Mohler is pandering to popularity. He ignores the genuine central tragedy of this case, which is the spiritual question of where Trayvon Martin probably is now. Trayvon is a never-dying soul, and I would certainly hate to have departed this earth with his testimony or to be called upon to preach his funeral. Pastor Hayden, do you do unbelievers' funerals? That article is Mohler falling for the common temptation of preachers who are faced with preaching an unbeliever's funeral. Do I preach the truth and warn the other family members, many of which are probably lost and unchurched, and come off as heartless and cruel? Or do I confer sainthood upon the deceased in order to extend some comfort to the living who grieve? Most I know who do unbeliever's funerals will preach a basic gospel message and leave the dead man's testimony out of it. However, tragically, Mohler was NOT compelled to give this eulogy!
The texts and images on Martin's cell phone (which was suppressed by the prosecution, btw), his language, the drugs in his system, and the history of delinquency are all ignored by Mohler who only presents Trayvon as a young black man "eyed suspiciously by people just because you are a young black male." The only point he has is that the grieving family is to be pitied. But have you (or he) examined the mixed up dynamic that makes up this "family"? Has no one noticed how Trayvon's biological parents appear so chummy with one another that to look you would not know they were divorced? Mohler fully justifies the Trayvon Martins of this world because of their social environment.
[quote author=Albert Mohler]It is dangerous to be a young black male in America. [/quote]Really? Just because he was black, it makes it dangerous? Not the marijuana, or the attitude that prompted him to attack Zimmerman, or the fact that he was dressed to fit the profile of a troublemaker on a dark night in a gated neighborhood where he was a stranger? Mohler describes Martin in glowing terms, as if he is an angel.
[quote author=Albert Mohler]The photos of Trayvon Martin shown to the world show a normal, happy, 17-year-old boy. A boy who had been living with his mother, but had been sent to be with his father after an incident in school. In other words, a 17-year-old boy who not only was in the right place, but for a very right reason–so that he could be watched over by his father. There isn’t a father of a 17-year-old boy in America (or any man who was once a 17-year-old boy) who doesn’t know exactly what that is about.
The central tragedy remains. A smiling 17-year-old boy who had gone to a convenience store to buy a soft drink and a snack was shot to death,...[/quote]An "incident in school"?!? Look beyond the show, and see the true testimony of this "normal"(?!) smiling 17-year-old boy, just innocently pounding Zimmerman's head into the concrete. See the testimony that could NOT be presented at trial, but still speaks of an angry, racist, young thug instead of a smiling, normal 17-year-old little boy.
Furthermore, Mohler makes the egregious error of adopting and feeding the racial hatred.[quote author=Albert Mohler]It is a political tragedy, a cultural tragedy, and a legal mess. But far more than these, it is the tragedy of a boy now dead, of parents and loved ones grieving, and of a nation further wounded, confused, and tormented by the color line.[/quote]
The one good thing I like which he said in his article was [quote author=Albert Mohler]Show trials are the hallmarks of tyranny, not democracy. [/quote]Unfortunately, he did not pay attention. His is a "show piece" and stumbles into the same trap of social tyranny. Writing like this, it would not be a surprise to find Al Sharpton to be a lauded speaker at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's chapel services.
