usmbguest5318
Gold Member
In listening to news reports and commentary in the aftermath of "Charlottesville," I've not seen any of the major leaders of the white Protestant Christian right denouncing the hatred and violence that last weekend took place there.
I'm not saying no Christian leaders have condemned the white supremacists/supremacy, white nationalists, and racists. I'm saying that surprisingly few have.
Jemar Tisby, president of the Reformed African American Network, wrote in The Washington Post:
Racial divisions have been part of the American church for as long as it has existed. Many early denominational splits were driven by Christians who supported slavery and justified it with Bible verses. Historians argue that the spread of Christian private schools in the South in the 1960s and ’70s was largely driven by racism. White supremacy is undeniably a part of the history of American Christianity, as is abolition, and support for civil rights. Clashes over race have roiled congregations for as long as they’ve been in America.
And it’s not just history, either. Much of the anger directed at white Christians following the Charlottesville attacks was tied to Trump. Some people believe his election empowered white-supremacist fringe groups like those who gathered in at the “Unite the Right” rally this weekend. They blame white Christians for enabling this to happen: Eighty percent of white evangelicals voted for the president (See also: Among white evangelicals, regular churchgoers are the most supportive of Trump), as did 60 percent of white Catholics. At best, they ignored or dismissed Trump’s appeal to these racist fringe groups, these critics say; at worst, they were complicit.
And to top it all of, as I type this, Ms. Heyer's memorial service is underway. Is Donald Trump there? Nope. Apparently the most rueful and palpable outcome of the Charlottesville violence doesn't move Trump in accordance with how it may have seemed when he issued his remarks about it...yet another "wink and nod."
I'm not saying no Christian leaders have condemned the white supremacists/supremacy, white nationalists, and racists. I'm saying that surprisingly few have.
- Cardinal Blase Cupich, leader of the Archdiocese of Chicago, said, "When it comes to racism, there is only one side: to stand against it."
- Russell Moore, political leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, tweeted, "The so-called Alt-Right white supremacist ideologies are anti-Christ and satanic to the core. We should say so."
Jemar Tisby, president of the Reformed African American Network, wrote in The Washington Post:
Despite all our efforts, some white pastors still remain silent on Sunday. They relegate racism to the status of a “social” issue and not a “gospel” issue. Leadership in churches and other Christian organizations remain all or mostly white. It’s the same with the boards of directors and trustees of these institutions. Evangelicals who prostitute the faith for political power remain in the pulpit and are given wide latitude to stir up racial resentment in the guise of “race neutral” language.
And it’s not just history, either. Much of the anger directed at white Christians following the Charlottesville attacks was tied to Trump. Some people believe his election empowered white-supremacist fringe groups like those who gathered in at the “Unite the Right” rally this weekend. They blame white Christians for enabling this to happen: Eighty percent of white evangelicals voted for the president (See also: Among white evangelicals, regular churchgoers are the most supportive of Trump), as did 60 percent of white Catholics. At best, they ignored or dismissed Trump’s appeal to these racist fringe groups, these critics say; at worst, they were complicit.
And to top it all of, as I type this, Ms. Heyer's memorial service is underway. Is Donald Trump there? Nope. Apparently the most rueful and palpable outcome of the Charlottesville violence doesn't move Trump in accordance with how it may have seemed when he issued his remarks about it...yet another "wink and nod."