Profound, yet shallow; deep but tragically incomplete. Hope divorced from justice; confession, apologies not followed up with restitution and justice.
The latest Christian Century (July 19, 2017) contains a fine article titled "How to live in hope," by Charles R. Pinches. The article begins with this tragically true story:
"Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation guided his people through the deep crisis brought by the invasion of the white man. Shortly before his death in 1932, he said to his biographer: 'When the buffalo went away the hearts of my people feel to the ground, and they could not lift them up again. [think Exodus 6:9] After this nothing happened." Jonathan Lear, author of Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation, is haunted by this phrase. What did Plenty Coups mean by 'after this nothing happened'? As Lear interprets it, 'there is no importantly first-person narrative to tell of this [subsequent] period. It is as though there is no longer an 'I' there."
White oppression caused a historical and cultural demise---a destruction of both 'I' and 'We'.
Pinches continues with his commentary:
"While the Crow remained alive after the buffalo went away [killed in mass by whites], their lives had no place in their own history. This is a fitting way to characterize a life without hope: having no place within a history. To find life again, the Crow needed a "radical hope."
"When hope is removed, time is cut off, as for the Crow Nation. Then nothing can happen---unless time's dangling ends can somehow be reconnected. We have a term for life without hope: DESPAIR. Aquinas calls it the greatest sin." Not quite right; oppression, the primary cause of most despair, is the greater sin.
"Despair . . . detaches us from God's story. Despair does not so much deny or oppose God's truth or story directly, but rather says: whatever the truth is, or whatever the story may be, there is nothing in it for me [and my people]."
If a person or a people is in a spirit of despair [Isaiah 61], broken in spirit [Exodus 6:9], they need a believing partner, a lifelong partner, to help them believe, hope, rebuild. Or in other words, despair reigns until doers of justice intervene. [Isaiah 58:6ff and Luke 4:18-19]
"How to live in hope" should be read at the same time as "The People and the Black Book." Both excellent articles begin with the tragic oppression of Indian peoples in America and Canada. Both are written by Christians and published in Christian magazines. But, in the final analysis, both are biblical failures. Neither connects restitution, justice and partnership as the biblical answer to the cultural devastation caused by generations of white oppression. Now we need generations of deep justice, Jubilee justice, kingdom justice, Jesus justice.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
What Living for 35 years in black communities taught me.
What did living for 35 years to two black communities---Jackson, Michigan and West Jackson, Mississippi---teach me?
I attended three different Christian liberal arts colleges and took a number of Bible courses. Unfortunately, this Christian education did NOT adequately prepare me for the challenges of living in poor and oppressed communities. What additional things did I learn from these communities?
1. To practice biblical Christianity, I needed to repent, restitute and relocate; also to release and rebuild. Release in the sense of Isaiah 58:6ff and Luke 4:18; rebuild in the sense of doing Christian Community Development. I did not learn this in white Christian colleges and churches.
2. To develop a more comprehensive biblical theology, I needed to add a clear and compelling kingdom of God on earth theology---Jubilee justice that releases the oppressed poor. In the OT, Isaiah's Messianic passages spell out the nature and characteristics of the Messianic kingdom. Isaiah 9:7; 11:1-4; 16:5; 28:16-17; 42:1-4 and 61:1-4. In 61:1, I prefer the translation 'oppressed' over 'poor.' I did not learn this in my Bible courses.
3. I needed black mentors such as Tom and Barbara Skinner, John Perkins, and Martin Luther King to deepen both my theology and practice of biblical Christianity.
4. I learned that sincere apologies for the historical sins of white ethnocentrism and oppression are good and necessary, but not good enough. See Mark Labberton, "The People and the Black Book."
5. Current white theology on ethnocentrism and oppression is limited and shallow while the biblical teaching is widespread (555 OT references) and critically important.
Over the 15 years that I volunteered at the Perkins Center in West Jackson, dozens of weeklong mission teams from Christian colleges and InterVarsity groups came to the Perkins Center. None of them, almost all white, came with a good knowledge of even the biblical basics about oppression, justice and the kingdom of God. The time period was from 1994-2010.
I attended three different Christian liberal arts colleges and took a number of Bible courses. Unfortunately, this Christian education did NOT adequately prepare me for the challenges of living in poor and oppressed communities. What additional things did I learn from these communities?
1. To practice biblical Christianity, I needed to repent, restitute and relocate; also to release and rebuild. Release in the sense of Isaiah 58:6ff and Luke 4:18; rebuild in the sense of doing Christian Community Development. I did not learn this in white Christian colleges and churches.
2. To develop a more comprehensive biblical theology, I needed to add a clear and compelling kingdom of God on earth theology---Jubilee justice that releases the oppressed poor. In the OT, Isaiah's Messianic passages spell out the nature and characteristics of the Messianic kingdom. Isaiah 9:7; 11:1-4; 16:5; 28:16-17; 42:1-4 and 61:1-4. In 61:1, I prefer the translation 'oppressed' over 'poor.' I did not learn this in my Bible courses.
3. I needed black mentors such as Tom and Barbara Skinner, John Perkins, and Martin Luther King to deepen both my theology and practice of biblical Christianity.
4. I learned that sincere apologies for the historical sins of white ethnocentrism and oppression are good and necessary, but not good enough. See Mark Labberton, "The People and the Black Book."
5. Current white theology on ethnocentrism and oppression is limited and shallow while the biblical teaching is widespread (555 OT references) and critically important.
Over the 15 years that I volunteered at the Perkins Center in West Jackson, dozens of weeklong mission teams from Christian colleges and InterVarsity groups came to the Perkins Center. None of them, almost all white, came with a good knowledge of even the biblical basics about oppression, justice and the kingdom of God. The time period was from 1994-2010.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Comparing Black and Hillbilly Cultures
Cross cultural comparisons can be powerful learning experiences. I experienced one last night as I watched a documentary on IPTV titled "Against All Odds: Chasing the Dream," by Bob Herbert. Topic: The black middle class and its difficult and elusive quest to achieve the American Dream put in historical perspective. At the same time I was rereading what has quickly become an American classic---Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, himself an Appalachian white.
Both Black and Appalachian cultures have serious dysfunctions; how do they compare? What are the causes of their dysfunctions?
There was significant exploitation of hillbillies by the all powerful coal companies, but, according to fellow hillbilly J.D. Vance, the dysfunction of hillbilly families was largely self-inflicted. The major cause of black dysfunction was the endless and ruthless oppression by white oppressors from 1776-2017.
I spent two years in eastern Kentucky, the exact spot where Vance was born and raised. I also have lived in black communities for 35 years. Comparing the two cultures, I would say that American blacks have had it twice as bad, probably three or four times as bad, as Appalachian whites. But I am afraid that most of my fellow whites would blame blacks for their own dysfunction, not white oppression.
Before you watch the documentary and read the book, read Exodus chapter one on Hebrew oppression; also Exodus 6:9 which describes the damage oppression does---causes mass PTSD.
Both Black and Appalachian cultures have serious dysfunctions; how do they compare? What are the causes of their dysfunctions?
There was significant exploitation of hillbillies by the all powerful coal companies, but, according to fellow hillbilly J.D. Vance, the dysfunction of hillbilly families was largely self-inflicted. The major cause of black dysfunction was the endless and ruthless oppression by white oppressors from 1776-2017.
I spent two years in eastern Kentucky, the exact spot where Vance was born and raised. I also have lived in black communities for 35 years. Comparing the two cultures, I would say that American blacks have had it twice as bad, probably three or four times as bad, as Appalachian whites. But I am afraid that most of my fellow whites would blame blacks for their own dysfunction, not white oppression.
Before you watch the documentary and read the book, read Exodus chapter one on Hebrew oppression; also Exodus 6:9 which describes the damage oppression does---causes mass PTSD.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Trump Meets Putin --- Face to Face
Some political commentary on Trump's meeting with Putin.
Trump was apparently honored to meet a strong leader whom he admired. If he could ignore the Constitution and get away with it, Trump would like to become another strong leader, answerable to no one but himself.
When Trump shook hands with Putin, he apparently didn't notice that Putin's hands were dripping with blood. Trump seemed to forget that he was shaking hands with a thief, a murderer, a thug, a ruthless dictator; so think John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
Why did Trump seem to genuinely like both the Chinese and Russian dictators and not the German president Merkel?
When Putin shook hands with Trump, he shook hands with not only a president but a presidency---with America and its history. With the Vietnam War, with the Iraq War, with the ongoing Afghanistan War. Trump's American hands were also dripping with blood, with Vietnam blood, with Iraq blood. Putin was also shaking hands with a democratic thief, murderer, thug.
The two thugs apparently hit it off well.
Footnote: The sun never sets on America's militaristic empire with bases all around the world. Trump hasn't closed any of the dozens of military bases around the world; neither did Obama.
PS
The following additional thoughts were stimulated by interviews by Douglas Blackmon, IPTV, July 8, 2017. One of the two persons being interviewed was Eliot Cohen, author of The Big Stick.
One of the experts being interviewed said that the Russian cyberattack on American was very literally an act of terrorism. Putin is trying to undermine all of Western liberal democracy; he regards Western democracy as his greatest foe.
I agree. Putin is ten times more dangerous than Islamic terrorism, but Trump is befriending a Russian terrorist. Why is Trump so cozy with the Russians? About 10 years ago, one of Trump's sons said that the Russians were the primary financiers of the Trump businesses.
One expert said that Trump's tweet that he was partnering with Russia was "delusional and ridiculous." Partner with a Russian terrorist but killing Islamic terrorists??
Trump was apparently honored to meet a strong leader whom he admired. If he could ignore the Constitution and get away with it, Trump would like to become another strong leader, answerable to no one but himself.
When Trump shook hands with Putin, he apparently didn't notice that Putin's hands were dripping with blood. Trump seemed to forget that he was shaking hands with a thief, a murderer, a thug, a ruthless dictator; so think John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
Why did Trump seem to genuinely like both the Chinese and Russian dictators and not the German president Merkel?
When Putin shook hands with Trump, he shook hands with not only a president but a presidency---with America and its history. With the Vietnam War, with the Iraq War, with the ongoing Afghanistan War. Trump's American hands were also dripping with blood, with Vietnam blood, with Iraq blood. Putin was also shaking hands with a democratic thief, murderer, thug.
The two thugs apparently hit it off well.
Footnote: The sun never sets on America's militaristic empire with bases all around the world. Trump hasn't closed any of the dozens of military bases around the world; neither did Obama.
PS
The following additional thoughts were stimulated by interviews by Douglas Blackmon, IPTV, July 8, 2017. One of the two persons being interviewed was Eliot Cohen, author of The Big Stick.
One of the experts being interviewed said that the Russian cyberattack on American was very literally an act of terrorism. Putin is trying to undermine all of Western liberal democracy; he regards Western democracy as his greatest foe.
I agree. Putin is ten times more dangerous than Islamic terrorism, but Trump is befriending a Russian terrorist. Why is Trump so cozy with the Russians? About 10 years ago, one of Trump's sons said that the Russians were the primary financiers of the Trump businesses.
One expert said that Trump's tweet that he was partnering with Russia was "delusional and ridiculous." Partner with a Russian terrorist but killing Islamic terrorists??
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Is American Democracy Slowly Dying?
This blog was stimulated by an interview with Jon Meachem on NPR, July 4, 2017. In this interview, Meacham referred to Richard Reeves who states that the American Dream is working for only about 20 percent of the population---the rich and upper middle class---but it is stagnating or declining for about 80 percent of the American population. This has been going on for about 40 years, gradually getting worse over time.
Jon Meachem: American democracy is "in the most danger it's been in since the 1930s." The rich and upper middle class "is rigging the market---the housing market, the college market---essentially hoarding the American Dream." "the idea of America as the land of opportunity is ending."
Could we be in a downward death spiral with the American Trinity of hyperindividualism, hypermaterialism, and hyperethnocentrism leading the way. Or is American democracy strong enough to recover from its downward slide?
Over the holiday, I learned that in spite of the Declaration of Independence beautiful phrase "All men are created equal" the slave population multiplied from 400,000 in 1776 to 4,000,000 by the time of the Civil War. America did not practice what it preached.
In 1990, Republican Kevin Phillips published a book titled The Politics of Rich and Poor in which he addressed the explosion of the dominance of the rich over the poor; the wealth gap doubled during the 1980s---the Reagan era. Since the 1980s under both Republican and Democratic presidents, the wealth gap has continued to widen.
Trumpism is symtomatic, not causal. Trumpism may speed the decline of democracy, but it began its decline decades earlier. Hillbilly Elegy documents this decline and the despair of one segment of our white population which is now being ravaged by the opioid epidemic.
Jon Meachem: American democracy is "in the most danger it's been in since the 1930s." The rich and upper middle class "is rigging the market---the housing market, the college market---essentially hoarding the American Dream." "the idea of America as the land of opportunity is ending."
Could we be in a downward death spiral with the American Trinity of hyperindividualism, hypermaterialism, and hyperethnocentrism leading the way. Or is American democracy strong enough to recover from its downward slide?
Over the holiday, I learned that in spite of the Declaration of Independence beautiful phrase "All men are created equal" the slave population multiplied from 400,000 in 1776 to 4,000,000 by the time of the Civil War. America did not practice what it preached.
In 1990, Republican Kevin Phillips published a book titled The Politics of Rich and Poor in which he addressed the explosion of the dominance of the rich over the poor; the wealth gap doubled during the 1980s---the Reagan era. Since the 1980s under both Republican and Democratic presidents, the wealth gap has continued to widen.
Trumpism is symtomatic, not causal. Trumpism may speed the decline of democracy, but it began its decline decades earlier. Hillbilly Elegy documents this decline and the despair of one segment of our white population which is now being ravaged by the opioid epidemic.
Monday, July 3, 2017
White Oppression or Black Responsibility?
Two black views on the social problems of the Black ghettos:
1. "It's on us. It's our responsibility." Referring to black-on black crimes, family dysfunction, etc.
2. Harvard professor and black pastor, Peter J. Gomes: "money, programs, and advocacy alone will not solve the problems of the black underclass. . . . despair as the root and fundamental disease; despair, the loss of hope, the loss of any sense of purpose, or worth, or direction, or place." Or meaning.
My comments: This is a description of not only the black underclass, but also Appalachian whites (read Hillbilly Elegy) and Indian reservations, and Latino barrios. The cause is not individual character flaw, nor cultural inferiority; instead it is enormous oppression damage. Oppression is "the root and fundamental disease." Oppression causes trauma and despair; trauma causes individual, family, community and cultural PTSD; PTSD and the resulting dysfunction creates the black urban underclass.
"It's on us. It's our responsibility." This is what American white Christians should be saying as they repent and engage in restitution and then became active and lifelong partners in the rebuilding of black underclass communities. The best partners will relocate in those communities.
1. "It's on us. It's our responsibility." Referring to black-on black crimes, family dysfunction, etc.
2. Harvard professor and black pastor, Peter J. Gomes: "money, programs, and advocacy alone will not solve the problems of the black underclass. . . . despair as the root and fundamental disease; despair, the loss of hope, the loss of any sense of purpose, or worth, or direction, or place." Or meaning.
My comments: This is a description of not only the black underclass, but also Appalachian whites (read Hillbilly Elegy) and Indian reservations, and Latino barrios. The cause is not individual character flaw, nor cultural inferiority; instead it is enormous oppression damage. Oppression is "the root and fundamental disease." Oppression causes trauma and despair; trauma causes individual, family, community and cultural PTSD; PTSD and the resulting dysfunction creates the black urban underclass.
"It's on us. It's our responsibility." This is what American white Christians should be saying as they repent and engage in restitution and then became active and lifelong partners in the rebuilding of black underclass communities. The best partners will relocate in those communities.
Is The Health Care System Rigged?
Is the healthcare system rigged and, if so, by whom?
The rich in America control or have rigged every social institution/system in their favor, and against the poor. The rich are getting richer at an astronomical rate. Both the income and wealth gap are widening. Congress is largely controlled by lobbyists for the rich (Isaiah 10:1-2).
Obamacare's fundamental weakness is that it did not figure out how to control health care costs which continue to explode. This undermines even the good aspects of Obamacare.
Repubcare/Trumpcare will not control health care costs either. They will reduce Medicaid costs, Yes, but not health care costs.
So America should repeal Obamacare and replace it with Medicare for All. Give Medicare for All power to negotiate drug prices.
Or forget Repeal and Replace and instead Repair Obamacare; give Obamacare power to negotiate drug prices.
The good side of badly needed regulations is that potentially they can reduce rigging by the rich. But I suppose many times the rich will rig the regs or rig the lack of effective enforcement of the regulations.
In NT times, the rich also rigged the systems, even the Sacred Temple, the religion-politico-economic system. Note Luke 6:24: "Woe to the rich." When the rich rig the system, they oppress the poor, even if they utter 'Shalom, shalom' or 'the Law, the Law' in the process of their rigging.
The rich in America control or have rigged every social institution/system in their favor, and against the poor. The rich are getting richer at an astronomical rate. Both the income and wealth gap are widening. Congress is largely controlled by lobbyists for the rich (Isaiah 10:1-2).
Obamacare's fundamental weakness is that it did not figure out how to control health care costs which continue to explode. This undermines even the good aspects of Obamacare.
Repubcare/Trumpcare will not control health care costs either. They will reduce Medicaid costs, Yes, but not health care costs.
So America should repeal Obamacare and replace it with Medicare for All. Give Medicare for All power to negotiate drug prices.
Or forget Repeal and Replace and instead Repair Obamacare; give Obamacare power to negotiate drug prices.
The good side of badly needed regulations is that potentially they can reduce rigging by the rich. But I suppose many times the rich will rig the regs or rig the lack of effective enforcement of the regulations.
In NT times, the rich also rigged the systems, even the Sacred Temple, the religion-politico-economic system. Note Luke 6:24: "Woe to the rich." When the rich rig the system, they oppress the poor, even if they utter 'Shalom, shalom' or 'the Law, the Law' in the process of their rigging.
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