Some of my comments on an episode of Pass The Mic have invited scrutiny and strong disagreement. In general, I accept this as part of the task of racial reconciliation and a positive sign of tackling the right topics. Due to distorted interpretations, however, I do sense the need to clarify those statements and extend their application. What follows is not a refutation of specific comments aimed at me, but a further explanation of my reflections.
First, I believe in the church. I will not break fellowship with her or any of her people based on politics. Jesus Christ himself prayed for the unity of believers. “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11b). Christ wants his church to be unified, so it is in the name of Christian unity that I must speak honestly.
Next, I encourage you to listen to the entire PTM episode as well as the subsequent one with Tyler and me. In each of the podcasts, we reflect on the recent election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. Among many troubling implications of a Donald Trump presidency, is the fact that, of those who voted, 81% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. However you parse the exact definition of “evangelical”, it is clear that a large number of white believers who voted viewed this man’s leadership as acceptable.
I have heard the concerns of people in the majority, and I think they are important. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”@jemartisby” suffix=””]No Christian had an easy decision in this election.[/inlinetweet] Issues surrounding Supreme Court appointments, pro-life legislation, biblical sexual ethics, and religious freedom are real and worthy of deep deliberation. In light of the complexity of voting, especially with the 2016 presidential candidates, I do not believe anyone’s decision to vote for Trump, or Clinton, or Third Party, or to abstain altogether was sin. It is up to that person, and his or her conscience. But [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”@jemartisby” suffix=””]voting your conscience has consequences. As Christians and American citizens, we now have to contend with a Donald Trump presidency.[/inlinetweet]
White evangelicals voted for him in spite of Trump saying that Mexico is sending illegal immigrants across the U.S. border who are rapists, and that a Mexican judge who was born and raised in the U.S. must be biased because he’s Mexican. They voted for a man who refused to rent apartments to people of color, who called for the death penalty of the exonerated Central Park 5, who questioned President Obama’s citizenship. They cast the ballot for a man who draws the support of the KKK and their leaders, who said that maybe a black protester should have been “roughed up”, who calls for a national stop-and-frisk policy, he lumps all black people together by saying “the blacks” or “my African American,” and the list goes on and on. As a member of one of the many groups President-elect Trump has denigrated, I can’t overlook those statements as mere rhetoric.
Words matter. Words create the context for action. Trump’s words of hate embolden people to act out their own hatred and prejudices in ways that put me and those who look like me in literal, physical danger.
A week before the election, a church with a predominantly black membership in Mississippi was burned. The arsonists spray painted the words “Vote Trump” on the building’s remains. After the election, black freshman students at the University of Pennsylvania were targets of a racist cyber attack. They received text messages that included pictures of lynching, racist slurs, and references to President-elect Donald Trump. In Michigan, students at Royal Oak Middle School, in reference to campaign promises to build a wall along the U.S./Mexico border, started chanting “Build that wall!” during their lunch period. Trump has also appointed Steve Bannon, former chairman of Breitbart which is “platform for the alt-right” , and a North Carolina chapter of the KKK is planning a victory rally. Trump’s words and promises have and are encouraging people across the country toward blatant acts of bigotry. I must approach, therefore, a Trump presidency with the caution he has earned throughout his campaign.
If Trump’s rhetoric could stand in his campaign, will it be allowed in his presidency? If white evangelicals think it permissible for Trump to speak the way he has about minorities, will they speak up for me or my family when the same remarks are leveled at us? Would they come to our defense? Will they speak publicly and among friends to demand that Trump dignifies others in his speech and actions?
With these questions swirling in my mind after the election, I made the following comment:
—–
Beau—“How would an African American, in a predominantly white church, go to their pastor and even begin to have a discussion about the pain that they’re feeling, with the understanding that based on those statistics, that pastor may have been a Trump supporter?”
Jemar—“This is probably going to surprise a lot of white people and maybe even sound offensive to them. But here it is, just the raw honest truth. I really, this Sunday, don’t feel safe worshiping with white people. I go to a church that is predominantly white and Reformed. I am part of a denomination that is overwhelmingly white and Reformed. I know dozens and dozens and dozens of people personally who are great people individually, good relationships with them, generous, all those things. But right now I feel betrayed by the church. Not the church universal. I know that Christ is still the cornerstone. I know that in an eschatological sense, nothing will prevail against the church and this is my home. We are Christ’s bride and that hasn’t changed, certainly not because of a little thing like a presidential election.
However, let’s be real. We live in the real world. On Sunday, I have to go to a physical building with a local congregation filled with people who, just like me, are sinners. And I know for certain, that in many of the congregations I’ve been a member or worshiped in, there are folks who were overtly, outright, boldly Trump supporters who are happy right now. And I cannot emotionally bring myself to be comfortable with that and going in on Sunday morning and singing songs and praying with this group of people who seem so out of touch with my experience in America.”
—–
I know my statement has been shocking and even hurtful to some. Some may feel offended at the mere suggestion that I don’t feel comfortable around white Christians right now. I also am not saying that I feel physically unsafe around white Christians or churches. My comments were not a statement about anyone’s motivation or intent in voting for Trump. I am, however, highlighting the impact of white evangelical support for this man.
Right now I feel misunderstood, alienated, and anxious. If the people with whom I spend so much time and for whom I devote so much energy in the pursuit of racial reconciliation can remain ignorant or apathetic about the impact of racist, misogynistic, nationalistic, xenophobic comments, then how well do they know me? How emotionally and spiritually safe will I be around them? How might their decisions continue to put my dignity and well-being in jeopardy? What difference does my presence really make in predominantly white churches?
That so many white Christians have overlooked or simply don’t understand this reality indicates a troubling lack of understanding across racial lines. As a Christian who works daily—through blog posts, podcasts, social media, seminars, workshops, preaching, and more—to promote racial reconciliation in the church, I felt a sense of betrayal. Some of the Christians who voted for Trump are the very Christians who professed their commitment to racial reconciliation. Some of the Christians who voted for Trump are the ones with whom I’ve attended church. People who have held my black son in their arms, who have laughed with me, who have taken me to lunch, who have prayed with me, and preached to me. I have experienced meaningful connections with white Christians, but I want those same believers to realize how a Donald Trump presidency affects me as an African American.
I made those comments not to disassociate with white Christians, but to express that my continued association with them will not be based on niceties or half-truths. Donald Trump has revealed himself to be dangerously oblivious to the power of his words, the offense they cause, and the constituents they empower. His rhetoric is hazardous to me personally and to America generally. I wish more Christians, especially white evangelicals, understood this. Many Christians, both white and black, do understand and have reached out to me to express their thanks and affirm that they felt the same way I did. They know who they are, and their words have given me endurance.
Because of Christ, I am willing to be part of a body that constantly underestimates the ongoing impact of racism. Because of Jesus, I am willing to associate with believers who outright deny systemic and institutional forms of inequality based on race. Because of our unity in the Spirit, I am willing to fellowship with believers who rebuke me for my honesty, and accuse me of sowing division because I speak of difficult subjects. I am still here. Bear with me if I sometimes long to worship with people who share not only my theology, but my pain as well.
Post-Script
The Sunday after the election, I did end up worshiping with a predominantly white congregation. It was not our home church, and we had never been there before. Aside from me, my wife and child, there was one other black person in the congregation of over 200. I felt all the emotions I normally do in that situation.
I endured the looks of surprise not just at seeing new visitors, but at seeing black people in an almost completely white church. I struggled to sing along to songs I didn’t know. I smiled, and shook hands, and exchanged pleasantries. All the while, though, I wondered if they knew how much more precarious the world had become for me and my family since November 8, 2016. I wondered if they would hear me if I shared my pain or chastise me for causing disunity and for not believing the gospel enough. Of course we didn’t talk politics at all. No mention of the election in the prayers or the sermon either. It was a typical Sunday.
0 comment
Greetings Jemar.
I’m posting a recent article by a Calvinist (who didn’t vote for Trump or Hillary) to respectfully solicit your thoughts:
Obsessing over whiteness
I’m struck by the obsession with white evangelical voters. Shock, anger, and betrayal is expressed at the face that “80%” of white evangelical voted for Trump.
Why are some “persons of color” so obsessed with whiteness? As a white man, I don’t obsess over my whiteness. Why do some “persons of color” attach vastly importance to whiteness than many white folks do?
Why single out whiteness? What makes that special? What makes that significant?
if we’re going to cast the issue in racial terms, who did “persons of color” vote for in this election? Who did “evangelicals of color” vote for in this election? What are the percentages? Why is that not equally significant?
A white evangelical is an evangelical who happens to be white. There are so many ways to define a person. Yes, race is one defining characteristic, but what makes that more important than age, sex, religion, social class, marital status, personal interests, &c?
Consider those body-swap experiments in science fiction. Suppose you must transfer your mind to another body to elude a bounty hunter. But no body is available that corresponds to your sex and race. You can either transfer your mind to a body of the same sex, but different race, or the same race, but different sex. Which will you opt for?
Surely any normal person would opt for a body of the same sex. Our sex is central to our personal identity in a way that our race is not.
Sure, if I woke up tomorrow morning, looked in the bathroom mirror, and found a different race staring back at me, I’d have to make some adjustments. But that’s nothing compared to swapping a male body for a female body, or vice versa.
Jemar Tisby: “Briefly, I think these remarks overlook the history of race in this country. Race is not like any other issue. Race and Christianity have been bound up in one another on this continent since the 17th century. It’s not that minorities are in some way obsessing over race. It shapes many segments of our reality, but I understand that’s hard for someone in the majority to conceptualize.”
“It’s not that minorities are in some way obsessing over race.”
Actually, it is.
” It shapes many segments of our reality, but I understand that’s hard for someone in the majority to conceptualize.”
No, it’s not. With all due respect, and perhaps it was unintentional on your part, and I hope it was, your remark comes off condescending and patronizing.
Apostle Paul was in the “minority” and was a “minority” and he wrote:
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28
Race is a central part of your identity and mine. It just shouldn’t be more central than our identity as Christian. Which is why Jemar is choosing not to break fellowship. If he was obseesed, he probably wouldn’t have ever set foot in an all white church to begin with.
Is race a “central part of your identity” or is it a fiction? It cannot be both.
To Nicholas,
Where did I say it was fiction? I clearly was expressing that it was not. But, I subordinate that identity to my identity in Christ. “In Christ” race may be of no significance. But in this world, it most certainly is.
Hi Jemar,
Thank you for your articles on this subject. As white people in the church, we must not shy away from these issues and we must not dismiss or discount the real feelings of our black brothers and sisters. I didn’t vote for a presidential candidate. My husband and decided we were just going to have to trust God about the SCOTUS. If I were a black woman in the church, I’d be asking “Can’t my brothers and sisters just choose me and my family this once?” And I’d be hurt. I am also somewhat sympathetic to the fears of black Americans with regard to law enforcement. I am praying that God will open our white eyes. Thanks for writing.
I appreciate your comments, Lisae. “Can’t my brothers and sisters choose me and my family this once?” is a poignant way to put it.
Jemar thanks for this, and for all you do. We white Christians need to keep hearing it. I will continue to do my part to make sure that we do.
Thanks for reading, Conrad. And for listening…
Briefly, I think these remarks overlook the history of race in this country. Race is not like any other issue. Race and Christianity have been bound up in one another on this continent since the 17th century. It’s not that minorities are in some way obsessing over race. It shapes many segments of our reality, but I understand that’s hard for someone in the majority to conceptualize.
This was meant in reply to “Truth Unites…And Divides”
See my reply below. Thanks.
1. I’m a white evangelical who did not vote for Trump but do not find him particularly scary. I know that there is a large number of folks who don’t share that assessment and so opposed him, but I’d ask people who currently believe Trump to be “openly racist”, etc., to really rethink that. This piece by Scott Alexander does a good job of explaining why there’s really not a good reason to think that Trump is a racist: http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/11/16/you-are-still-crying-wolf/
2. If, after reading that, you still think that Trump is a genuine racist, I’d ask you to remember at least that most white people who voted for Trump do NOT think he is racist. Even if they’re wrong, their problem would be one of ignorance, not malice.
Blessings to you all.
Of course Trump is not a racist. Hiring a white nationalist as Chief Strategist, selecting an Attorney General who was rejected by Republican Senators for being too racist, getting the endorsement of David Duke, being celebrated by the KKK, and the rise of hate crimes in America since Trump’s election … none of that is relevant because white evangelicals are sure that Trump is not a racist.
And I’d just add to my comment above: there are a lot of issues where white evangelicals do need to do a better job of showing solidarity with our black brothers and sisters in Christ – education, criminal justice reform, jobs, healthcare, etc. Just voting for “the right person”, whoever that is/was, is not enough.
@Truth Unites…
Paul was a Jew, who was a minority in some sense. But he was also a Roman Citizen and that status was majority.
Read the NT and you will see that he status was used frequently and earned him respect.
He was also well educate and free in an era when most were slaves or peasant class.
Also the Gal quote that you cite really proves the opposite of what you are trying to say. Paul is saying there is neither Jew nor Gentile nor slave nor free, nor male nor female. But none of those statuses actually changed outside of the church. People that were born Jewish were not suddenly transformed to become uncircumcised. Those that were Gentile were not forced to become circumcised. Those that were female were not genetically changed to become male or some non-gendered person.
And while Paul said that if you could become free you should, the majority of people that were slaves when they became Christian, remained slaves.
Paul was not saying that the status of economics, gender, or ethnicity ceases to exist, that would be a ridiculous claim. Instead he was saying that within the church, no status gets to lord their status over another.
When you tell Jamar that he should no longer be a part of his racial group you are lording your racial status over him as more important.
You suggest that Jamar try an experiment by pretending he is white, but you do not seem to consider that you do the same and empathize with his pain. Scripture tells us to weep with those who weep, it most definitely does not say, ‘convince those that are in pain to no longer be in pain.’
Adam Shields: “When you tell Jamar that he should no longer be a part of his racial group you are lording your racial status over him as more important.”
Are you familiar with the Strawman Fallacy? If so, please realize that you’ve just committed it.
Perhaps you want to clarify your point. My understanding of your point was that gal 3 was trying to show that Jamar should not be be claiming his status as an African American or talking about pain he was feeling as an African American.
I attempted to say that you were reading the passage wrong. And had actually done the opposite of Paul’s intended meaning.
Hi Adam.
You may benefit from Dr Jarvis Williams on Paul’s thoughts about ethnicity posted today here on RAAN; “Broken Table Fellowship Between White Evangelicals and Christians of Color”
Sorry Adam, meant for Truth Unites and Divides.
Trying to play down personal hurt is unproductive. It doesn’t really matter what Trump himself thinks or fears, whether he is a racist or not. What matters is the climate it has produced through his campaign and leadership, and the attitudes it will continue to produce. In some ways, Trump’s campaign is really holding up a mirror to our society which has surprised many of us with a disappointing reflection. This is true for me as a white evangelical preacher. It wouldn’t make sense to pretend like this doesn’t exist or to try to point out those bits which are more flattering as though that somehow changes anything. Now is the time to take ownership of our whole body and to reflect the true values of the gospel not just outwardly, but inwardly; in our church and in our hearts. All of us have this obligation. Now is the time to look in the mirror and take seriously what we see.
Jemar, I’m sorry for the pain you’re feeling. I can’t imagine what it might be like. Thanks for bringing this up, it takes a good deal of courage, and not a small amount of faith to trust God with this kind of pain, no less his imperfect people. It has been my prayer that the “Godly sorrow” which comes from this would lead to the many promises laid out in 2 Cor 7:10-11 (Indignation, Alarm, Concern, Eagerness to clear yourself, longing, readiness to see justice done). May it be so. Without the pain of sorrow, we risk loosing the joy of salvation.
Pastor Kyle,
“Without the pain of sorrow, we risk loosing the joy of salvation”.
Good stuff
Mr. Tisby,
Thanks for putting yourself out there. I’m grateful for your voice. I’m grateful for this network. I’m grateful for my reformed African-American brothers and sisters. I just wanted to add my support and encouragement for your work and for your family at this disconcerting time.
I’m a lawyer and an elder (who thinks he is white) at a four-year-old Presbyterian church plant in Longview, Texas (280 miles east of you on I-20). Longview has more in common with Jackson culturally than Ft. Worth.
I didn’t vote for Trump and vocally opposed him during the campaign both in my church, work-place, and social media. But after the election and seeing the numbers, I think I may be surprised at how many voted for him in our congregation. I’m not sure what to do other than to keep listening to my African-American brothers and sisters and trying to use my privilege to denounce bigotry, both the active kind and the passive kind that chooses to ignore legacy of slavery and Jim Crow in our culture.
I also have to say that I’m shocked that someone would anonymously comment on your post and imply that you are a racist. It is a little frightening. I’m trying to imagine what that is like, but as a person in the majority it’s difficult for me to conceptualize. Please keep helping me do just that.
In His grip,
Vance P. Freeman
Elder, One Hope Presbyterian Church
I reject the premise that Trump rhetoric has emboldened people to take actions they wouldn’t. Remember 8 years ago when the media warned that the first black president would embolden racists, there would be assasination attempts by the number, etc.
None of this happened. The media is “trumping” up stories about this new hate
Remember history folks
Jemar, Beau, and Otis, stay on the wall Brothers. Mike
“It was a typical Sunday” Wow, Hence why I avoided my home church. Thank you for this expression, I feel like months of frustration found its release through this post. I long for the Revelation 7:9 church, I admit sometimes I lose hope that we can ever experience it at all…
It truly was a difficult election. I did not vote for Trump, but for me that was an easy choice to make. I live in a deep blue state where voting 3rd party allowed me to voice my objections, knowing full well the State was never in play. I would not have an impact either way.
But, having said that I’ve had many conversations with friends in other areas of the country who struggled deeply with their vote and ultimately decided they had to vote Trump’s way.
There were ideological concerns to be sure but what they felt forced their hand were sanctity of life issues and religious freedom and conscience concerns that are increasingly becoming realized in society today.
Abortion was not on the ballot but the radical pro-abortion stance Mrs. Clinton took during the debate and her desire to repeal the Hyde amendment (which is the only major victory we’ve had in a generation) put this item back in play. They could not bear to see abortion rights strengthened, which they’ve organized against and worked so very hard to limit or contain. And the thought now of paying to support ending babies lives prematurely, in later term, suffering great pain, it was not a position they could at all entertain.
Second, it also was about freedom of religion and rights of conscience. They asked the question, “Do I fight for my minority brothers and sisters dignity and against their potential discrimination or do I fight for them for their protection of religious freedom?” It felt like with the looming court appointment(s) and a candidate of dubious character, both were on the line, that there was a potential threat either way.
Ultimately, in my circle, fear of religious persecution was perceived as the more existential threat. Both were a threat, but freedom of religion was a threat to all, where racial discrimination fears were a threat to some. It was a painful, horrible choice but one they say, they felt compelled to make.
The lack of respect and fear of persecution and discrimination that many are feeling are ironically what drove many of them to vote for this man. Fear, persecution, distrust of authority — many in your community have had to live with this all their lives. For many in the white evangelical community, this is new and I’m not sure we were prepared or well equipped to handle it. When it came to religious freedom, I fear that instead of learning to walk along side you together in persecution, it was a little easier to risk letting you suffer for the perceived benefit of the freedom we all could maintain. For that we need some serious soul searching and repentance and understanding for healing to be gained.
I know these are not necessarily the reasons for all or maybe even for many. But in my community, these two positions held tremendous sway.
There are no easy answers. It has been difficult, challenging and frustrating. And, I am not naive enough to believe that other factors weren’t at play.
But I also want you to know, I am so very sorry for your pain. I truly wish I could take it away. All I can say is that I am hoping and praying that in the future we find ways in the body of Christ to come together, to find healing and to map out a better way.
Sir Jemar, I appreciate your sharing a vantage into you pain for us to relate to if possible. While you did borrow from a few generalization, overall you drew from your personal experience and kept it authentic. I hope Lord willing you’ll find peace not only in His Word but also his Body…
Now; I wish to state the obvious. What is “race”? Fundamentally it’s a pathological LIE decimated by the lording European Imperialist throughout the world that has to this day shaped and influence just about every piece of society? More or less? Its effects and utilization are tangible-you can see it, feel it, nothing imaginary or fictitious about the many negative impacts!! Yet…race STILL does not and never will exist? For the life of me, as a Christian speaking to another Christian, reformed one at that, believing in the federal headship of the one man Adam and the new man (new creature; if you wanted to be technical the only other race of humans) Christ Jesus, understand why Christian are supposing the SOLUTION to race and RACISM is “race reconciliation”? Like wait… you mean you want to continue to use the fictitious concept that has ruined society to produce a lil better solution? How about while we deal with the very REAL DETERMINANTS of race & racism among other inequalities, we make a stand for the true solution to these forms of HATE; the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The second greatest commandment comes directly to mind. And again the “new” commandment that Jesus gave us the Church and Paul reiterates a few places in scripture: ” That we love one another more than self and have that be a living testimony to the world that we are of Christ!”
There is no need for reconciliation of a fictitious concept even though this “boogeyman” (so to speak) has done way more than just scare a few “colored” kids. However there is ever so a need to promote the Gospel of Christ and share the love of Christ with the Body and be an extension of love to the World.
Again please don’t misunderstand my debunking of the concept of race is as to say your hurt, your pain, your experiences, your fears are made-up! NO, those are real and those concerns need be addressed most certainly! However the solution is NOT “RACE RECONCILIATION” …it’s just not….it’s Jesus and His Gospel tenants of Love!
To you Jemar, one who has stood for those of us who have little platform and are easily silenced, Thanks for taking the heat for us in the church for all these years. I can only imagine your disappointment at this time as the hidden truth about the church has been reveled again… this election cycle. Still, I can say for many of us, we are grateful to God you started this site. Some of us felt alone in our church and our thoughts until we read many thoughts posted here. We have seen that you have influenced some pretty heavy hitters in the theological world. God is surely at work here. We can and will do better because of men like you. There is no place like RAAN for us whom God has given this work too. Your sacrifice will be richly rewarded in heaven. I will be glad to be there to see that. Praying for us now.
Jemar,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience so eloquently and, honestly, with exceeding kindness. I know I cannot possibly understand the experience you live daily but as a student of history, I certainly care very much about it and am deeply grieved at the results of the election. It feels surreal to me.
While I agree this wasn’t an easy election for any person who follows Jesus, I struggle to understand how anyone who heard the person Donald Trump is, how he treats everyone from women, to the differently abled to people of color to Muslims (etc, etc), could connect that line in his favor. I am trying to find ways to keep speaking truth with as much kindness as you have shown and as much hope that the church can be saved from it’s brokenness.
Dear Mr. Tisby
Thank you so much for this article. I am a white Christian man that has been very disillusioned by the evangelical support for Trump. I don’t know what it’s like to be a minority, but I can relate to the feeling of betrayal you’re experiencing within your Christian community. Indeed, there is part of me that feels emotionally unsafe among the very people, who in the past, I have felt the most safe with! Reading your article was a much needed comfort and an inspiration to me. With God’s help, I hope to be salt and light to people of all races and to love all my Christian brothers and sisters well. I have a long way to go, but God is faithful! God bless you. You will be in my prayers.
Can’t make guarantees about my own church and how they voted but I voted for Jill Stein so you should feel safe with me. Personally, this year’s elections tell me that America is suffering from a terminal case of myopia. And this diagnosis applies to American evangelical Christians as well.
I cannot lie, this election has shaken my faith to the core. And politics in this country in general. How can I, as a black man (it exists because we make sure it does), sit in pews every week for 30+ years and be receiving an opposite message from the person sitting next to me? Who’s failure is that? Is it mine, my neighbor’s, or God’s?
If it’s my failure then I don’t want to be part of this anyways because I can never condone bigotry of any kind whether it be by gender, race, sexuality, disability, religion or any other topic that comes up. It was my understanding that God created us as equals, but apparently I am in the minority here.
It was my understanding that God gives us an option in the most important choice we’ll ever make, whether to accept him or not. So when it comes to abortion it only makes sense to be pro-choice as God is. Only 1 candidate here exhibited the values that I considered “Christian” before this election, and that was Hillary Clinton, whether she is Christian or not. Same with the issues of the LGBT community. It seemed to me that God would be for treating everyone equally under the law regardless of whether I personally agreed with their lifestyle. Anything spiritual God can deal with himself.
But this election here has made me understand that the Church (the church is its congregation) is for bigotry in all it’s ugly forms. And this is nothing new, Martin Luther King Jr, wrote a white hot letter to the church in the 60’s, so it appears nothing has changed.
If the disconnect is my neighbor’s fault then why are so many people missing the point? If a school teacher has a class where 81% of the students fail you have to wonder if it’s the students or the teacher.
Is it God being unclear in his direction? If that is possible then everything we think is on shaky ground.
Be encouraged, brother! Tisby has merely become a sucker of the mainstream media. The media have always portrayed Republicans as racists for the past 60 years. Racism has almost been erased from this nation, but the media exaggerates the small remaining racism in order to cause division and fear. The media can survive financially only by stirring up fear and anger. Don’t become a sucker for their nonsense. And Trump is not a racist either. The same percentage of blacks and hispanics voted for Trump as Romney and no one called Romney a racist. 52% of voters said in exit polls they voted for Trump because of the economy.
Evangelical “leaders” who claim that Trump’s election shows racism among white evangelicals are just dishonest and should repent.
Have you noticed, Mr. McKinney, that you are repeatedly telling our African American brothers that their own experiences are not valid–that you know better than they, that it’s all the fault of the media? Paul teaches us to weep with those who weep. It’s called empathy, respecting each other’s experience & each other’s pain. Please consider how your brothers FEEL, & then how the actual life of black folks in our country might be different from what yours is like. Forget the media for the moment. Pay attention to what Jemar has said about what he himself has seen, what his ears have heard, what his hands have touched. Ask questions of other sisters & brothers who are not white. Then LISTEN. Don’t try to erase their pain with argument. That only increases their feeling of being invisible . . . & you will miss out on all the richness of their gifts.
Roger,
Your only response here is to both insult Tisby and rely on one of your favorite scapegoats.
Let’s look at some facts. Certainly, not all Republicans are racists just as much as there are democrats who are racists. But note back in the ’60s, one only needs to see the great migration of Southern democrats going to the Republican Party after LBJ signed sided with Civil Rights advocates. And then we can examine Republican attempts to weaken the voting rights laws and then try to suppress minority votes.
In addition, I find it impossible for Whites to legitimately claim that they are not racists. Why? Because the stigma that accompanies the label provides such a conflict of interest in examining ourselves, too many of us are unable to look at ourselves objectively.
That Trump opportunistically allowed the support of racist groups to help his candidacy is very disturbing.
Ruth, You speak in socialist gibberish. What does it mean to say someone’s experiences are invalid? That doesn’t make any sense. I was merely providing objective evidence of why people say the voted the way they did. I realize that objective facts irritate the people whose opinions are totally subjective, but that’s not my problem. Instead of pretending to have the powers of God by being able to read the hearts of millions of voters, and doing so in a vary unloving way, Christians should pay attention to what voters actually said about their votes. For all of his spiritual powers, I still don’t believe the author of the article has the same powers as God does. And if the people who post here would accept the results of the exit polls, as they should, they would have no reason for fear or tears or pain.
“Your only response here is to both insult Tisby and rely on one of your favorite scapegoats.”
That’s simply not true. I provided plenty of objective facts which you choose to ignore, if you read my posts at all. And what happened in the 60s has nothing to do with this election.
“I find it impossible for Whites to legitimately claim that they are not racists.”
I realize that. All whites are racist by definition according to you and the media. I would expect that of non-Christians, but in light of what the NT says about loving others, telling the truth, not bearing false witness, and trying to maintain the unity of believers I find the article and posts like yours very disturbing.
Roger,
What you provided were assertions. Without documentation and some valid form of argument, you have no facts.
And no, racism has not almost been erased from this nation. Of course, those who would know about how prevalent racism is would be its victims. And the statistics from how Blacks are discriminated against in terms of perspective employment to wealth disparity to police profiling, incarceration, and shooting of unarmed people to voter suppression, we still have a great deal of racism against Blacks in this nation. And that doesn’t include racism against Native Americans as what is evident from the reaction to the water protectors protesting DAPL.
Now if you would like , I would be more than happy to provide documentation for the above claims. Let me know.
If God is so pro-choice then why does he give commands? We are commanded to love those that don’t look like us, think like us, live like us, act like us, etc. We choose to do many things that are not honoring to God, does that mean we should not condemn the actions? Should we applaud sexual immorality in the name of choice? Should we applaud racism? Because after all racism is a “choice” that one makes. A babies heart starts to beat at 8 weeks in the womb. If a pregnant woman is murdered we would not have a second thought about recommending double homicide. Do we not see the hypocrisy in that all for “choice”.
He is pro-choice because he gives us a choice. Or are you one that doesn’t subscribe to free will? If we don’t have free will then pro-life and pro-choice don’t even matter.
If you pulled the lever or marked the bubble for Trump you have decided to go against God’s commandments and I urge you to be more diligent in your Word.
Your journalistic malfeasance is just the tip of the iceberg, here. Putting your false narratives about POTUS-elect aside, you are simply eaten up with your anthroplogical identity to the destruction of your theology and spiritual identity.
You conflate alleged white Evangelical left-kingdom objectives with ecclesiastical ones. You demand the right to self-segregation in a racially preferred ecclesiastical organization while deriding those you even suspect of doing so in the kingdom on the left. This contradictory duality is obvious to even the most uncritical mind.
And speaking of a two kingdoms theology you have a long way to go my friend in your theological development before you have the appropriate footing to be making the long lecturing finger-wagging speeches you are making.
Hi Alex,
I’m no body interesting or special, just a blog troll. But I still think you might benefit from an article here on RAAN by Dr. Jarvis J. Williams (PhD) associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky : “Broken Table Fellowship Between White Evangelicals and Christians of Color”. It’s good stuff.
I think you need to re-read the article more carefully and try to listen to the author’s heart. Nice vocabulary in your response but you missed the boat if you heard him calling for self-segregation- he clearly continues to pursue reconciliation and choose to be around those who are racially different from him despite his pain. Not sure what brought you to comment but I hope you will hear his point that his experience as a black man in a white conservative denomination and church is complicated and different than that of a white man (woman). It’s also rather harsh to critique someone’s kingdom theology based on one blog post.
Alicia and Anonymous (as a fellow hair in Christ you are my Royal family member, somebody indeed!)
I hope to have a response to this article, after my re-read at your recommendation, Alicia and maybe some tothe other recommended read by anonymous. I will post a like by Monday if replied are permitted still.
Heir
Alicia, Anonymous
I have the two part response typed but it needs editing and this may take some time. I am leaving tonight and traveling and working all week. I intended to edit it tonight but am having to leave.
I will repost when the rebuttal is up at my website. It is in two parts right now.
Regards
AG
It takes tremendous courage and prophetic vision to keep speaking to white Christians about our blind spots, even when it earns you comment threads as like this one. Lots of white Christians in my circle are listening and gradually getting woke, in part through your work. Keep it up. Keep it up. You are loving the white church by speaking truth to it – even when it doesn’t listen well. Some of us are.
Mr. Tisby, I want to offer another perspective on this election which I hope you will hear. And while I passionately abhor breaking people into groups of white, black, etc., for the sake of this comment I will do so.
White evangelicals have been voting Republican for many, many years. Why? Well, in part because many of us believe the principles of family, economics, education, and liberty which are the platform of the party are helpful to ALL Americans and have the potential to lift up those trapped in poverty.
Meanwhile, the black community has voted monolithically for decades for Democrats, who have a party platform which has long been against families, economic growth, education opportunity, and liberty–the very ideals needed to improve family situations, job opportunity, school choice, and freedom to escape the oppression of situations without hope.
In the 2012 election Republicans offered up Mitt Romney, a candidate who had experience, family values, and ideas which could have brought economic vitalization to the country. Once again, the black community voted as one voice against the Republican and instead helped elect the Democrat. If Mitt Romney had won, the 2016 election would have looked very different and Donald Trump would probably not be the president-elect today.
Even as recently as the 2016 Republican primaries, African-Americans could have moved into the Republican party participated and worked toward nominating a different candidate. A number of well-qualified possibilities with extraordinary character were available.
The white evangelical community has been voting in large numbers for the Republican platform for years. This time around that platform and the power to implement it came with the baggage of a candidate who was deeply flawed.
At the same time we’ve been voting overwhelmingly Republican, white evangelicals have been living out our faith by giving of our time and resources to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, often through service and support of causes and people in the black community.
This white evangelical is tired of being judged. Christ specifically commanded against this and yet any time I read an article on racial relationships, the judgment seeps through–sometimes obviously and sometimes overtly. Yet the white evangelicals you worship with have been voting and serving in ways to help your community for years!
I don’t see your color, Mr. Tisby–at least not in the way you have perceived. To the extend that Christ’s church can reflect the variety of sizes, shapes, and colors which exist in the world at large, I see your color. But I am not making assumptions about you, even though you seem to assume things about me.
If the accusations from blacks toward whites in the body of Christ continue, will the unity our Lord called for ever be achieved?
Hi Clarissa.
If you have time check this article out here on RAAN by Dr. Jarvis J. Williams (PhD) associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky : “Broken Table Fellowship Between White Evangelicals and Christians of Color”. It’s good stuff.
Thank you for the suggestion, G. I did read the majority of the article you mentioned. Respectfully, my view of it is very different than yours. I believe Dr. Williams turned a passage contrasting freedom in Christ vs slavery to the law–the very heart of the gospel–into a message about racism and privilege. I cannot agree with this exegesis, and such a message serves only to divide, not unite.
Hello Mrs. Sanders,
I appreciate your perspective however as a black, bi-cultural man in an inter racial marriage with mixed kids and friends with Randian to Democratic Socialist views on Economics, I think your comments in connection with the major political platforms and their constituencies is a bit reductionistic.
I agree with the republican platform you listed however, I would caution against making such negative generalizations about democrats as we may have siblings in the Lord who differ on how these values are carried out and which ones they can realistically expect to see enacted by a certain party. Also, please remember that for a person who grew up in the conservative south it was not (and in some instances still isn’t uncommon) to hear these values asserted by Christians while hurling dehumanizing statements at and about their black siblings (and other minorities). This is not an abstract notion for many blacks, myself included. This is not an endorsement for or against anyone. I encourage you to use this election as a diagnostic tool and dig deeper into to both narratives.
I agree that we must be judicious with our words. However, we must speak the the truth in love. I also agree that many white conservative christians have done good christ-centered work in black communities yet there are many blacks who are still living that can supply a cornucopia of oppressive stories in connection with folks who identify as a white conservative christian.
While in seminary a white friend reacted abrasively toward another black classmate in connection with this subject. The occasion was saddening to my black friend so he sought reconciliation. Our white brother took a call at a southern conservative church and it split over integrating blacks into their body. As a result, my white brother called my black brother distraught and in utter disbelief. This was 2010.
I committed to unity and the tough discussions that attend it on both sides of the isle. If you want to continue this conversation, let me know. I love you sister.
Those are good anecdotes, but would you say they are the norm or the exception? I find that the better the nation becomes with regard to racism the more the media and the left magnify the remaining differences.
Michael, Thank you for your reasoned and thoughtful response and for taking the time to share it. I agree my comment was reductionist, but the point I intended to convey is not contingent on specifics or minutiae, and for the sake of space I did take the liberty of generalizing.
And my points were these: For decades, white evangelical Christians have been voting as a majority for a platform perceived as beneficial to minorities, and have been supporting and serving minority communities. At the same time, minorities have been marching in lock-step to elect those who have done little to improve their opportunities. And now, in November of 2016, suddenly white evangelicals who voted for the Republican values we view as moral and just are responsible for the election of Donald Trump and for offending African-Americans? How is this conclusion even possible? Right or wrong in their conclusions about the economic and moral wisdom of the Republican platform, many if not most of these voters’ hearts are in the right place.
Do you understand how articles like this one sound to the ears of white Christians who love the Lord, love the body of Christ, and are doing their best to live out their faith? Can you hear the undeserved judgment conveyed in words like these?
I don’t pretend to know how to eradicate racism,but dwelling on it, or broad and generalized accusation, seem unlikely to get the job done. At the same time, I am a white evangelical in the mid-atlantic region, so my experience is limited. But I hope and pray a way can be found to unify in Christ.
To: CLARISSA SAUNDERS
I Thank you for your respect. Not trying to change a mind, just trying to plant a seed.
Clarissa,
Clarify this for me please. Are you in some way suggesting that the reason that black people now have to deal with Trump is because we didn’t vote for republican candidates in previous elections? I could be wrong in how I read your comment.
Also, it’s important to address how your minority sisters and brothers in Christ feel. It’s very hurtful to be told that discussing our real life experiences causes division in the Church.
It’s hard to understand how a white Christian and Trump supporting friend could really care about our concerns. Mr. Trump has said a black protester should have been treated like it was the “old days”. Well a black protester in the old days would have been either killed or beaten within an inch of his life. So it’s hard for us to understand how someone could claim to truly love us when they agree with someone who says such things.
I say this all respectfully of course.
I have written and rewritten a response so many times…. You asked for thoughts, the only one I have is sadness.
Jemar, my wife and I thank you for your love for the Church and your desire for ethnic reconciliation. We can only imagine the sense of frustration and betrayal you are feeling right now. We understand that as part of the majority culture we do not fully grasp the depth of the pain you are feeling, but we certainly wish to stand with you and be an ally when we are able to do so. We are trying to be intentional in our relationships with our white brothers and sisters about the unfair treatment our brothers and sisters of color have experienced and are experiencing, and the fear and anxiety a Trump presidency brings with it.
As a leader in our church I have spoken about this to our congregation, and plan on doing so tomorrow, and continuing in the future.
We have attended the LDR weekend the last two years and have witnessed your leadership and compassion. We thank you, Tyler and Beau for your ministry and leadership. God bless you all!
Trump will be a great president. His election is a godsend for religious liberty–not to mention sound judicial appointments. This is why Christians turned out in droves to support him. The prospect of a Clinton presidency was terrifying.
bigots turned out in droves. they hide their bigotry behind their faith to justify it.
Your patience approaches God’s, brother Jemar. You are amazingly generous in continuing to sojourn in churches where your pain & struggle, & those of your kin, are not acknowledged or cared for.
I’m so sorry that I, a white woman, have done such a poor job of helping my white kin to understand more of this & to gain the mind of Christ in regard to race in America.
God have mercy on us all in these dark days for our society & those who bear Christ’s name. I pray sanctuary & solidarity for you & your family, & I promise to resist the evil intent of the upcoming administration in every way I can, along with my little, imperfect part of the Beloved Community (an urban Mennonite church that has no ethnic majority).
“White evangelicals voted for him in spite of Trump saying that Mexico is sending illegal immigrants across the U.S. border who are rapists, and that a Mexican judge who was born and raised in the U.S. must be biased because he’s Mexican.”
And he is correct. You haven’t been paying attention if you haven’t noticed the huge number of news stories about illegal Mexican immigrants committing crimes. He didn’t say every immigrant is a criminal, but the criminals have greatly increased the crime rate in hispanic areas. And the judge he complained about supported La Raza, an anti-American group that wants the states of the southwest to secede.
But maybe people voted for him in spite of the things he said. How do you know. You are assuming the worst of fellow Christians.
The truth is that exit polls showed 52% voted for him for economic reasons. That destroys your theory that they are racists. To continue to paint the majority of evangelicals as racists when there is no evidence for it is dishonest.
Is there racism in the US. Of course! There always will be as long as there are non-Christians and even carnal Christians can be racists. But if you had ever visited another country you would know that the US is the least racist nation on the planet.
The US is actually very unified in opposition to racism. The media has a financial interest in making people think it is worse than it is. The media has no purpose but creating fear and anger and dissension. It’s the only way the news organizations can get viewers. And that same media has portrayed the all Republicans as racists for over 60 years because they campaign for the Democrat candidate. You and many evangelical leaders have been just one more sucker for the mainstream media.
Roger,
The polls were wrong about who would win the election, why trust them regarding why people voted for him? This is especially true when we see the number of Trump businesses that did not go well or the then pending fraud cases.
Jemar has made a legitimate point about racism. For example, when you cite crime among Mexican immigrants, you neither provided statistics nor any explanation other than they were Mexican. And your claim that the US is the least racist nation on the planet lacks documentation. Our nation was founded on racism and according to many noncaucasions, that racism still significantly exists today. And that racism doesn’t equally work against all races. Blacks and Native Americans have always suffered the most. The government’s respone to the DAPL protesters show utter contempt for Native Americans while mass incarceration and police shootings show that racism against Blacks is still signficant. Then we have an increase against Muslisms most of who are from other races. And while you may not want to classify that as racism, the hatred there still fits the general concepts of racism.
You should provide some documentation and a more reasoned argument prior to claiming that someone’s arguments are destroyed. That Trump was opportunistic in benefiting from the racist groups that supported him as well as how he talked about women and how he mocked a handicapped person was horrible. That those parts of his campaign were not deal breakers despite the economic promises some believed is beyond belief. And that is the point you missed.
In addition, that people could trust him to keep his promises when he had such a tenuous relationship with reality shows poor judgment.
IMO, Trump rode an anti-establishment wave into the White House. That the establishment lost because both the dem and repub establishments failed to admit failure. And that the binary thinking our two-party system fosters moved people to vote for Trump because he was the not-them. Thus, they didn’t care about his spotting economic record or his other flaws. He was simply not the other candidate. Consider how many people would have voted for Trump if he was not the Republican nominee.
Whatever the problems of the exit polls, they are the only objective evidence of why people voted for Trump. Anything else is just guess work. Claiming to know the thoughts and intentions of the hearts of strangers is a dangerous game. Only God can do it accurately. For the rest of us it amounts to nothing but revealing the darkness in our own hearts.
Roger,
If the polls were unreliable in predicting the elections, then the exit polls provide inadequate information in terms of coming to conclusions. And thus, if the exit polls provide inadequate data on which to form firm conclusions, then using the exit polls that way fosters guessing.
We do have exit polls, but we also have observable behavior of the Trump campaign, the environment of the two party system, as well Trump’s business history. In the end, no firm conclusions can be drawn as to why people preferred Trump except that Clinton won the popular vote while Trump won the electoral college.
What can be asked is why was the racism that was so much a part of Trump’s campaign, the mocking of a disabled person, the objectification of women by Trump, his past behavior, his business failures, and his tenuous relationship with the truth were not deal breakers with the American voters? In addition, what was it about Clinton that made Trump the victor of electoral college votes?
In short, no firm conclusions can be drawn from your citing of exit polls.
Thank you. Another eye opener on this topic. This white woman is listening. And not responding. The time for empathetic listening is now. I am sorry you feel abandoned. I pray this conversation continues. My reformed church addressed it powerfully. Sad more didnt.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, heart and experiences. I pray we white evangelicals can listen and learn.
Sir, I appreciate your words and the great concern behind them. As a white American male, I can say that no one I knew voted for Trump because they thought he was a good choice. People I knew voted for him painfully because they couldn’t tolerate the alternative candidate winning. All the people I know (please note that this is not white reformed evangelicals as a lump, but a specific group within) are waking up to realities of being a person of color in a country that has traditionally oppressed minorities and in particular, black people. I deeply desire that to change. I sincerely believe that Hillary would not have helped that cause any more than Mr. Obama did. Do I think Trump will? No. If it doesn’t begin in the church it will not happen at all. No political policy or agenda will change that. I for, for one, am happy to stand alongside my friends of color come what may. And in this broken world, a fight it will be.
John,
The problem is for those who voted for Trump whatever the reason, there was nothing he said or did that was a deal killer. George Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs Coach said it best:
‘What gets lost in the process are African-Americans and hispanics and women and the gay population, not to mention the eighth grade developmental stage exhibited by him when he made fun of the handicapped person. I mean, come on. That’s what a seventh-grade, eighth-grade bully does, and he was elected president of the United States. We would’ve scolded our kids, we would’ve have discussions and talked until we were blue in the face trying to get them to understand these things, and he is in charge of our country. That’s disgusting. ‘
Trump was more accurate than we care to admit when he said that he could shoot someone in NYC and not lose any voters. Doesn’t that give us reason to examine why we vote the way we do?
This post is truly disappointing. If this mentality continues, I expect that the only end will be one of division and separation. Why are you so insistent on “whites” abandoning their principles and immediately dismissing what may drive their reasoning. You dismiss their opinions as insensitive, not understanding, and you didn’t say it but, it can easily be interpreted as racist. Why must only “whites” bridge the gap? Why don’t you consider that it may your perspective that needs correcting. For every ONE incident of white racist acts against blacks you can cite, I would suggest 10 could be cited of black aggression or racism against whites. You come to the table with the exact mindset you accuse whites of. The tables have turned in America and the fans of racism are being fanned against the very people who brought a once mistreated people into equal fellowship. Instead of gratitude, it seems the response will look a lot like revenge. The author needs to reflect upon his own racist heart and how his words will continue to deepen the divide that was once well on its way to being bridged.
This is an honest question to the author. How many false narratives have you believed in over the last few years? How many times have you acknowledged that your own racist views led you to believe what turned out to be a lie. Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, the Harvard police. Did you repent after learning the real facts were obscured creating prejudiced views against those who didnt deserve it? Did you do any analysis to understand how believing the lies may have shaped a false opinion that you have openly voiced to people who trust your opinion? Were you at all reluctant to accept the truth when it was revealed?
I don’t know you, and I’m not familiar with anything other than this article. Maybe I’m way off on how you may have reacted to some of the recent “racist” interactions that turned out to be lies. If so, I apologize. But I am witnessing a rise of anger and racism that I know will reap destruction, and I firmly believe articles such as this one are feeding the frustration and division.
I won’t even comment on what you are suggesting by your title. I am tempted to say shame on you for blowing a dog whistle by bringing up such language when the reality is EXACTLY opposite the image brings to mind. But I will leave that for another time.
One further thought. You are condemning white evangelicals for motives and attitudes that you assign to them. Can you relate this to Christ’s example? How has Scripture informed your response to this?
Thank you for this – for the courage to keep speaking to this issue knowing you will receive hostile comments like above, and for your model of loving the church in all her messiness. Some of your white sisters and brothers are listening and learning.
I am very sorry that you and many of my siblings of color in the church feel betrayed by their white siblings! Betrayal is a harsh accusation though. I voted with fear and trembling, as did all of the Christians I relate to. I voted with the weakest, most vulnerable people in mind–the unborn. He stated in the debate that he feels that ripping a baby from the womb is wrong. Mrs. Clinton promised to remove all restrictions from abortion, to repeal the Hyde Amendment, and to tax those of us strongly opposed to abortion in order to pay for it! In view of that, I voted for Mr. Trump. As I voted, I was not trying to betray anyone, and it grieves me that it is thought that I have! And in the aftermath, I’ve been confused that many precious black people feel that Mrs. Clinton needed to be elected for them to feel safe or represented. Was that the outcome that you needed in order to feel that Christians of all colors are in unity? Mrs. Clinton has betrayed Americans in her position more than once, with the worst case being Benghazi. This was also not something I could overlook as I voted. Again, it was not my intention to hurt or grieve my brothers and sisters. I continue to pray for the healing that only God can bring.
Your intention doesn’t really matter because when you vote, you vote for an entire package and yes, part of Trump’s package was open bigotry and vitrol for PoC, women, LGBTQ, and religious minorities. You feeling bad has nothing on the PoC who have been attacked, assaulted, or threatened since his election by his supporters who btw, you are also.
I know that this is why many say they voted for Trump but it makes no sense to me.
Many pro-life people (and organizations) have been on record saying that Trump will do nothing for the pro-life cause. He is on record saying that he will keep Planned parenthood funded and he was pro-choice until he decided to run for president.
Behgazi makes no sense as an excuse. There have been a number of separate and independent investigations. None of them have found any wrong doing by Clinton. Embassies are attacked. Yes it probably should have been protected better. But many embassy personnel have been killed in the past without directly blame on the sec of state or president for terrorist attacks.
This is not really about Clinton. But it is still amazing to me that there can be active defense of Trump.
But there was direct and repeated threats on many people from Trump. He pledged to violate international law and commit war crimes. He made fun of or harassed people from McCain for being captured to families who lost their children in war.
“A work crew began to dismantle a Confederate monument in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, the mayor said, in the latest move to take down or relocate symbols of the slaveholding Southern Confederacy from the American Civil War.” Maybe some in the white church will not acknowledge the hurt but some other people will.
Jemar, I hardly know what to say.
In putting your pain and sense of betrayal out there, you have shown tremendous courage and even compassion that you might open the eyes of some of these fellow believers. It is appalling to me that the response of so many here is to call you a racist, or a divider, or to lecture you on definitions or to issue petty corrections or to hold forth on what THEIR experience is. How maddening it must be to hear their justifications, particularly that their narrow culture-wars issues are really more important than your humanity and dignity. And the ones citing ‘religious liberty’ are the most appalling, as if the prospect of not obtaining a special right to violate non-discrimination laws was somehow on a par with enduring a president that openly courts and hires white nationalists.
They have ears but they literally do not hear. I hope you are able to endure this. I’m reminded of the words of Maya Angelou “When someone shows you who they are, you should believe them.” If there is any consolation, many young white people (who are growing up with friends who are black, LGBT, immigrant, Muslim) are seeing a side of Christian evangelism that they always suspected was there, and now are having their eyes opened. I think you can count on the younger generation to understand better than you think.
“as if the prospect of not obtaining a special right to violate non-discrimination laws was somehow on a par with enduring a president that openly courts and hires white nationalists.”
Who are the white-nationalist? Are they self admittedly so, or is that your characterization of them?
the alt right movement is a white nationalist movement. Steve Bannon, the policy director for Trump is the former head of Breitbart, which he has bragged a number of times is the primary voice of the alt right media.
Alt right claim Bannon. Bannon claims the alt right. Lots of Trump supporters deny that Bannon has any connection to a racist white nationalist movement.
Really does not take a lot of time to glance through Breitbart to see the alt right rhetoric.
The alt-right isn’t a political party, it is a label. I appreciate Breitbart news and I probably agree with some of the positions of what you would call the alt-right. However, I am not a white nationalist. But it seems my initial suspion was correct. Trump hasn’t courted and hired a white nationalist, he has hired someone that you label a white-nationalist. This kind of inflammatory name calling isn’t helpful to good dialogue. Were you at all critical of Hillary Clinton’s association with Robert Byrd?
PB,
How racist the Alt-Right is depends on how much it leans toward Natural Conservatism. The latter, with its emphasis on preserving America’s culture and strongly associating culture with race cannot help but be racist. But then again, our nation built on racism as it targeted both Native Americans and Blacks. And considering how Native Americans are treated and how mass incarceration has hit the Black community so hard along with the raclal profiling done by the police and the ever growing wealth disparity between the races, it isn’t a stretch to say that systemic racism still exists in America.
You wrote: “I believe in the church. I will not break fellowship with her or any of her people based on politics. Jesus Christ himself prayed for the unity of believers. “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11b). Christ wants his church to be unified, so it is in the name of Christian unity that I must speak honestly.”
i appreciate that the rest of your column is to be read in the context of these words.
And as a white Christian who clearly voted different than you, I also state that I believe in the church and that I will not break fellowship with her and her people based on politics.
That said, I read the rest of your thoughts in the article and heard your hurt. Part of being committed to the church is the drive to grieve with those who grieve and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). Note that there is no mandate here that we agree with the grounds of the grief or rejoicing. We share in this because of our deep and abiding love for one another.
So, I need not share the specifics of your concerns about the fact that so many of your white brothers and sisters in Christ voted for a candidate you found impossible to vote for. What I need to do is hear you and grieve that you grieve.
The details about what will happen under this new administration will come and can be dealt with later. For now, I commit that if I see you on a Sunday morning in my church with a majority white membership and a white pastor, I’ll greet you with the same hug of fellowship as I do with every other person in attendance.
Peace
Have you ever ask yourself like I have: If I could choose my ethnicity what would it be and why? I can say answering that question for myself helped me “agree with the grounds of the grief” as you put it.
My point was that I was agreeing with Tisby’s primary point (unity in the church), in part by recognizing that today is not the time to debate his “grounds”. It is sufficient for today to hear a brother’s grief and grieve with him.
There will be plenty of time to debate the details later, right?
Hi Jonathan,
I certainly don’t speak for Jemar. I am not sure he voted at all, maybe I missed that part, but I know he will pray for the new president with a right attitude and support him where he can, just like he did president Obama, because we are commanded to and he wants to please God. He knows who now is Gods’ choice. But I think his point is not so much who one votes for as to why a Christian would vote for this man. We Christians believe that truth maters and words mater. He just seems surprise, to me, by his friends who now have crossed this line they said they wouldn’t. Now it seems there is no man we wouldn’t vote for if he will just tell us what we want to here. I think it is a fair warning that many of our dark skinned brothers and sisters are grieved. I take it very seriously that they may see something we don’t.
“I certainly don’t speak for Jemar. I am not sure he voted at all, maybe I missed that part, but I know he will pray for the new president with a right attitude and support him where he can, just like he did president Obama, because we are commanded to and he wants to please God.”
I don’t know Jemar but I have no reason to doubt this about him. I did likewise for the last 8 years and will continue to do so now.
“But I think his point is not so much who one votes for as to why a Christian would vote for this man. We Christians believe that truth maters and words mater. He just seems surprise, to me, by his friends who now have crossed this line they said they wouldn’t. Now it seems there is no man we wouldn’t vote for if he will just tell us what we want to here. I think it is a fair warning that many of our dark skinned brothers and sisters are grieved. I take it very seriously that they may see something we don’t.”
I don’t take this lightly precisely because of Jemar’s confession of faith in Christ AND because his commitment to the body.
Jemar wrote:
“Right now I feel misunderstood, alienated, and anxious. If the people with whom I spend so much time and for whom I devote so much energy in the pursuit of racial reconciliation can remain ignorant or apathetic about the impact of racist, misogynistic, nationalistic, xenophobic comments, then how well do they know me? How emotionally and spiritually safe will I be around them? How might their decisions continue to put my dignity and well-being in jeopardy? What difference does my presence really make in predominantly white churches?”
Clearly Jemar cannot grasp why a serious minded reformed Christian would even consider pulling the lever for Trump. I get that. I hope he gets that I don’t see that to have voted against the clear danger that was the Democrat nominee was a defacto acceptance of all that Trump was accused of or what he actually said or did.
What I don’t get is why this particular vote, by many of his white (and black and brown for that matter) brothers/sisters who took this troubling step and have clearly explained the difficult decision that it was, causes him to question our commitment to him and to the gospel centered issues he mentions.
Hence my point: right now, I don’t want to debate him…I could easily make the argument but now is just not the time. A grieving brother needs to grieve and be reassured that his family is still his family.
When the rawness has passed, by all means, let’s jump in to the arena of ideas and sharpen each other. But, for now, I offer my hand to him and seek to share where I can.
Hi JM
Thanks for your patience with me. I didn’t completely understand what your point was but I think I get it now. However, I hear echoes of “Letters from the Birmingham Jail” in your response to Jemar, as many church leaders were pleading with MLK to wait for a better time also. I think I understand when a people get tired of hearing change from their friends in the church and then when the big chance comes, it’s business as usual. Again I don’t speak for Jemar but we have said all along that we Christians are not willing to do and go along with the things that unbelievers are willing to do to achieve a good end. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and kind response to my thoughts. Praying for us now.
Hey G,
If you’re hearing echoes of the church leaders who were pleading with MLK to just wait for a better time for change in my words as I suggest that we’re not ready for a time of debate over the issues that Jemar lists, you are 180 degrees off.
I’m more than prepared to discuss this issue with an eye toward measurable results. I would absolutely love to move from the current point where white brothers and sisters are being told that we need to listen to the point where we actually determine clear, concise goals and then we move with purpose toward those goals.
But to do that, we going to get into the real details and away from the emotions. We’re going to evaluate every claim, assertion, accusation, etc…discard the ones have no valid proof and move to act on those that do have a real basis. We’re going to draw out what we consider to be success and then we’re going to map out an objective path (including evaluation points where we can frequently confirm that we’re headed towards the goal.
Don’t confuse me with those who don’t want change in our current racial environment. I want change so much that I long for the day when we stop just demanding empathy using passive aggressive language and actually gird up and get going.
But I know how painful that path is. Are we all really ready to do the hard work required? So far, I don’t see it.
Good afternoon G,
“when a disagreement over an event comes up where individuals disagree but hear each other. Maybe we are doing it now.”
Yes. I encouraged that my engagement here has been welcomed. I’ve found it rare. More on that later. I agree that we need to hear each other as we disagree. Perhaps we can even get to the point where we find common ground and then seek solutions.
“I don’t think emotions have ever gone away or will. I don’t think that can be a prerequisite for a discussion. That might be like telling my wife or her telling me: “you shouldn’t feel that way”. And lets face it, people are commenting here in volume because TGC decided to get involved some years ago with the discussion despite high emotions.”
My words were a bit inartful on this point. We are emotional beings. Human history has not been kind to us when we try to eliminate the emotion factor. Stoicism works great only in literature and in the lab. It becomes inhuman quickly in practice.
What I intended to convey is that when one is sincerely and nearly overcome with emotion, that is not the time for critical analysis or problem solving (see Job). There will come a time when the emotional rawness lessons and there is space for iron sharpening iron type of sparring aimed at getting to truth and then to action.
“The white guys who started TGC have made it one of their goals to post diverse articles like RAAN’s because they listen and see the pain in their dark skinned brother and sisters . They acknowledge Jemar’s pain and affirm it by posting the article. They have intentionally diversified the staff at TGC to get and give the perspective from the source. They have their central place and time and they take the heat for it.”
I’ve appreciated what TGC has done over the past years. My qualm is that there is rarely, if ever, a drive toward loving correction of unfounded claims and a turn toward real solutions.
Specifically, consider the hit list of justice issues where young black men have been injured and killed at the hand of authorities and others. When we find out that the initial outrage didn’t happen, we move past it so fast it is a though we did not find anything knew. Ferguson and Baltimore are two high level examples where the initial outrage was undercut by the facts that came out later. Yet, the two dead young black men are still mentioned as part of this ongoing trend of injustice. Data and facts matter….but not always when there is a valuable ongoing narrative.
A former pastor of mine (one who seeks a prominent place in the racial reconciliation movement while building an all white mostly Southern staff etc…) made a comment on social media recently that to point to the thousands of black people murdered by other black people in Chicago each year when discussion concerns by BLM is to take a page out of the George Wallace playbook.
Similarly, when John Piper visited BLM.org and saw the true nature of the organization, he spoke against it. Later, at a dinner, he was sitting with Thabiti Anybwile and Anybwile scolded Piper for his comments because they weren’t helpful to the issue. Piper relented and apologized.
These are two examples of the type of discussion destroying peer pressure brought to bear on the issue of race among evangelicals.
The trend goes like this:
1. An race centered event happens and there are immediate expressions of sorrow and outrage. Accusations and assertions are made in the direction of white evangelicals who should be joining in to the outrage.
2. Any white brother/sister who dare attempt to retort calmly with the desire to engage is routinely shushed for fear of being considered on the wrong side.
3. The majority of white brothers/sisters, realizing that life is difficult enough without this stress, merely decide to shut up and move on.
4. The next even happens….wash, rinse, repeat…and we never make any positive steps forward.
I choose to engage #2 and skip #3 because time is short. But I also know that when the emotions are strong, as they clearly are in the blog post above, it is not right time to engage and disagree in order to find grounds of agreement.
That will come later…it has to. If it doesn’t, we’re going to stop just standing still and we’ll surely begin to move backward.
Your comment about MLK earlier reminded me of how, since reading the biographies, I find myself more impressed with Malcom than Martin, on several grounds. Not the flirtation with militantism early in his public career but more because of the maturing of his thoughts as he realized that the insular nature of leadership culture made true improvement impossible (and moving in this direction was what likely led to his assassination). Coupled with his isolation from the Nation of Islam, his trip to the ME changed him when he saw examples of racial reconciliation, not dominance.
We want change. But do we want it on our own terms or can we seek change as it must exist? Are we prepared to grieve with our grieving brothers and then challenge them when they rely on events that turn out to be false? Do we weep with our brothers when they feel alone after an election while firmly but lovingly reject the knee jerk character statements, assertions, and accusations made toward their white brothers and sisters? Will our black brothers/sisters accept any of this type of engagement or will they chuck it up to our white privilege blindness?
Or perhaps, the best tactic is to pray, be silent and hear our brother grieve and hope that there will be a time when it is no longer too soon to disagree on points?
You sound like you have skin in the game. So stay in the discussion with those who also have skin in the game but differ from your experience. We need everyone to be heard. We learn from you.
I think my place to start is our own local church. That is the hardest place of all for me. But I love the church and I can’t help but be angry to see her divided ethnically like she has been in this country for 400 years. It makes sense to me to look for and acknowledge the root of church division. She should have never been factioned up by factious men. Perhaps we can at least admit that.
Maybe some will have to endure continued years of pain for her and never see unity of ethnicity in our life time. If that’s the price, maybe you will still be there to pay it with us. Praying for us now.
Hello JM
It seems to me that you are one where the discussion can start. I am not sure there is a central place or time though for everyone. I would think it starts just like this; when a disagreement over an event comes up where individuals disagree but hear each other. Maybe we are doing it now.
I don’t think emotions have ever gone away or will. I don’t think that can be a prerequisite for a discussion. That might be like telling my wife or her telling me: “you shouldn’t feel that way”. And lets face it, people are commenting here in volume because TGC decided to get involved some years ago with the discussion despite high emotions.
The white guys who started TGC have made it one of their goals to post diverse articles like RAAN’s because they listen and see the pain in their dark skinned brother and sisters . They acknowledge Jemar’s pain and affirm it by posting the article. They have intentionally diversified the staff at TGC to get and give the perspective from the source. They have their central place and time and they take the heat for it.
You sound like you have skin in the game. So stay in the discussion with those who also have skin in the game but differ from your experience. We need everyone to be heard. We learn from you.
I think my place to start is our own local church. That is the hardest place of all for me. But I love the church and I can’t help but be angry to see her divided ethnically like she has been in this country for 400 years. It makes sense to me to look for and acknowledge the root of church division. She should have never been factioned up by factious men. Perhaps we can at least admit that.
Maybe some will have to endure continued years of pain for her and never see unity of ethnicity in our life time. If that’s the price, maybe you will still be there to pay it with us. Praying for us now.
Hello JM
I read you as genuinely interested in solutions. You sound sincere. This is the very attitude I think that will be so helpful in the coming years.
I know what you mean by two Christians disagreeing over this issue looks difficult sometimes. I remember unkind statements like “thug” and statistical predictions of ethnic failure coming from leaders who are suppose to be teaching us the (you have heard it said) s, spoken by Jesus. Those leaders are hard for me to hear.
I don’t agree with some of your assessments and yet I think there is truth in other statements you have made. You have heard what I think but I still hope to plant a seed of kindness in brotherly love.
I urge you to stay in the conversation with those who can not walk away by nature or conviction. I think you will do well. Praying for us now.
Perhaps the most disappointed are those who believed in the Christian leaders who have told us “Truth Maters” and that “words mater”. Now some of those same leaders are saying we were voting for “figure heads” and that truth, words and character are not a priority. Maybe it would have been better to teach truth maters unless God puts a better liar on “our” side than the other guy. I wish they would have told us that while they were teaching us about Rahab. But they didn’t teach us that. They said God could protect the spies with out a liar.
Test. Am I blocked?
I don’t think they do that here yet just because you disagree. Maybe they will someday. RAAN is pretty thick skinned and gracious. One can read some pretty hard things here but in the end it helps. I have seen them remove some stuff though. I have read most of your stuff and it’s pretty hard to me. But I get insight into how others think when I read what you have to say. So keep talkin.
Thank you. I had 2 posts not show up, one of which was a response to Curt Day. I am a little frustrated because this conversation requires much more that can easily be said in this type format. I don’t say this out of anger or malice, but there is huge divide between the author’s position and a growing number of evangelical Christians. The conversation needs to start over after some basic groundwork has been laid as to what the points of agreement are. From there, walking step by step through the issues could be beneficial. But until then the perspectives are too different. I sense that one side is demanding to be understood, while dismissing the perspective of the other side. I see the real likelihood of racism being re-born in America, and the church is playing a part in it.
Hi PB
I would be on the other end of the spectrum from you ,so to speak, but I think as long as the dialog is civil we can comment here at RAAN. I have to keep myself in check sometimes. I tend to be harsh if unchecked. Curt Day is a blog troll like me and you. But maybe you know that already. I have been reading his stuff for about four years. I don’t agree with all he says, but I have mostly found his comments firm yet gracious. I have been blocked once on another site some years ago back when the blogs were mostly a free for all, not because of what I said, but because of the way I said it. RAAN is one of the last forums that is mostly free from trying to please certain celebrity ministries, so we can pretty much say anything as long as we don’t attack the messengers’ motive. Maybe that is key to this conversation. I don’t know though because I see the best efforts still breakdown sometimes. Our sin of pride and unforgivness I’m afraid will really damage the church’s’ witness this time. But thank God he has promised the Church will prevail. If it gets to rowdy we might even see a heavy hitter chime in like Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III of Reformed Theological Seminary Chancellor & CEO, John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. I have seen that before. There are more people reading these comments than most think. RAAN is not a mom and pop blog anymore. Keep on trying.
Thanks G. I am not very familiar with this site. I linked here through TGC because one of the headlines caught my eye. I am becoming more interested in this topic though. Things have really heated up between the races and if we don’t work now to resolve some of our differences, we are going to end up in a bad place. I have seen this coming for quite some time and it’s only getting worse. This whole idea of systemic or latent racism is very damaging to real reconciliation. There is real racism occurring and in the posts that got blocked, I included some links to things in todays news that demonstrate this. White people are being targeted by blacks and violently assaulted. Policeman are being executed because of their race and their uniform. Look at today’s news, it’s there. This is being either ignored or cheered on by those on the left as my earlier link showed. That is where the real hatred and racism lies in America right now.
I am not a racist, nor is anyone I associate with a racist. But, the story being forced into conversation declares that regardless of my actions I contribute to racism simply by being white and being born in America. I reject this. Anyone with any experience in counseling knows that this conversation we are now having will not lead to reconciliation. It saddens me to see the body of Christ being duped into believing the lies perpetuated by Marxist ideology. Marxism divides, it breaks down and it ruins real relationships. Godly wisdom and discernment will reveal the true nature of this disparity in perception and opinion. Maybe conversations in blog posts like this can open the door to fruitful interaction. That is my hope, but I am very doubtful.
G,
I appreciate the kind words. But I would distinguish between blog commenters and trolls.
I can relate in terms of working to keep myself in check. We all struggle with that at times and with certain writings. Remembering the parable of the two men praying helps me with that but I certainly made a lot of mistakes and even sins in how I have responded to some people.
Hi PB
I think reading this sight has been very helpful to many like you and me. I come from the other side of the spectrum than you probably because of my experiences and I would want to argue with you. But I have learned a more gracious way in part because of what I have read here in the last three or four years. Stay in there man and learn with us. It is the way. P.S. I have seen RAAN remove links before, but other than that I think they invite all people into the conversation.
I welcome disagreement and I like my thinking to be challenged. But I don’t like name calling and I don’t like being categorized in a way that dismisses my opinion at the outset. I’ll accept the invite and stick around to check out some of the other articles. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for this article Mr. Tisby. My husband and I are white evangelicals. I voted for Evan McMullin. Sadly, my husband, whom I love dearly, voted for Trump. We have talked about this extensively since the election, I wish we had done more thought and research before. We both missed the existential threat that this president poses to vulnerable minority groups. We both largely dismissed his words and campaign promises as a reality TV star generating publicity to get elected. I finally realize that this dismissal of a consensus opinion in African American, Latino, and other communities- this is our “white privilege.” The luxury of dismissing concerns or “taking a gamble” on Trump because if you bet wrong, you are not going to be the one losing big. We are also part of the military community and need to guard our hearts from nationalism. I am downright terrified of the white nationalist movement even though I know I have the least to fear. I fear what they are doing/have done to our republic. I wish that the church had boycotted this election to send a clear message that we would not stand for this kind of talk or policy, no matter how many carrots he dangled in front of our faces (e.g. supreme court justices). My husband and I are passionate about pro-life advocacy but ultimately that is not on our conscience as much as electing Trump is. May God have mercy on us.
Thank you, Mr. Tisby, for being patient and long-suffering for people like my husband and I who were to proud and blind to see what you so clearly saw. God has convicted me and I do feel despair and fear. I am forever changed in how I vote and will now consider myself an independent willing to vote pro-choice if it means preventing someone like Trump. Please forgive us.
I want to clarify that I don’t mean that I care less about unborn life, only that God is in sovereign control of the life of the unborn, and I no longer believe he would want us to bargain our integrity for power, even if that power is wielded to put limits on abortion. Voting for Trump, however, does reflect on the conscience of the church.
I work closely with African-American students and colleagues. I lived for over a decade in a country serving a people where I, a white person, am a minority. My pastor is black. My scholarly work has advocated for racial justice. I’ve heard the pain and worked hard to be an ally.
To be characterized as a racist and bigot for voting for the only candidate who could beat a woman who is an existential threat to the freedom of the church, and who felt entitled to the vote of black Christians while spitting on their moral concerns for sexual morality, marriage and the unborn, is quite profoundly insulting and divisive.
There is no doubt that Donald Trump was a profoundly poor choice. But many of us could not risk what we are convinced was a much worse choice. And we are simply sick to death of the leftist use of Alinsky tactics to smear the character of anyone who dares to disagree with them. Does Trump have severe character issues? Of course. Is he the racist pig that he was painted to be? Listen carefully to progressive, Hillary supporting writer, Scott Alexander, who explodes the racial bigotry myth concerning Donald Trump. http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/11/16/you-are-still-crying-wolf/
Now to the real issue, in my opinion. It is high time that white Evangelicals abandon the GOP, which has used us as pawns for 36 years. They promise to do something about our concerns for the unborn, for marriage, etc., and they do nothing. It is also high time for black Christians to do the same with the Democrats. Both parties have used believers as voting blocks, promising to look after our interests and doing nothing but increasing the power of the ruling class elite while facilitating the culture’s removal further from Christian principles with each passing year. What the two parties have succeeded in doing is dividing us so that our voting power is not a threat to either of them.
It is time for black, white, hispanic and other believers to unite around our common faith, discuss our differences, come to an agreement of how to use our political power together, and tell both parties to take a hike. Neither of them can win without us. Imagine what we could do together.
Hi Alan,
Dr. Jarvis J. Williams (PhD) associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky wrote: “Many Christians of color are stunned by the support the president-elect received from white evangelicals. They’re not only stunned, but many have expressed feelings of deception and betrayal by their white brothers and sisters (and black and brown brothers and sisters) in Christ who voted for the president-elect despite his racist and offensive rhetoric against so many communities, including communities of color.
As a result, many black and brown Christians are experiencing an identity crisis. The crisis is that the election season highlighted in no uncertain terms to many black and brown members of a predominately white evangelical movement that the term evangelical is now clearly identified with white political power and privilege.” You can read the whole article here at RAAN: (Broken Table Fellowship Between White Evangelicals and Christians of Color) if you are interested.
You should know that Jemar’s ministry would be hindered if he didn’t speak honestly to the feelings of African Americans, his own included. We need not go along, just to get along. And you might talk about your own sin first before pointing fingers.
Hi Wes
Russell Moore wrote: “The SBC of 1845, and for many years after, was in open sin against a holy God, and against those who bear his image.” As we know If someone dose not start “pointing fingers” the sin goes unchecked. You can read the whole article at: http://www.russellmoore.com/2016/06/14/southern-baptists-confederate-flag/
Tisby: “My comments were not a statement about anyone’s motivation or intent in voting for Trump.”
Yes, you most certainly were commenting on motivation. You claimed that Trump is a racist and therefore the Christians who voted for him must be racists. But what about the Black and Hispanic people who voted for him?
Yes, the mainstream media painted Trump as a racist but many of us did not see racism in Trump’s words and we’re used to the media defining all whites and Republicans as racist so we ignored them. So why did you see him as racist when so many others did not?
Trump doesn’t meet the qualifications of a pastor or deacon as spelled out in Timothy. But we weren’t voting for a pastor or deacon. He was the lesser of two evils. Most people voted for him because of the economy and in spite of some of his less savory comments.
Keep in mind that someone who spends all of his time on racism is going to see racism everywhere, probably even where it doesn’t exist. Evangelicals are not perfect, but I have never witnessed racism in any of the dozens of churches I have been in. Yes, white churches have few blacks in them, but black churches have few whites in them. It would be great to have more integration, but it’s not racism. The two groups have different worship styles and prefer to worship in their own styles.
I am curious how you would define racism. (I am assuming you are a white man?). I am also curious how your lack of observations of evidence of racism from a white man’s perspective qualifies the leap that racism is not present in the church.
Prediction: Trump will not bring an end to abortion in the US.
So I’m not willing to behave as if he would. Besides, if they could somehow bring back Hitler and put him on the Republican ticket, I would not vote for him even if he promised to end abortion.
The Southern Baptist Convention had a delegation in Berlin to affirm Hitler in 1936. Henry Ford and Adolf Hitler mutually admired each other. Germanys’ economy was the envy of most of the world back then and they were showing the world how to round up all the “trouble makers”. I’m not sure we would know a Hitler until he becomes one. I’m sure most Germans would take back their support if they could have. Words matter. Truth maters.
Thomas Schreiner,James Buchanan Harrison professor of New Testament interpretation and associate dean for Scripture and interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky wrote: “And the clearest evidence of mustard seed faith is whether you love God and your neighbor.” Who is my neighbor? Why should I care about his Grief ?….Faith.
Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor of Anacostia River Church (Washington DC) wrote: ‘But no Christian with a biblically informed conscience can say, “There’s nothing wrong with the world as it is and I need not concern myself with ensuring justice is maintained for all.” ‘ Who is my neighbor?
John Piper, founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary wrote : ” I think it is right to not simply permit or tolerate, but to celebrate the marriage of a godly, Christ-exalting man and woman who are marrying in the Lord across racial lines. It will not destroy like that quote from the letter says it would. It will not destroy any God-appointed diversity in the world. It will, in fact, feature that diversity and the power of Christ in it.” If true in marriage then how much more in church leadership? Who is my neighbor?
Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D. C., and the President of 9Marks wrote: ” But my friend’s experience had been different. He had people in his life who said they shared his Savior, but because their skin color was different, they wouldn’t share their daughter, or their love. Having done nothing wrong, this friend had found, throughout his life, people who acted as his “enemies.” His history taught him different lessons than mine had taught me. But his probably allowed for experiences like mine, where mine had no place for experiences like his. So I needed to supplement the lessons my own history had taught me, with lessons that history had taught others—hard lessons—like the one my good friend had been taught.” Who is my neighbor?
Dr. Jarvis J. Williams (PhD), associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky wrote: “Both marginalized Christian people of color and privileged white Christians attain a higher level of privilege from God in Christ than from racialized social constructs when they become part of one unified family of Abraham (3:28). And the marginalized Christian people of color and the privileged Christian white people will together become ostracized in society as they suffer together in unity because of the social marginalization both groups experience because of their transformed identities in Christ. And the privileged Christian group should stand in solidarity with the marginalized Christian group when Christian identity and racial identity oppose each other.” Who is my neighbor?
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention wrote: “My perspective is thus radically different than my African-American neighbor or colleague or fellow church member. Notice the differences even on social media over the past couple of days. An African-American colleague of mine noted that the divide is glaring, with black evangelicals interacting with this set of news while many white evangelicals continue on discussing the presidential race or the upcoming Olympics, with no reference to these shootings. That divide ought to cause us to reflect on how we’re experiencing the culture differently, and what implications that has for our unity and our witness.” Who is my neighbor?
Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III, Chancellor & CEO, John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology wrote and explains: “What happened? Reformed theology failed to apply our own theology to this question [of racial equality].” Who is our neighbor?
Nazi salutes in federal buildings. But hey, maybe we won’t be forced to treat gays with dignity.
This makes me literally sick.
Please listen to this. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-election-response-all-christians-can-agree-on
The church will have your back, no matter who they voted for and will need your help and your prayers to advance the kingdom. Thanks for sharing. What you think and feel is important. Please read Philippians 4:6-7
The Peace that surpasses understanding comes from knowing who is in control, and his love and care will always be with us. It is not so much the answers to prayer, but the magnificence and love of the one who answers.
Blessings
Jeff Rickel
Thank you Jemar for being so transparent and honest in sharing your thoughts with everyone.
I never thought in a million years that I would be attending predominately white churches. Despite the obvious concerns within the African American community, I love being apart of such a rich culture, I love everything about being black! And there I go every Sunday to a church filled with mostly white congregants. Why? Simply put, God led me there. I could no longer hop and yell along to the cliche’s and emptiness I felt at other churches I’d attended. I felt my spiritual walk was far more important than my entertainment for 2 hours. And for the most part the people at my church seem to be very nice, caring people.
There is loads I can say about the new difference I am experiencing as a reformed black woman, but for right now my question is. “If we are within a denomination that does not believe that women should engage in leadership roles such as that of a pastor (which I do agree with by the way, why is it a surprise of the current outcome from the presidential debate?” If it’s spiritually “inappropriate” not biblical for a woman to lead a church, why would I expect these men who may attend the same church as me to vote for a woman to run and lead the entire country?” Perhaps this is a far stretch, but just putting it out there that I’m not surprised. part. of. my. perspective.
I always appreciate your transparency and candor. Thank you for speaking honestly, and may the Lord use your words for our growth and His glory. I am with you all the way.
Alex Guggenheim,
Have you heard about this awful racist event that happened in Chicago recentl? Here’s an excerpt from E. Erickson:
There have been a lot of supposed hate crimes since Donald Trump’s election. We know many of them were faked or staged. No one pulled off a hijab from a muslim woman in Donald Trump’s name, for example. The arsonist who burned down a church after spray painting pro-Trump graffiti on it turned out to be from that church. But this one appears to be legitimate and awful.
A white, special needs man in Chicago was tortured by several black people with one of the monsters saying “Tell him to say, ‘F–k Donald Trump.”
The man was burned with cigarettes, he was scalped, and he was beaten.”
This white victim would have reason not to feel safe around blacks.
Thoughts, Alex?
Brother, thank you – I’m glad to read this. (Especially after reading the article of a pastor who left the SBC because he “loves black people more than the church”)
I hope to work to make it easier for people like you to enjoy the unity of the church. I hope this is encouraging to you somehow.
I look forward to seeing you in glory
… unfortunately black Americans need to get over their hyperenthusiasm for skin color diatribes. “Black” has been weaponized to neutralize any effective criticism of ghetto or urban culture that stimulates low IQ outcomes across the socioeconomic spectrum for “Black” people.
Liberal/Leftist/Socialist/Marxist ideologues have conditioned far too many blacks to have a myopic focus on race in the freest and most color blind country on the planet.
The Democrat Party (The Party of the Klu Klux Klan) has a stranglehold on the brain stems of black Americans.
The most blatantly racist people in America in 2017 are urban blacks, especially from Chicago and Atlanta. They also run in cahoots with emotion-based white liberals who tend to detest the Judeo-Christian heritage of America.
Like Biblical Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers who meant evil for him; God had an overrarching master plan for Joseph to save not only the Hebrew remnant but to be a blessing to Egpyt and surrounding areas.
God’s master overarching plan was to inevitably deliver a benighted populace in Africa and bless them here in America through turmoil, struggle, pain, suffering, but enlightenment, education, opportunity, liberty, and all the bountiful blessings of these United States. This inevitable blessing was a part of the plan.
America is no longer a racist country even if some of it’s citizens express racist view points. (People in America can live anywhere they can afford to live ask Oprah Winfrey if she has trouble affording housing?)
The unabated focus of black Americans on their skin color and race is a demonic ploy to keep them resentful, angry, divided, easily manipulated, and full of excuses for not advancing or achieving higher levels of success.
Any black pastor who focuses on white racism in 2017 is either a liberal Democrat Party Scam Artist or projecting his own racist feelings from willful ignorance onto white people.
If you are a christian who happens to be black and you cannot go to a church predominated by christians who happen to be white; and you cannot find something to appreciate in their fellowship then you are not a whole person and are likely culturally brainwashed.
If you are a black pastor and you get the majority of your news and information from liberal/Leftist new organizations like CNN, MSNBC, ABC and CBS you are not only unsophisticated with respect to understanding ideological manipulation you are likely what Karl Marx termed “A Useful Idiot.”
American blacks are fat, have air conditioning, own automobiles, cell phones, lovely dwellings, have disposable income, and are not poor relative to most people on this planet. American blacks are free to be as prosperous and as successful as anyone else in America.
If God is for you then who can be against you?
Is there anything too difficult for the Lord? (So who or what is holding you back?)
Your ancestors were forcibly brought here as God watched and acted as He saw fit for your benefit.
If you can form an argument against anything I wrote; you’re a good Democrat and still in darkness.
The Republican Party was founded to abolish slavery.
What blacks are conditioned to believe about Republicans are lies and Leftist propaganda. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was one of the best selling books of the time and Uncle Tom represented a Christ like character and the book was chalked full of Christian allegory. After the Emancipation Proclamation no black person would have thought to vote for a Democrat (The Party of the Klu Klux Klan. It was also Sothern Democrats that opposed the Civil Rights Legislation of the 1960’s.)
God brought your ancestors here to bless you. Here. Now. How’s your new car working out for you Ma’am, Sir?
America churns out black millionaires on a daily basis.
Go ask Kevin Durant, Lebron James, and nearly every black person on the rosters of any professional sports team.
Ask JayZ and Oprah Winfrey if the air conditioning is working in all of their mansions. Ask Barack Obama if his custom golf clubs help his golf game?
If you are a black minister and focused on race and cultivating more black Democrats you are a shameful, ignorant, and immature person and you do black people a huge disservice.
At 6’4″, muscular, having lived and travelled abroad, well educated in real science, having a pilot’s license for fun, armed with a few basic and irrefutable facts about history, as well as being Biblically literate, this is one American who happens to be black, that will give you the same message mixed full strength to your face.
(With intelligent, civil, and friendly discourse…)
Are you a racist who happens to be black?
Are you projecting your racial animis and black cultural antipathy fuelled by Democrat Party propaganda onto christians who happen to be white?
If you are a Democrat in 2017 you have a low geo-polical IQ.
I just outed your “Social Justice Warrior” Leftist incursion into the church.
Don’t be white, don’t be black.
Just be a child of God and thankful.
You are made in the image of God; strive to be a whole person…
Being born in America is a blessing…
Henry,
No reprimand for or warning about Republicans and conservatives? And I was wondering if you are giving advice as a fellow Black person who has suffered what many Blacks have been suffering from in America?
I ask the second question because of a point made by Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef. He distinguishes knowing and understanding by showing that while knowing can come from studying, understanding comes from experiencing. He uses falling in love as an example. He states that despite what one can read and study about falling in love, one cannot understand that love until they have fallen in love.
So how is it that you understand racism from the recipient’s perspective?
“Racism” cannot be proven by and large unless the person engaged in some specific adverse activity confesses; “I did it because I am a racist!?”
The mysterious mistreatment I have experienced might aptly be deemed “Racism” if I were a Liberal ideologue looking for an excuse and a crutch not to move forward.
I suffered through, fought through, embraced, and circumnavigated my hardships.
I know what love looks like and feels like in reference to your philosophical point.
My point is that far too many blacks are still looking for a white racist cracker confederate flag waving boogey man to blame their poor performance and difficulties on.instead of looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for your failures? iI’s easier and more culturally accepted within Liberal subcultures to blame someone else; especially the mythological white racist boogey man for whatever ails you.
The FBi’s Uniform Crime Report clearly indicates that blacks commit far more crime than non blacks except for hispanic males who are a close second relative to their numbers in the population.
The muder rate amongst black males is astronomical.
The data shows that blacks are a far greater lethal hazard to each other rather than the mystical white racist boogey man circa 1936 Klu Klux Klan.
The greatest amount of racial animis I have witnessed comes from the mouths of black people and white liberals who want to virtue signal their allegiance to Liberal projections.
I spent decades of my life trying to escape the pitfalls, dangers, hazards, deceptions, and morbidly of what many call “Black culture” in the hood.
I’ve experienced mistreatment by blacks firsthand. I felt the need to fist fight my way out of my childhood home. I’ve been targeted and injured by my supposed black peers.
Something inside guided me from chilhood to escape the ravages of ghetto, thug, poorly informed, often violent black culture. I could spend hours recounting situations to butress my point here.
“Racism” when used by liberal black Democrats has become a false canard or smokescreen from seeting the truth about one’s self and the culture one may ascribe to.
Racism exists.
But if you embrace being a whole person in Christ as a child of God then focusing on the mysterious white racist boogey man becomes a waste of time, effort, and spiritual energy.
South Carolina has a dark skinned bona fide black Republican as it’s State Senator.
America hired an incompetent brown skinned CEO for eight years.
Listening to other blacks cry racism along with the Liberal media Democrat Party Establishment has become boorish and preictable. Its a worn out record and a lie.
The predominantly white mormon state of Utah sent Mia Love, a dark skinned black female to Congress thus representing the entire “Lilly white” State.
I believe the Spirit of God guided my attitude and disposition away from making racial excuses for everything.
I have seen God bless in spite of hardships, difficulties, and failures.
I learned to just appreciate people and be respectful and friendly whenever possible.
Friendly people have friends regardless of skin color.
An open heart and mind goes a long way…
I no longer want to give a crutch to and grant quarter to this weaponized black racism that swept the country under the enabling auspices of the failed President Barack Obama.
He did a phenomenal job of dividing America along racial lines. He used the Department of Justice to villify white and Christian America whenever possible. He encouraged hatred toward American Law Enforcement thus enhancing lawless behavior.
Now we are in a Civil War; a spiritual war, where the truth and Light must take back territory from darkness. A blessed country has been divided under false pretenses.
Black people have been scammed far to long by fake preachers like Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Wright and so forth…
They have utilized resentment, anger, and racial antipathy for personal gain, power, and influence… The Democrat Party (The Party of the Klu Klux Klan) are masters of racial division for political gain.
Now Islam and Liberal fake preachers are teaming up and using weaponized racial imagery to carry this darkness further and deeper into “Black culture.”
My question to black America; do you want to be enlightened and cultivate happiness or do you want to be fuelled by resentment, anger, and easy prey for political manipulation via racial animis?
What would happen if you change your focus from the racist boogey man to cultivating your whole inner person who is colorless?
Henry wrote:
““Racism” cannot be proven by and large unless the person engaged in some specific adverse activity confesses; “I did it because I am a racist!?”
The mysterious mistreatment I have experienced might aptly be deemed “Racism” if I were a Liberal ideologue looking for an excuse and a crutch not to move forward.
I suffered through, fought through, embraced, and circumnavigated my hardships.
I know what love looks like and feels like in reference to your philosophical point.
My point is that far too many blacks are still looking for a white racist cracker confederate flag waving boogey man to blame their poor performance and difficulties on, instead of looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for their failures. It’s easier and more culturally accepted within Liberal subcultures to blame someone else; especially the mythological white racist boogey man for whatever ails you.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report clearly indicates that blacks commit far more crime than non blacks except for Hispanic males who are a close second relative to their numbers in the population.
The murder rate amongst black males is astronomical.
The data shows that blacks are a far greater lethal hazard to each other rather than the mystical white racist boogey man circa 1936 Klu Klux Klan. [KKK’s origins are Democrats, btw]
The greatest amount of racial animis I have witnessed comes from the mouths of black people and white liberals who want to virtue signal their allegiance to Liberal projections.
I spent decades of my life trying to escape the pitfalls, dangers, hazards, deceptions, and morbidly of what many call “Black culture” in the hood.
I’ve experienced mistreatment by blacks firsthand. I felt the need to fist fight my way out of my childhood home. I’ve been targeted and injured by my supposed black peers.
Something inside guided me from chilhood to escape the ravages of ghetto, thug, poorly informed, often violent black culture. I could spend hours recounting situations to buttress my point here.
“Racism” when used by liberal black Democrats has become a false canard or smokescreen from seeing the truth about one’s self and the culture one may ascribe to.
Racism exists.
But if you embrace being a whole person in Christ as a child of God [rather] than focusing on the mysterious white racist boogey man [which really] becomes a waste of time, effort, and spiritual energy.
South Carolina has a dark skinned bona fide black Republican as it’s State Senator.
America hired an incompetent brown skinned CEO for eight years.
Listening to other blacks cry racism along with the Liberal media Democrat Party Establishment has become boorish and predictable. Its a worn out record and a lie.
The predominantly white Mormon state of Utah sent Mia Love, a dark skinned black female to Congress thus representing the entire “Lilly white” State.
I believe the Spirit of God guided my attitude and disposition away from making racial excuses for everything.
I have seen God bless in spite of hardships, difficulties, and failures.
I learned to just appreciate people and be respectful and friendly whenever possible.
Friendly people have friends regardless of skin color.
An open heart and mind goes a long way…
I no longer want to give a crutch to and grant quarter to this weaponized black racism that swept the country under the enabling auspices of the failed President Barack Obama.
He did a phenomenal job of dividing America along racial lines. He used the Department of Justice to vilify white and Christian America whenever possible. He encouraged hatred toward American Law Enforcement thus enhancing lawless behavior.
Now we are in a Civil War; a spiritual war, where the Truth and Light must take back territory from darkness. A blessed country has been divided under false pretenses.
Black people have been scammed far too long by fake preachers like Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Wright and so forth…
They have utilized resentment, anger, and racial antipathy for personal gain, power, and influence… The Democrat Party (The Party of the Klu Klux Klan) are masters of racial division for political gain.
Now Islam and Liberal fake preachers are teaming up and using weaponized racial imagery to carry this darkness further and deeper into “Black culture.”
My question to Black America; do you want to be enlightened and cultivate happiness or do you want to be fueled by resentment, anger, and easy prey for political manipulation via racial animus?
What would happen if you change your focus from the racist boogey man to cultivating your whole inner person who is colorless?”
——————
Outstanding, Brilliant, Speaking Truth, Grace, and Light to a Post and Thread that desperately needed this comment by Henry.
Thank you sir! I edited your comment. And I boldfaced the sentences which I thought were excellent.
God bless you and keep you, Henry.
Hi Henry,
With regards to Curt Day, here is an interesting exchange with him by some folks in the thread of this post:
The Homosexual, Secular, And Religious Case Against Homosexual Marriage
Wow, thank you Henry. That was awesome. I might bookmark your post for future reference, I wish more people understood the issue as you do.
Henry,
Racism can’t be proved to whom?
You know that you never answered my question. Are you speaking as a Black person who has experienced racism? Are you aware of the fact that Christian Americans have supported slavery and Jim Crow and used the Bible to do that? And some who did that were religiously conservative Christians. The recent apology by the PCA also confirms past conservative Christian ties to racism. Is it unreasonable to think that there still might be such ties to some conservatives?
Can’t tell by your answer if you are writing lengthy answers for the heck of it or if you are using every opportunity to scapegoat liberals. What if someone took the same approach to liberals as you do only applied it to a certain religion or race?
BTW, can you cite the data you are referring to including the website? I ask because I believe that your some of your statement on the FBI data is wrong. And can you explain why crimes committed by those in the financial sectors go unpunished by jail while our conservative government is seeking long prison sentences for marijuana users? And can you explain the disparity in the enforcement of drug laws just as there was a disparity in how Stop And Frisk was carried out?
…. you just buttressed every point I made.
If you do not engage in drug seeking behaviors then you don’t have to worry about “Long prison sentences.”
A Chistian should not smoke marijuana and should immediately extricate themselves from situatiions with those who are engaging in illicit drug use.
Don’t make excuses for the failings of black people or they may never take corrective action.
One thing stressed and drilled into the psyche of all pilots is “Situational Awareness” and making immediate corrections in the “Pitch, power, and performance” of the airplane while constantly checking their headings and knowing their position in time and space relative to the weather, other aircraft, and obstacles.
Black people have already been given decades of excuses not to do and perform better.(By liberal Democrats who want to keep us enslaved to them and Leftism.)
Now it’s time for another approach based on logic, reason, facts, and wisdom.
Black people need to be challenged to do better and not accept permanent failure.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Dr. Thomas Sowell are two bona fide American black males who should be a part of the black cultural lexicon.
They overcame hardships to become brilliant intellects.
Dr. Thomas Sowell is the most cited conservative thinker in modern America.
You have lost “Situational Awareness” because you spent to much time looking in the proverbial rear view mirror. You are going to crash into that tree or the car in front of you if you don’t look up and ahead! A glance is all you need in the rear view to acknowledge and be aware of what is behind you.
We had a two term black President in the United States and you are still focused on “Jim Crow?”
Blacks were also denied the right “To keep and bear arms” by Democrats (The Klu Klux Klan) during reconstruction and still are in Chicago and begrudgingly in the District of Columbia. “Law abiding” blacks are still being denied their Constitutional Rights by urban liberals. That’s a more relevant topic than “Jim Crow” and your grand mother?
Buy some colorblind glasses, forgive all white people of something they cannot help; being born white. (And less than 1% of Americans actually owned slaves.)
Take the angry, resentful black chip off your shoulder…
Challenge black people to committ less crime, have fewer children out of wedlock, outperform other demographic categories academically, and throw away their Liberal Master’s crutches. Try walking under your own strength.
Google Pictures of Lebron James getting out of his $500,000 car and wearing a $5,000 Italian desgner suit. Also get some pictures of white and asian kids extending their hands at NBA games to touch this dark skinned black man.
Put the photos of Lebron on your computer and meditate on them for a few days. He has no college degree yet will easily walk in the billionaires club and have generational wealth for his family.
Why are you asking me about Jim Crow Laws and still making excuses for underperformimg blacks in 2017?
Do you need a spiritual paradigm shift?
If God exists; what excuse does one have to stay broke down and tore up? (Ask been Dr. Ben Carson what he thinks about urban crime and poverty.)
I grew up reading Ebony and Jet magazines.
There were articles in them about “Black on black” crime.
The common denominator in those crime riddled cities; they are managed by Liberal Democrats and many are run predominantly by black Liberals as is the case in Baltimore, Detroit, and Washington DC.
After trillions of dollars in government spending, incredible technological advances, and cities like Chicago being wholly owned and operated by Democrats why are you still blaming black cultural pathologies on white racism?
Have you been indoctrinated to become another Marxist “Useful Idiot?” That’s what communist call people whom they indoctrinate, use, and manipulate.
Look at the photos of Lebron, JayZ-, Beyonce, the Obamas, and you’ll begin to undestand the overarching plan and purposes of God as He watched Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers, and why He saw Lebron even as our ancestors were suffering in chains deep in the bowels of wooden ships on their bonded passages to America.
God has 100% eternal “Situational Awareness.”
“Is there anything too difficult for the Lord?”
What kind of car did you say you drove?
How’s the air conditioner in your house?
Are you using Augusta utilities or is there a well and a septic system at your house?
Do you have The Dish Network or Cable TV?
Do you prefer shopping at Publix or Kroger’s or Walmart for your groceries?
Who is preventing your children from enrollment at a technical college or university?
Is there a restaurant in town where you are being refused a meal?
Does your money come out of an ATM when you enter the correct code?
Being a whole person is a lot more fun than merely being categorized as black or white…
Henry,
You just ignored what I wrote just like you ignored my question. The racial disparity in the enforcement of the drug laws contradicts what you wrote. Yes, if you are Black, then try to avoid drugs. But if you are White, then you have fewer reasons to follow drug laws.
Also, I asked if you were Black.
In addition, do you understand the dynamics of drug use? Even Christians fall prey to drugs whether they are legal or not. And what about nonChristians? Should we hold them up to Christian standards in terms of how they live in society when even Christians don’t follow those standards?
As for the rest of your note, I am not going to respond because I can’t tell if you are trolling or not. And that is especially a concern when you promote prejudice against non-conservatives, you ignore what clearly written and you refuse to answer a simple question.
… I am Brownish/Black/African-American/Colored/etc..
The preoccupation with The Black Identity Complex in the year 2017 is purely demonic in origin.
Nowhere in the Bible is a Christian commanded to focus on one’s hue.
Miriam, the sister of Moses got real focused on Moses’s darker skinned Ethiopian wife and she was punished by God?
Clearly, you’re indoctrinated to have an excessive focus on skin color and the American Black Identity Complex.
This makes you a small and less than whole person.
What color is your soul?
How does God view the angry, resentful, and visceral spiritual turmoil you experience with respect to your views concerning Americans; who happen to be white?
With respect to blacks and sentencing for drug related offenses. The American judiciary has been liberal and quite lenient wih respect to prison sentences. You have to work at it to get sent to prison.
In many urban areas that are black males who committed murders and are back on the streets after serving only a few years in jail…
It is well known in biostatistics that certain ethnic groups to to metabolize drugs differently because of the presence or lack thereof of certain enzymes and precursors. Esikimos, Asians, and Blacks often have therapeutic adjustments in pharmacology because of this. Blacks tend to receive specific classes of antihypertensives because the etiology is different statisically than the white population.
Three percent of those who smoke marijuana experince violent psychosis. Nearly everyone who smokes marijuana experiences some degree of psychosis but typically not violent. The psychosis can range from auditory to visual hallucinations and the experience of the indiviual can vary widely depending upon the dose, type, and combination of cannabiniod with other drugs.
I have advance the theory that black males are predisposed to violent psychosis to a higher degree than other ehnic groupings. This comes both from personal observation from my teenage years to post pharmacology studies and culling the available literature. The Food and Drug Administration has much of this data available.
Black males also demonstrate a much higher cultural proclivity to violence than do other ethnic groups yet followed closely by hispanic males.
Black males often receive stiffer sentences because of the accumulation of criminality activity warrants the protracted sentencing.
One need only spend a few minutes listening to Hip Hop music, scanning videos that black males make of themselves engaged i. violent activity or glorifying the culture of violence and common sense would inform you that mixed with psychoactive drugs; the results can be lethal…
I grew up with a number of black males in my teenage and twenty something demographic that committed heinous murders, violent crimes, and a range of other criminal activities…
Christians take a lot of psychoactive drugs that I would warn them to avoid; especially benzodiazepines. I’ve witnessed firsthand; believers who become addicted to certain classes of medications. Yet each case should be assessed on its own merits in the case of prescribed medication apart from the bogus medicalization of smokable cannabiniods/THC. There is no valid medical reason to smoke weed.
And America will pay a hefty price for engaging in this activity. I’ve looked at this issue for decades. Smoking marijuana is a disaster that will lead to more disaster.
And the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri is another high profile case that makes this point. His toxicology report showed THC in his system as he robbed a liquor store and shortly thereafter violently assaulted a police officer.
How much spiritual energy should I expend in exhorting other Christians that black racism is just as evil as white racism?
Why don’t we let “All” black offenders out of prison and jails and put them in your neighborhood so they can predate upon your wives, daughters, sisters, children, sons, and reek havoc amongst the law abiding population?
They are there in prison for a reason. Many are repeat offenders with long “Rap sheets.” How many times should your child be sexually assaulted or your neighborhood shot up before you are convinced that certain people require time behind bars?
Black Americans would do well to find out why Asians and Ashkenazi Jews have such a low incarceration rate and mimic those elements of their culture that predispose law abiding behaviors.
Or black Americans can simply obey God’s Biblical commandments and godly wisdom and escape the criminal, violent offender lifestyle…
“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind” wrote Paul to Timothy…
Am I a “Troll” you asked?
I outed you as a “Social Justice Warrior” which is a ploy by Leftists to divide and manipulate American churchgoers, many of whom are black.
Leftism, Socialism, Progessivism, Marxism, and Communism are all fueled by the religion of Atheism. This is a demonic cultic faith that ignores the obvious fingerprint of God everywhere and seeks to abolish Biblical Christianity with tyranny. Liberal America and much of the Democrat Party in America is demonically influenced.
Look at the holocaust of black babies in America under Margaret Sanger’s eugenics activity and fast forward to the wholesale support of Planned Parenthood by the aforementioned ism and Party and my words will ring true.
The Democrat Party (The Party of the Klu Klux Klan) continues to deceive America up to this very day generating Fake News to stir up resentment, anger, and societal manipulation.
(Google Robert V. Byrd, Senator, Klu Klux Klan, and open your eyes…)
Henry
Based on the unsubstantiated claims you made in your note, you still give the appearance of trolling. From the claim about the majority of marijuana users suffering from some kind of psychosis to Michael Brown (video showed he had not committed any crime on the night that he was killed) to your statements about the liberal judiciary, your comments about social justice and so on. Furthermore, if you looked past race in the crime statistics, and don’t you tell us to look past race anyway, you will find some other factors involved in crime statistics. In addition, the races you mentioned do not have the history that Blacks have in this country.
When it doesn’t appear to me that you are trolling, and I can’t say for sure but that’s how it seems to me, I will fully respond to your notes.
I have a degree in pharmacology and have had a pharmacist license since 1994.
I don’t make unsubstantiated claims about drugs and medication.
Marinol and Sesamet are two approved drugs containing THC. They are used for cachexia.
They are clean medications with predictable clinical presentations.
Smoking marijuana is a dirty way to introduce THC into the human body and involves many unknown variables related to drug composition and breathing smoke into your lungs.
I distilled the data I cited for the sake of brevity.
I did a presentation several years ago on exactly this topic and chose to leave out the international statistics that make an overwhelming case for increased mortality in auto accidents when THC is present.
Relative to our percentage in the population black males do engage in a disproportionate amount of criminal activity. This fact is the proverbial “Elephant in the room” that liberal activists and Social Justice Marxists want to ignore.
You can go to the FBi UCR online and analyze the demographic data for yourself.
I listened to you bring a message at the Presbyterian Church downtown and knew almost immediately that you were hoodwinked by Social Justice Marxism.
Does quietly listening to your race based sermon in person then confronting you about your ideology and worldview on this site make me a “Troll?”
If the Democrat Party was and is the Political Party of the Klu Klux Klan; what does that make you?
The Democratic Party is the American home of Marxism, atheism, eugenics against black infants, pro-Islamic, pro-destruction of the traditional nuclear family, pro-Lesbian/Gay/Transexual lifestyles, and supports violence against those who counter their Leftist worldview.
A pastor who preaches racial division and focuses in the American Black Identity Complex is nothing more than what Marx deemed a “Useful Idiot.”
American children who happen to be black would lead far more productive and happy lives if taught to focus on “The content of their character and not the color of their skin.”
Forget defending nebulous blackness and emphasize the higher value of a colorless soul that pleases God and reflects His love to all people.
How about not editing out my arguments against black racism and the Leftist inspired “Social Justice Dogma” that you are peddling?
I am typing my comments either with an iphone or an ipad and will make some inevitable grammar and spelling errors. But I don’t want my train of thought to be deceptively edited… thus altering context or rationale.
You’re a faithful follower of Christ, Henry. Keep standing firm in the faith, and wearing the armor of God.
If Henry ever happens again upon this site I wonder if his ALT Right negative views against all things black have changed since 2016?
He failed miserably in understanding the fact blacks were the only group who arrived in America in Chains and not for upward mobility like the rest of us.
Us Whites seem to ignore or diminish the fact blacks in the Bible Belt South endured years of Slavery, Jim Crow and then along came President Reagan who gave their jobs away to the millions across the border that received Amnesty for cheaper labor at a time Reagan allowed the crack epidemic into poor jobless black communities.
Sad mnay people failed to see how all that made a negative lasting impact on blacks and I didn’t even mention the KKK.
We all need to abide in love like Jesus told his followers to do and not excuse hatred or racism. As for blacks being violent what is his excuse for Putin and his genocide of Ukraine? Is Putin black? In other words violence has no color lines!
Henry failed miserably in understanding the fact blacks were the only group who arrived in America in Chains and not for upward mobility like the rest of us.
Us Whites seem to ignore or diminish the fact blacks in the Bible Belt South endured years of Slavery, Jim Crow and then along came President Reagan who gave their jobs away to the millions across the border that received Amnesty for cheaper labor at a time Reagan allowed the crack epidemic into poor jobless black communities.
Sad mnay people failed to see how all that made a negative lasting impact on blacks and I didn’t even mention the KKK.
We all need to abide in love like Jesus told his followers to do and not excuse hatred or racism. As for blacks being violent what is his excuse for Putin and his genocide of Ukraine? Is Putin black? In other words violence has no color lines!
Its obvious you are full of anger, resentment, and jealousy as a result of your Urban Black Identity Complex. Furthermore; you sound like an Anti-White Bigot?
Leave me out of your Low Spiritual IQ conversations.
Thanks:)