In 1984, I wrote the following article which was published in Faculty Dialogue; it was entitled "Response to Nicholas Wolterstorff." Earlier he had written "The Mission of the Christian College at the End of the 20th Century."
Judging by the first issue of Faculty Dialogue, Nicholas Wolterstorff has captured the attention of numerous people with his idea of the necessity of a Stage III Christian college---"the Christian in society." Wolterstorff suggests that a Stage III Christian college will need to be more than "international in its concerns and consciousness"; it will "have to explore new ways of packaging the learning it presents to students"; and it will have to "build bridges from theory to practice."
I agree with Wolterstorff. The need is great. In my opinion, it is a case of "mutual salvation." I am sensing that our white middle class evangelical Christian college students are increasingly conformed to the American trinity of individualism, materialism, and racism. They profess to be born again, but their life style and values seem more American than Christian. A colleague recently told me about a visit to his alma mater, a Christian college. He described the students as sons and daughters of the 'new rich' evangelicals; students who had graduated a generation ago and who made it big in the corporate, medical, or legal world. In one sense, they were models of success, but their sons and daughters seemed more materialistic than Christian; insulated and isolated from the 'real' world of the poor and minorities in their homes, churches, schools, and colleges.
In the past I believed that the poor and minorities needed us with our education, resources, and skills---we needed to serve them. Now I see that we need them to humanize us, to Christianize us. We desperately need each other. It is an authentic case of "mutual salvation."
We must build a new curriculum which contains major and sustained intellectual and social interaction with the poor and oppressed. Our colleges must aggressively seek to employ minorities in staff, faculty, administrative, and trustee positions. Our religion departments must engage in extensive dialogue with minority pastors and theologians so that, to use Carl Ellis' terminology, classical and jazz theologians can learn from each other.
For the past ten years, I have lived and worshipped in an inter-ethnic neighborhood. Next door lived a female-headed, poor, black family with all the problems normally associated with such families. We became good friends. I learned much from this interaction. It made me a better Christian and a better teacher.
I now believe I have a much better grasp of the overall biblical message. I have condensed it into this simple outline. A colleague said this outline was very helpful to him and should be shared with the wider evangelical community. I am indebted to Carl Ellis (Beyond Liberation) for some of these ideas.
I. Sin is unrighteousness
A. Personal ungodliness
B. Social Oppression
II. The kingdom of God is righteousness
A. Personal salvation
B. Social justice
Oppression dehumanizes both the oppressor and the oppressed, but in different ways. The American middle class is isolated from the oppressed communities. Thus we are insensitive to the biblical issue of oppression. If we lack an biblical understanding of oppression and a concern for the oppressed, we will likely not pursue justice. Only a prolonged and intimate contact with the oppressed plus an intense study of the 555 biblical references to oppression and to the many references to justice with develop our social conscience.
May the Holy Spirit add to our personal piety a deep commitment to Jubilee justice.
A 2016 update---30 years later.
What has happened in society and in the American church over the past 30 years? It appears to me that the American church and the American Christian college has been in hibernation, largely uninvolved in some of the major social problems of the day. During this 30 year period, there was an explosion in the mass incarc eration of young black and Hispanic males based heavily on racial profiling; during this same time period, the income and wealth gap widened. At the same time, there was an increasing discussion of justice in may churches, but little of it reached the streets.
Still missing in our churches and colleges: a NT theology of oppression, a NT theology of justice---the English NT needs to be rejusticized, NT theology that ties the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God and Jubilee justice together.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Haiti: after the earthquake
Paul Farmer's 2011 book entitled Haiti: after the earthquake has a chapter titled "A History of the Present [Socioeconomic] Illness." Using a medical phrase, "acute-on-chronic," Farmer, a medical doctor with a doctorate in anthropology, sees the earthquake as an acute event made much worse by chronic politico-socio-economic conditions in Haiti. So Farmer devotes a chapter to explaining why the chronic made the acute worse and made the recovery even more difficult.
Remember the old saying that the historical past haunts the sociological present? Or as a young Haitian recently said, "We're still paying the price for defeating the architects of slavery," even though Haitians gained their freedom 200 years ago---in 1804. This raises a fundamental question: are a people really free if they are denied economic justice. Is freedom hollow if not accompanied by Jubilee justice?
Haiti, a country that has suffered from 500 years of ethnocentrism and oppression. The ethnocentrism [supposed superiority of the white Spanish, French and Americans and the supposed inferiority of African slaves] of the Spanish, French and Americans legitimated the massive and horrific atrocities against past slaves and currently 'free' Haitians.
For approximately 200 years (1492-1697), the Spanish engaged in first Indian genocide and then African slavery. For the next 100 years (1697-1804), the French engaged in brutal physical slavery to make Haiti into the Pearl of the Antilles---a highly productive colony that exported coffee, sugar and tropical fruits to Europe. For the next 100+ years, from 1825 to around 1950, the French engaged in debt slavery, forcing Haiti to pay reparations to France. During this same time period, the U.S. joined France in treating Haiti as a pariah nation.
From 1915 to 2016, the U.S. dominated and exploited Haiti joining forces with a small Haitian elite. From 1915 to 1934, the U.S. marines controlled Haiti; they used forced labor to build roads. From 1957-1986, the U.S. supported two Haitian dictators, Papa Doc and Baby Doc. In many ways, the United States treat Haiti as a puppet state.
Back to the Haitian slave rebellion which gained political freedom for the slaves. The first slave uprising started in 1791; the civil war devastated the country. In 1801, France assembled a massive army to retake Haiti, France's prized colony. Again, the Haitians defeated the French but at a terrific human and economic cost. The country was devastated, much worse than the U.S. after its civil war. The freed slaves, of course, had no experience or tradition of democracy, no educational system. Into the vacuum stepped a few elite to gain control of the ports and what few exports there were. These elite have controlled much of Haiti ever since, often in alliance with an American elite.
Now some quotations from Haiti: after the earthquake, chapter 4:
Farmer describes the chronic conditions this way: "shoddy housing, bare hillsides and overfished waters, scarce access to clean water and modern sanitation, an undesirable business environment, cash-strapped health and school systems, high structural unemployment, and frequent political upheaval."
Most outsiders, including most Americans, tend to avoid or minimize the 500 years of ethnocentrism and oppression and engage in "the old and pernicious tendency to blame solely the Haitians and their culture." But "whether they can read or not, Haiti's people walk in history, and live in politics." Moreau de St-Mery describes the horror of slavery this way:
"Have they not hung up men with heads downward, drowned them is sacks, crucified them on planks, buried them alive, crushed them in mortars? Have they not forced them to eat shit? And, after having flayed them with the lash, have they not cast them alive to be devoured by worms, or onto anthills, or lashed them to stakes in the swamp to be devoured by mosquitoes? Have they not thrown them into boiling cauldrons of cane syrup?"
Farmer continues: "In 1801, Napoleon sent his brother-in-law, Captain-General Leclere, to retake the colony [Haiti]. Leclerc sailed at the head of one of the largest armadas ever to set forth for the New World. . . . [Haitian] "Dessalines and his irregulars routed the French by November of 1803."
"The end of slavery in Haiti caused ripples throughout the Americas, from Venezuela to the United States and back to Europe. . . . " The French "orchestrated an economic and diplomatic embargo, the first of many against the troubled young nation." The U.S. did not recognize Haiti until 1862.
"It can be reasonably said that no one helped the Haitians on the road to independence, and that many forces, the deliberate policies of their neighbors among them, stymied their growth as a nation. . . . Absurdly, the French demanded reparations, and not just for the losses of French plantations but for the losses of their slaves too. Desperate for trading partners and international recognition, Haitian leaders agreed, in 1825, to pay France 150 million francs. . .For more than a century, the Haitians paid the debt [debt slavery]." Of course, justice demanded that reparations be paid to the slaves, but justice did not happen.
Farmer quotes Danner:
"This new nation, its fields burned, it plantation manors pillaged, its towns devastated by apocalyptic war, was crushed by these astronomical reparations, . . . that strangled its economy for more than a century. It was in this dark aftermath of war, in the shadow of isolation and contempt, that Haiti's peculiar political system took shape, mirroring in distorted form, the slave society of colonial times."
Again the horrors of the historical past haunt the sociological present in Haiti.
Remember the old saying that the historical past haunts the sociological present? Or as a young Haitian recently said, "We're still paying the price for defeating the architects of slavery," even though Haitians gained their freedom 200 years ago---in 1804. This raises a fundamental question: are a people really free if they are denied economic justice. Is freedom hollow if not accompanied by Jubilee justice?
Haiti, a country that has suffered from 500 years of ethnocentrism and oppression. The ethnocentrism [supposed superiority of the white Spanish, French and Americans and the supposed inferiority of African slaves] of the Spanish, French and Americans legitimated the massive and horrific atrocities against past slaves and currently 'free' Haitians.
For approximately 200 years (1492-1697), the Spanish engaged in first Indian genocide and then African slavery. For the next 100 years (1697-1804), the French engaged in brutal physical slavery to make Haiti into the Pearl of the Antilles---a highly productive colony that exported coffee, sugar and tropical fruits to Europe. For the next 100+ years, from 1825 to around 1950, the French engaged in debt slavery, forcing Haiti to pay reparations to France. During this same time period, the U.S. joined France in treating Haiti as a pariah nation.
From 1915 to 2016, the U.S. dominated and exploited Haiti joining forces with a small Haitian elite. From 1915 to 1934, the U.S. marines controlled Haiti; they used forced labor to build roads. From 1957-1986, the U.S. supported two Haitian dictators, Papa Doc and Baby Doc. In many ways, the United States treat Haiti as a puppet state.
Back to the Haitian slave rebellion which gained political freedom for the slaves. The first slave uprising started in 1791; the civil war devastated the country. In 1801, France assembled a massive army to retake Haiti, France's prized colony. Again, the Haitians defeated the French but at a terrific human and economic cost. The country was devastated, much worse than the U.S. after its civil war. The freed slaves, of course, had no experience or tradition of democracy, no educational system. Into the vacuum stepped a few elite to gain control of the ports and what few exports there were. These elite have controlled much of Haiti ever since, often in alliance with an American elite.
Now some quotations from Haiti: after the earthquake, chapter 4:
Farmer describes the chronic conditions this way: "shoddy housing, bare hillsides and overfished waters, scarce access to clean water and modern sanitation, an undesirable business environment, cash-strapped health and school systems, high structural unemployment, and frequent political upheaval."
Most outsiders, including most Americans, tend to avoid or minimize the 500 years of ethnocentrism and oppression and engage in "the old and pernicious tendency to blame solely the Haitians and their culture." But "whether they can read or not, Haiti's people walk in history, and live in politics." Moreau de St-Mery describes the horror of slavery this way:
"Have they not hung up men with heads downward, drowned them is sacks, crucified them on planks, buried them alive, crushed them in mortars? Have they not forced them to eat shit? And, after having flayed them with the lash, have they not cast them alive to be devoured by worms, or onto anthills, or lashed them to stakes in the swamp to be devoured by mosquitoes? Have they not thrown them into boiling cauldrons of cane syrup?"
Farmer continues: "In 1801, Napoleon sent his brother-in-law, Captain-General Leclere, to retake the colony [Haiti]. Leclerc sailed at the head of one of the largest armadas ever to set forth for the New World. . . . [Haitian] "Dessalines and his irregulars routed the French by November of 1803."
"The end of slavery in Haiti caused ripples throughout the Americas, from Venezuela to the United States and back to Europe. . . . " The French "orchestrated an economic and diplomatic embargo, the first of many against the troubled young nation." The U.S. did not recognize Haiti until 1862.
"It can be reasonably said that no one helped the Haitians on the road to independence, and that many forces, the deliberate policies of their neighbors among them, stymied their growth as a nation. . . . Absurdly, the French demanded reparations, and not just for the losses of French plantations but for the losses of their slaves too. Desperate for trading partners and international recognition, Haitian leaders agreed, in 1825, to pay France 150 million francs. . .For more than a century, the Haitians paid the debt [debt slavery]." Of course, justice demanded that reparations be paid to the slaves, but justice did not happen.
Farmer quotes Danner:
"This new nation, its fields burned, it plantation manors pillaged, its towns devastated by apocalyptic war, was crushed by these astronomical reparations, . . . that strangled its economy for more than a century. It was in this dark aftermath of war, in the shadow of isolation and contempt, that Haiti's peculiar political system took shape, mirroring in distorted form, the slave society of colonial times."
Again the horrors of the historical past haunt the sociological present in Haiti.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Grace and Justice
Grace and justice are the biblical keys to complete reconciliation.
Racial or ethnic reconciliation is now approaching center stage in some areas of the America church. This is a good, though long overdue, move. The question now is: How deep does the reconciliation process go? And what would full and complete biblical reconciliation look like?
Reconciliation can and probably should begin at the personal level. Biblical reconciliation forgives enemies and builds new friendships. This is the level of most ethnic reconciliation today. What are the next steps?
Organizationally, leadership and power must be shared with ethnic leaders.
For Euro Americans, the next step is acts of justice---concrete action to rebuild the lives and communities among the poor and oppressed. We must move from personal relationships to social justice. Ethnic groups are rightly suspicious of personal reconciliation efforts that do not begin with or move on to acts of Jubilee justice. Jubilee justice, kingdom of God justice, is needed to heal the enormous damage of centuries of oppression. Remember that biblically oppression means means to crush, humiliate, animalize, impoverish, enslave and kill persons created in the image of God often causing a personal or social PTSD or PTSS. As Isaiah chapter one says, the church is to stop oppression and do justice.
For American ethnics the next step, according to Spencer Perkins, is grace---grace to forgive the oppressor. From the human standpoint, inward bitterness or outward hate is a natural response to oppression. It is best if the grace of forgiveness is offered in response to the oppressor's confession and repentance. But sometimes grace may need to be offered even if there is no repentance.
The oil of grace lubricates the path of love. Or grace is the highest expression of love. To keep the process of reconciliation moving, generous grace must come from both parties.
Grace alone can take us halfway along the road of reconciliation. Justice alone can take us halfway also. But both grace and justice are needed for full biblical reconciliation.
So far in this essay, I have been talking about Christians---Christian principles to be lived out primarily within the church. Can we expect the larger society, even governments, to apply the concepts of grace and justice as principles of governance? Is this expecting too much of secular governments? What should a government do in response to the violence of a civil war or to the violence of systematic and brutal oppression? Is there any way out of the violence cycle?
Some governments are trying amnesty programs to stop the cycle of violence? The word amnesty is related to amnesia; amnesty comes from a Greek word meaning "a forgetting, a general pardon, especially for political offenses." Amnesty, then, is a political act of grace---pardon and forgiveness. The political act of amnesty is taken not only to stop the cycle of violence, but also to establish the grounds for some degree of social healing, restoration and reconciliation.
Periodically, in the Philippines, violence over land, who owned the land in a largely agricultural society, and the need for just land reform. The poor peasant farmers asserted that the rich and powerful, often with the aid of the government, the military, and sometimes the U.S. government, were illegally taking control over more and more land. This left millions of peasant either landless or farming marginal land. In frustration, the peasants took up arms to regain their land. The government, however, called the peasants rebels, terrorists, enemies of the state, and tried to crush them militarily.
For 20 years, roughly 1975-1995, the civil war raged. Thousands died, millions of dollars wasted, and life in civilian society was disrupted. Then General Ramos was elected president; previously he was a general who led the efforts to crush the rebels. As president, Ramos decided that for the good of society the cycle of violence had to be stopped. The government declared an amnesty for those involved in the civil war; peace negotiations were initiated with the goal of bringing about reconciliation. Some of the imprisoned rebel leaders were freed, then given money to use to go back to rebuild their communities. Some land reform, an act of justice, has begun, but so far it has been too limited.
If, in the future, full and comprehensive land reform does take place, such as happened in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan after World War II, then this act of justice would reduce the tensions and conflict between the rich and poor. The grace step of amnesty has opened the door to reconciliation and peace, but it must be followed by acts of justice to complete the reconciliation process and produce a measure of shalom in society. Economically, acts of justice are much cheaper than wars of violence, so an enlightened society ought to choose grace and justice.
Black South Africans faced a difficult moral choice when they took over the government in the early 1990s. What were they going to do about the violence and oppression conducted against them by past Afrikaner governments? Should they hold trials and punish the oppressors to the fullest extent?
The new government led by Mandela did not take the punishment approach to justice. Instead they decided on a grace approach and declared amnesty for the oppressors if they would come forward and confess the truth about their past actions. In 1994, the South African government passed a bill establishing a Commission on Truth and Reconciliation: "This commission linked together amnesty, truth telling, and a goal of reconciliation as key features of one process."
Here we have two governments, the Philippine and South African, which to solve enormous social problems, attempted to operate upon the highest of Christian principles---GRACE.
Racial or ethnic reconciliation is now approaching center stage in some areas of the America church. This is a good, though long overdue, move. The question now is: How deep does the reconciliation process go? And what would full and complete biblical reconciliation look like?
Reconciliation can and probably should begin at the personal level. Biblical reconciliation forgives enemies and builds new friendships. This is the level of most ethnic reconciliation today. What are the next steps?
Organizationally, leadership and power must be shared with ethnic leaders.
For Euro Americans, the next step is acts of justice---concrete action to rebuild the lives and communities among the poor and oppressed. We must move from personal relationships to social justice. Ethnic groups are rightly suspicious of personal reconciliation efforts that do not begin with or move on to acts of Jubilee justice. Jubilee justice, kingdom of God justice, is needed to heal the enormous damage of centuries of oppression. Remember that biblically oppression means means to crush, humiliate, animalize, impoverish, enslave and kill persons created in the image of God often causing a personal or social PTSD or PTSS. As Isaiah chapter one says, the church is to stop oppression and do justice.
For American ethnics the next step, according to Spencer Perkins, is grace---grace to forgive the oppressor. From the human standpoint, inward bitterness or outward hate is a natural response to oppression. It is best if the grace of forgiveness is offered in response to the oppressor's confession and repentance. But sometimes grace may need to be offered even if there is no repentance.
The oil of grace lubricates the path of love. Or grace is the highest expression of love. To keep the process of reconciliation moving, generous grace must come from both parties.
Grace alone can take us halfway along the road of reconciliation. Justice alone can take us halfway also. But both grace and justice are needed for full biblical reconciliation.
So far in this essay, I have been talking about Christians---Christian principles to be lived out primarily within the church. Can we expect the larger society, even governments, to apply the concepts of grace and justice as principles of governance? Is this expecting too much of secular governments? What should a government do in response to the violence of a civil war or to the violence of systematic and brutal oppression? Is there any way out of the violence cycle?
Some governments are trying amnesty programs to stop the cycle of violence? The word amnesty is related to amnesia; amnesty comes from a Greek word meaning "a forgetting, a general pardon, especially for political offenses." Amnesty, then, is a political act of grace---pardon and forgiveness. The political act of amnesty is taken not only to stop the cycle of violence, but also to establish the grounds for some degree of social healing, restoration and reconciliation.
Periodically, in the Philippines, violence over land, who owned the land in a largely agricultural society, and the need for just land reform. The poor peasant farmers asserted that the rich and powerful, often with the aid of the government, the military, and sometimes the U.S. government, were illegally taking control over more and more land. This left millions of peasant either landless or farming marginal land. In frustration, the peasants took up arms to regain their land. The government, however, called the peasants rebels, terrorists, enemies of the state, and tried to crush them militarily.
For 20 years, roughly 1975-1995, the civil war raged. Thousands died, millions of dollars wasted, and life in civilian society was disrupted. Then General Ramos was elected president; previously he was a general who led the efforts to crush the rebels. As president, Ramos decided that for the good of society the cycle of violence had to be stopped. The government declared an amnesty for those involved in the civil war; peace negotiations were initiated with the goal of bringing about reconciliation. Some of the imprisoned rebel leaders were freed, then given money to use to go back to rebuild their communities. Some land reform, an act of justice, has begun, but so far it has been too limited.
If, in the future, full and comprehensive land reform does take place, such as happened in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan after World War II, then this act of justice would reduce the tensions and conflict between the rich and poor. The grace step of amnesty has opened the door to reconciliation and peace, but it must be followed by acts of justice to complete the reconciliation process and produce a measure of shalom in society. Economically, acts of justice are much cheaper than wars of violence, so an enlightened society ought to choose grace and justice.
Black South Africans faced a difficult moral choice when they took over the government in the early 1990s. What were they going to do about the violence and oppression conducted against them by past Afrikaner governments? Should they hold trials and punish the oppressors to the fullest extent?
The new government led by Mandela did not take the punishment approach to justice. Instead they decided on a grace approach and declared amnesty for the oppressors if they would come forward and confess the truth about their past actions. In 1994, the South African government passed a bill establishing a Commission on Truth and Reconciliation: "This commission linked together amnesty, truth telling, and a goal of reconciliation as key features of one process."
Here we have two governments, the Philippine and South African, which to solve enormous social problems, attempted to operate upon the highest of Christian principles---GRACE.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Redemption ties the cross and the kingdom together
Recently I send out an email that commented on the fact that John Perkins, Martin Luther King, the Black Panthers and Michelle Alexander all have called for a revolution. An Afro American friend, Bruce Jackson responded saying that he likes to say that Revolution is synonymous with the kingdom of God: he talks about "kingdom on earth realities such as justice, shalom, jubilee, reconciliation, restoration and salvation/deliverance. We are to move out of our cultural captivity and live into the revolution."
America badly needs a revolution---a kingdom of God revolution. According to sociologist, Joe Feagin, author of Racist America, here's why:
I will show that white-on-black oppression is . . . the archetype of racial oppression in North America. For example, African Americans were the only racial group specifically singled out several times in the U.S. Constitution for subordination within the new nation. The leading theorist of the U.S. Constitution, James Madison, noted that from a white man's point of view "the case of the black man within our bosom . . . is the problem most baffling to the policy of our country." A few decades later, white-on-black oppression would be central to the bloodiest war in U.S. history, the Civil War. Within American society, African Americans have been dominated and exploited in much larger numbers than has any other group. Over nearly four centuries, tens of millions of African Americans have had their labor and wealth regularly taken from them. . . . their original languages, cultures and family ties were substantially obliterated by their being torn from Africa, and the oppression faced under slavery and segregation was extremely dehumanized, racialized, and systematic. No other racially oppressed group has been so central to the internal economic, political, and cultural structure and evolution of American society---or to the often obsessively racist ideology developed by white Americans over many generations. Thus, it is time to put white-on-black oppression fully at the center of a comprehensive study of the development, meaning, and reality of this nation.
These comments pushed me to think deeper about the revolutionary concept of the kingdom of God.. In Acts 8:12; 28:23 and 31, the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ are tied closely together but with no explanation why. I now conclude that redemption ties the personal salvation provided by the cross and resurrection and the socioeconomic redemption of the kingdom which is best expressed in the OT Sabbath/Jubilee years. If redemption ties the two together, then grace also ties the two concepts together.
Redemption---spiritual and socioeconomic redemption---is undeserved, an act of grace initiated by another person. Politically, it is an act of amnesty, a peacemaking act to stop the cycle of violence. Socioeconomically, a gracious person takes the initiative to redeem a family member---"buy back what his brother has sold. If she/he is not redeemed by close relatives in any of these ways, he goes free in the year of Jubilee." A societal act of grace, an economic amnesty so that person/family has a clean slate for a fresh start in life.
Using some of this OT language and concepts, the NT talks about spiritual redemption---an unmerited act of grace, forgiveness. Strangely, the American church today talks about redemption almost solely in spiritual terms, but seldom in terms socioeconomic grace and justice. The words redeem and redemption are found 13 times in Leviticus 25. In rereading Leviticus 25, I saw something new. The primary emphasis was on one individual redeeming another individual or family at any time; one did not have to wait until 7 years were up or for the 50 year Jubilee.
In the book of Ruth, there is a classic case of a kinsman-redeemer in action. Through Boaz, Naomi was appealing for a human redeemer to buy the land and keep it in the family. In Nehemiah 5, Nehemiah acted quickly and aggressively to stop oppression and restore land and interest following Sabbath/Jubilee principles. It is commonly said the Israel never kept the Jubilee Year. This may be true, but, in some ways, it misses the point. I think that the principles were often kept on an individual basis; this was the most important part of the Jubilee. But if individuals failed to act, then at the end of 7 or 50 years, there was supposed to be a societal wide redemption and renewal.
In the book of Acts, socioeconomic redemption took place in a somewhat different way. Christians with surplus wealth in the form of houses and lands, sold these voluntarily, one by one, and then brought the proceeds to the church for distribution to the poor. This is not mandated church socialism; it is grace and generosity flowing through individuals to meet the needs of the poor.
Some final thoughts on Jubilee redemption/justice. The Jewish historian at the time of Christ, Josephus, wrote about the Sabbath year and farmers leaving the land fallow. Also I understand that some Jewish theologians were discussing the Jubilee but with a perverse twist; they said the Jubilee was something that God would do in the future; this was a spiritual cop out to avoid obedience in the present---current socioeconomic redemption. Far too often Christian theologians have done the same thing with the kingdom of God; they have futurized and spiritualized the kingdom thereby avoiding the necessity of doing justice in the here and now.
Isaiah 9:6: "He will reign over his kingdom with justice and shalom." (Noble paraphrase). Romans 14:17: "The kingdom of God is justice (NEB), shalom (Complete Jewish Bible), and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Next, I would like to tap into the wisdom of the late Spencer Perkins, eldest son of John Perkins. Spencer had been a champion of ethnic reconciliation for years and had written a book, with his white partner, Chris Rice, entitled More Than Equals. Yet, in the last months of his short life, he discovered an important new truth---that he had to give grace to 'white folks,' those who had brutally oppressed blacks in Mississippi.
This discovery came out of conflict with Chris Rice, his yokefellow; this conflict was so serious that it was threatening their longtime relationship. A close friend, John Alexander, told them there was only one way for this relationship to survive; each would have to give the other grace. This was a new thought to Spencer. Though he was raised on God's grace for himself, God's amazing grace, he had never fully realized that he was supposed to give the same measure of grace to his fellow human beings.
A few days before his death, Spencer and Chris spoke about their discovery of grace for their relationship at a reconciliation conference in Jackson, Mississippi. This talk was later published in Christianity Today entitled, "Playing the Grace Card." Spencer said:
What I am learning about grace lifts a weight from my shoulders, which is nothing short of invigorating. When we can forgive and accept those who refuse to listen to God's command to do justice, it allows them to hear God's judgment without feeling personal judgment from us. . . . This ability to give grace while preaching justice makes our witness more effective.
Thank you, Spencer, for your new insights on grace. You left us a legacy that is a beautiful gift to all of us; that we should give each other grace as generously as God has given us grace. Marvelous grace, generous grace, transforming grace!
Spencer, your insights on human grace inspired this new thought on the story of the Good Samaritan; a Jew in Jesus' day would have said the phrase the 'Good Samaritan' was an oxymoron I would rename this famous story. the 'Gracious Samaritan." Jews despised the half-breed Samaritans and for the most part Samaritans returned the favor. But when this particular Samaritan found a beaten and bloodied Jew along side the road, he stopped and gave him grace by generously assisting him; grace took him a second mile; grace enabled his to love his enemy.
Spencer, you also inspired the following ideas on Grace and Justice; see my next blog.
America badly needs a revolution---a kingdom of God revolution. According to sociologist, Joe Feagin, author of Racist America, here's why:
I will show that white-on-black oppression is . . . the archetype of racial oppression in North America. For example, African Americans were the only racial group specifically singled out several times in the U.S. Constitution for subordination within the new nation. The leading theorist of the U.S. Constitution, James Madison, noted that from a white man's point of view "the case of the black man within our bosom . . . is the problem most baffling to the policy of our country." A few decades later, white-on-black oppression would be central to the bloodiest war in U.S. history, the Civil War. Within American society, African Americans have been dominated and exploited in much larger numbers than has any other group. Over nearly four centuries, tens of millions of African Americans have had their labor and wealth regularly taken from them. . . . their original languages, cultures and family ties were substantially obliterated by their being torn from Africa, and the oppression faced under slavery and segregation was extremely dehumanized, racialized, and systematic. No other racially oppressed group has been so central to the internal economic, political, and cultural structure and evolution of American society---or to the often obsessively racist ideology developed by white Americans over many generations. Thus, it is time to put white-on-black oppression fully at the center of a comprehensive study of the development, meaning, and reality of this nation.
These comments pushed me to think deeper about the revolutionary concept of the kingdom of God.. In Acts 8:12; 28:23 and 31, the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ are tied closely together but with no explanation why. I now conclude that redemption ties the personal salvation provided by the cross and resurrection and the socioeconomic redemption of the kingdom which is best expressed in the OT Sabbath/Jubilee years. If redemption ties the two together, then grace also ties the two concepts together.
Redemption---spiritual and socioeconomic redemption---is undeserved, an act of grace initiated by another person. Politically, it is an act of amnesty, a peacemaking act to stop the cycle of violence. Socioeconomically, a gracious person takes the initiative to redeem a family member---"buy back what his brother has sold. If she/he is not redeemed by close relatives in any of these ways, he goes free in the year of Jubilee." A societal act of grace, an economic amnesty so that person/family has a clean slate for a fresh start in life.
Using some of this OT language and concepts, the NT talks about spiritual redemption---an unmerited act of grace, forgiveness. Strangely, the American church today talks about redemption almost solely in spiritual terms, but seldom in terms socioeconomic grace and justice. The words redeem and redemption are found 13 times in Leviticus 25. In rereading Leviticus 25, I saw something new. The primary emphasis was on one individual redeeming another individual or family at any time; one did not have to wait until 7 years were up or for the 50 year Jubilee.
In the book of Ruth, there is a classic case of a kinsman-redeemer in action. Through Boaz, Naomi was appealing for a human redeemer to buy the land and keep it in the family. In Nehemiah 5, Nehemiah acted quickly and aggressively to stop oppression and restore land and interest following Sabbath/Jubilee principles. It is commonly said the Israel never kept the Jubilee Year. This may be true, but, in some ways, it misses the point. I think that the principles were often kept on an individual basis; this was the most important part of the Jubilee. But if individuals failed to act, then at the end of 7 or 50 years, there was supposed to be a societal wide redemption and renewal.
In the book of Acts, socioeconomic redemption took place in a somewhat different way. Christians with surplus wealth in the form of houses and lands, sold these voluntarily, one by one, and then brought the proceeds to the church for distribution to the poor. This is not mandated church socialism; it is grace and generosity flowing through individuals to meet the needs of the poor.
Some final thoughts on Jubilee redemption/justice. The Jewish historian at the time of Christ, Josephus, wrote about the Sabbath year and farmers leaving the land fallow. Also I understand that some Jewish theologians were discussing the Jubilee but with a perverse twist; they said the Jubilee was something that God would do in the future; this was a spiritual cop out to avoid obedience in the present---current socioeconomic redemption. Far too often Christian theologians have done the same thing with the kingdom of God; they have futurized and spiritualized the kingdom thereby avoiding the necessity of doing justice in the here and now.
Isaiah 9:6: "He will reign over his kingdom with justice and shalom." (Noble paraphrase). Romans 14:17: "The kingdom of God is justice (NEB), shalom (Complete Jewish Bible), and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Next, I would like to tap into the wisdom of the late Spencer Perkins, eldest son of John Perkins. Spencer had been a champion of ethnic reconciliation for years and had written a book, with his white partner, Chris Rice, entitled More Than Equals. Yet, in the last months of his short life, he discovered an important new truth---that he had to give grace to 'white folks,' those who had brutally oppressed blacks in Mississippi.
This discovery came out of conflict with Chris Rice, his yokefellow; this conflict was so serious that it was threatening their longtime relationship. A close friend, John Alexander, told them there was only one way for this relationship to survive; each would have to give the other grace. This was a new thought to Spencer. Though he was raised on God's grace for himself, God's amazing grace, he had never fully realized that he was supposed to give the same measure of grace to his fellow human beings.
A few days before his death, Spencer and Chris spoke about their discovery of grace for their relationship at a reconciliation conference in Jackson, Mississippi. This talk was later published in Christianity Today entitled, "Playing the Grace Card." Spencer said:
What I am learning about grace lifts a weight from my shoulders, which is nothing short of invigorating. When we can forgive and accept those who refuse to listen to God's command to do justice, it allows them to hear God's judgment without feeling personal judgment from us. . . . This ability to give grace while preaching justice makes our witness more effective.
Thank you, Spencer, for your new insights on grace. You left us a legacy that is a beautiful gift to all of us; that we should give each other grace as generously as God has given us grace. Marvelous grace, generous grace, transforming grace!
Spencer, your insights on human grace inspired this new thought on the story of the Good Samaritan; a Jew in Jesus' day would have said the phrase the 'Good Samaritan' was an oxymoron I would rename this famous story. the 'Gracious Samaritan." Jews despised the half-breed Samaritans and for the most part Samaritans returned the favor. But when this particular Samaritan found a beaten and bloodied Jew along side the road, he stopped and gave him grace by generously assisting him; grace took him a second mile; grace enabled his to love his enemy.
Spencer, you also inspired the following ideas on Grace and Justice; see my next blog.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Exceptionally Evil or Chosen Christian
Joe R. Feagin, one of America's top sociologists on the topic of race/racism, author of Racist America and Systemic Racism, asserts that America is a racist nation "AT ITS VERY CORE," "born in violence and blood." against Native Americans, Afro Americans, against all non-WASPs. But America hypocritically poses as an exceptional nation, chosen by God.
Even most white American scholars still see "racism as something tacked onto an otherwise healthy American society." After careful historical and sociological analysis, Feagin concludes that systemic racism is at the very core of American society. I wholeheartedly agree that this is true both past and present.
But I would state the issue somewhat differently. First, ethnocentrism, supposed cultural superiority, was brought to America by British colonists [see A Different Mirror]. Next, came economic greed tied to the growing of tobacco. Then, the demand for cheap, reliable labor to grow tobacco fueled the creation of the biblical and biologically erroneous concept of black and white---race. Now, race/racism have taken on a life of its own.
Today, I still would put ethnocentrism ahead of racism as a fundamental cause, or put racism as a sub-category under ethnocentrism. And I think that economic greed, systems of economic oppression, drive a lot of current racism. We have to tackle all three categories at the same time: ethnocentrism (culture), economic greed/oppression (class), racism (race). All three impact all parts of American society---"economics, politics, education, religion and family." Racism is both individual and societal.
A bit of American history: In 1787, 55 men wrote of Constitution. Feagin describes the who, what and why:
"At least 40 percent have been or are slave owners, and a significant proportion of the others profit to some degree as merchants, shippers, lawyers, and bankers from the slave trade, in slave-produced agricultural products, or supplying provisions to slaveholders and slave traders." George Washington, a rich slaveholder---hundreds of slaves---presides. "We the People" excludes one-fifth of the population.
Even most white American scholars still see "racism as something tacked onto an otherwise healthy American society." After careful historical and sociological analysis, Feagin concludes that systemic racism is at the very core of American society. I wholeheartedly agree that this is true both past and present.
But I would state the issue somewhat differently. First, ethnocentrism, supposed cultural superiority, was brought to America by British colonists [see A Different Mirror]. Next, came economic greed tied to the growing of tobacco. Then, the demand for cheap, reliable labor to grow tobacco fueled the creation of the biblical and biologically erroneous concept of black and white---race. Now, race/racism have taken on a life of its own.
Today, I still would put ethnocentrism ahead of racism as a fundamental cause, or put racism as a sub-category under ethnocentrism. And I think that economic greed, systems of economic oppression, drive a lot of current racism. We have to tackle all three categories at the same time: ethnocentrism (culture), economic greed/oppression (class), racism (race). All three impact all parts of American society---"economics, politics, education, religion and family." Racism is both individual and societal.
A bit of American history: In 1787, 55 men wrote of Constitution. Feagin describes the who, what and why:
"At least 40 percent have been or are slave owners, and a significant proportion of the others profit to some degree as merchants, shippers, lawyers, and bankers from the slave trade, in slave-produced agricultural products, or supplying provisions to slaveholders and slave traders." George Washington, a rich slaveholder---hundreds of slaves---presides. "We the People" excludes one-fifth of the population.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The Church: Genocide or Justice
In the 1990s, the Rwandan and the Burundian churches, Protestant and Catholic, chose genocide. Tutsi and Hutu Christians killed each other on a massive scale---hundreds of thousands. In both countries, around 70 percent of the populations profess to be Christian. Pastors and priests killed parishinors; teachers killed students.
When churches neglect justice and the love of God (Luke 11:42), unchecked ethnocentrism and oppression can run wild. Why did Rwandan and Burundian pastors and priests ignore the extensive biblical teaching on ethnocentrism, oppression, justice, reconciliation and the kingdom of God as Jubilee justice? Why did they ignore the vast prophetic teachings on oppression and justice?
While he doesn't address ethnocentrism and oppression from a biblical perspective, Tracy Kidder in his excellent but profoundly disturbing book, Strength In What Remains, does write about genocide as he presents the unbelievably tragic life story of Deo, a Burundian Tutsi. The following are excerpts from Kidder's book:
The Hutu and Tutsi shared the same language, culture and religion; "They intermarried, too---more commonly after colonialism, at least in Rwanda. . . . it was hard to tell Hutu and Tutsi apart simply by looks."
But there were class distinctions; " . . . aristocracy was drawn from the population of cow-owning Tutsi's and their inferiors or dependents were predominately Hutu farmers."
". . . the effects of colonization were profound. . . ."
"Colonialism introduced new levels of violence and tools [guns] for violence." Europeans didn't invent the terms Hutu and Tutsi, but they "added poison to that terminology." "Europeans made the [Tutsi and Hutu] distinctions into a racial difference [Tutsis became a white race in a black skin]."
Hutus were treated as "virtual slaves"; Europeans created worse poverty and "periodic famines." This created "great resentment among Hutus."
"Rwandan economy and government entirely interwoven with foreign aid and dependent on it. The administration of that aid was a vehicle 'for exclusion and for the reproduction of privileges for a small elite."
" . . .structural violence [systems of oppression] was an essential element in the acute violence [genocide] that overwhelmed Rwanda in 1994."
My conclusion: ethnocentrism and oppressive economic systems always generate violence---sometimes extreme violence or genocide.
Unfortunately, genocide or something similar has been a common feature of the colonial era; here are three other examples:
1. West Africa: Europeans combined God, greed and slaves. They built churches o top of slave castles where slaves were stored waiting for slave ships. For me, the combination of the slave trade and slavery are another type of genocide.
2. Caribbean Islands: Columbus and his followers combined God, greed, gold and genocide. The result: TOTAL genocide; in the islands, there are no Native American peoples/cultures left.
3. Puritan colonists: They combined God, greed, land and genocide; this set the pattern for the rest of American history. Few culturally functioning tribes left east of the Mississippi.
Even today, there is little biblical teaching on ethnocentrism and oppression, justice and reconciliation. Among American churches, there is little repentance, restitution and repair. There must be a conspiracy to avoid these important biblical teachings in order to protect white supremacy/superiority and white privilege.
According to Luke 4, Jesus confronted the two major social evils of his time in one sermon: sermon A on oppression, 4:18-19 and sermon B on ethnocentrism, 4:25-30. Sermon B almost got him killed on the spot.. In my 89 years, I have never heard any white American pastor preach sermons A and B.
When churches neglect justice and the love of God (Luke 11:42), unchecked ethnocentrism and oppression can run wild. Why did Rwandan and Burundian pastors and priests ignore the extensive biblical teaching on ethnocentrism, oppression, justice, reconciliation and the kingdom of God as Jubilee justice? Why did they ignore the vast prophetic teachings on oppression and justice?
While he doesn't address ethnocentrism and oppression from a biblical perspective, Tracy Kidder in his excellent but profoundly disturbing book, Strength In What Remains, does write about genocide as he presents the unbelievably tragic life story of Deo, a Burundian Tutsi. The following are excerpts from Kidder's book:
The Hutu and Tutsi shared the same language, culture and religion; "They intermarried, too---more commonly after colonialism, at least in Rwanda. . . . it was hard to tell Hutu and Tutsi apart simply by looks."
But there were class distinctions; " . . . aristocracy was drawn from the population of cow-owning Tutsi's and their inferiors or dependents were predominately Hutu farmers."
". . . the effects of colonization were profound. . . ."
"Colonialism introduced new levels of violence and tools [guns] for violence." Europeans didn't invent the terms Hutu and Tutsi, but they "added poison to that terminology." "Europeans made the [Tutsi and Hutu] distinctions into a racial difference [Tutsis became a white race in a black skin]."
Hutus were treated as "virtual slaves"; Europeans created worse poverty and "periodic famines." This created "great resentment among Hutus."
"Rwandan economy and government entirely interwoven with foreign aid and dependent on it. The administration of that aid was a vehicle 'for exclusion and for the reproduction of privileges for a small elite."
" . . .structural violence [systems of oppression] was an essential element in the acute violence [genocide] that overwhelmed Rwanda in 1994."
My conclusion: ethnocentrism and oppressive economic systems always generate violence---sometimes extreme violence or genocide.
Unfortunately, genocide or something similar has been a common feature of the colonial era; here are three other examples:
1. West Africa: Europeans combined God, greed and slaves. They built churches o top of slave castles where slaves were stored waiting for slave ships. For me, the combination of the slave trade and slavery are another type of genocide.
2. Caribbean Islands: Columbus and his followers combined God, greed, gold and genocide. The result: TOTAL genocide; in the islands, there are no Native American peoples/cultures left.
3. Puritan colonists: They combined God, greed, land and genocide; this set the pattern for the rest of American history. Few culturally functioning tribes left east of the Mississippi.
Even today, there is little biblical teaching on ethnocentrism and oppression, justice and reconciliation. Among American churches, there is little repentance, restitution and repair. There must be a conspiracy to avoid these important biblical teachings in order to protect white supremacy/superiority and white privilege.
According to Luke 4, Jesus confronted the two major social evils of his time in one sermon: sermon A on oppression, 4:18-19 and sermon B on ethnocentrism, 4:25-30. Sermon B almost got him killed on the spot.. In my 89 years, I have never heard any white American pastor preach sermons A and B.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
White America In Crisis Mode
From hallowed? heritage to a hollowing out resulting in anger, fear and panic. Much of this blog is based Charles Blow's recent op-ed in the NYT titled "White America's 'Broken Heart'" At times, I felt like I was reading a modern version of the prophet Amos as I read Blow's remarkable essay. Blow discusses what's behind our weird and chaotic political season characterized by a brash, bigoted billionaire's rise to the top of the polls. Blow uses words such as disappointment, dislocation, disillusionment, demographic change, drugs and death to describe the state of white America.
Blow is black and very perceptive; he has been following the campaign trail so his observations are first-hand; he contrasts black and white America as only an American Afro American can. Blow quotes Chris Hayes: "This campaign is starting to feel more and more like a long, national nervous breakdown."
Blow describes this white breakdown with phrases such as these:
"profound disappointment with America and its institutions."
"dislocation of white supremacy" due to rapid demographic change.
"disillusionment that the economic game is rigged."
"death rates rising among middle aged white Americans caused by suicide, alcoholism and drug overdoses."
For many of these white Americans, our first black president is a high profile, visual symbol of their increasing loss of white supremacy and white privilege.
M. Crozier, a French sociologist who has visited America many times beginning in 1946 and ending in 1980. From 1946-1970, he noted a vitality and dynamic much greater than in France. But in a 1980 visit, Crozier observed a profound loss of vitality and meaning.
In my opinion, during the 1980s the American trinity of hyperindividualism, hypermaterialism and hyperethnocentrism exploded; this contributed to the hollowing out of America in 2016. White Americans are technological and production geniuses, but we are social and ethical morons.
Recently, I heard this stat over NPR; with only 5 percent of America's population, we use 80 percent of the world's pain killers. A few years earlier, we were using 50 percent of the illegal drugs. Why this enormous consumption of both legal and illegal drugs?
Two more quotations from the pen of Charles Blow:
White Americans "a people dying of sadness and vice were simply the leading edge of a tragic, morbid expression of a disappointment and fear shadowing much of white America."
Some "white Americans are coming to live an experience that many minorities have long lived---structural [economic] inequity has leapt the racial barrier."
The Bible asserts that whatever we sow, we also reap. The chickens are coming home to roost. But few white Americans are repenting. Instead, they are blaming, pointing to everyone else---Mexicans, Muslims and Obama---not themselves. They don't remember that when you point a finger at another people, you are pointing three fingers at yourself.
Blow is black and very perceptive; he has been following the campaign trail so his observations are first-hand; he contrasts black and white America as only an American Afro American can. Blow quotes Chris Hayes: "This campaign is starting to feel more and more like a long, national nervous breakdown."
Blow describes this white breakdown with phrases such as these:
"profound disappointment with America and its institutions."
"dislocation of white supremacy" due to rapid demographic change.
"disillusionment that the economic game is rigged."
"death rates rising among middle aged white Americans caused by suicide, alcoholism and drug overdoses."
For many of these white Americans, our first black president is a high profile, visual symbol of their increasing loss of white supremacy and white privilege.
M. Crozier, a French sociologist who has visited America many times beginning in 1946 and ending in 1980. From 1946-1970, he noted a vitality and dynamic much greater than in France. But in a 1980 visit, Crozier observed a profound loss of vitality and meaning.
In my opinion, during the 1980s the American trinity of hyperindividualism, hypermaterialism and hyperethnocentrism exploded; this contributed to the hollowing out of America in 2016. White Americans are technological and production geniuses, but we are social and ethical morons.
Recently, I heard this stat over NPR; with only 5 percent of America's population, we use 80 percent of the world's pain killers. A few years earlier, we were using 50 percent of the illegal drugs. Why this enormous consumption of both legal and illegal drugs?
Two more quotations from the pen of Charles Blow:
White Americans "a people dying of sadness and vice were simply the leading edge of a tragic, morbid expression of a disappointment and fear shadowing much of white America."
Some "white Americans are coming to live an experience that many minorities have long lived---structural [economic] inequity has leapt the racial barrier."
The Bible asserts that whatever we sow, we also reap. The chickens are coming home to roost. But few white Americans are repenting. Instead, they are blaming, pointing to everyone else---Mexicans, Muslims and Obama---not themselves. They don't remember that when you point a finger at another people, you are pointing three fingers at yourself.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Not A Needy Person Among Them
As usual Reta Finger provides fresh insights on the Jerusalem church in her article in March issue of Sojourners entitled "Not a Needy Person Among Them." I would like to add to her comments. She writes:
Few biblical texts have been more influenced by the social status of their interpreters than those that describe a community of pooled possessions. [Acts 4:32-35] If we have grown up in comfortable middle-class capitalism, such an arrangement seems foreign---even a threat to our life.
Economic systems tend to reflect the depravity of humans---greed and systems of oppression. According to the OT Sabbath/Jubilee laws, such economic systems need to be born again every seven years when a leveling of society, a fresh beginning takes place with all debts canceled and all slaves/oppressed freed. I think Acts 4:32-35 echoes the Sabbath/Jubilee year principles or it may even be a direct application of such.
The church in the book of Acts replicated on a large scale what Zacchaeus did at the individual level. Zacchaeus, a rich oppressor, met Jesus; out of this encounter, Zacchaeus recognized his sin, then repented and validated his repentance with large amounts of financial restitution. He gave back his extorted riches and then some.
During Jesus' time, religious, political and economic leaders rigged the financial/economic system to favor the powerful elite. Jesus called this system a 'den of robbers'. Some of these rich oppressors were converted on the day of Pentecost or soon thereafter. What should they do with their exploited riches---their extra houses and farms? Many voluntarily sold their extra houses and lands, brought the money to the church which then gave the monies to the poor. The Spirit-filled church was practicing generosity and justice.
Rarely do the American rich repent and share their riches with the poor; sometimes at the charity level, but seldom at the justice level. True conversion, full conversion results in repentance and restitution, repair and rebuilding, sharing and justice.
Few biblical texts have been more influenced by the social status of their interpreters than those that describe a community of pooled possessions. [Acts 4:32-35] If we have grown up in comfortable middle-class capitalism, such an arrangement seems foreign---even a threat to our life.
Economic systems tend to reflect the depravity of humans---greed and systems of oppression. According to the OT Sabbath/Jubilee laws, such economic systems need to be born again every seven years when a leveling of society, a fresh beginning takes place with all debts canceled and all slaves/oppressed freed. I think Acts 4:32-35 echoes the Sabbath/Jubilee year principles or it may even be a direct application of such.
The church in the book of Acts replicated on a large scale what Zacchaeus did at the individual level. Zacchaeus, a rich oppressor, met Jesus; out of this encounter, Zacchaeus recognized his sin, then repented and validated his repentance with large amounts of financial restitution. He gave back his extorted riches and then some.
During Jesus' time, religious, political and economic leaders rigged the financial/economic system to favor the powerful elite. Jesus called this system a 'den of robbers'. Some of these rich oppressors were converted on the day of Pentecost or soon thereafter. What should they do with their exploited riches---their extra houses and farms? Many voluntarily sold their extra houses and lands, brought the money to the church which then gave the monies to the poor. The Spirit-filled church was practicing generosity and justice.
Rarely do the American rich repent and share their riches with the poor; sometimes at the charity level, but seldom at the justice level. True conversion, full conversion results in repentance and restitution, repair and rebuilding, sharing and justice.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Christian Nation or Oppressor Nation?
Is the United States of America built upon the rock of Christianity or the sands of oppression?
Joe A. Feagin, a sociologist, may be America's top expert on white racism and its impact on various minorities; he has written or co-authored 60 books, mostly on the topic of race and racism. Late in his academic career, he was puzzled by the enduring persistence of white racism in America so he became a historian of sorts and explored the time of our founding fathers. There he found his answer---slavery and racism were everywhere in the American cultural and historical DNA. He titled his book Racist America, now in a 2014, 3rd edition.
Significantly, Joe Feagin gives Jennifer Harvey's book Whiteness and Morality high praise:
Drawing on recent interdisciplinary research and ancient moral imperatives, Harvey courageously probes deep truths of U.S. foundations in genocide and slavery. If Christian ethicists are serious about social justice, she avers, they must aggressively generate moral crises for self-named 'whites' who have maintained a nation created in extreme racial oppressions. Such disruptions encompass nation-shaking apologies and massive material reparations---the only ways those racialized as whites can become fully human. Harvey thereby suggests tough answers to an ultimate question: Is the United States actually an illegal and morally illegitimate nation?
For Feagin, the question Is the U.S. an oppressor nation at heart? is not a trivial question. Both Feagin and Harvey would answer a resounding YES!
After reading both Racist America and Whiteness and Morality, these are my reflections:
* Our historical past haunts our sociological present.
* America was founded on slave trade, slavery, genocide, stolen Native American and Mexican land, all legitimated by a deeply flawed, Americanized Christianity.
* In 2016, white ethnocentrism and white oppression are still widespread.
* The North is a racist as the South.
* Anglo America needs to REPENT:
Repentance as in fundamental change, not just a verbal apology.
Restitute---genuine repentance requires restitution, think Zacchaeus; no restitution, no repentance.
Repair---the people and communities damaged by oppression need to rebuilt.
* Anglos need to create a kingdom of God theology that destroys ethnocentrism and oppression; then replaces them with love and justice.
In the American context, apart from Anglo repentance (which is rare since self-righteous people seldom repent), WASPness is irreparably damaging and demonic. The incessant American ideological propaganda is that whiteness is divine, that blackness is demonic, dangerous and dysfunctional. In reality, white Christian is an oxymoron because most Anglos are oppressive and devilish. Especially when it is combined with perverted religion, the rich and the male, as is the common pattern in American history.
In America, the word white was created to justify and clarify white supremacy, slavery.
I dare to you read the following books in this order:
1. Inheriting the [Slave] Trade.
2. Between the World and Me.
3. Whiteness and Morality.
4. Dear White Christians.
5. The New Jim Crow.
And if you are a glutton for punishment, add
6. W.E.B. Du Bois: American Prophet.
7. Reforging the White Republic.
Then go back to the Bible and read Amos and the gospel of Luke.
Then . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Friday, February 5, 2016
Review of The Gardens of Democracy---a new type of capitalism
At the small scale level---family farms, small business, community banks, cooperatives---the capitalistic system works quite well. But when the financial/economic system becomes dominated by big corporations, big banks, Wall Street, the system, far too often becomes, as Jesus puts it, a den of robbers.
Enter Nick Hanauer, author of The Gardens of Democracy, who asks Americans to rethink their model of capitalism around the concept of a garden, not a machine. In summary fashion, Nick outlines what is wrong with American capitalism and how it should be changed. Remember, Hanauer is a venture capitalist.
Machine view: Markets are efficient, thus sacrosanct.
Garden view: Markets are effective, if well tended.
Machine view: Regulation destroys markets.
Garden view: Markets need fertilizing and weeding, or else are destroyed.
Machine view: Income [and wealth] inequality reflects unequal effort and ability.
Garden view: Inequality is what markets naturally create and compound, and requires correction.
Machine view: Wealth is created through competition and by the pursuit of narrow self-interest.
Garden view: Wealth is created through trust and cooperation.
Machine view: Wealth = individuals accumulating money.
Garden view: Wealth = society creating solutions.
If we are serious about creating wealth, our focus should not be on taking care of the rich so that their money trickles down; it should be on making sure everyone has a fair chance---in education, health, social capital, access to financial capital---to create new information and ideas.
Freedom without responsibility ends up as self-interest, greed; freedom with responsibility combines love and justice with freedom. Nick doesn't use the words community, love and justice often, but the following statement imply such:
"We're all in it together."
"Freedom is responsibility."
"We're all better off when we're all better off."
"True self-interest is mutual self-interest."
"With inalienable rights come inalienable responsibilities."
These comments remember me of Gal. 5:13: "You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Rather, serve one another in love." From atomized individualism to networked interdependence.
Recirculation of wealth is as necessary to the economy as recirculation of blood is to the body.
In reading The Gardens of Democracy, I realized that capitalistic theory says little about economic oppression, the rich oppressing the poor. Instead, supposedly 'the market' efficiently distributes goods and services to the people; implied is that the poor must be lazy, ignorant, unskilled. Unacknowledged is that the rich benefit from 'trickle up'. The system is rigged in favor of 'trickle up', a form of oppression.
Enter Nick Hanauer, author of The Gardens of Democracy, who asks Americans to rethink their model of capitalism around the concept of a garden, not a machine. In summary fashion, Nick outlines what is wrong with American capitalism and how it should be changed. Remember, Hanauer is a venture capitalist.
Machine view: Markets are efficient, thus sacrosanct.
Garden view: Markets are effective, if well tended.
Machine view: Regulation destroys markets.
Garden view: Markets need fertilizing and weeding, or else are destroyed.
Machine view: Income [and wealth] inequality reflects unequal effort and ability.
Garden view: Inequality is what markets naturally create and compound, and requires correction.
Machine view: Wealth is created through competition and by the pursuit of narrow self-interest.
Garden view: Wealth is created through trust and cooperation.
Machine view: Wealth = individuals accumulating money.
Garden view: Wealth = society creating solutions.
If we are serious about creating wealth, our focus should not be on taking care of the rich so that their money trickles down; it should be on making sure everyone has a fair chance---in education, health, social capital, access to financial capital---to create new information and ideas.
Freedom without responsibility ends up as self-interest, greed; freedom with responsibility combines love and justice with freedom. Nick doesn't use the words community, love and justice often, but the following statement imply such:
"We're all in it together."
"Freedom is responsibility."
"We're all better off when we're all better off."
"True self-interest is mutual self-interest."
"With inalienable rights come inalienable responsibilities."
These comments remember me of Gal. 5:13: "You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Rather, serve one another in love." From atomized individualism to networked interdependence.
Recirculation of wealth is as necessary to the economy as recirculation of blood is to the body.
In reading The Gardens of Democracy, I realized that capitalistic theory says little about economic oppression, the rich oppressing the poor. Instead, supposedly 'the market' efficiently distributes goods and services to the people; implied is that the poor must be lazy, ignorant, unskilled. Unacknowledged is that the rich benefit from 'trickle up'. The system is rigged in favor of 'trickle up', a form of oppression.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Reflections on Wall Street Capitalism
According to Bernie Sanders, our political system is corrupt and our economic system is rigged by Wall Street corporate capitalism.
According to Peggy Noonan, a conservative pundit, many young people have lost faith in American capitalism because of the economic earthquake in 2008 and the after shocks which have left them with uncertain futures. Their faith has been shattered so they are turning to Sanders in droves.
According to Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist and author of The Gardens of Democracy, for long-term survival, American capitalism must put the common good (justice for all) on a par with profits. I recently heard Nick on NPR and was amazed at his insight, wisdom and common sense.
According to Kevin Crause, author of One Nation Under God, much of the American church has been coopted and manipulated by corporate capitalism to provide moral legitimacy for Wall Street and Christian nationalism. One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America has been reviewed by Randall Palmer in the Feb. 3, 2016 Christian Century. It wasn't always this way in the American church. The following quotations are from the Palmer review:
Building their case from scripture, evangelical reformers in the 19th and early 20th centuries excoriated capitalism as inherently inconsistent with the mandates of the New Testament. Charles Finney thought the term 'Christian businessman' was an oxymoron because capitalism necessarily elevates avarice over altruism.
Jerry Falwell, Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham were among the many clergy who were influenced by The Committee to Proclaim Liberty. Key capitalists were Sid Richardson, James L. Kraft, J.C. Penny and Walt Disney.
The Committee to Proclaim Liberty enlisted still more clergy to perform the marriage between capitalism and Christianity, and by the dawn of the Eisenhower administration, all of this had somehow morphed into a kind Christian nationalism. Billy Graham played a key role.
They found no shortage of politicians willing to fly in the face of history to assert that the United States is a Christian nation, and no shortage of clergy willing to fly in the face of scripture to baptize free-market capitalism.
The Iowa Caucuses take place today. White evangelicals here in Iowa seem more than willing to marry capitalism and the church, and to promote the Christian nationalism heresy.
Pope Francis and Catholic social teaching provide a different alternative. See the Feb Sojourners magazine for an excellent summary in the article, "Economic Democracy and the Common Good." The common good would emphasize justice for all and cooperatives and some socialism, but not state socialism. The early church stressed generous sharing, priority of the poor, and equality in community, and kingdom of God Jubilee justice.
Another variation of a more just economy can be found in the book The Gardens of Democracy by a venture capitalist. Upcoming I will do a blog review on this book. Here are a few excerpts:
This book was conceived in the wake of the . . . 2008 Recession when giant financial institutions were obliterated, the net worth of most Americans collapsed.
At the same time, this has been an era of radical economic inequality, at levels not seen since 1929. Over the last three decades, an unprecedented consolidation and concentration of earning power and wealth has made the top 1 percent of Americans immensely richer while middle-class Americans have been increasingly impoverished.
Are the 2008 Recession and the vast income and wealth inequality related? Hanauer thinks so. He has concluded that "radical inequality and radical economic dislocation are causally linked: one brings and amplifies the other."
Book review to come
According to Peggy Noonan, a conservative pundit, many young people have lost faith in American capitalism because of the economic earthquake in 2008 and the after shocks which have left them with uncertain futures. Their faith has been shattered so they are turning to Sanders in droves.
According to Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist and author of The Gardens of Democracy, for long-term survival, American capitalism must put the common good (justice for all) on a par with profits. I recently heard Nick on NPR and was amazed at his insight, wisdom and common sense.
According to Kevin Crause, author of One Nation Under God, much of the American church has been coopted and manipulated by corporate capitalism to provide moral legitimacy for Wall Street and Christian nationalism. One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America has been reviewed by Randall Palmer in the Feb. 3, 2016 Christian Century. It wasn't always this way in the American church. The following quotations are from the Palmer review:
Building their case from scripture, evangelical reformers in the 19th and early 20th centuries excoriated capitalism as inherently inconsistent with the mandates of the New Testament. Charles Finney thought the term 'Christian businessman' was an oxymoron because capitalism necessarily elevates avarice over altruism.
Jerry Falwell, Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham were among the many clergy who were influenced by The Committee to Proclaim Liberty. Key capitalists were Sid Richardson, James L. Kraft, J.C. Penny and Walt Disney.
The Committee to Proclaim Liberty enlisted still more clergy to perform the marriage between capitalism and Christianity, and by the dawn of the Eisenhower administration, all of this had somehow morphed into a kind Christian nationalism. Billy Graham played a key role.
They found no shortage of politicians willing to fly in the face of history to assert that the United States is a Christian nation, and no shortage of clergy willing to fly in the face of scripture to baptize free-market capitalism.
The Iowa Caucuses take place today. White evangelicals here in Iowa seem more than willing to marry capitalism and the church, and to promote the Christian nationalism heresy.
Pope Francis and Catholic social teaching provide a different alternative. See the Feb Sojourners magazine for an excellent summary in the article, "Economic Democracy and the Common Good." The common good would emphasize justice for all and cooperatives and some socialism, but not state socialism. The early church stressed generous sharing, priority of the poor, and equality in community, and kingdom of God Jubilee justice.
Another variation of a more just economy can be found in the book The Gardens of Democracy by a venture capitalist. Upcoming I will do a blog review on this book. Here are a few excerpts:
This book was conceived in the wake of the . . . 2008 Recession when giant financial institutions were obliterated, the net worth of most Americans collapsed.
At the same time, this has been an era of radical economic inequality, at levels not seen since 1929. Over the last three decades, an unprecedented consolidation and concentration of earning power and wealth has made the top 1 percent of Americans immensely richer while middle-class Americans have been increasingly impoverished.
Are the 2008 Recession and the vast income and wealth inequality related? Hanauer thinks so. He has concluded that "radical inequality and radical economic dislocation are causally linked: one brings and amplifies the other."
Book review to come
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