Did you hear about the interview with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Trevor Noah podcast, in which he admits that if he had grown up in Gaza, he might have joined in Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on October 7th, 2023?
Publicising his new book, The Message, on Trevor Noah’s podcast, US writer Ta-Nehisi Coates – the American left’s favourite public intellectual – made a startling admission. “I haven’t said this out loud but I think about it a lot,” Coates said. If he were 20 years old and living in Gaza, he might have joined in Hamas’ massacre on October 7. “The wall comes down… Am I… strong enough, or even constructed in such a way, where I say, “This is too far”?… I don’t know that I am.”
This is a very disturbing thing to admit. And yet, I think it really gets at the heart of the debate about “good people” and moral relativity. Perhaps, deep down, most of us believe that absolute moral principles exist, despite how we regularly try to excuse certain historical figures for merely being “products of their time.”
The truth is, the culture of the moment shapes our understanding of morality more than we’d care to admit as Christians. It’s why women who leave abusive husbands are often villified by their churches more than the men who abused them in the first place. Or why many Christians appeal to Scripture to condemn gay marriage but shrug their shoulders at divorce (for reasons other than abuse or adultery).
We are, collectively, no less guilty of moral relativism than the secular people we make examples of in apologetics.
By what standard?
I’m always intrigued by secular people who passionately argue that abortion is a human right. I’m always tempted to ask, “By what standard?” Who decided this? What objective moral foundation bolsters that claim? The same people will also (rightly) condemn racism and bigotry of all forms. This may include their own unrepentant relatives.
But had they been raised in the Antebellum South, who’s to say they wouldn’t think interracial relationships were sinful? Who among us is strong enough to risk life and livelihood to speak up in the name of justice?
I’m just as stunned by Coates’ admission as anyone, and yet strangely impressed by the honesty of it. There’s more to unpack with that statement, of course, and what it reveals about his understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Not to mention weaponizing race to justify antisemitism and the problem of comparing unrelated examples of exploitation, when in fact they have little in common. His latest book, The Message, has been accused of promoting antisemism (I haven’t read it). That’s all worth analyzing, but beyond the scope of this post.
Our conscience should be pricked by the Holy Spirit
Most decent people want to believe that their sense of morality and justice can transcend the culture, thus enabling them to hide German Jews or risk being targeted by the Klan in earlier eras. I’m not so sure, though – and I include myself, as well.
Are we, as Coates stated, “constructed in such a way to admit ‘this is too far’?” If morality transcends the wisdom of the moment, how many of us need a stronger backbone? How many of us will sacrifice “likes” and social clout to live out unpopular truths? If we as Christians are living by the Holy Spirit, our consciences will be pricked when the time calls for it.
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