Malcolm X's ideology has become the new "Golden Rule" for many Christians

On June 28th, 1964, at the Audubon Ballroom, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, Malcolm X, self-identifying as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, gave one of his most famous speeches. Representing his newly founded Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), Malcolm re-popularized a phrase that has become the new Golden Rule for many Christians. Particularly those who still find themselves at odds over the racial and political dynamics of our day. These believers often described as either anti-woke (not agreeing with the idea that America is a racist nation) or woke (not a term created by them, but they believe in the importance of changing racial, sociological, and economic dynamics for blacks), appear to be following Malcolm X's motto to heart.

The phrase is only four words long and was a potent rallying cry for black Americans in the 1960s, particularly those who were bearing the brunt of racism in their cities. But today, many professing Christians have incorporated it into their hearts and minds, replacing even Jesus' command that, "Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them." This phrase is understood by almost all Christians as the “Golden Rule.” A one-size-fits-all command that explains God's expectations for how his people should treat others. But it is not the only command of its kind. Many verses in the Bible rival Malcolm X’s motto. Before delving into the four words of Malcolm X, we must understand a confusing distinction between intellectual and functional. 

Intellectual or Functional?

The majority of individuals, regardless of their religion or political views, evaluate themselves more academically than practically. They focus on what they believe (intellectual) rather than what they do (functional). Take a look at the responses to comments like, "Many Christians care more about America than Heaven," on social media. You'll encounter a slew of replies that express something similar to, “I don’t know any Christians who think like that or would ever say that!” But the finding wasn't focused on how people think or whether they had ever said it from their own mouths. The observation is based on how individuals behave (functional). When Jesus said, "These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.," we should take note. We can all be fooled by saying or thinking the right things, but our actions, in more ways than our words, reveal our hearts.

The intellectual versus functional dynamic causes a lot of blindness because most Christians pay attention only to what they claim to believe and ignore how they act. However, even the world understands that actions speak louder than words. But in the case of Malcolm, the four words are synonymous with action, which for many, command a variety of negative behaviors. In this manner, many Christian adherents have adopted Malcolm X’s phrase, “By any means necessary,” as the functional new golden rule.

What does the phrase mean?

By any means necessary is a translation of a phrase used by Martinican intellectual Frantz Fanon in his 1960 Address to the Accra Positive Action Conference, "Why we use violence". The phrase had also been used by French intellectual Jean-Paul Sartre in his 1948 play “Dirty Hands.” Later, it entered the popular civil rights culture through a speech given by Malcolm X at the above-mentioned Organization of Afro-American Unity founding rally on June 28, 1964.

Here is an excerpt of the speech Malcolm gave that helps give clarity on the phrase’s meaning.

“Well, the African leaders showed their maturity by doing what the American white man said couldn’t be done. Because if you recall when it was mentioned that these African states were going to meet in Addis Ababa, all of the Western press began to spread the propaganda that they didn’t have enough in common to come together and to sit down together…Everyone was there and despite their differences, they were able to sit down and form what was known as the Organization of African Unity, which has formed a coalition and is working in conjunction with each other to fight a common enemy. Once we saw what they were able to do, we determined to try and do the same thing here in America among Afro-Americans who have been divided by our enemies.

So we have formed an organization known as the Organization of Afro American Unity which has the same aim and objective – to fight whoever gets in our way, to bring about the complete independence of people of African descent here in the Western Hemisphere, and first here in the United States, and bring about the freedom of these people by any means necessary.

That’s our motto. We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary. We don’t feel that in 1964, living in a country that is supposedly based upon freedom, and supposedly the leader of the free world, we don’t think that we should have to sit around and wait for some segregationist congressmen and senators and a President from Texas in Washington, D. C., to make up their minds that our people are due now some degree of civil rights. No, we want it now or we don’t think anybody should have it.

“By any means necessary,” is generally considered to leave open all available tactics for the desired ends, including violence. And sadly, many of those given the responsibility to be disciples who are ambassadors of reconciliation, are more like the disciples that said,"Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?"

Examples of By Any Means Necessary

Because so much has already been written about the examples listed below my comments here will be brief. Not one of these examples has individuals that use the terminology of “By Any Means Necessary Syndrome (BAMNS)” that I am using, but their actions reveal the motive. If I am a Christian, willing to act opposite of what Jesus commands, to get something that I want, then I'm willing to get it by any means necessary

January 6th, 2021

Whatever name you give this event (The Insurrection at Capital), it is widely agreed that Christians played a significant role in storming the Nation’s Capital. The Atlantic, a news publication covering the details of the event, made an insightful observation. “Defiant masses literally broke down the walls of government, some believing they were marching under Jesus’s banner to implement God’s will to keep Trump in the White House.”

The irony of what happened that day sounds similar to the language of Malcolm X’s by any means necessary speech above. “We want it now or we don’t think anybody should have it,” was the underlying heartbeat as conservatives lashed out towards Democrats. Those storming the Capital, did so, by any means necessary, in the fear of losing their rights as American citizens, reminiscent of the angst Malcolm expressed when he demanded that rights be given to black people.

Another irony is that there is no record of The Nation of Islam, or those affiliated with Malcolm’s Organization of Afro-American Unity storming the Nation’s Capital. Black Lives Matter, the organization, nor individuals loosely associated with BLM have ever broken into the Capital to take back the country for civil rights. It seems Christians, of all people, have taken "By Any Means Necessary" to heart more than those who have truly suffered political and racial injustice

Let’s Go, Brandon!

An AP News article published on October 30, 2021 details the origin of this phrase.

“It started at an Oct. 2 NASCAR race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Brandon Brown, a 28-year-old driver, had won his first Xfinity Series and was being interviewed by an NBC Sports reporter. The crowd behind him was chanting something at first difficult to make out. The reporter suggested they were chanting “Let’s go, Brandon” to cheer the driver. But it became increasingly clear they were saying: “F—- Joe Biden.”

NASCAR and NBC have since taken steps to limit “ambient crowd noise” during interviews, but it was too late — the phrase already had taken off...The line has become conservative code for something far more vulgar: “F—- Joe Biden.” It’s all the rage among Republicans wanting to prove their conservative credentials, a not-so-secret handshake that signals they’re in sync with the party’s base.”

Christians around the nation, most notably Cornerstone, a megachurch in San Antonio, TX, on a Sunday morning, boasted thousands of Christians, angry at the political landscape, chanting, “Let’s Go, Brandon!” That is a far cry from 1 Timothy 2:1-4 that says, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”

The Social Justice Debacle

Beginning in 2011 with the release of Christian rap artist Propaganda’s song,” Precious Puritans,” to the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020, even to the publication of this article, evangelicals have gone to war with each other over issues of racism. The coverage of this debacle is a dead horse. But two examples stand out. 

In July 2019, pastor Thabiti Anyabwile publicly apologized for his role in the "by any means necessary" syndrome. In a post that contains numerous points regarding his own pride, he stated: “Fourth, I apologize for my sometimes dismissive, disregarding, rude, impatient, and harsh tone on social media. The Scripture is clear: Christians should not return reviling for reviling. I failed to keep my Lord’s example who when mistreated “never said a mumbling word.” Though the Scripture enjoins us to answer opponents gently and patiently (2 Tim. 2:24), I have done the opposite. For that, I do sincerely apologize and ask forgiveness.” Sadly, those whom the apology was directed towards did not publicly respond with the same humility. At least not that I am aware of in the writing of this article.

In May of 2021, media outlets reported that Pastor, author, and theologian Eric Mason made a heartfelt apology for comments he made in a sermon towards blacks who do not speak out about racism. In a fiery moment in his sermon, Eric Mason said, “Some of y’all are some suckers in the Spirit because you won’t be honest with the racism that you’re dealing with. And you want the spoils of privilege, and you’ll sell out the gospel, and you’ll sell out your own people!” Within hours after the sermon was posted for the world to see, he recorded an emotional apology stating, “I want to apologize and make sure…I just never want God’s Word ever through me. The Bible talks about being exemplary in speech, and I’m so sorry that I have a message like that impact people like that. I pray that you all forgive me for that part of the sermon…”

Both Thabiti and Eric are leading voice’s in the evangelical wing of the church and influence many. And yet, they acknowledge, what I am describing as the “By Any Means Necessary Syndrome.” They were mature enough to catch it. Sadly, animosity, insults, and violence have continued to flourish among believers.

So what?  We know this already

In one sense, this is true. So why mention this at all? Two reasons, the first, is there is no indication that we have turned the corner. I could give endless examples to further prove the point that, apart from a monumental act of God (which I do not think God has any intention of doing anytime soon, reasons forthcoming), believers will continue to be overcome by evil instead of overcoming evil with good. Many of us have forgotten our first love. While others have never been in love with Jesus at all. I do not believe we have seen the worst of the "By Any Means Necessary" attitude among Christians.

The second reason for this post is that we need to understand what and why this is happening. I wanted to present a paradigm that could succinctly help us identify what we are seeing in many professing believers. In the next article, I hope to explain how we got here, why God is allowing this to happen, and how to get out of here. Some of what I present may surprise you. In particular, how a popular Christian movement from the ’90s (WWJD) paved the way for a lot of the vitriol we see between believers today.

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