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{"id":4034,"date":"2015-09-06T10:54:57","date_gmt":"2015-09-06T15:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?p=4034"},"modified":"2015-09-06T20:25:56","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T01:25:56","slug":"my-black-faith-and-the-faith-of-kimdavis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2015\/09\/my-black-faith-and-the-faith-of-kimdavis.html","title":{"rendered":"My Black Faith and the Faith of #KimDavis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

First Published at Ten Speaks<\/a> I am unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian. I love my black skin and I love Jesus Christ. Together with being a woman, those two identities are the absolute core of who I am and inform my thoughts and perspectives. But being a black, female Christian is a hard space to live in today. \u00a0I am constantly examining and re-examining the intersection of these parts of me. Because I\u2019m black, I understand all too well the sting and devastation of oppression. Because I\u2019m black, I understand how systemic racism plays out every day in the lives of black folks in a million subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Because I\u2019m black, I understand the ugliness of white supremacy, the arrogance of unchecked, unacknowledged white privilege and the anger and exhaustion of constantly having to fight for your humanity. Because I\u2019m black, I understand how insulting \u201cAll Lives Matter\u201d is as a response to our fight to demand that \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d. Because I\u2019m black, I know what it feels like to be marginalized and oppressed. \u00a0In fact, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself. Everything hangs on those two commandments. \u00a0I see no exceptions.<\/p>\n

I see you Kim Davis, standing on righteousness, all while you\u2019re on your 4th husband and \u201cthey\u201d say one of your baby daddies fathered your child while you were married to another man. \u00a0In other words, the rumor is that you had an affair, and the man that you had sex with outside of your marriage is the father of one of your children.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not pointing that out to judge you Ms. Davis. I\u2019m pointing it out to show you that when we start deeming some people\u2019s \u201csins\u201d as \u201cunpardonable\u201d, we are treading on very thin ice, as our own sins are likely to come crashing down on us ahead of the ones we sit in judgment of. \u00a0When we start judging people to the point of refusing to do the job we are paid (and in your case, elected), to do, because they don\u2019t sin like we sin, we are on a slippery slope of pride, which, as Christians should know, goes before the fall.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m unashamedly black. Therefore, I am very uncomfortable with the oppression of a group of people. \u00a0And\u00a0I\u2019m Christian. Therefore, I am very uncomfortable with singling out an entire group of people for discrimination, determining their sins, and then judging them because they sin (perhaps) differently than I do.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to try to do what God has called me to do. Spread the gospel, live a Christ-honoring life, forgive others their trespasses against me and love my neighbors, including my gay neighbors, and I\u2019m going to fight against oppression and marginalization by arrogant, hypocritical people.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t pretend to have it all worked out. \u00a0I\u2019m \u201cworking out my salvation\u201d (that blessed assurance) as I go, and trying to hear from God for direction.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I\u2019m trying to love people. \u00a0That includes gays. \u00a0And it includes others like me, whose righteousness is like filthy rags before God.<\/p>\n

But this is my truth. \u00a0I\u2019ll be judged for it. \u00a0And I\u2019m ok with that. \u00a0As long as God does the judging. \u00a0All you perfect Christian folks please leave me (and my gay friends and family) alone.<\/p>\n

Traci Ellis<\/a> is a R3 contributor<\/p>\n

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