nskripchun
Aug 31st, 2007, 07:12 PM
Some brief thoughts by a collected group of pastors & theologians:
http://9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID314526|CHID598014|CIID2359812,00.html
Some quotes:
There are a number of reasons why many white Christians continue to miss the race problem.
1. Given the history of America many Whites have been conditioned to deny the existence of racial problems.
2. Most Whites do not have to live in an environment controlled by minorities.
3. Some view racism as primarily an individual issue as opposed to a corporate problem. Most Whites fail to address the institutional nature of racism.
4. Most Whites are not aware of the various ways that culture is used as a tool of racism.
5. Most white pastors and ministers have refused to address the race problem biblically or otherwise.
6. Many white evangelicals are more loyal to their culture than they are to the Gospel.
-Rickey Armstrong
There is a race problem in the American church, if for no other reason than the fact that there is a race problem in America, and the evangelical church’s progress on race has, historically, mirrored America’s progress on race. The great gulf that exists between the gatherings of Whites and African Americans on Sunday morning, often reflecting the great gulf that exists between white exurbia and African American suburbia or cityscape, exemplifies the mirroring of the culture by the church.
My white brothers of the faith often miss the race problem. I don’t feel that this is due to overt racism on the part of many. Instead, it’s because my white brothers must work at seeing life though the eyes of an African or Hispanic or Asian or Native American—all of whom are naturally and daily race-conscious. This is inevitable when you are
* the only minority in the board room or on the faculty,
* the one being profiled by security cameras or stereotyped as a class below white cultural and class standards,
* the potential victim of discrimination by mortgage lenders and human resource hiring specialists,
* a parent concerned about his/her child being mistreated as the only minority in a classroom or at a teen camp—even a Christian teen camp.
In addition, unless one works very hard to do so, my white brothers cannot feel what it is like to live in a society dominated by another ethnic culture (in a society in which ethnic distinctions matter greatly) and to adjust to the dominant culture’s preferences, norms, and mores daily—from the time one leaves home in the morning until returning home in the evening. This can even be the case at one’s church, fraternal organization or civic group. This practical ignorance of the minority experience lends itself to omissions of thought—i.e., "insensitivity"—on issues of race.
-Eric Redmond
Some good stuff.
http://9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID314526|CHID598014|CIID2359812,00.html
Some quotes:
There are a number of reasons why many white Christians continue to miss the race problem.
1. Given the history of America many Whites have been conditioned to deny the existence of racial problems.
2. Most Whites do not have to live in an environment controlled by minorities.
3. Some view racism as primarily an individual issue as opposed to a corporate problem. Most Whites fail to address the institutional nature of racism.
4. Most Whites are not aware of the various ways that culture is used as a tool of racism.
5. Most white pastors and ministers have refused to address the race problem biblically or otherwise.
6. Many white evangelicals are more loyal to their culture than they are to the Gospel.
-Rickey Armstrong
There is a race problem in the American church, if for no other reason than the fact that there is a race problem in America, and the evangelical church’s progress on race has, historically, mirrored America’s progress on race. The great gulf that exists between the gatherings of Whites and African Americans on Sunday morning, often reflecting the great gulf that exists between white exurbia and African American suburbia or cityscape, exemplifies the mirroring of the culture by the church.
My white brothers of the faith often miss the race problem. I don’t feel that this is due to overt racism on the part of many. Instead, it’s because my white brothers must work at seeing life though the eyes of an African or Hispanic or Asian or Native American—all of whom are naturally and daily race-conscious. This is inevitable when you are
* the only minority in the board room or on the faculty,
* the one being profiled by security cameras or stereotyped as a class below white cultural and class standards,
* the potential victim of discrimination by mortgage lenders and human resource hiring specialists,
* a parent concerned about his/her child being mistreated as the only minority in a classroom or at a teen camp—even a Christian teen camp.
In addition, unless one works very hard to do so, my white brothers cannot feel what it is like to live in a society dominated by another ethnic culture (in a society in which ethnic distinctions matter greatly) and to adjust to the dominant culture’s preferences, norms, and mores daily—from the time one leaves home in the morning until returning home in the evening. This can even be the case at one’s church, fraternal organization or civic group. This practical ignorance of the minority experience lends itself to omissions of thought—i.e., "insensitivity"—on issues of race.
-Eric Redmond
Some good stuff.