Charlottesville, White Supremacists, Evangelicals, Racists & Trump
“There is nothing American about White Supremacism — nothing heroic, nothing praiseworthy, nothing patriotic. It is a rotten, ugly mindset full of hatred, bigotry, and pride, and every person of conscience should denounce it.” CPost
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I know people from my former circles in far-right fundamentalism, who are repeating the same tired arguments right now about how black people are a cursed race, and all this trouble began because they didn’t “stick to their habitations.” It seems some stupid theories will never die. I always found that one particularly horrifying. Many of these people won’t join a white nationalist march, but they privately support much of its goals. They are passive racists.
They also hate Muslims. One woman, whose husband is a missionary and was active just yesterday repeating the “cursed race” theory on FaceBook, referred to Muslims on FaceBook several years ago as “those bastards of Abraham.” I’ve never forgotten that, and am glad I’m far away from that cult now. Make no mistake - some strands of fundamentalism are little more than racist, white nationalistic cults.
This is how white nationalism retains a pseudo-Chrostian gloss.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
“The curse of Canaan has no direct relevance to the contemporary racial situation. The Negro was not included in the original curse, since he was not and is not a descendant of Canaan. Even if he were a descendant of Canaan, the curse itself is no longer in force…”
-T. B. Maston, SWBTS, in “The Bible and Race,” Broadman Press; 1959.
http://gulfcoastpastor.blogspot.com/2017/05/t-b-maston-on-curse-of-ham…
David R. Brumbelow
I’ve had a few interactions with modern racists—thankfully not as many as Tyler appears to have had—and one thing that comes to mind is that they are, in my view, pretty much impervious to evidence. I remember one guy I knew was convinced that Obama was a Muslim, and wasn’t even budged from his position when I pointed out that Obama enjoys his liquor and pork, worships with Christians at Christian churches, and has never tried to complete more than one of the five pillars of Islam. (I’m guessing he did recite the Shahada as a child, but I can’t even prove that)
So this kind really only comes out by prayer and fasting.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Racism and anti-Musim rhetoric often combine with a virulent, “conservative” political ideology to form a noxious, deadly stew of American “Christian” nationalism. As is the case with many subversive movements, many of the people involved are indoctrinated with propoganda which reinforces their existing stereotypes, are easily led, and generally not well-educated. Their leaders frequently are well led, intelligent and well-educated.
This kind of passive racist, nationalistic, white “Christian” Americana (i.e. a civic religion) is still very common in some regions of this country. Unfortunately, these elements are often associated with Donald Trump supporters. Witness the backlash against Russell Moore in the SBC for his comments against Trump over the past few months. See my own brief comments (above) about what I’ve observed from some folks in the far-right wing of fundamentalism. There are a whole host of issues swirling about.
Very sad.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
Yes, most of the extreme right wing folks voted for Trump.
And, most of the extreme left wing folks voted for Clinton.
That does not mean either are responsible for every single person who voted for them; or their extremist views.
Those who opposed Russell Moore (ERLC) were in no way racists; they had problems with his attitudes, etc. And, Moore apologized for some of that.
David R. Brumbelow
David:
My comments about Moore were more about the issue of American Nationalism taking on a “Christian” gloss. This same problem is obvious in some strands of the “Christian” white nationalist movements. They’re generally different people, but there is some overlap.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
and we should not ever condone it. There is no place for segregation or a monocultural “Americanism” that is so reactionary. The model church of Antioch was multicultural and multiracial. Can we get to that today?
However, we also need to allow freedom of speech. I’ve seen a lot of calls from the left saying Nazis have no right to speak. That is just as wrong, even though their ideology is so foul.
As I’ve thought about the events of the past week, I’ve wondered whether racism and groups that promote racism are driven more by fear than by hate? Certainly, there are groups driven by hate. But, others seem more driven by fear. Does that make a difference in how we address the issue within our churches?
As for the church being multicultural, I think we need to be careful not to sign up for the baggage that goes along with multiculturalism. There are some things about various cultures (including my own) that Christians need to outright reject. The Bible certainly speaks of the church being multiracial and multiethnic. I’m not sure it promotes multiculturalism, as is commonly defined today.
[T Howard]As I’ve thought about the events of the past week, I’ve wondered whether racism and groups that promote racism are driven more by fear than by hate? Certainly, there are groups driven by hate. But, others seem more driven by fear. Does that make a difference in how we address the issue within our churches?
As for the church being multicultural, I think we need to be careful not to sign up for the baggage that goes along with multiculturalism. There are some things about various cultures (including my own) that Christians need to outright reject. The Bible certainly speaks of the church being multiracial and multiethnic. I’m not sure it promotes multiculturalism, as is commonly defined today.
One of the themes within the book of the book of Acts describes the church beginning as multi-ethnic but struggled to become multi-cultural (in the Biblical sense). In Acts 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, the early church had to deal with cultural issues and it sometimes it got messy! What I’ve seen from my 27 years of inner-city and multi-ethnic ministry is that the multi-ethnic churches that have compromised on the basic tenants of the faith such as the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures, original sin/depravity of man, substitutionary atonement, and final judgment are the ones that compromise on cultural issues.
“What about the politicians such as the city council who voted to remove a memorial that had been in place since 1924, regardless of the possible repercussions? How about the city politicians who issued the permit for the lawful demonstration to defend the statue? And why didn’t the mayor or the governor see that a powder keg was about to explode and stop it before it got started?”
“I denounce bigotry and racism of every form, be it black, white or any other. My prayer is that our nation will come together. We are stronger together, and our answers lie in turning to God.”
-Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse
David R. Brumbelow
“The hard left seemed as hate-filled as alt-right. I saw club-wielding ‘antifa’ beating white nationalist being led out of the park.”
-Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times
David R. Brumbelow
People have noticed that around the country, “occupy” movements and related hard left demonstrators are not being stopped by the police, and Powerline notes that allowing group A to attack group B is, apparently, a federal felony. The police have all but admitted standing down in this case.
Also interesting are some blatantly racist tweets by the vice mayor (seriously?) of Charlottesville. My hunch here is that the fairly one-sided coverage of this kind of confrontation is intentional and serves to reinforce a narrative.
And really, something that puzzles me is why, if indeed the pro-Nazi (?) side of the riots believes what they are saying, they decided to go forward with the march despite the apparent set-up on the part of the city and state. They appear to be terribly wicked men, but I cannot say that they are dumb. Here, however, their moves were nothing short of idiotic.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Just for the record, I am a member of the Tea Party. I did not vote for President Trump and no, I didn’t vote for Hillary either. I certainly can’t vouch for all Tea Party members but I for one have found no racism there. When I joined I have to fill out a form stating that I was not now nor ever had been a member of any racist organization. It tock 48 hours for approval. I guess not being from the south I have not seen racism in fundamental churches that I have been a member of. We did have one member who was a racist and they disciplined him out of the church for it.
Richard E Brunt
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