm quoting here.

00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:40.319
 I might be quoting Bob Inc.

00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:44.220
 I might be quoting John Frame.

00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:48.019
 The fact is that these attributes of love and knowledge,

00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:53.980
 as well as all the other attributes come alive and become real as a result of the Trinity.

00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:57.779
 Apart from it, they are mere names, sounds, empty terms.

00:24:58.220 --> 00:25:03.379
 As attributes of the Triune God, they come alive both to our mind and our heart.

00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:09.819
 Only by the Trinity do we begin to understand that God, as he is in himself,

00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:12.019
 hence also apart from the world,

00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:17.639
 is the independent, eternal, and omniscient, and all-benevolent one,

00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:19.700
 love, holiness, and glory.

00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:23.420
 The Trinity reveals God to us as the fullness of being,

00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:26.700
 the true life, eternal beauty.

00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:30.779
 This is Bob Inc. here in this second quote.

00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:33.059
 This is significant.

00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:33.440
 He says,

00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:37.859
 In God, too, there is unity and diversity, diversity and unity.

00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:43.420
 Indeed, this order and this harmony is present in absolutely.

00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:46.720
 In the case of creatures, we only see a faint analogy of it as,

00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.500
 Among us, unity only exists by attraction,

00:25:49.820 --> 00:25:52.060
 by the will and the disposition of the will.

00:25:52.140 --> 00:25:54.880
 It's a moral unity that's fragile and unstable.

00:25:55.080 --> 00:25:58.340
 He's saying that among humanity,

00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:02.660
 unity only exists by means of attraction.

00:26:02.660 --> 00:26:08.720
 We want to be unified with the people we are attracted to,

00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:13.660
 whether that's my wife or the people who share my same preferences.

00:26:16.060 --> 00:26:21.019
 That's what drives my desire for unity.

00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:22.660
 But in God, he says,

00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:30.980
 both are present, absolute unity as well as absolute diversity.

00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:35.839
 This is an aspect of who God is, right?

00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:37.120
 The Father is not the Son.

00:26:37.180 --> 00:26:38.279
 The Son is not the Father.

00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:39.880
 The Spirit is not the Father.

00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:40.620
 And the Son,

00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:42.079
 this three God,

00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:42.819
 three Gods,

00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:44.279
 one God

00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:48.400
 in three distinct persons,

00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:50.160
 in mutually loving,

00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:51.299
 mutually glorifying,

00:26:51.460 --> 00:26:52.740
 mutually submitting,

00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:53.740
 mutually honoring,

00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.860
 mutually supporting

00:26:54.860 --> 00:26:57.380
 community

00:26:57.380 --> 00:27:01.980
 in eternal beauty.

00:27:03.300 --> 00:27:03.820
 And so,

00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:07.820
 I'm going to keep pressing because I'm running.

00:27:08.800 --> 00:27:13.460
 The beautiful community of the Godhead we see worked out in Scripture.

00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:18.260
 We see it in Deuteronomy 6,

00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:19.560
 Hero Israel, right?

00:27:19.620 --> 00:27:20.020
 The Shema,

00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:21.120
 the Lord our God,

00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:23.660
 the Lord is one.

00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:29.200
 We see it in Christ's baptism in the Gospels in Matthew 3,

00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:31.120
 where Jesus is baptized.

00:27:31.580 --> 00:27:33.140
 And Matthew says,

00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:33.940
 immediately,

00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:36.200
 when he went up from the water,

00:27:36.340 --> 00:27:38.120
 the heavens were opened to him.

00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:43.960
 Spirit of God descends on him like a dove and comes to rest.

00:27:44.040 --> 00:27:45.420
 And the Father speaks,

00:27:45.860 --> 00:27:47.480
 this is my beloved Son,

00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:51.180
 with whom I am well pleased.

00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:52.380
 Peter,

00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:55.160
 in his opening of his epistle,

00:27:55.700 --> 00:27:58.620
 he talks about this work of Father,

00:27:58.820 --> 00:27:59.240
 Son,

00:27:59.360 --> 00:28:01.180
 and Holy Spirit,

00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:03.700
 when he writes to the elect exiles,

00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:06.820
 who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God,

00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:07.580
 the Father,

00:28:08.100 --> 00:28:10.680
 in the sanctification of the Spirit,

00:28:11.060 --> 00:28:13.000
 for obedience to Jesus Christ,

00:28:13.120 --> 00:28:15.580
 and for the sprinkling with his blood.

00:28:16.340 --> 00:28:18.019
 The testimony throughout Scripture

00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:20.819
 is that God is one,

00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:22.440
 and at the same time,

00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:24.200
 without contradiction,

00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:29.599
 the Scriptures give us the mystery of three persons who are God.

00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:33.279
 The reality is that the confession of the Trinity

00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:37.119
 is at the heartbeat of our faith,

00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:40.519
 is at the heartbeat of the Christian religion.

00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:44.460
 And this beauty and glory of our triune God

00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:49.139
 is seen in the mutual glorification of his communal life

00:28:49.139 --> 00:28:50.079
 as Father,

00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:50.680
 Son,

00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:51.900
 and Spirit.

00:28:52.900 --> 00:28:54.379
 I'm going to skip that too,

00:28:54.460 --> 00:28:55.379
 because I've got to get to

00:28:55.379 --> 00:28:58.019
 what I'm saying.

00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:00.839
 The implications of this.

00:29:01.720 --> 00:29:03.180
 I've been going at light speed,

00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:06.740
 but this has implications

00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:09.980
 for what we think of ourselves.

00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:14.160
 The God that we image

00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:16.039
 is beautiful,

00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:18.360
 and his beauty is seen

00:29:18.360 --> 00:29:20.320
 most profoundly

00:29:20.320 --> 00:29:22.940
 in his Trinitarian life together

00:29:22.940 --> 00:29:24.200
 as Father,

00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:25.220
 Son,

00:29:25.580 --> 00:29:26.779
 and Holy Spirit.

00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:30.700
 And we are formed

00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:32.440
 to image him.

00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:33.640
 We are formed

00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:34.920
 as his image.

00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:37.120
 The first thing

00:29:37.120 --> 00:29:39.880
 that we find

00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:41.100
 the Bible saying

00:29:41.100 --> 00:29:42.019
 about us

00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:44.420
 is that we are made

00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:45.600
 in the image of God.

00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:46.840
 God declares,

00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:48.900
 let us make man

00:29:48.900 --> 00:29:49.920
 in our image

00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:50.500
 according

00:29:50.500 --> 00:29:52.720
 to our likeness.

00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:55.480
 And what does this

00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:57.600
 declaration of image mean?

00:29:58.779 --> 00:29:59.880
 Yes, in a sense

00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:01.500
 it means that we're beautiful,

00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:03.220
 we're going to get to that

00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:04.160
 a little bit later.

00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:06.480
 It means,

00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:07.740
 first of all,

00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:11.299
 that we have

00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:13.619
 individually

00:30:13.619 --> 00:30:17.859
 an unassailable

00:30:17.859 --> 00:30:20.480
 individual dignity

00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:22.539
 as creatures

00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:25.799
 made in the image of God.

00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:28.059
 we have

00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:30.740
 a unique place

00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:31.440
 in the world.

00:30:31.539 --> 00:30:31.740
 Wait,

00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:33.019
 I won't pass that.

00:30:33.619 --> 00:30:35.099
 We have a unique place

00:30:35.099 --> 00:30:36.139
 in the world.

00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:36.819
 In his book,

00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:39.779
 Designed for Dignity,

00:30:39.879 --> 00:30:40.579
 Richard Pratt

00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:41.980
 at a certain point

00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:42.859
 talk about dignity.

00:30:43.220 --> 00:30:43.240
 He says,

00:30:43.639 --> 00:30:44.039
 look,

00:30:44.139 --> 00:30:45.099
 I want you

00:30:45.099 --> 00:30:47.180
 to put down my book

00:30:47.180 --> 00:30:48.339
 and the next person

00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:49.480
 that you see,

00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:50.559
 I want you to shake

00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:51.099
 their hand

00:30:51.099 --> 00:30:51.539
 and say,

00:30:51.879 --> 00:30:52.139
 hello,

00:30:52.140 --> 00:30:52.980
 your majesty.

00:30:53.840 --> 00:30:55.360
 That's how much

00:30:55.360 --> 00:30:56.780
 value

00:30:56.780 --> 00:30:57.880
 and worth

00:30:57.880 --> 00:30:59.600
 it is a royal dignity

00:30:59.600 --> 00:31:00.960
 that the Bible

00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:01.960
 is declaring

00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:03.420
 of humanity

00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:05.140
 in Genesis

00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:06.960
 chapter 1

00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:08.240
 and verses 26

00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:09.240
 and 27.

00:31:10.080 --> 00:31:11.520
 Nona Verna Harrison

00:31:11.520 --> 00:31:12.360
 in her book,

00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:14.020
 God's Many Splendored Image,

00:31:14.380 --> 00:31:15.580
 says that this royalty

00:31:15.580 --> 00:31:16.780
 involves dignity

00:31:16.780 --> 00:31:17.680
 and splendor,

00:31:18.020 --> 00:31:19.440
 a legitimate sovereignty

00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.040
 rooted

00:31:20.039 --> 00:31:22.019
 in one's very being

00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:23.099
 because everyone

00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:24.139
 is made in the image

00:31:24.139 --> 00:31:24.559
 of God

00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:25.519
 and because the image

00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:27.000
 defines what it means

00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:27.599
 to be human.

00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:29.220
 People are fundamentally

00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:30.899
 equal regardless

00:31:30.899 --> 00:31:31.680
 of differences

00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:32.740
 in wealth

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:33.740
 and education

00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:35.539
 and social status

00:31:35.539 --> 00:31:36.579
 and the church,

00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:37.259
 she says,

00:31:37.619 --> 00:31:39.039
 preached this

00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:40.819
 countercultural message

00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:42.839
 in the ancient world

00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:44.759
 and still preaches it now.

00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:46.859
 That this is,

00:31:47.899 --> 00:31:49.940
 this was the countercultural

00:31:49.940 --> 00:31:50.640
 message

00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:51.799
 of the church

00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:53.080
 in the ancient world

00:31:53.080 --> 00:31:55.059
 that every single

00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:56.920
 human being

00:31:56.920 --> 00:31:57.740
 from prince

00:31:57.740 --> 00:31:58.680
 to pauper

00:31:58.680 --> 00:32:01.900
 is an image bearer

00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:04.160
 and has royal dignity.

00:32:05.320 --> 00:32:06.220
 Martin Luther King Jr.

00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:07.080
 put it this way,

00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:07.299
 he says,

00:32:07.360 --> 00:32:08.920
 the whole concept

00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:10.279
 of the Imago Dei

00:32:10.279 --> 00:32:11.100
 is the idea

00:32:11.100 --> 00:32:11.980
 that all men

00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:12.920
 have something

00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:13.539
 within them

00:32:13.539 --> 00:32:14.660
 that God injected,

00:32:14.820 --> 00:32:15.519
 not that they have

00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:16.580
 substantial unity

00:32:16.580 --> 00:32:17.380
 with God,

00:32:17.420 --> 00:32:18.259
 but that every man

00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:19.120
 has the capacity

00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:20.219
 to have fellowship

00:32:20.219 --> 00:32:20.819
 with God

00:32:20.819 --> 00:32:21.779
 and this gives him

00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:22.439
 a uniqueness,

00:32:22.619 --> 00:32:23.559
 it gives him worth,

00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:24.899
 it gives him dignity

00:32:24.899 --> 00:32:25.959
 and we must never

00:32:25.959 --> 00:32:26.739
 forget this

00:32:26.739 --> 00:32:27.919
 as a nation,

00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:29.959
 there are no gradations

00:32:29.959 --> 00:32:31.119
 in the image of God.

00:32:32.699 --> 00:32:33.539
 Every man

00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:34.259
 from a treble

00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:35.979
 white

00:32:35.979 --> 00:32:37.739
 to a base black

00:32:37.739 --> 00:32:38.619
 is significant

00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:40.099
 on God's keyboard

00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:41.859
 precisely because

00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:43.359
 every man

00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:44.379
 is made

00:32:44.379 --> 00:32:45.479
 in the image of God.

00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:45.860
 he said,

00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:46.700
 one day

00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:48.200
 we will learn that.

00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:49.819
 We will know

00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:50.559
 one day

00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:51.559
 that God

00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:51.960
 made us

00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:53.019
 to live together

00:32:53.019 --> 00:32:53.759
 as brothers

00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:54.900
 and to respect

00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:56.519
 the dignity

00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:57.660
 and worth

00:32:57.660 --> 00:32:59.019
 of every man.

00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:02.539
 This is

00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:03.360
 unassailable,

00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:05.740
 it's undeniable,

00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:08.799
 and yet

00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:10.980
 it is

00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:12.440
 extraordinarily

00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:13.259
 difficult

00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:13.700
 for us

00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:14.100
 to live

00:33:14.100 --> 00:33:14.680
 into it.

00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:18.940
 Here's

00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:19.580
 what I want

00:33:19.580 --> 00:33:20.580
 to say

00:33:20.580 --> 00:33:21.340
 biblically.

00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:23.600
 Second commandment,

00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:24.880
 God forbids

00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:26.580
 the worship

00:33:26.580 --> 00:33:27.279
 of idols.

00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:28.539
 He says

00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:29.500
 to Israel,

00:33:29.600 --> 00:33:30.039
 you shall not

00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:30.620
 make for yourself

00:33:30.620 --> 00:33:31.660
 a carved image

00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:32.960
 of anything

00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:35.259
 that's in the heavens

00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:35.700
 above

00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:36.240
 or the earth

00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:36.559
 beneath

00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:37.000
 or waters

00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:37.660
 under the earth.

00:33:37.740 --> 00:33:38.299
 You shall not

00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:39.259
 bow down to it

00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:40.200
 or worship it

00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:40.660
 for I,

00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:41.039
 the Lord,

00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:41.539
 your God

00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:42.599
 am a jealous

00:33:42.599 --> 00:33:43.220
 God.

00:33:44.839 --> 00:33:45.579
 And we think

00:33:45.579 --> 00:33:48.400
 there's a sense

00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:48.700
 in which,

00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:49.000
 right,

00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:49.839
 this is about

00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:50.559
 idolatry,

00:33:50.660 --> 00:33:50.839
 right,

00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:51.480
 this is about

00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:52.619
 bowing down

00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:53.839
 to something

00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:54.680
 other

00:33:54.680 --> 00:33:56.539
 than God.

00:33:57.180 --> 00:33:58.220
 And God's glory

00:33:58.220 --> 00:33:59.099
 is at the heart

00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:00.000
 of the commandment,

00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:01.680
 but the reality

00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:02.259
 of

00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:05.460
 individual

00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:06.660
 human dignity

00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:07.599
 is also

00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:08.860
 at the heart

00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:09.300
 of this

00:34:09.300 --> 00:34:10.579
 second commandment.

00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.460
 Why do I say

00:34:14.460 --> 00:34:14.860
 that?

00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:16.539
 Because

00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:19.260
 God forbids

00:34:19.260 --> 00:34:20.440
 the making

00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:22.119
 of images

00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:25.860
 that we

00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:26.579
 would make

00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:27.699
 images of him

00:34:27.699 --> 00:34:29.039
 for worship.

00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:31.400
 And the declaration

00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:32.200
 in the second

00:34:32.200 --> 00:34:32.680
 commandment

00:34:32.680 --> 00:34:33.440
 essentially is

00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:34.500
 I've already

00:34:34.500 --> 00:34:35.380
 made my image

00:34:35.380 --> 00:34:35.960
 in the earth.

00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:37.720
 I've already

00:34:37.720 --> 00:34:38.579
 declared what

00:34:38.579 --> 00:34:39.380
 my image is.

00:34:40.720 --> 00:34:41.500
 And so,

00:34:42.500 --> 00:34:43.940
 literally speaking,

00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:45.500
 to bow down

00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:46.139
 to an idol

00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:46.880
 is to worship

00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:47.660
 something less

00:34:47.660 --> 00:34:48.360
 than yourself.

00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:50.019
 To bow down

00:34:50.019 --> 00:34:50.660
 to an idol

00:34:50.660 --> 00:34:53.119
 is to demean

00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:54.740
 your humanity.

00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:55.559
 No,

00:34:55.700 --> 00:34:56.740
 we're not God,

00:34:56.940 --> 00:34:57.559
 but God

00:34:57.559 --> 00:34:58.099
 is the one

00:34:58.099 --> 00:34:58.700
 who says

00:34:58.700 --> 00:34:59.960
 this is my image.

00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:01.980
 this is

00:35:01.980 --> 00:35:03.199
 I've made

00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:04.000
 my reflection

00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:04.720
 in the earth.

00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:06.420
 And it's you.

00:35:07.220 --> 00:35:08.280
 Why would you

00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:09.699
 devalue yourself

00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:11.440
 by bowing down

00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:11.900
 to something

00:35:11.900 --> 00:35:12.659
 you made?

00:35:14.659 --> 00:35:15.679
 And so,

00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:17.780
 this is

00:35:17.780 --> 00:35:20.480
 just the

00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:22.920
 immeasurable

00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:23.900
 value

00:35:23.900 --> 00:35:25.000
 and dignity

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:25.840
 that every

00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:27.179
 person has

00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:28.099
 because

00:35:28.099 --> 00:35:29.940
 we are

00:35:29.940 --> 00:35:30.440
 the image

00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:31.099
 of God.

00:35:32.339 --> 00:35:32.619
 And so,

00:35:32.799 --> 00:35:34.039
 I just did

00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:34.679
 about three

00:35:34.679 --> 00:35:35.359
 slides in

00:35:35.359 --> 00:35:35.739
 those

00:35:35.739 --> 00:35:38.500
 two statements

00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:39.099
 because I've

00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:39.519
 got to get

00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:40.079
 to this.

00:35:40.299 --> 00:35:41.119
 I've got to

00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:41.719
 get to this

00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:42.460
 aspect of

00:35:42.460 --> 00:35:42.980
 identity

00:35:42.980 --> 00:35:44.000
 and formation

00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:44.519
 because that

00:35:44.519 --> 00:35:45.000
 becomes the

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:45.359
 question,

00:35:45.480 --> 00:35:46.239
 who are we?

00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:47.940
 Who do we

00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:48.859
 believe ourselves

00:35:48.859 --> 00:35:49.399
 to be?

00:35:50.399 --> 00:35:50.960
 What does

00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:51.719
 it mean

00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:52.219
 for us

00:35:52.219 --> 00:35:53.159
 to embrace

00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:54.779
 the reality

00:35:54.780 --> 00:35:55.320
 of being

00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:56.180
 image bearers

00:35:56.180 --> 00:35:57.960
 of immeasurable

00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:59.440
 value

00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:00.900
 and worth

00:36:00.900 --> 00:36:02.380
 and dignity?

00:36:02.740 --> 00:36:03.160
 What does it

00:36:03.160 --> 00:36:03.600
 say?

00:36:03.720 --> 00:36:04.060
 What do we

00:36:04.060 --> 00:36:04.760
 think about

00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:05.920
 our identity?

00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:07.340
 I'm not going

00:36:07.340 --> 00:36:08.019
 to show this

00:36:08.019 --> 00:36:09.200
 clip because I

00:36:09.200 --> 00:36:09.480
 don't have

00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:09.940
 time.

00:36:11.040 --> 00:36:11.560
 But maybe we

00:36:11.560 --> 00:36:11.660
 see.

00:36:11.780 --> 00:36:12.100
 This is,

00:36:12.460 --> 00:36:12.760
 so,

00:36:13.019 --> 00:36:13.900
 Sterling Brown

00:36:13.900 --> 00:36:17.320
 won an Oscar

00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:18.740
 earlier this

00:36:18.740 --> 00:36:19.519
 year for his

00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:20.579
 role in the

00:36:20.579 --> 00:36:21.340
 TV series

00:36:21.340 --> 00:36:22.160
 This Is Us.

00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:23.260
 And he

00:36:23.260 --> 00:36:23.720
 essentially,

00:36:24.460 --> 00:36:26.180
 in his

00:36:26.180 --> 00:36:29.460
 speech,

00:36:30.340 --> 00:36:31.200
 he sent

00:36:31.200 --> 00:36:32.880
 the writer

00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:33.800
 of the show,

00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:34.619
 he said,

00:36:34.720 --> 00:36:35.480
 I have been

00:36:35.480 --> 00:36:38.380
 used to

00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:39.660
 colorblind

00:36:39.660 --> 00:36:40.380
 casting.

00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:41.420
 And he

00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:42.200
 wasn't making

00:36:42.200 --> 00:36:42.500
 a,

00:36:42.500 --> 00:36:43.099
 that wasn't a

00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:43.940
 positive statement.

00:36:44.099 --> 00:36:44.380
 He was saying,

00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:44.679
 I've been

00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:44.980
 used to

00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:45.500
 colorblind

00:36:45.500 --> 00:36:45.860
 casting.

00:36:46.019 --> 00:36:46.259
 Oh,

00:36:46.759 --> 00:36:47.739
 we need

00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:48.779
 some diversity

00:36:48.779 --> 00:36:49.360
 here,

00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:50.400
 so let's

00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:50.679
 throw a

00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:51.380
 black man

00:36:51.380 --> 00:36:51.860
 in this

00:36:51.860 --> 00:36:52.159
 role.

00:36:53.139 --> 00:36:53.860
 And he

00:36:53.860 --> 00:36:55.139
 gave credit

00:36:55.139 --> 00:36:55.860
 to the

00:36:55.860 --> 00:36:56.119
 writer.

00:36:56.279 --> 00:36:56.400
 He said,

00:36:56.460 --> 00:36:56.839
 but you

00:36:56.839 --> 00:36:57.440
 wrote a

00:36:57.440 --> 00:36:59.299
 role that

00:36:59.299 --> 00:36:59.699
 could only

00:36:59.699 --> 00:37:00.159
 be played

00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:00.480
 by a

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:01.019
 black man.

00:37:01.759 --> 00:37:02.159
 You

00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:02.519
 wrote a

00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:02.940
 character

00:37:02.940 --> 00:37:03.599
 that could

00:37:03.599 --> 00:37:04.179
 only be

00:37:04.179 --> 00:37:05.679
 played by

00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:06.460
 somebody who

00:37:06.460 --> 00:37:06.940
 looked like

00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:07.279
 me.

00:37:07.980 --> 00:37:08.400
 He said,

00:37:08.779 --> 00:37:10.099
 and that

00:37:10.099 --> 00:37:11.380
 speaks not

00:37:11.380 --> 00:37:12.219
 just to me,

00:37:12.579 --> 00:37:13.000
 but to

00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:13.780
 everybody who

00:37:13.780 --> 00:37:14.559
 looks like

00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:14.820
 me.

00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:15.460
 And it

00:37:15.460 --> 00:37:16.000
 makes it

00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:17.239
 far more

00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:18.079
 difficult to

00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:19.079
 dismiss me.

00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:21.880
 This aspect

00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:24.739
 of a need

00:37:24.739 --> 00:37:26.159
 for an

00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:27.039
 identity

00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:29.380
 that conforms

00:37:29.380 --> 00:37:30.260
 to dignity,

00:37:31.340 --> 00:37:33.159
 a self-identification

00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:38.280
 that conforms

00:37:38.280 --> 00:37:38.780
 to an

00:37:38.780 --> 00:37:39.360
 internal

00:37:39.360 --> 00:37:40.340
 sense,

00:37:40.340 --> 00:37:42.079
 self-identification

00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:53.960
 that accords

00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:54.600
 with dignity.

00:37:54.600 --> 00:37:55.280
 That's what

00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:56.760
 every human

00:37:56.760 --> 00:37:57.740
 being desires.

00:37:58.820 --> 00:37:59.640
 We try to go

00:37:59.640 --> 00:38:00.079
 about it

00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:00.820
 different ways,

00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:01.840
 but at the

00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:02.160
 heart,

00:38:02.300 --> 00:38:03.079
 we desire

00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:04.079
 a self-

00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:05.079
 identification

00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:07.259
 that accords

00:38:07.259 --> 00:38:08.500
 with dignity.

00:38:09.500 --> 00:38:10.099
 Identity,

00:38:10.420 --> 00:38:11.299
 for definition,

00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:12.119
 is a person's

00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:12.840
 understanding

00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:14.940
 of who he

00:38:14.940 --> 00:38:15.539
 or she is

00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:16.179
 based on

00:38:16.179 --> 00:38:17.019
 socially

00:38:17.019 --> 00:38:17.819
 constructed,

00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:18.340
 meaningful

00:38:18.340 --> 00:38:19.679
 categories that

00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:20.739
 people use

00:38:20.739 --> 00:38:22.500
 to describe

00:38:22.500 --> 00:38:23.299
 themselves.

00:38:25.539 --> 00:38:26.039
 And what

00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:27.819
 makes for

00:38:27.819 --> 00:38:29.099
 a self-

00:38:29.099 --> 00:38:29.719
 identification

00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:31.960
 that accords

00:38:31.960 --> 00:38:32.539
 with dignity?

00:38:32.539 --> 00:38:33.059
 There are

00:38:33.059 --> 00:38:34.779
 various ways

00:38:34.779 --> 00:38:35.420
 in which we

00:38:35.420 --> 00:38:36.219
 try to go

00:38:36.219 --> 00:38:36.860
 about it

00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:37.739
 in our

00:38:37.739 --> 00:38:38.320
 fallen

00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:39.460
 condition.

00:38:40.300 --> 00:38:40.779
 In his book,

00:38:40.940 --> 00:38:41.659
 Sources of the

00:38:41.659 --> 00:38:41.920
 Self,

00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:42.559
 The Making of

00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:43.460
 Modern Identity,

00:38:43.900 --> 00:38:44.519
 Charles Taylor

00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:45.079
 lists these

00:38:45.079 --> 00:38:45.800
 four things.

00:38:46.099 --> 00:38:46.880
 Here's how we

00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:47.579
 try to get at

00:38:47.579 --> 00:38:48.480
 our sense of

00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:49.519
 self-worth,

00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:52.239
 an identity

00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:54.480
 that conforms

00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:55.139
 to dignity.

00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:56.380
 We want a

00:38:56.380 --> 00:38:56.820
 sense of

00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:57.279
 power,

00:38:57.500 --> 00:38:58.199
 or we want

00:38:58.199 --> 00:38:59.279
 a sense of

00:38:59.279 --> 00:38:59.880
 dominating

00:38:59.880 --> 00:39:01.639
 public space,

00:39:01.639 --> 00:39:02.379
 or we want

00:39:02.379 --> 00:39:03.279
 some sense

00:39:03.279 --> 00:39:04.619
 of invulnerability

00:39:04.619 --> 00:39:07.199
 to power,

00:39:07.420 --> 00:39:08.679
 or any kind

00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:11.159
 of self-sufficiency.

00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:14.259
 He says,

00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:16.059
 the very way

00:39:16.059 --> 00:39:16.980
 we walk,

00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:17.480
 move,

00:39:17.619 --> 00:39:17.980
 gesture,

00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:18.659
 speak,

00:39:18.739 --> 00:39:19.460
 is shaped

00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:20.440
 from the

00:39:20.440 --> 00:39:21.559
 earliest moments

00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:22.199
 by our

00:39:22.199 --> 00:39:23.039
 awareness that

00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:23.839
 we appear

00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:24.759
 before others,

00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:26.019
 that we stand

00:39:26.019 --> 00:39:27.420
 in public space,

00:39:27.679 --> 00:39:28.579
 and that this

00:39:28.579 --> 00:39:29.359
 space is

00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:31.460
 potentially one

00:39:31.460 --> 00:39:32.539
 of respect,

00:39:32.700 --> 00:39:33.539
 or contempt,

00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:34.820
 of pride,

00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:35.700
 or shame.

00:39:35.900 --> 00:39:37.099
 We become aware

00:39:37.099 --> 00:39:38.019
 of this at an

00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:39.000
 early age,

00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:39.740
 that our life

00:39:39.740 --> 00:39:41.059
 is lived before

00:39:41.059 --> 00:39:41.539
 others,

00:39:41.680 --> 00:39:42.420
 and we want

00:39:42.420 --> 00:39:43.539
 dignity,

00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:45.140
 but we become

00:39:45.140 --> 00:39:46.920
 aware that this

00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:47.860
 space that we

00:39:47.860 --> 00:39:49.500
 occupy is

00:39:49.500 --> 00:39:50.860
 potentially one

00:39:50.860 --> 00:39:51.599
 of respect,

00:39:51.740 --> 00:39:52.260
 or contempt,

00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:52.840
 pride,

00:39:52.920 --> 00:39:53.380
 or shame,

00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:54.000
 and we want

00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:54.640
 the respect.

00:39:55.360 --> 00:39:56.320
 And we go about

00:39:56.320 --> 00:39:57.099
 it in different

00:39:57.099 --> 00:39:57.680
 ways.

00:39:57.679 --> 00:39:59.179
 I don't have

00:39:59.179 --> 00:40:00.579
 time to go

00:40:00.579 --> 00:40:01.059
 through the

00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:02.139
 implications of

00:40:02.139 --> 00:40:02.559
 this,

00:40:03.659 --> 00:40:04.659
 but this is

00:40:04.659 --> 00:40:05.779
 the 1968

00:40:05.779 --> 00:40:07.619
 sanitation workers

00:40:07.619 --> 00:40:08.199
 strike in

00:40:08.199 --> 00:40:08.539
 Memphis,

00:40:09.239 --> 00:40:09.679
 Tennessee,

00:40:10.559 --> 00:40:11.859
 where they

00:40:11.859 --> 00:40:12.399
 made these

00:40:12.399 --> 00:40:13.159
 protest signs.

00:40:13.219 --> 00:40:13.759
 It's just a

00:40:13.759 --> 00:40:14.659
 declaration of

00:40:14.659 --> 00:40:15.099
 dignity.

00:40:16.379 --> 00:40:17.719
 The sign

00:40:17.719 --> 00:40:18.719
 simply said,

00:40:19.139 --> 00:40:19.739
 I am a

00:40:19.739 --> 00:40:20.059
 man.

00:40:21.619 --> 00:40:22.960
 The protest

00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:23.559
 march,

00:40:24.199 --> 00:40:24.539
 right,

00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:25.919
 is to carry

00:40:25.919 --> 00:40:27.039
 signs that

00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:27.659
 declare,

00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:28.940
 their dignity.

00:40:29.219 --> 00:40:29.899
 I am a

00:40:29.899 --> 00:40:30.179
 man.

00:40:30.319 --> 00:40:30.759
 Look at

00:40:30.759 --> 00:40:31.079
 me.

00:40:31.419 --> 00:40:32.239
 See me.

00:40:34.039 --> 00:40:34.899
 We are

00:40:34.899 --> 00:40:35.699
 aware of

00:40:35.699 --> 00:40:36.359
 this need,

00:40:36.599 --> 00:40:37.179
 and we

00:40:37.179 --> 00:40:38.239
 live in a

00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:39.719
 world that

00:40:39.719 --> 00:40:43.579
 just tears

00:40:43.579 --> 00:40:44.319
 away in our

00:40:44.319 --> 00:40:44.899
 sense of

00:40:44.899 --> 00:40:46.779
 dignity in

00:40:46.779 --> 00:40:48.219
 very, very

00:40:48.219 --> 00:40:49.199
 real ways.

00:40:50.319 --> 00:40:50.739
 I'm going to

00:40:50.739 --> 00:40:51.419
 take three

00:40:51.419 --> 00:40:52.059
 more minutes

00:40:52.059 --> 00:40:54.820
 and just

00:40:54.820 --> 00:40:55.659
 say this.

00:40:55.659 --> 00:40:56.199
 This is how

00:40:56.199 --> 00:40:57.279
 it came to

00:40:57.279 --> 00:40:57.599
 be.

00:41:00.599 --> 00:41:01.159
 Genesis

00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:02.139
 chapter 11,

00:41:02.900 --> 00:41:03.360
 the Tower

00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:03.980
 of Babel.

00:41:05.480 --> 00:41:06.820
 I refer to

00:41:06.820 --> 00:41:07.480
 this as the

00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:08.460
 ghettoization of

00:41:08.460 --> 00:41:09.039
 humanity.

00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:11.039
 Rodney King,

00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:12.320
 you know,

00:41:12.380 --> 00:41:13.099
 Rodney King

00:41:13.099 --> 00:41:14.639
 in 1991,

00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:15.619
 1992,

00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:16.400
 after his

00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:17.619
 brutal beating

00:41:17.619 --> 00:41:19.019
 of the police

00:41:19.019 --> 00:41:20.039
 in L.A.,

00:41:20.039 --> 00:41:22.179
 he made a

00:41:22.179 --> 00:41:22.739
 statement for

00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:23.199
 which he's

00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:24.139
 become infamous.

00:41:24.980 --> 00:41:25.380
 He said,

00:41:25.880 --> 00:41:26.820
 can't we all

00:41:26.820 --> 00:41:27.619
 just get

00:41:27.619 --> 00:41:27.980
 along?

00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:30.360
 Can't we all

00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:31.639
 just get

00:41:31.639 --> 00:41:31.980
 along?

00:41:32.940 --> 00:41:33.380
 Well,

00:41:34.059 --> 00:41:34.699
 Genesis

00:41:34.699 --> 00:41:36.159
 chapter 11,

00:41:36.300 --> 00:41:37.019
 verse 1,

00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:38.320
 records the

00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:39.019
 last time

00:41:39.019 --> 00:41:39.760
 humanity all

00:41:39.760 --> 00:41:40.219
 just got

00:41:40.219 --> 00:41:40.539
 along.

00:41:42.039 --> 00:41:42.679
 It says

00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:43.740
 that the

00:41:43.740 --> 00:41:44.360
 whole earth

00:41:44.360 --> 00:41:44.900
 had one

00:41:44.900 --> 00:41:45.579
 language and

00:41:45.579 --> 00:41:46.500
 spoke the

00:41:46.500 --> 00:41:47.699
 same words.

00:41:48.900 --> 00:41:49.139
 Right?

00:41:49.360 --> 00:41:50.119
 Humanity was

00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:51.059
 one big

00:41:51.059 --> 00:41:52.500
 happy family.

00:41:53.360 --> 00:41:54.179
 But humanity

00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:55.960
 was one big

00:41:55.960 --> 00:41:56.900
 happy family

00:41:56.900 --> 00:41:58.960
 in our

00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:00.579
 rejection and

00:42:00.579 --> 00:42:01.860
 rebellion against

00:42:01.860 --> 00:42:02.340
 God.

00:42:03.160 --> 00:42:04.120
 Our unity

00:42:04.120 --> 00:42:05.740
 was union

00:42:05.740 --> 00:42:06.579
 in our

00:42:06.579 --> 00:42:07.280
 sinfulness.

00:42:08.860 --> 00:42:09.900
 Genesis 11,

00:42:10.539 --> 00:42:11.700
 Genesis chapter

00:42:11.700 --> 00:42:12.320
 10,

00:42:12.620 --> 00:42:13.440
 is the table

00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:14.140
 of nations.

00:42:14.539 --> 00:42:14.980
 So Genesis

00:42:14.980 --> 00:42:15.900
 chapter 6,

00:42:16.180 --> 00:42:17.160
 to verse 9,

00:42:17.320 --> 00:42:18.599
 is the flood

00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:19.140
 narrative,

00:42:19.620 --> 00:42:20.099
 is the

00:42:20.099 --> 00:42:20.720
 recreation

00:42:20.720 --> 00:42:21.720
 story.

00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:22.760
 God covers

00:42:22.760 --> 00:42:23.140
 the earth

00:42:23.140 --> 00:42:24.099
 with a flood

00:42:24.099 --> 00:42:25.140
 because humanity

00:42:25.140 --> 00:42:27.680
 is so

00:42:27.680 --> 00:42:28.460
 depraved,

00:42:28.820 --> 00:42:29.120
 right?

00:42:29.300 --> 00:42:29.800
 And he

00:42:29.800 --> 00:42:30.280
 promises,

00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:31.079
 he covenants

00:42:31.079 --> 00:42:31.620
 in Genesis

00:42:31.619 --> 00:42:32.819
 chapter 9,

00:42:32.920 --> 00:42:33.420
 I'm never

00:42:33.420 --> 00:42:33.759
 going to

00:42:33.759 --> 00:42:34.839
 destroy the

00:42:34.839 --> 00:42:35.480
 earth again

00:42:35.480 --> 00:42:36.059
 with a flood

00:42:36.059 --> 00:42:36.980
 the way I've

00:42:36.980 --> 00:42:37.219
 done,

00:42:37.339 --> 00:42:38.000
 even though

00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:39.400
 man's heart

00:42:39.400 --> 00:42:40.199
 is set only

00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:40.819
 on evil

00:42:40.819 --> 00:42:41.359
 from his

00:42:41.359 --> 00:42:41.699
 youth.

00:42:42.619 --> 00:42:43.199
 And then

00:42:43.199 --> 00:42:43.779
 you get

00:42:43.779 --> 00:42:46.199
 Noah's

00:42:46.199 --> 00:42:46.980
 sons in

00:42:46.980 --> 00:42:47.639
 Genesis chapter

00:42:47.639 --> 00:42:48.119
 9,

00:42:48.239 --> 00:42:48.719
 and Genesis

00:42:48.719 --> 00:42:49.759
 chapter 10

00:42:49.759 --> 00:42:51.159
 is the table

00:42:51.159 --> 00:42:52.019
 of nations.

00:42:52.819 --> 00:42:53.500
 How all

00:42:53.500 --> 00:42:54.259
 these nations,

00:42:54.400 --> 00:42:55.639
 God reissues

00:42:55.639 --> 00:42:56.619
 the creation

00:42:56.619 --> 00:42:57.440
 mandate in

00:42:57.440 --> 00:42:58.279
 Genesis 9,

00:42:58.280 --> 00:42:58.320
 10,

00:42:58.400 --> 00:42:58.920
 he says,

00:42:59.000 --> 00:42:59.680
 be fruitful

00:42:59.680 --> 00:43:01.000
 and multiply,

00:43:01.600 --> 00:43:02.300
 fill the

00:43:02.300 --> 00:43:02.640
 earth.

00:43:03.380 --> 00:43:03.720
 And in

00:43:03.720 --> 00:43:04.320
 Genesis 10,

00:43:04.380 --> 00:43:04.920
 it seems like

00:43:04.920 --> 00:43:05.560
 humanity has

00:43:05.560 --> 00:43:05.920
 done it,

00:43:06.120 --> 00:43:06.560
 the table

00:43:06.560 --> 00:43:07.060
 of nations.

00:43:07.220 --> 00:43:08.280
 Here's all

00:43:08.280 --> 00:43:08.920
 of the nations

00:43:08.920 --> 00:43:09.720
 and all of

00:43:09.720 --> 00:43:10.240
 the people

00:43:10.240 --> 00:43:11.340
 over the

00:43:11.340 --> 00:43:11.740
 earth.

00:43:13.019 --> 00:43:13.560
 Genesis

00:43:13.560 --> 00:43:14.620
 chapter 11

00:43:14.620 --> 00:43:17.440
 takes a

00:43:17.440 --> 00:43:18.420
 look back

00:43:18.420 --> 00:43:19.120
 at how

00:43:19.120 --> 00:43:20.480
 those nations

00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:21.140
 got spread

00:43:21.140 --> 00:43:21.680
 over all

00:43:21.680 --> 00:43:21.940
 of the

00:43:21.940 --> 00:43:22.200
 earth.

00:43:22.199 --> 00:43:24.119
 God said,

00:43:24.199 --> 00:43:24.699
 be fruitful

00:43:24.699 --> 00:43:25.299
 and multiply,

00:43:25.519 --> 00:43:25.819
 fill the

00:43:25.819 --> 00:43:26.079
 earth.

00:43:26.419 --> 00:43:26.839
 Humanity

00:43:26.839 --> 00:43:27.079
 said,

00:43:27.139 --> 00:43:27.419
 we don't

00:43:27.419 --> 00:43:27.659
 want to

00:43:27.659 --> 00:43:28.099
 do that.

00:43:28.759 --> 00:43:29.039
 It says,

00:43:29.079 --> 00:43:29.699
 they found

00:43:29.699 --> 00:43:30.759
 a plain

00:43:30.759 --> 00:43:31.179
 in the

00:43:31.179 --> 00:43:31.639
 land of

00:43:31.639 --> 00:43:32.039
 Shinar

00:43:32.039 --> 00:43:32.579
 and they

00:43:32.579 --> 00:43:33.039
 settled

00:43:33.039 --> 00:43:33.439
 there.

00:43:34.119 --> 00:43:34.539
 And they

00:43:34.539 --> 00:43:35.019
 said,

00:43:35.239 --> 00:43:35.779
 let's

00:43:35.779 --> 00:43:36.639
 build for

00:43:36.639 --> 00:43:38.000
 us a

00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:38.779
 city and

00:43:38.779 --> 00:43:39.399
 a tower

00:43:39.399 --> 00:43:39.939
 with its

00:43:39.939 --> 00:43:40.619
 top

00:43:40.619 --> 00:43:41.279
 extending

00:43:41.279 --> 00:43:42.179
 to the

00:43:42.179 --> 00:43:42.679
 heavens.

00:43:42.819 --> 00:43:42.919
 They

00:43:42.919 --> 00:43:43.199
 said,

00:43:43.500 --> 00:43:44.159
 lest

00:43:44.159 --> 00:43:45.239
 we be

00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:45.980
 dispersed

00:43:45.980 --> 00:43:46.719
 from here

00:43:46.719 --> 00:43:47.359
 over the

00:43:47.359 --> 00:43:47.719
 face of

00:43:47.719 --> 00:43:48.000
 all the

00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:48.259
 earth.

00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:49.500
 God,

00:43:49.579 --> 00:43:49.960
 we know

00:43:49.960 --> 00:43:50.299
 what you

00:43:50.299 --> 00:43:50.659
 said,

00:43:51.279 --> 00:43:52.000
 but we're

00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:52.400
 not into

00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:52.679
 that.

00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:53.699
 We just

00:43:53.699 --> 00:43:53.960
 want to

00:43:53.960 --> 00:43:54.380
 do our

00:43:54.380 --> 00:43:54.880
 thing right

00:43:54.880 --> 00:43:55.239
 here.

00:43:55.940 --> 00:43:56.539
 And God

00:43:56.539 --> 00:43:57.659
 comes down

00:43:57.659 --> 00:43:58.179
 in mercy

00:43:58.179 --> 00:43:58.820
 and judgment

00:43:58.820 --> 00:44:00.139
 and it

00:44:00.139 --> 00:44:00.860
 says,

00:44:01.239 --> 00:44:02.039
 God says,

00:44:02.420 --> 00:44:03.119
 this is only

00:44:03.119 --> 00:44:03.619
 the beginning

00:44:03.619 --> 00:44:03.980
 of what

00:44:03.980 --> 00:44:04.340
 they'll be

00:44:04.340 --> 00:44:04.679
 able to

00:44:04.679 --> 00:44:04.880
 do.

00:44:05.800 --> 00:44:06.380
 If I

00:44:06.380 --> 00:44:06.880
 let this

00:44:06.880 --> 00:44:07.500
 go on,

00:44:08.139 --> 00:44:09.099
 this is

00:44:09.099 --> 00:44:09.780
 only the

00:44:09.780 --> 00:44:10.159
 beginning.

00:44:11.380 --> 00:44:11.820
 So,

00:44:12.280 --> 00:44:12.559
 the Lord

00:44:12.559 --> 00:44:12.860
 says,

00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:13.559
 let's go

00:44:13.559 --> 00:44:14.679
 down and

00:44:14.679 --> 00:44:15.300
 confuse

00:44:15.300 --> 00:44:15.559
 their

00:44:15.559 --> 00:44:16.039
 language.

00:44:17.639 --> 00:44:19.900
 And it

00:44:19.900 --> 00:44:20.659
 says,

00:44:21.119 --> 00:44:21.519
 in Genesis

00:44:21.519 --> 00:44:21.980
 11,

00:44:22.099 --> 00:44:22.500
 it says,

00:44:23.219 --> 00:44:24.300
 so the

00:44:24.300 --> 00:44:24.840
 Lord came

00:44:24.840 --> 00:44:25.320
 down,

00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:27.139
 he confused

00:44:27.139 --> 00:44:28.179
 their

00:44:28.179 --> 00:44:28.980
 language so

00:44:28.980 --> 00:44:29.219
 that they

00:44:29.219 --> 00:44:29.619
 may not

00:44:29.619 --> 00:44:30.219
 understand

00:44:30.219 --> 00:44:30.900
 one another's

00:44:30.900 --> 00:44:31.460
 speech.

00:44:32.119 --> 00:44:32.440
 And it

00:44:32.440 --> 00:44:32.639
 says,

00:44:32.719 --> 00:44:33.420
 the Lord

00:44:33.420 --> 00:44:35.699
 dispersed

00:44:35.699 --> 00:44:36.559
 them from

00:44:36.559 --> 00:44:37.659
 there over

00:44:37.659 --> 00:44:38.219
 the face of

00:44:38.219 --> 00:44:38.519
 all the

00:44:38.519 --> 00:44:38.780
 earth.

00:44:39.920 --> 00:44:40.400
 That the

00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:41.639
 Lord forced

00:44:41.639 --> 00:44:42.460
 their hand.

00:44:42.920 --> 00:44:43.940
 He confused

00:44:43.940 --> 00:44:45.460
 their language

00:44:45.460 --> 00:44:45.920
 so that they

00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:46.259
 couldn't

00:44:46.259 --> 00:44:47.380
 understand one

00:44:47.380 --> 00:44:47.719
 another.

00:44:48.139 --> 00:44:48.460
 And so they

00:44:48.460 --> 00:44:49.300
 had to do

00:44:49.300 --> 00:44:49.900
 what he

00:44:49.900 --> 00:44:50.360
 commanded.

00:44:50.360 --> 00:44:51.200
 Why am I

00:44:51.200 --> 00:44:51.599
 going through

00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:51.760
 this?

00:44:51.820 --> 00:44:52.340
 The point

00:44:52.340 --> 00:44:52.780
 is,

00:44:53.700 --> 00:44:54.760
 this is the

00:44:54.760 --> 00:44:56.059
 connection

00:44:56.059 --> 00:44:57.820
 point to

00:44:57.820 --> 00:44:59.220
 see why

00:44:59.220 --> 00:45:00.300
 is it that

00:45:00.300 --> 00:45:00.700
 we have

00:45:00.700 --> 00:45:01.420
 such a

00:45:01.420 --> 00:45:02.700
 hard time

00:45:02.700 --> 00:45:05.420
 valuing

00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:07.340
 or recognizing

00:45:07.340 --> 00:45:08.200
 the worth

00:45:08.200 --> 00:45:08.680
 and the

00:45:08.680 --> 00:45:09.620
 value,

00:45:10.700 --> 00:45:11.480
 the immeasurable

00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:13.099
 dignity of

00:45:13.099 --> 00:45:13.720
 people who are

00:45:13.720 --> 00:45:14.280
 different than

00:45:14.280 --> 00:45:14.900
 we are.

00:45:14.900 --> 00:45:17.039
 because I

00:45:17.039 --> 00:45:18.260
 get my

00:45:18.260 --> 00:45:19.460
 sense of

00:45:19.460 --> 00:45:20.000
 dignity,

00:45:20.519 --> 00:45:20.940
 value,

00:45:21.039 --> 00:45:21.500
 and worth

00:45:21.500 --> 00:45:22.099
 from my

00:45:22.099 --> 00:45:22.619
 tribe.

00:45:22.860 --> 00:45:23.920
 I get my

00:45:23.920 --> 00:45:24.760
 affirmation

00:45:24.760 --> 00:45:25.920
 from my

00:45:25.920 --> 00:45:26.400
 people.

00:45:26.579 --> 00:45:27.240
 That's what I

00:45:27.240 --> 00:45:28.160
 rooted in.

00:45:28.460 --> 00:45:29.000
 I rooted in,

00:45:29.200 --> 00:45:29.800
 oh, we're the,

00:45:30.079 --> 00:45:31.220
 this is how,

00:45:31.340 --> 00:45:32.000
 this is what it

00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:32.820
 means to be

00:45:32.820 --> 00:45:33.180
 human.

00:45:34.119 --> 00:45:35.039
 This is what it

00:45:35.039 --> 00:45:35.660
 means to be

00:45:35.660 --> 00:45:36.079
 worthy.

00:45:36.440 --> 00:45:37.240
 This is what it

00:45:37.240 --> 00:45:37.920
 means to be

00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:38.579
 worthwhile.

00:45:38.940 --> 00:45:39.780
 And y'all over

00:45:39.780 --> 00:45:40.440
 there, y'all are

00:45:40.440 --> 00:45:40.880
 different.

00:45:41.720 --> 00:45:42.639
 Y'all do things

00:45:42.639 --> 00:45:43.179
 differently.

00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:44.920
 Y'all speak

00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:45.219
 differently.

00:45:45.299 --> 00:45:45.900
 Y'all act

00:45:45.900 --> 00:45:46.500
 differently.

00:45:47.460 --> 00:45:48.279
 You know, y'all

00:45:48.279 --> 00:45:49.299
 are not really as

00:45:49.299 --> 00:45:50.179
 human as we

00:45:50.179 --> 00:45:50.480
 are.

00:45:52.539 --> 00:45:53.579
 That's why,

00:45:53.839 --> 00:45:54.659
 right, the

00:45:54.659 --> 00:45:55.719
 story of

00:45:55.719 --> 00:45:57.400
 humanity in

00:45:57.400 --> 00:45:58.279
 many respects is

00:45:58.279 --> 00:45:59.000
 a story of

00:45:59.000 --> 00:45:59.519
 oppression.

00:46:01.279 --> 00:46:02.119
 Because I don't

00:46:02.119 --> 00:46:03.199
 value you.

00:46:03.900 --> 00:46:04.400
 So I can

00:46:04.400 --> 00:46:05.440
 demean you.

00:46:06.879 --> 00:46:07.379
 God would

00:46:07.379 --> 00:46:07.679
 not,

00:46:09.199 --> 00:46:09.619
 all right, I

00:46:09.619 --> 00:46:10.119
 said three

00:46:10.119 --> 00:46:10.519
 minutes, I've

00:46:10.519 --> 00:46:10.900
 already taken

00:46:10.900 --> 00:46:11.900
 five, so I'm

00:46:11.900 --> 00:46:12.179
 skipping.

00:46:12.639 --> 00:46:13.179
 Skipping what

00:46:13.179 --> 00:46:13.859
 the sociologists

00:46:13.859 --> 00:46:14.460
 say and what

00:46:14.460 --> 00:46:15.259
 the theologians

00:46:15.259 --> 00:46:16.359
 say about

00:46:16.359 --> 00:46:18.099
 identity, to

00:46:18.099 --> 00:46:19.139
 say only this,

00:46:20.079 --> 00:46:21.199
 the last slide,

00:46:21.299 --> 00:46:22.359
 is that it's

00:46:22.359 --> 00:46:23.119
 not an accident

00:46:23.119 --> 00:46:25.079
 that Genesis

00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:26.039
 chapter 12

00:46:26.039 --> 00:46:27.239
 comes after

00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:28.019
 Genesis chapter

00:46:28.019 --> 00:46:28.379
 11.

00:46:29.019 --> 00:46:30.079
 Not simply

00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:30.940
 because 12

00:46:30.940 --> 00:46:31.639
 follows 11.

00:46:33.460 --> 00:46:35.659
 But God,

00:46:36.819 --> 00:46:37.539
 the Lord

00:46:37.539 --> 00:46:38.299
 dispersed them

00:46:38.299 --> 00:46:38.819
 from there over

00:46:38.819 --> 00:46:40.000
 the surface of

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:40.619
 all the earth.

00:46:40.619 --> 00:46:41.980
 what is Genesis

00:46:41.980 --> 00:46:42.880
 chapter 12

00:46:42.880 --> 00:46:43.259
 about?

00:46:43.779 --> 00:46:44.759
 God calls

00:46:44.759 --> 00:46:45.319
 Abraham,

00:46:45.940 --> 00:46:46.279
 right?

00:46:46.440 --> 00:46:47.219
 The end of

00:46:47.219 --> 00:46:48.239
 chapter 11,

00:46:48.380 --> 00:46:49.420
 God says to

00:46:49.420 --> 00:46:50.339
 Abraham, go out.

00:46:50.679 --> 00:46:52.339
 Abraham was a

00:46:52.339 --> 00:46:52.679
 pagan.

00:46:53.759 --> 00:46:54.519
 He wasn't

00:46:54.519 --> 00:46:55.179
 worshiping the

00:46:55.179 --> 00:46:56.440
 Lord, right?

00:46:56.500 --> 00:46:57.339
 The Lord calls

00:46:57.339 --> 00:46:57.839
 Abraham and says,

00:46:58.059 --> 00:46:59.219
 leave your

00:46:59.219 --> 00:47:00.500
 father's house and

00:47:00.500 --> 00:47:02.279
 land and go to

00:47:02.279 --> 00:47:03.880
 a place where I

00:47:03.880 --> 00:47:04.920
 will show you,

00:47:05.400 --> 00:47:05.739
 right?

00:47:05.739 --> 00:47:07.099
 I am going to

00:47:07.099 --> 00:47:09.519
 make you a

00:47:09.519 --> 00:47:11.059
 great nation.

00:47:12.059 --> 00:47:12.879
 I am going,

00:47:13.079 --> 00:47:14.079
 in you,

00:47:14.879 --> 00:47:16.019
 all the

00:47:16.019 --> 00:47:17.759
 nations of

00:47:17.759 --> 00:47:18.739
 the world

00:47:18.739 --> 00:47:19.279
 will be

00:47:19.279 --> 00:47:19.779
 blessed.

00:47:21.199 --> 00:47:21.819
 In you.

00:47:21.899 --> 00:47:22.459
 Well, what is

00:47:22.459 --> 00:47:23.879
 that blessing?

00:47:24.979 --> 00:47:25.979
 What's the

00:47:25.979 --> 00:47:26.399
 blessing?

00:47:26.739 --> 00:47:27.759
 Yes, right?

00:47:27.759 --> 00:47:28.500
 It's the promise

00:47:28.500 --> 00:47:30.000
 of Jesus Christ.

00:47:30.219 --> 00:47:30.559
 But it's like,

00:47:30.839 --> 00:47:31.199
 right?

00:47:31.299 --> 00:47:32.159
 Genesis 10,

00:47:32.319 --> 00:47:32.839
 again, the

00:47:32.839 --> 00:47:34.399
 table of nations.

00:47:34.400 --> 00:47:35.639
 Genesis 12,

00:47:35.900 --> 00:47:36.039
 right?

00:47:36.119 --> 00:47:36.960
 Genesis 11,

00:47:37.079 --> 00:47:38.119
 the scattering and

00:47:38.119 --> 00:47:39.139
 the division of

00:47:39.139 --> 00:47:39.539
 the nations.

00:47:39.720 --> 00:47:40.559
 Genesis 12,

00:47:40.760 --> 00:47:41.680
 in you,

00:47:42.099 --> 00:47:43.180
 all the nations

00:47:43.180 --> 00:47:44.400
 of the earth

00:47:44.400 --> 00:47:44.880
 are going to be

00:47:44.880 --> 00:47:45.320
 blessed,

00:47:46.360 --> 00:47:46.579
 right?

00:47:46.700 --> 00:47:48.320
 I am going

00:47:48.320 --> 00:47:49.760
 to do the

00:47:49.760 --> 00:47:51.300
 work of

00:47:51.300 --> 00:47:52.720
 reunification.

00:47:53.220 --> 00:47:54.039
 I'm going to

00:47:54.039 --> 00:47:55.880
 do the work

00:47:55.880 --> 00:47:57.139
 of reuniting

00:47:57.139 --> 00:47:58.079
 humanity.

00:47:58.599 --> 00:47:59.160
 And the

00:47:59.160 --> 00:48:00.300
 next time,

00:48:00.579 --> 00:48:01.079
 they're not

00:48:01.079 --> 00:48:01.639
 going to be

00:48:01.639 --> 00:48:02.619
 one big happy

00:48:02.619 --> 00:48:03.599
 family in

00:48:03.599 --> 00:48:04.619
 rebellion against

00:48:04.619 --> 00:48:04.819
 me.

00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:05.319
 They're going

00:48:05.319 --> 00:48:06.219
 to be one

00:48:06.219 --> 00:48:06.779
 big happy

00:48:06.779 --> 00:48:07.799
 family under

00:48:07.799 --> 00:48:08.739
 my lordship.

00:48:10.739 --> 00:48:11.400
 That's the

00:48:11.400 --> 00:48:12.079
 promise of

00:48:12.079 --> 00:48:13.440
 Genesis chapter

00:48:13.440 --> 00:48:13.980
 12.

00:48:14.139 --> 00:48:14.699
 And that is

00:48:14.699 --> 00:48:15.519
 what we see,

00:48:15.699 --> 00:48:15.839
 right?

00:48:15.940 --> 00:48:16.420
 That's what

00:48:16.420 --> 00:48:18.400
 Christ came

00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:19.619
 to do.

00:48:20.319 --> 00:48:21.719
 God's response

00:48:21.719 --> 00:48:22.960
 is restoration

00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:25.139
 and reunification.

00:48:25.480 --> 00:48:25.980
 See, I didn't

00:48:25.980 --> 00:48:26.759
 get through a lot

00:48:26.759 --> 00:48:27.579
 of slides to get

00:48:27.579 --> 00:48:27.819
 there.

00:48:27.820 --> 00:48:31.680
 And so,

00:48:32.180 --> 00:48:33.800
 here it is,

00:48:33.860 --> 00:48:34.080
 right?

00:48:35.080 --> 00:48:36.600
 In this,

00:48:37.440 --> 00:48:38.320
 the cry

00:48:38.320 --> 00:48:39.360
 and the call

00:48:39.360 --> 00:48:40.980
 is

00:48:40.980 --> 00:48:43.100
 not to find

00:48:43.100 --> 00:48:44.200
 our primary

00:48:44.200 --> 00:48:44.940
 sense

00:48:44.940 --> 00:48:46.580
 of identity

00:48:46.580 --> 00:48:49.460
 in our tribe,

00:48:49.600 --> 00:48:50.480
 whatever our

00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:51.280
 tribe is.

00:48:52.600 --> 00:48:53.360
 Our

00:48:53.360 --> 00:48:55.039
 ethnic tribe,

00:48:55.900 --> 00:48:56.640
 our academic

00:48:56.639 --> 00:48:57.259
 tribe,

00:48:58.199 --> 00:48:59.099
 our socioeconomic

00:48:59.099 --> 00:48:59.759
 tribe,

00:49:00.759 --> 00:49:01.019
 right?

00:49:01.259 --> 00:49:02.400
 By, you

00:49:02.400 --> 00:49:03.579
 know, my

00:49:03.579 --> 00:49:04.679
 Brooklynite tribe,

00:49:05.059 --> 00:49:05.379
 you know,

00:49:06.159 --> 00:49:06.579
 you're from

00:49:06.579 --> 00:49:07.139
 Brooklyn, you're

00:49:07.139 --> 00:49:08.039
 probably a little

00:49:08.039 --> 00:49:08.639
 bit better than

00:49:08.639 --> 00:49:10.480
 other places.

00:49:10.619 --> 00:49:10.960
 Anyway,

00:49:12.039 --> 00:49:12.440
 the lords were

00:49:12.440 --> 00:49:13.099
 still working on

00:49:13.099 --> 00:49:14.659
 me with that.

00:49:15.359 --> 00:49:15.799
 Right?

00:49:16.039 --> 00:49:17.980
 But this call

00:49:17.980 --> 00:49:19.079
 because,

00:49:19.359 --> 00:49:19.980
 and I'm going

00:49:19.980 --> 00:49:20.480
 to get to a

00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:21.379
 quote later on,

00:49:21.380 --> 00:49:22.240
 but this,

00:49:22.420 --> 00:49:23.360
 because

00:49:23.360 --> 00:49:24.460
 this,

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:26.160
 the work

00:49:26.160 --> 00:49:26.820
 of the Lord

00:49:26.820 --> 00:49:28.119
 is restoration

00:49:28.119 --> 00:49:29.740
 and reunification,

00:49:30.300 --> 00:49:31.840
 under

00:49:31.840 --> 00:49:33.619
 Jesus Christ,

00:49:34.680 --> 00:49:36.220
 the call

00:49:36.220 --> 00:49:37.140
 is to

00:49:37.140 --> 00:49:38.059
 root

00:49:38.059 --> 00:49:39.180
 our sense

00:49:39.180 --> 00:49:39.980
 of who we

00:49:39.980 --> 00:49:41.599
 are primarily

00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:42.700
 in Him

00:49:42.700 --> 00:49:44.200
 as image

00:49:44.200 --> 00:49:44.840
 bearers,

00:49:45.340 --> 00:49:46.180
 as those

00:49:46.180 --> 00:49:47.260
 who have

00:49:47.260 --> 00:49:49.460
 an immeasurable

00:49:49.460 --> 00:49:50.119
 dignity,

00:49:50.420 --> 00:49:50.900
 value,

00:49:51.019 --> 00:49:51.619
 and worth

00:49:51.619 --> 00:49:53.340
 that doesn't

00:49:53.340 --> 00:49:54.519
 come from

00:49:54.519 --> 00:49:55.760
 my association

00:49:55.760 --> 00:49:57.099
 to other

00:49:57.099 --> 00:49:58.019
 black people.

00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:00.179
 It comes

00:50:00.179 --> 00:50:01.039
 because God

00:50:01.039 --> 00:50:01.820
 has said it.

00:50:02.440 --> 00:50:03.199
 Because He

00:50:03.199 --> 00:50:04.300
 declared it.

00:50:04.920 --> 00:50:05.380
 And so it

00:50:05.380 --> 00:50:05.900
 does not

00:50:05.900 --> 00:50:07.099
 matter my

00:50:07.099 --> 00:50:07.920
 ability,

00:50:08.260 --> 00:50:08.880
 it does not

00:50:08.880 --> 00:50:09.460
 matter my

00:50:09.460 --> 00:50:09.900
 height,

00:50:10.039 --> 00:50:10.619
 my weight,

00:50:10.699 --> 00:50:11.360
 it does not

00:50:11.360 --> 00:50:11.960
 matter.

00:50:13.240 --> 00:50:14.380
 I am of

00:50:14.380 --> 00:50:16.019
 invaluable

00:50:16.019 --> 00:50:17.240
 worth because

00:50:17.239 --> 00:50:18.019
 God has

00:50:18.019 --> 00:50:18.799
 said so.

00:50:19.579 --> 00:50:20.279
 That's the

00:50:20.279 --> 00:50:21.599
 source of

00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:22.039
 our sense

00:50:22.039 --> 00:50:22.699
 of dignity

00:50:22.699 --> 00:50:24.299
 and value

00:50:24.299 --> 00:50:24.899
 and worth.

00:50:25.019 --> 00:50:25.159
 Alright,

00:50:25.299 --> 00:50:25.559
 I'm going to

00:50:25.559 --> 00:50:27.059
 stop there.

00:50:27.459 --> 00:50:28.059
 I said a lot,

00:50:28.379 --> 00:50:28.979
 but I'll

00:50:28.979 --> 00:50:29.459
 turn it over.

00:50:29.819 --> 00:50:30.079
 What are we