“Dive In, Show Up and Persevere”: The Role of the White Theologian

January 27, 2017 By Guest Contributor

by Eric Weed I must confess that over the past two months to being consumed by fear and anxiety. The loss of a vision that believes the United States Constitution is the foundation for constructing a just society led to significant despair. I reverted inwards, stopped watching the news, and stopped writing on political issues. I felt defeated. Admittedly, my fear and anxiety pales in comparison to my colleagues whose response demands existential affirmation. As a white man, my right... Read more

What Does It Mean to “Put #AmericaFirst?”

January 23, 2017 By Guest Contributor

by Lawrence W. Rodgers It is clear from the changes on the White House website and the rhetoric espoused during the inauguration speech that Donald Trump has high hopes of ending trade agreements, increasing job opportunity while strongly discouraging companies from opening businesses outside of America. My curiosity about this is while it might sound nice to some people when they first hear it, I am curious if America can afford it. Look no further than the most popular retail... Read more

Inaugural Reflections: A New Day is Here

January 20, 2017 By blog admin

We here at R3 ask people to share some of their reflections of the Inauguration of now President Donald Trump and on former president and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama. If you would like to share your reflections, please email us at rhetoricraceandreligion@gmail.com This is a very sad day for me. I am beyond words with what a terrible choice Trump is for the US. But I am going to remember my ancestors as we move into this new... Read more

A Prayer of Confession

January 20, 2017 By Andre E. Johnson

As a person of faith and a faith leader, I come to any movement because of my faith. My actions are grounded by my faith commitments. Therefore, as we start this “resistance movement” on the day we inaugurate Donald J. Trump, I must start with confession. I hope you will join me. Let us confess……. Forgive us for not believing many black and brown people who were trying to tell us what we were seeing and hearing for the past... Read more

“I Will Not Participate in My Own Invisibility”

January 20, 2017 By Guest Contributor

by Frank A. Thomas I am almost excited to see Donald J. Trump ascend to the office of President. We have been in his warm up reality show act far too long. He will no longer be an outsider to Washington; he will be Washington. Everybody in Washington was an idiot or stupid in his campaign, and he alone could fix things. He has the opportunity to prove his smarts. I would advise him that it is much easier to... Read more

Welcome to R3: Frank A. Thomas

January 20, 2017 By blog admin

Frank A. Thomas, PhD, currently serves as the Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. Adept in preaching method, a revised and updated version of They Like to Never Quit Praisin’ God: The Role of Celebration In Preaching was released in August 2013, considered by many to be a classic. For many years, Thomas has also taught preaching to Doctoral and Masters level students at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, and... Read more

Why I Am Protesting on #InaugurationDay

January 18, 2017 By Guest Contributor

by Frank A. Thomas There is a basic and perverse strain of self-preservation in human nature that those who have freedom protect their privilege, not just against “tyranny,” but also from others in a society deemed unworthy of the rituals and benefits of freedom. Usually, the “unworthy” tend not to be members of one’s group, however that group is defined, whether composition around morals, politics, economics, race, nationality, gender, region, or religion. For the most part, the moral imagination of... Read more

I Had a Dream Too

January 18, 2017 By Guest Contributor

by Derrick Holmes I had a dream that I was meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for lunch at a small, family owned, soul food restaurant on the poorer side of town. I sat at the table reading a book when I noticed him walk through the door and address the greeter stationed at the entrance. She directed him to our table and he began to walk towards me, formally dressed in his customary black suit & tie. There were... Read more

#MLK: A Pessimistic Prophet?

January 15, 2017 By Andre E. Johnson

While we are celebrating and commemorating the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let us remember that King’s rhetorical trajectory shifted from an optimistic prophet to a pessimistic one. This is what we will examine in the class I will teach this semester, From Riverside to the River City: The Prophetic Pessimism of Martin Luther King Jr. In this class, we will focus on the more radical King by examining his prophetic rhetoric during the last year of... Read more

Resistance and the Black Faith Tradition

January 6, 2017 By Andre E. Johnson

When the National Committee of Black Churchmen met in 1966 to argue for a theology that spoke to them, they were not operating out of thin air. Black power had been the rallying cry for issues that forced many African Americans in poverty. It was out of this cry for Black Power that the churchmen convene to discuss Black Power and its relationship with the Christian faith. In 2015, I submitted a proposal to the National Council of Black Studies... Read more