Thread by @lisasharper

1/ How Black Lives Matter Is Changing the Church by ⁦@elizagriswold⁩ @NewYorker⁩ #Essential #SundayReading newyorker.com/news/on-religi…

2/ “I began my journey sincerely believing that if I could convince evangelical Christians that reconciliation was not some politically motivated agenda but a Biblical calling rooted in Scripture, they would pursue racial justice.” @RevDocBrenda @NewYorker #metoo

3/ In fact, white evangelical men explicitly trained me to talk about race “through the back door.”

“Don’t start with history. Don’t start with systems, structures and policies. You’ll lose people. Start with scripture,” they said.

We focused “cultural” partiality, not race.

4/ Focusing on “cultural” domination inside churches buys white men time. It is a #diversion away from the core —the marrow—of the question of #race: politics (the decisions we make abt how we will live together in the world).

5/ Race is a political construct. It began as an answer to how we will live together. It was created through public policy, enforced by judges and manifests in social/economic disparities.

6/ White evangelical organizations that say they are addressing race, but mandate silence on politics are NOT addressing #race. They are buying time for white male dominance.

And the BIPOC people who ascent to silence are securing their people’s continued subjugation.

7/ “For the last five hundred years, Christianity has been influenced by Martin Luther’s effort to decentralize the church...For the next five hundred years, the principle effort will be decolonization.” @lisasharper @NewYorker

#Decolonization (aka Tossing white male control)

8/8 I love what @RevDocBrenda says: Our faith offers valuable practices to combat white supremacy: confession, lament and repentance.

I think right now a lot of pp are stuck in lament because they have refused to confess AND repent.

#cometobrownjesus

newyorker.com/news/on-religi…