We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

Is Racism Still a Problem? Does the Church Care?
On Friday, we posted a piece by Greg on the importance of racial reconciliation in the Kingdom of God. (Click here to read it.) This is a part of the Synchro blog for MennoNerds on Race. Watch this video for more on the topic. The following is an illustration taken from an early draft of a chapter on this topic in Greg’s book The Myth of a Christian Religion.
________________
Several years ago I was listening to a Christian radio talk show that was discussing the issue of “racial profiling.” It was in response to a study that demonstrated that in Minnesota (the liberal North!) black men were much more likely to be stopped in their cars by police than white men. The white host of the show expressed his opinion that the study had to be flawed and that racial profiling is very rare. He then took calls from the audience.
The arrogance of the talk show host amused me. But the next half hour of call-ins left me dumbfounded.
One caller early on identified himself as African American. He gave two examples from his own life of being pulled over and questioned by police for no legitimate reason. Not surprisingly, while he said he believe most white police officers were fair and that few are consciously racist, he nevertheless believed racial profiling was a problem in the police force.
All the remaining callers identified themselves as white, and without exception, each denied racial profiling was a problem. Some even expressed anger over the African American caller who suggested otherwise. Several said they were sick and tired of blacks “playing the race card.”
Now think about this. If racial profiling was in fact at times happening, how would any of the white callers know about it? By definition, it wouldn’t be happening to them. The only way white folks could learn about racial profiling, if it in fact takes place, would be to learn about it from the one’s who get profiled. Yet, this was the very thing all the white callers on the station seemed unwilling to do. Instead, because racial profiling never happened to them, they insisted it simply doesn’t happen.
Sitting at the top of a pyramid of privilege that affords us white folks the luxury of hovering above a world of racialized walls many others have to contend with, it’s possible for us whites to remain blissfully unaware that our “normal” is not necessarily other people’s “normal.” And this is why many whites have trouble understanding systemic racism and why many see reconciliation as a minor, optional, addendum to the Gospel.
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Mennonerds, Myth of a Christian Religion, Racial Reconciliation, Racism
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Related Reading

Have You Taken a Gospel Immunization Shot?
Why does being “Christian” in America make so little difference in so many people’s lives, when the kingdom movement revealed in the New Testament revolutionized people’s lives? This drastic difference is hardly surprising when you consider that the gospel that people are often given today is little more than a contract of acquittal that is…

The Kingdom of God ≠ Political Activism
Given the centrality of following Jesus’ example, it is vitally important we not only notice that Jesus was a revolutionary (see post) along with some ways that we can join his revolution (see that post here), but how he was a revolutionary. Many Christians today assume that in order to revolt against ungodly aspects of…

A Lesson in Otherness
http://youtu.be/VeK759FF84s Long, long ago, a third grade teacher taught her class a lesson they will never forget. You won’t forget it either. This video is nearly 15 minutes long, but it’s so worth your time. Let’s love one another.

Sermon: Reframing the Sun
In our clip from this weeks sermon, Greg Boyd talks about how we respond to misfortunes and tragedies depends on how we frame them. In Colossians 3, Paul writes that Christ is all and is in all. When we frame our life within this understanding, we begin to see how we can live through misfortunes…

What is the Kingdom of God (Part 1)
We all know what the Kingdom of God is, right? But this is precisely the problem. Since we are all to a large extent products of our culture, what seems obviously true and right to us will be at least influenced, if not determined, by what seems obviously true and right to our culture. This,…

How Are We To Love the Soldiers of ISIS?
Over the last several weeks I’ve received some form of this question almost every day. In some cases the question is asked rhetorically, as though the very question exposes the absurdity of suggesting we are to love this terroristic group. Other times the question is asked with a pragmatic twist. One person recently said to…