More voices on Wheaton’s white gospel

More voices on Wheaton’s white gospel December 23, 2015

Wil Gafney, “How ‘white Christianity’ beat academic freedom at Wheaton”

This is also not an isolated incident, disconnected from race. It is very much about race and its construction, the racialized blackness and brownness of Muslim peoples and their positioning by much of Christian America as the ultimate, polarized Other. That Othering reinforced by violent rhetoric, threats of violence and enacted physical and economic violence is familiar to black folk. That includes the religious discourse that positions “white Christianity” as the sole truth and black folk, Christian or not — but especially when not — as its antithesis. (By “white Christianity,” I mean Christianity based on and expressed in white cultural norms that can be sometimes internalized and performed by black bodies.)

… All too often we are held to interpretations of Christianity purported to be universal, neutral and above all, correct, that emerge from the white culture of those who produced them and are willfully blind to the whiteness that permeates their Christian constructs.

Ellie Roth, “#ReinstateDocHawk: Wheaton does not speak for its students”

I hope that as our nation responds to the unfolding events at our college, they don’t forget that the Wheaton administration does not speak for the entire Wheaton community.

Tobin Grant, “Wheaton College suspension of prof for ‘same God’ comment is disgraceful”

The news of Wheaton’s decision is shameful. I say this as an alumnus of the college, someone who has even taught a course at Wheaton, and someone who knows Hawkins and the rest of the political science faculty. Put bluntly: I know and love Wheaton and its students. And it’s from this position that I am profoundly disappointed in how Hawkins has been treated.

… Wheaton has put itself in a difficult position that will be hard to maneuver out of. This is made worse that Hawkins is one of the few women of color at Wheaton. If Wheaton has, in the past, treated other professors with a different process, then it could be facing accusations of violating Hawkins’ civil rights. If there is a record of treating white, male professors with confidentiality and due process but publicly shaming or inventing new punishments for one of the few women of color on the faculty, then this controversy could take a legal turn that the college could not escape.

Susan Campbell, “Why Wheaton’s Decision Is Out of Step With Jesus’ Love”

[Wheaton’s Statement of Faith] also expresses the hope that Jesus return to earth soon. Should that happen, I look forward to the school’s explanation for this. Sorry, Jesus? We were protecting the brand?

Ivy George, “Embattled professor took a stand for ‘human solidarity’ versus entrenched evangelical fear”

Sadly, one can only conclude that the sanctions against Hawkins have little to do with any serious concerns for Christian orthodoxy but rather show a deep fear among evangelicals that faith in Christ might lead the believer to encounter the radical humanity of others outside the fold, Islamic or not. …

Wheaton appears, in this context, as a small business enterprise drawing on particular cultural markings to fortify its brand. Clearly Prof. Hawkins is a liability in Wheaton’s promotion of its product. In the end, the college seems willing to jettison the discomfort of the gospel message.

John Schmalzbauer, “The God of Abraham Praise: Wheaton College Considers Its Muslim Neighbors”

In November 2007 Wheaton’s president, provost, and chaplain signed a major statement on Christian-Muslim understanding that appeared in The New York Times. Calling for peace between the two religions, the document affirmed “our common love for God and for one another.” The 300 signatories included megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, Fuller Seminary President Richard Mouw, and the president of the National Association of Evangelicals. In January 2008, the statement drew strong rebukes from Minnesota Pastor John Piper and Southern Baptist educator Albert Mohler. … Wheaton’s leaders later retracted their signatures.


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