Can I back up and give a hearty “Amen” to your post, Dr. Clark, on “The Strange Case of Jena”? Thank you for what you said. I have been amazed–and not a little concerned–at some of the “soft” racism I see in some Reformed circles which masquerade under an idealism of Southern ante-bellum society which never existed. It amounts to historical revisionism–something for which we Christians should be ashamed.
The “Strange Case of Jena” post doesn’t seem to have a spot for comments, but…
I have as much white guilt, fear and loathing of our past as the next Caucasian-American. And, yes, against more optimistic views of human nature, Calvinism demands that we are all naturally racists; it’s just that some of us manage it better (or worse) than others. And, true, “in Christ there is no Jew, no Gentile etc.,” and “11AM on Sunday is the most racially divided hour in America,” and if it isn’t it certainly should be.
But I wonder. If “we need to add racism to the list of gross sins of which we all need to repent,” what is wrong with adding something like the Belhar Confession to the list of things we all need to confess? How is saying it is “sinful to denigrate a person or group because of race” different from the logic that gives us “hate-crime” laws? Just as it would see to be unlawful to harm another person, regardless of his/her race, etc., full stop, isn’t it a sin to denigrate another human being, full stop? I guess I’m wondering what the difference between 21st century American mores (the kind I myself possess) and the righteousness demanded of God by those he has justified. Are they analogous, or is there a wider chasm between ideology and theology?
Thanks for the comments and encouragements.
Comments on the Jena post were off but I switched them back on. If you want to cut and paste your comments there, you may do.
Can I back up and give a hearty “Amen” to your post, Dr. Clark, on “The Strange Case of Jena”? Thank you for what you said. I have been amazed–and not a little concerned–at some of the “soft” racism I see in some Reformed circles which masquerade under an idealism of Southern ante-bellum society which never existed. It amounts to historical revisionism–something for which we Christians should be ashamed.
The “Strange Case of Jena” post doesn’t seem to have a spot for comments, but…
I have as much white guilt, fear and loathing of our past as the next Caucasian-American. And, yes, against more optimistic views of human nature, Calvinism demands that we are all naturally racists; it’s just that some of us manage it better (or worse) than others. And, true, “in Christ there is no Jew, no Gentile etc.,” and “11AM on Sunday is the most racially divided hour in America,” and if it isn’t it certainly should be.
But I wonder. If “we need to add racism to the list of gross sins of which we all need to repent,” what is wrong with adding something like the Belhar Confession to the list of things we all need to confess? How is saying it is “sinful to denigrate a person or group because of race” different from the logic that gives us “hate-crime” laws? Just as it would see to be unlawful to harm another person, regardless of his/her race, etc., full stop, isn’t it a sin to denigrate another human being, full stop? I guess I’m wondering what the difference between 21st century American mores (the kind I myself possess) and the righteousness demanded of God by those he has justified. Are they analogous, or is there a wider chasm between ideology and theology?
Thanks for the comments and encouragements.
Comments on the Jena post were off but I switched them back on. If you want to cut and paste your comments there, you may do.