If we can read Paul, Isaiah, and Jeremiah and not be challenged by their words, if we can read them and never feel a great sense of uneasiness or discomfort, then are we really reading them well? Or are we just skimming their words in the same way that we scroll through our TV programming guides until we find the channel that says the things we like? (or maybe it has the Patriots game on!). There are plenty of prophetic... Read more
Let me begin by noting that the Church is a marvelous thing. The Church has been the arm of God’s work in this world. The Church has brokered peace and ended wars. The Church has transformed cultures. The Church has fed the hungry, housed the homeless, visited the lonely, healed the hurting, and comforted the afflicted. I believe in the Church. I am writing this post because the church I just wrote about is not the Church that most people... Read more
I have been taking the long road toward answering the question, “Is there systemic racism in our country?” As I noted in the last several posts, we cannot discuss the question of systemic racism today without considering the history of racial discrimination that has brought about the present circumstances. In the last post, I pointed out that the systems of peonage and convict-leasing, which arose shortly after the emancipation of the slaves, for all intents and purposes resulted in... Read more
I have argued over the last several posts that the presence of systemic injustice in America today is the result of America’s racist past. The problems created by hundreds of years of racial oppression and injustice did not go away even if the racism that created it did. (And, oh by the way, if one thinks the racism went away, I have bad news for you). What I have endeavored to show in these posts is that our country’s racist... Read more
To deny the presence of systemic racism in America one must turn a blind eye to our history. Fifty meters Ahead What if a 100-meter dash was to take place next week? And what if over the past five years all the participants had the same privileges in training for the event: They had equal access to training facilities, equipment, nutrition, etc? Everything was equal. Now, what if moments before the event began some of the participants were given a... Read more
A number of years ago a public-school teacher, who taught in an inner-city school context, was asking for help so she could buy needed supplies for her grade school classroom. As it turned out the kids didn’t have notebooks, pencils, and other necessary items. I was a bit befuddled. I had never heard of such a thing. I attended public school my whole life and we always had plenty of supplies. Education as the means to overcome As... Read more
Psalm 10:17-18 You will incline Your ear: To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror. I suspect that many Christians take comfort in reading such statements. God rises up to defend the oppressed! “Yea, God!” I have been writing on race and justice for the past seven posts. One reason for such an extensive expose into the issue is the fact that, in my estimation, many White evangelicals... Read more
Almost exactly one year ago I posted on my Facebook page a critique of Mike Pence’s misuse of the Bible. Pence, you may or may not recall, substituted the American flag for Jesus when he alluded to Heb 11:1-2 and stated, “keeping your eyes on old glory.”[1] Now, Joe Biden has joined the act. Biden recently cited Isa 6:8 “whom shall I send?” and applied it to the US military officers who signed up and “are the heirs of that... Read more
At the beginning of my teaching career, I spent several years teaching in a private Christian school. During that time, I began to ponder the role of Christian education. My struggles had to do with the growing awareness that our private Christian education was primarily a ministry to the wealthy. What I didn’t know then, and have only recently learned, is the fact that Christian education played a significant role in America’s racist past. The rapid growth of Christian... Read more
AP Photo: courtesy of The Conversation At the beginning of my teaching career, I spent several years teaching in a private Christian school. During that time, I began to ponder the role of Christian education. My struggles had to do with the growing awareness that our private Christian education was primarily a ministry to the wealthy. What I didn’t know then, and have only recently learned, is the fact that Christian education played a significant role in America’s racist... Read more
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