Is Christianity the White Man's Religion?

Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? PDF Author: Antipas L. Harris
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830848258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Among many young people of color, there is a growing wariness about organized religion and Christianity in particular. If Christianity is for everyone, why does the Bible seem to endorse slavery? Why do most popular images of Jesus feature a man with white skin and blue eyes? Is evangelical Christianity "good news" or a tool of white supremacy? As our society increases in ethnic and religious diversity, millennials and the next generation of emerging adults harbor suspicions about traditional Christianity. They're looking for a faith that makes sense for the world they see around them. They want to know how Christianity relates to race, ethnicity, and societal injustices. Many young adults have rejected the Christian faith based on what they've seen in churches, the media, and politics. For them, Christianity looks a lot like a "white man's religion." Antipas L. Harris, a theologian and community activist, believes that biblical Christianity is more affirmative of cultural diversity than many realize. In this sweeping social, theological, and historical examination of Christianity, Harris responds to a list of hot topics from young Americans who struggle with the perception that Christianity is detached from matters of justice, identity, and culture. He also looks at the ways in which American evangelicalism may have incubated the race problem. Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? affirms that ethnic diversity has played a powerful role in the formation of the Old and New Testaments and that the Bible is a book of justice, promoting equality for all people. Contrary to popular Eurocentric conceptions, biblical Christianity is not just for white Westerners. It's good news for all of us.

Black Man's Religion

Black Man's Religion PDF Author: Glenn Usry
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 9780830874576
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Some say Christianity is white man's religion. . . . And it is true that there is a long and ugly history of abuse of African-Americans at the hands of Anglo Christians. Afrocentric interpretations of history often point to slavery, lynchings and the like as proof that Christianity is inherently antiblack. But Craig Keener and Glen Usry contend that Christianity can be Afrocentric. In this massively researched book, they show that racism is not unique to Christianity. More important, they show how "world history is also our history and the Bible is also our book." Black Man's Religion is one of the first of its kind, a pro-Christian reading of religion and history from a black perspective. Fascinating and compelling, it is must reading for all concerned for African-American culture and issues of faith.

Fault Lines

Fault Lines PDF Author: Voddie T. Baucham
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1684512018
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
The Ground Is Moving The death of George Floyd at the hands of police in the summer of 2020 shocked the nation. As riots rocked American cities, Christians affirmed from the pulpit and in social media that “black lives matter” and that racial justice “is a gospel issue.” But what if there is more to the social justice movement than those Christians understand? Even worse: What if they’ve been duped into preaching ideas that actually oppose the Kingdom of God? In this powerful book, Voddie Baucham, a preacher, professor, and cultural apologist, explains the sinister worldview behind the social justice movement and Critical Race Theory—revealing how it already has infiltrated some seminaries, leading to internal denominational conflict, canceled careers, and lost livelihoods. Like a fault line, it threatens American culture in general—and the evangelical church in particular. Whether you’re a layperson who has woken up in a strange new world and wonders how to engage sensitively and effectively in the conversation on race or a pastor who is grappling with a polarized congregation, this book offers the clarity and understanding to either hold your ground or reclaim it.

The Whitewashing of Christianity

The Whitewashing of Christianity PDF Author: Jerome Gay
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953156068
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
A timely narrative of how the Christian faith has presented in a culturally monolithic manner and the effects it has on generations. And a call for Christians to respond with truth and love rooted in the Gospel. The Whitewashing of Christianity is informative, insightful and inspirational, telling a history that's often hidden, ignored, revised or unknown. Confrontational, but not combative, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain the false narrative that Christianity is a white man's religion and how it has presented almost every person in Scripture and most of Africa's theologians and martyrs as white men and women. You will be given countless references that chronicle what whitewashing is, how it has been maintained, the negative effects it has caused and more importantly, how we can stop it. The Whitewashing of Christianity: Takes you on a historical, sociological, judicial and religious journey of how Christianity has been whitewashed - Addresses the negative effects of whitewashing and how many view Christianity as a religion of oppression Presents a full narrative of redemptive history, which finds it roots in Africa Highlights African theologians, philosophers, teachers and martyrs Addresses claims from those that oppose Christianity with sources, Scripture and historical facts Equips people on how to engage inaccurate claims of Christian history and slavery Addresses the concerns of those that think Christianity is not an indigenous faith of people of African descent Equips churches and organizations with ways to combat whitewashing and move in unity The Whitewashing of Christianity leaves us with hope that what's been done historically can be changed. It is compelling, not combative and written from a place of love and desire to fight for presenting Christianity in a diverse way and not a culturally monolithic one. Gay challenges popular views that are historically unfounded and issues a challenge that needs to take place within the Christian church. While challenging and eye-opening, you'll be made aware of a hidden past of accomplishments and contributions of Africa, confronted with a hurtful present of whitewashing effects and inspired by a hopeful future to move forward.

White Christian Privilege

White Christian Privilege PDF Author: Khyati Y. Joshi
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479840238
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Exposes the invisible ways in which white Christian privilege disadvantages racial and religious minorities in America The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the Constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.” Religious minorities still struggle for recognition and for the opportunity to be treated as fully and equally legitimate members of American society. From the courtroom to the classroom, their scriptures and practices are viewed with suspicion, and bias embedded in centuries of Supreme Court rulings create structural disadvantages that endure today. In White Christian Privilege, Khyati Y. Joshi traces Christianity’s influence on the American experiment from before the founding of the Republic to the social movements of today. Mapping the way through centuries of slavery, westward expansion, immigration, and citizenship laws, she also reveals the ways Christian privilege in the United States has always been entangled with notions of White supremacy. Through the voices of Christians and religious minorities, Joshi explores how Christian privilege and White racial norms affect the lives of all Americans, often in subtle ways that society overlooks. By shining a light on the inequalities these privileges create, Joshi points the way forward, urging readers to help remake America as a diverse democracy with a commitment to true religious freedom.

Pre-Slavery Christianity: It Was Never The White Man’s Religion

Pre-Slavery Christianity: It Was Never The White Man’s Religion PDF Author: Dante Fortson
Publisher: Dante Fortson
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
What are the true origins of Christianity and is there any truth to the belief that many black people wouldn’t be Christians if it weren’t for slavery? When we start digging into the origin of the Christian faith, we find that Africa played a major role in its early years. + The world’s largest church membership is found in Egypt. + Ethiopia declared Christianity their official religion decades before Rome. + The apostles preached in Africa and Arabia before preaching in Europe. While Europeans have been instrumental in the spreading of Christianity, all evidence points to Old Testament laws and customs still being practiced in many parts of Africa, as they have for thousands of years. Newspaper articles from the 17th and 18th centuries mention Africans being in possession of scriptures not familiar to Europeans. The Ethiopian Coptic Bible is the oldest and most complete Bible in existence. If you’re ready to learn the truth about Christianity and Africa’s role in its early years, this is the book you want to read. Christianity was never the white man’s religion.

Reading While Black

Reading While Black PDF Author: Esau McCaulley
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830854878
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Growing up in the American South, Esau McCaulley knew firsthand the ongoing struggle between despair and hope that marks the lives of some in the African American context. A key element in the fight for hope, he discovered, has long been the practice of Bible reading and interpretation that comes out of traditional Black churches. This ecclesial tradition is often disregarded or viewed with suspicion by much of the wider church and academy, but it has something vital to say. Reading While Black is a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation. At a time in which some within the African American community are questioning the place of the Christian faith in the struggle for justice, New Testament scholar McCaulley argues that reading Scripture from the perspective of Black church tradition is invaluable for connecting with a rich faith history and addressing the urgent issues of our times. He advocates for a model of interpretation that involves an ongoing conversation between the collective Black experience and the Bible, in which the particular questions coming out of Black communities are given pride of place and the Bible is given space to respond by affirming, challenging, and, at times, reshaping Black concerns. McCaulley demonstrates this model with studies on how Scripture speaks to topics often overlooked by white interpreters, such as ethnicity, political protest, policing, and slavery. Ultimately McCaulley calls the church to a dynamic theological engagement with Scripture, in which Christians of diverse backgrounds dialogue with their own social location as well as the cultures of others. Reading While Black moves the conversation forward.

Urban Apologetics

Urban Apologetics PDF Author: Eric Mason
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 031010095X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Urban Apologetics examines the legitimate issues that Black communities have with Western Christianity and shows how the gospel of Jesus Christ—rather than popular, socioreligious alternatives—restores our identity. African Americans have long confronted the challenge of dignity destruction caused by white supremacy. While many have found meaning and restoration of dignity in the black church, others have found it in ethnocentric socioreligious groups and philosophies. These ideologies have grown and developed deep traction in the black community and beyond. Revisionist history, conspiracy theories, and misinformation about Jesus and Christianity are the order of the day. Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community. The book is divided into three main parts: Discussions on the unique context for urban apologetics so that you can better understand the cultural arguments against Christianity among the Black community. Detailed information on cults, religious groups, and ethnic identity groups that many urban evangelists encounter—such as the Nation of Islam, Kemetic spirituality, African mysticism, Hebrew Israelites, Black nationalism, and atheism. Specific tools for urban apologetics and community outreach. Ultimately, Urban Apologetics applies the gospel to black identity to show that Jesus is the only one who can restore it. This is an essential resource to equip those doing the work of ministry and apology in urban communities with the best available information.

Decolonizing Christianity

Decolonizing Christianity PDF Author: Miguel A. De La Torre
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 1467461210
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
“How curiously different is this white God from the one preached by Jesus who understood faithfulness by how we treat the hungry and thirsty, the naked and alien, the incarcerated and infirm. This white God of empire may be appropriate for global conquerors who benefit from all that has been stolen and through the labor of all those defined as inferior; but such a deity can never be the God of the conquered.” Echoing James Cone’s 1970 assertion that white Christianity is a satanic heresy, Miguel De La Torre argues that whiteness has desecrated the message of Jesus. In a scathing indictment, he describes how white American Christians have aligned themselves with the oppressors who subjugate the “least of these”—those who have been systemically marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status—and, in overwhelming numbers, elected and supported an antichrist as president who has brought the bigotry ingrained in American society out into the open. With this follow-up to his earlier Burying White Privilege, De La Torre prophetically outlines how we need to decolonize Christianity and reclaim its revolutionary, badass message. Timid white liberalism is not the answer for De La Torre—only another form of complicity. Working from the parable of the sheep and the goats in the Gospel of Matthew, he calls for unapologetic solidarity with the sheep and an unequivocal rejection of the false, idolatrous Christianity of whiteness.

White Too Long

White Too Long PDF Author: Robert P. Jones
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982122870
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
"WHITE TOO LONG draws on history, statistics, and memoir to urge that white Christians reckon with the racism of the past and the amnesia of the present to restore a Christian identity free of the taint of white supremacy"--