Thank you, “Ann,” for the Jones quote.
[CLICK on quote below to enlarge.] You've driven me to revisit my thinking about where my focus should be between "individual sin" (and thus, disciplining my own heart in the light of my being "clothed with Christ") as opposed to focusing on social/cultural/institutional sin (inherent "within white Christian DNA?").
Ann’s Social Media Response
John, thanks for your comments here. We agree on so much--God's grace, yes. In my studies over the last thirty years, I've come to realize that the Gospel is as much about working to liberate those who are oppressed by racist systems as it is about working to liberate folks enchained in their sin. As Miroslav Volf has wisely pointed out, after the early 20th century's schism between modernists and fundamentalists in the church, both sides were left with "thin" gospels. Modernists overemphasized the earthly justice part, but fundamentalism under which I grew up and was educated by at Cedarville--overemphasized the spiritual part a la a heritage of quasi-Manicheanism that asserted only that which was “spiritual” mattered. I have a far deeper, richer understanding of the Scriptures now that I understand the hundreds of commands requiring us to help the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers, a.k.a., immigrants, in our midst. For example, Isaiah 1: 17 captures the commands from many other passages in Scripture:
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.
And this one
in Zechariah 7:10:
Do not oppress widows, orphans,
foreigners, and the poor.
And do not scheme against each other.
Our Lord Jesus
says it best:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that
the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of
the Lord’s favor has come. –Luke 4:18-19
I could keep
quoting verses here, John. Jesus is God who came to us in flesh and blood. The
physical matters to him. The plight of the poor and oppressed matter to him.
Sadly, as many historians, especially Christian
historians and political scientists like Jones and Jemar Tisby, have clearly
shown the American Church's complicity with white supremacy. I encourage you to read their work!
John's Reply
Dear Ann,
Thank you for responding to my post.
Please allow me to be more specific in addressing your concerns. First, if I accept Robert P. Jones’s
assertions as true, then I must deal with the possibility that I am a “white supremacist.” According to Dr. Jones’s logic:
A) I am a “white Christian;” and therefore,
B) I have “white Christian DNA” which
means that
C) I am susceptible if not
already infected by the “white supremacy ‘virus.’” Dr. Jones also suggests that, as a “white Christian,” and based on results of
the 2024 presidential election in which white Christians favored Donald Trump:
D) I may be more susceptible to the “white supremacy virus” than those
who voted for Kamala Harris. It follows
that Dr. Jones predicts that
E) I voted for Donald Trump
because, the “white supremacy virus” triggered my “white Christian DNA” and
caused me to vote in favor of the presidential candidate who would most likely prevent
“the loss of white Christian dominance amid a rapidly changing environment.”
[Please feel free to challenge my interpretation at any point.]
If I understand Dr. Jones’s claim in regard to white evangelical Christians, I
will admit there is some truth in his statement. Here is my testimony based upon each of the
above points:
A) I was born “white.” As a young
man, God’s Spirit through His Word convicted me about my sinful nature (i.e.
my sin-infected flesh, including my DNA).
Based upon my personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning blood
which He shed on His Cross, I have been baptized into His death and raised a “new
creation” in Christ.
B) Based upon my profession of faith
in Christ, I confess that I have “Christian DNA” which I have “inherited” as
part of my new spiritual genealogy in Christ.
I am a “new creation” in which “the old things passed away; behold, new
things have come (2 Corinthians 5: 17).
However, as to the inference that I have “white Christian DNA,” I
disagree, at least in proclamation because there is no distinction in
either the life blood or the “color of the DNA” among human beings, least of
all among Christians. I have been
joined by spiritual baptism into Christ in whose Body, the Church, “there is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor
female; for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3: 28),” and
joint-heirs, sharing in His “righteous DNA” (Romans 8: 17).
C) In regard to Dr. Jones’s claim
that l am susceptible if not already infected by the “white supremacy virus,” I
will admit to thinking and acting at times in ways that may resemble what he
considers “white supremacist” behavior. Therefore,
while I deny being a “white supremacist” in my proclamation, I will confess
my weakness in demonstration of the biblical truth of Galatians 3 in thought
and action. For example, having grown up
in rural America as part of a “white family” in a largely “white community,” I have
not experienced life in a “black family” in an urban community. These differences in ethnicity and cultural
exposure are undeniable and they have hampered my sensitivity, tactfulness, and
expression, but I do not believe they are intentional or caused by any sense of
racial superiority on my part. We ought
not to judge one another’s behavior as relates to either our ethnic diversity
or our cultural background.
D) I also disagree with Dr.
Jones’s inference that, because I voted for Donald Trump, I am more susceptible
to the “white supremacy virus” than those who voted for Kamala Harris. It seems to me that Dr. Jones’s practice of classifying
each individual created in God’s image as a member of a group is inconsistent
with his opposition to racism and racial profiling.
E) Finally, I wonder on what grounds
Dr. Jones can claim that I voted for Donald Trump because I am a “white
supremacist” who wants to prevent the loss of “white Christian dominance.” For reasons I have presented above, I do not
believe he is justified in making that claim.
Instead, I believe Dr. Jones’s assertions should remind us that,
regardless of our views on politics and culture, we are all prone to assume we
know one another’s motives, blame one another, and assign people into social
and political classes. In so doing we
may be undermining many well intended efforts to promote social justice and
unity.
I'll stop there, Ann, and invite you to “Comment” on this blog. I value your participation and hope to better understand and learn from your perspective. I also invite interested readers to comment as well. Meanwhile, I am following up with a "Part 2" in order to express my current thoughts on what I’ll call “biblical social justice.” [To read Part 2, click HERE.]
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