Defining Terms: White Supremacy, Truth, & Revival
Photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash
June 8 | 2020
Nobody claims the label “racist” — not our grandparents, not even Donald Trump (in his own words, he’s the “least racist person you’ve ever met”). “Racism” is considered socially unacceptable, therefore, the term “racist” is reserved for “bad people” only.
For this reason, it’s not productive to call someone out as a “racist.” It might be accurate based on what you know racism is, but guaranteed, it does not match what they think racism is (or the “good person” they consider themselves). This is where defining terms becomes a valuable, eye-opening exercise…
. . .
I NEVER would have thought of myself as a white supremacist — never! That is, until I heard the following definition of white supremacy on a podcast:
“White Supremacy is nothing more than a system that supports the belief that white thoughts, white ideas, and white culture are better for the whole of humanity.”
And a light-bulb went on. Instantly, I remembered a thought I had in college. In one of my (pastoral prep) classes, we were learning that the epicenter of Christianity was shifting away from the “western world.” North America and Europe were becoming more and more “post-Christian,” while the Church was growing rapidly in South America, Asia, and other parts of the world. And I remember privately panicking to myself, “Oh no! What if THEY distort or dilute the message? What if THEY destroy Christianity?”
These reflexive thoughts were revealing my belief that “white ideas are the right ideas” in interpreting the Bible, shaping theology, and leading the Church forward. These thoughts SHOULD HAVE been alarming to me, SHOULD HAVE been a red flag of something wrong in me. But, I didn’t notice the biases, prejudices, or racist ideas I held (that I now see I had inherited directly from white evangelicalism)!
I didn’t even notice. It took me years to notice. I might have gone on the rest of my life not noticing if I had remained in my safe, insulated, homogeneous bubble.
The Christianity I knew at the time was inseparable from the USA, the English language, and whiteness. I thought my small, conservative denomination had the corner on Absolute Truth — that Jesus was somehow our property. It took me a while to see how preposterous this was. How laughable, considering that Christianity’s origins are found in the “middle east,” Asia, and Africa, with black and brown disciples as its founders.
It took me a while to realize that I was experiencing the world in one very specific way — through wealthy, white, privileged eyes — an experience shared by VERY FEW in the scope of time and the global population.
It took me a while to see that my experience of the world was NOT more true or trustworthy. If anything, it was less so (at least in terms of what I thought of as True Christianity or a True interpretation of the Bible).
Because, as it turns out, Christian scriptures were written by disadvantaged, oppressed, minorities — whom I do not naturally relate with or understand (apart from a diversity of voices helping me). AND YET, I was taught to appropriate their words, instructions, and parables. I was taught to TAKE POSSESSION of these things as if they were my own, when they had been written to people on the margins, people suffering from serious persecution, people being oppressed. I treated these words flippantly, like they BELONGED to me, when I had no business doing so. So, of course, I misunderstood their meaning (and probably still do).
It took me a while to see that I needed to listen to other people’s stories to get a fuller picture of reality. I needed to see through other people’s eyes to understand what the (often subversive) words of Jesus meant and why he spent so much time with “outsiders.”
It took me a while to see that the people pushed to the margins are the ones who tend to live the Jesus-life best. They get it. They’ve had to practice the hard things like forgiveness and loving enemies. They’ve had to go through suffering and make real sacrifices. They haven’t known comfort or security, but they sure know how to pray, “give us this day our daily bread” and “deliver us from evil.”
It took me a while to see it, but now I very much believe that the Global Church benefits most when the epicenter of Christianity MOVES AWAY from white America.
I don’t say this because we’re too rich and powerful (though we are)…
Or because we’ve been “bad stewards” of God’s truth (though we have)…
But because NOW I believe that THE FULLNESS OF TRUTH is found in diversity.
And that too many white American “Christians” are utterly self-consumed, ignorant of their extensive ignorance, and unwilling to “repent” of their ways.
So, go ahead, keep “praying for revival” in our country….but before you do, I’d ask you to define terms. What does “revival” mean to you? What are you REALLY praying for? Stop the spiritual deflecting and take a moment to look in the mirror. Ponder whether “revival” (awakening) is something other people need, or if maybe — just maybe — it’s meant for you.
The podcast I mentioned was: Shalom Y’all, Episode 79
(Dear White Peacemakers: Your Bookshelves Tell a Story).
