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But you know that other Christians speak out against racism and things like white supremacy all the time. What more can they really do beyond that, though? It's the same as telling upstanding black citizens to rein in the behavior of ghetto gangsters or Muslims to stop the terrorist fanatics. They don't have the power to change others just because there is some connection via race or religion.
Comments from good christians need to be directed to specific targets. Not just blanket statements. Silence does nothing.
Among white Americans, there is high (two-thirds) overlap between beliefs in Christian nationalism and replacement theory. And both views are associated with higher support for political violence among whites:
* White Americans who agree that “God intended America to be a promised land for European Christians” are four times as likely as those who disagree with that statement to believe that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country” (43% vs. 10%).
* White Americans who believe that “Immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background” are nearly six times as likely as those who disagree with that statement to believe that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country” (45% vs. 8%).
While only 29% of Americans agree, for example, that “Immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background,” that number rises to dangerous levels among a range of groups comprising the conservative base in U.S. politics: 67% among those who say they most trust Fox News; 65% among QAnon believers; 60% among Republicans; 50% among white evangelical Protestants, and 43% among white American without a college degree.https://time.com/6179886/christianit...emacy-buffalo/
I am sure that there are White Christians that look up to to the bygone era where the country was much less diverse, much less political correctness, and neighborhoods where they grew up were all white. Yet mourn today with the increase diversity of society, and an increasingly less white and secular America. Sadly, there are certain people that will resort to violence to fight against this. It is a mess and sadly you can't be truly having a Chrisitan life and be racist at the same time.
Oh brother, you've got to be kidding, smh. But the scary part is that you are deadly serious.
Comments from good christians need to be directed to specific targets. Not just blanket statements. Silence does nothing.
Well, neither would comments to "specific targets".
People with strongly held prejudices are not going to be swayed by the mere words of those who disagree with them.
It's easy to sit and point and say what others should do.
Well, neither would comments to "specific targets".
People with strongly held prejudices are not going to be swayed by the mere words of those who disagree with them.
It's easy to sit and point and say what others should do.
One of the things that I have found over the years on a variety of topics is that people who hold certain beliefs often have the assumption that the majority of people think like they do.
It's easier to not sit and not point and not say what others should do. And if that is what you think is right...then I'm not even sure why there is a forum on religion and spirituality.
That's how we feel...the bolded...about having to hear so much in our country about christianity.
RIght...so because you feel marginalized in society when you act anti-social and people think you're strange, you think you should go online to the anonymity of the internet message board and attack?
RIght...so because you feel marginalized in society when you act anti-social and people think you're strange, you think you should go online to the anonymity of the internet message board and attack?
One of the things that I have found over the years on a variety of topics is that people who hold certain beliefs often have the assumption that the majority of people think like they do.
It's easier to not sit and not point and not say what others should do. And if that is what you think is right...then I'm not even sure why there is a forum on religion and spirituality.
I am not sure how that's a response to what I wrote.
Yes, I get that people with strongly-held beliefs, like white supremacy, might think that others feel as they do. In our society, however, they HAVE to know that many do not BECAUSE so many people speak openly against it. They KNOW that certain sectors of Christianity do not agree with their views because they openly reject those sectors of Christianity as "not true Christians" and other names.
My point about sitting and pointing is that you yourself are not a Christian, so it comes off as patronizing for you, as an outsider, to point fingers at Christians and say what you think they should be doing about the situation. That implies that these Christians have some magic influence that others don't, but mostly, by pointing your finger at "those people over there" and saying what "they" should do, it excuses YOU from doing anything about the situation yourself, right?
Back to the anti-racist Christians. As you may recall, some years ago the Episcopal Church (using them since that's with whom I am most familiar) paid a chunky deposit to a venue in (I think) Colorado to hold their big national conference. It was subsequently pointed out to them that the venue kept racist practices as far as who could use their venue, and IIRC, their hiring practices. The EC backed out of the venue, losing that chunky deposit in the process as a statement of their disapproval of racism.
Isn't taking action more effective than finger-pointing and scolding?
But even more importantly, racism also caused the EC, a mostly white denomination, to take a hard look at itself before it could run out flailing its arms like windmills to point at others.
The Episcopal Church is not the only church to examine the logs in its own eyes, and as someone who was involved in Christianity as long as you were, I find it hard to believe that you could have totally missed similar efforts in the Catholic and Methodist Churches of which you were a part (forgive me if I don't recall what order that was in--I'm thinking you were raised Catholic and then practiced as a Methodist as an adult).
So, in summary, you know full well that Christian Churches do indeed point out racism/white supremacy within Christianity. How does it contribute to finding a solution of the problem of racism within Christianity for someone who is not a part of the Christian community to scold from the outside while ignoring the very real efforts that are taking place within Christianity? It doesn't. That's what I am saying.
I am not sure how that's a response to what I wrote.
Yes, I get that people with strongly-held beliefs, like white supremacy, might think that others feel as they do. In our society, however, they HAVE to know that many do not BECAUSE so many people speak openly against it. They KNOW that certain sectors of Christianity do not agree with their views because they openly reject those sectors of Christianity as "not true Christians" and other names.
My point about sitting and pointing is that you yourself are not a Christian, so it comes off as patronizing for you, as an outsider, to point fingers at Christians and say what you think they should be doing about the situation. That implies that these Christians have some magic influence that others don't, but mostly, by pointing your finger at "those people over there" and saying what "they" should do, it excuses YOU from doing anything about the situation yourself, right?
Back to the anti-racist Christians. As you may recall, some years ago the Episcopal Church (using them since that's with whom I am most familiar) paid a chunky deposit to a venue in (I think) Colorado to hold their big national conference. It was subsequently pointed out to them that the venue kept racist practices as far as who could use their venue, and IIRC, their hiring practices. The EC backed out of the venue, losing that chunky deposit in the process as a statement of their disapproval of racism.
Isn't taking action more effective than finger-pointing and scolding?
But even more importantly, racism also caused the EC, a mostly white denomination, to take a hard look at itself before it could run out flailing its arms like windmills to point at others.
The Episcopal Church is not the only church to examine the logs in its own eyes, and as someone who was involved in Christianity as long as you were, I find it hard to believe that you could have totally missed similar efforts in the Catholic and Methodist Churches of which you were a part (forgive me if I don't recall what order that was in--I'm thinking you were raised Catholic and then practiced as a Methodist as an adult).
So, in summary, you know full well that Christian Churches do indeed point out racism/white supremacy within Christianity. How does it contribute to finding a solution of the problem of racism within Christianity for someone who is not a part of the Christian community to scold from the outside while ignoring the very real efforts that are taking place within Christianity? It doesn't. That's what I am saying.
There's only one problem with that paragraph I bolded. For most of my life I was a christian, and while I was (and later) I was a member of the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and made private efforts to provide special opportunities for minority students.
Yes, it's a good thing for denominations and individual churches to examine themselves. But I do not think 'you' can be a moral leader -- whether as an individual or an organization -- if you remain silent about immoral leadership within the larger sphere of some religious belief. And, btw, I have the same criticism in Buddhism where quite a few monks in Burma (in particular) are leaders in discriminatory (and often violent) acts against the Muslim minority.
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