Young Black & Reformed Part III:Theology and the Reformation, Great Awakening & Jim Crow
May 8, 2008 by lionelwoods7
Anyone who considers themselves reformed can easily identify the man in the picture to the left. He is the famous Martin Luther and his 95 Theses and his magnum opus “The Bondage of the Will” written about 480 years ago is still one of the most if not the most famous published piece of work from the Reformation period. Martin Luther is a legend for anyone who calls themselves Reformed in any sense of the word. The recovery of the Doctrine of Justification and the Great Divorce from Rome are monumental events in the History of Christendom but for whom?
Let me explain again what I mean. Was the Reformation a worldwide revival or an Anglo-Saxon revival? What about Christians who were under Islamic persecution in Northern and even Middle Africa? What was going on in other parts of the world where Christianity had already taken roots? I think this is a huge question to consider. We must first understand that Christianity was not relegated to the European continent. Many had fled Egypt and other northern African countries and had taken the Gospel with them also. Ethiopia is one place that comes to mind.
Next we must realize that the Christianity of America was birthed from the Reformation as many fled religious persecution (Puritans and Anabaptist) they brought with them their lens on the Christian faith. The next question is this; Christianity never spoke to the evils of what was a growing problem called Slavery. As many of the Slaves were converted to Christianity what exactly did they think of their master’s god (lower case on purpose)? Was this the same God who loved and sacrificed His Son to bring mankind into a relationship with Himself the same god who allowed men, women and children to be branded, sold like commodities, raped, mutilated, beat, and stolen from their native lands? Did this god condone such a wicked institution? Did this god allow humans (who were created in his image as the Puritans and others taught) to be transported in the belly of a ship across the Atlantic in the worse conditions know to mankind? Then we had this……
The Great Awakening! This my friend produced the greats such as: Owens, Edwards, Whitfield (pictured), Wesley and other great minds of the 18th century. Once again this was a European/Anglo movement within Christendom. Many of the slaves were converted but the hopes of the Slave Masters (who were also supposedly converted) were that these men, women and children would become better slaves. The slaves themselves interpreted the bible quite differently however. Men like Nat Turner and other preachers and women like Sojourner Truth saw theology through the lens of slavery and the abolition of it. So while these men preached and taught Calvinism and Justification by Faith the slaves were fighting a totally different battle. Once again we see the great divide. The GA preachers saw these slaves as souls indeed and a few even spoke out against it, but the slaves upon being converted and hearing the stories of the Red Sea, Shadrach and the fiery furnace, Daniel and the Lion’s den and so forth interpreted these with a completely different hermeneutic one that would not only save their souls but also save them from the hand of evil slave masters who professed to be Christians. Once again we see two lens to filter the bible through and which one is correct? That leads to my last point….
Jim Crow!!! You see during this time those who professed to know Christ still felt that blacks were beneath them. I always wonder how the verse below was interpreted or if they just ignored John’s first epistle:
10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Was it just sin on par with Internet pornography? I don’t think so. Either this verse is true or it isn’t. It is funny that we allow our emphasis on certain verses to be heavier in different time periods. Many would say well they just didn’t know but in the same voice deem homosexuality an abomination. So is this. If we are to call one an abomination so is the other and both parties are just as guilty of the hell fire. Anyone who could read this verse and come to the conclusion that racism was acceptable had to be void of a new heart. If Lordship applies today it applied then and culture no more dictates my position on Lordship than does anything else. Once again, though we had many theologians fighting against modernism and the rise of evolution and atheism, they ignored the great elephant in the living room called racism!!! But modernism, evolution and other such theological debates were not on the radar of many blacks. Many blacks came to the scriptures looking for social justice and freedom in a government that said “all men are created equal” in its founding documents. So again two lens that filtered the scripture and we see this quite clearly in the writings of Cone and MLK. This leads to my last point….
As I listen to many of the conversations today I still believe that most of what is coming out of Evangelical Christianity today has no real bearing on the African American Community at large (I will speak more to this in the closing paragraph). Many of the theological conversations are like those from the Reformation. Instead of fighting against the Papacy we are fighting against post-modernism, the Emergent Church, Prayer in Schools, The New Perspective on Paul and discussing the movie Expelled. More Christians are concerned with Expelled than they are the recent acquittal of three officers in New York. While many are fighting to get Intelligent Design as an alternative to the Big Boom and Darwinism a lot of schools are trying to get their graduation rate better than 50%. A lot of schools in the Urban poor areas are trying to find money for books and computers while most of the conversations are surrounding around Expelled and Harry Potter. You see the Calvinism vs Arminian debate or Paedo vs Credo Baptist or Plurality vs other governing methods or limited vs universal atonement and finally the Premill Pretrib vs Amill debate may not be at all relevant to most Christians in South Side Chicago or even Philly. These people are trying to stop an ongoing epidemic of murders on the South Side while people in Philly may now see some light.
In closing we must ask ourselves are we speaking a language foreign to our listeners. Families in Sudan, Iraq and even a big chunk of our urban and rural poor may have a hard time taking the majority of what we say seriously. While some of our elderly are deciding to buy medicine or food or while some of our Sudanese brothers and sisters are looking for clean drinking water Intelligent Design may not be a priority there list of prayers. Let me be clear some of the issues above are important but maybe only for the Academy (unless they infringe upon the Gospel). Also I want to note that I am not promoting some type of Social Gospel but I am looking for reform amongst those who call themselves reformed. As a young black reformed Christian I sometimes wonder about the many voices I hear and I ask myself are these conversations relevant. I once heard a rapper say this:
“why you don’t never talk about Martin or Malcom, but you always talk about Calvin and Luther, because these are dudes that introduced us to truth”.
I ask which truth is that? There was a world outside the reformation, outside the Great Awakening and one outside the current Evangelical movement. Sojourner, Tubman, Douglas, DuBoise and others had some truth also. Dyson, West and Smiley have relevant issues that is also pressing “the Church” maybe not the Conservative Evangelical Church but the Church none the less. They spoke to the evils of social injustice and the latter mentioned are today also. They truly understood what it meant to be made in the image of God while many only wanted conversion spiritually they wanted conversion holistically. The Gospel doesn’t stop at spiritual freedom but when the full consummation comes God will rid the world of ALL EVIL. Racism, Segregation, Social Injustice, Slavery, apartheid, child trafficking, unfair labor wages and genocide are all evil that we Christians have to be just as zealous about and we must speak the Gospel in a context that addresses such evils as evil. You can’t read most of the Old Testament and not see that God’s people are also to provide for the unfortunate, the widow, the oppressed and the orphan, just as much as we are to discuss homeschooling, stay at home moms (which for the most part is a suburban convesation) and Intelligent Design. The latter is no more important than the former.
Dog,
Truly, This is one the best posts you’ve ever done (and I was just talking to someone about this very issue, regarding alot of the kats you mentioned—paticularly, W.E.B DeBois and others). You give me a downpayement of something and I’ll come back at some point and make sure your stuff’s on the market or at the next T4G conference….
It’s amazing seeing how the same event can happen but everyone has a different view on it—-kind of like a crime scene taking place, but the witnessses all having differing viewpoints and for that matter remembering different things. Amazing, for example, seeing how the word “judgement” a lot of negative connotations in white churches….But in many minorities or oppressed people (which goes back to early Christianity and Judaism) judgement is a good thing, something to be longed for. Judgement is when things are made right, the great equilizer when the oppressed are relieved of their suffering. And many of the songs made by slaves during the Great Awakening seem to show this CLEARLY…..
Lionel,
First let me say, it’s clear that the Lord has placed a burden on your heart, and having just read your personal testimony, I better understand your passion. Might the Lord be calling you to church plant in an urban area? What are your plans? Seminary? I’m sure you saw the video posted on Anthony’s site about PCA’s African American initiative.
Secondly, the issues you raised are core for us…we have discussed them at length recently at my church, I just did a post on essentially the same theme, I’ve seen similar themes fleshed out on Q.A. Jones’ blog in the past: the Lord is clearly strirring up something!
But on to your main point: what is the relevance of the typical reformed dialogue to our community’s predominant trials? Some items for consideration…
– What are the FUNDAMENTAL issues confronting our community? We have to pray and work through an answer for this; are the things we typically decry our problem or are they simply symptomatic of something more pervasive?
– What are the instruments of redress, i.e. how do we fix this…by the mercies and grace of God…what is the vision for empowering our community?
I agree with you, and tried to say the same thing on my blog, that the African American reformation project includes both a theological realignment with the Bible (!) and a socio-economic vision which itself is rooted in scripture.
We need not be concerned with this being perceived as the Social Gospel, because the SG redefines the redemptive purposes of Christ into something this worldly mainly. As you know, we have plenty of scriptural mandate to go after the resolution of our community’s problems with all our might. And we need to!
Though I may be off here, I think you imply the irrelevance of the normal evangelical and reformed discussion to our direct needs as a community; I would struggle with this position. The evolution vs. ID debate is a way for us to understand our world and how we’re taught about it. Engaging in this debate helps us develop the interest and the skills we needs to address the other concerns you mention in your post.
If we can’t get our young people genuinely interested in science or politics or business or computers or meterology or whatever,…if all we do is talk about the NECESSITY of education but our young men and women never get caught with the SUBSTANCE of education, we’ll never actually develop the climate that leads to real empowerment.
In my “tent-making” work I travel a lot…around the world in fact…and I often try to awaken the young people in our church to the transformations occuring in the global workplace…and I say to them, that it’s not getting an education for work that you have to pursue, it’s developing a genuine curiosity for things that will allow you to succeed in the global, information-based marketplace. So, to that end, the discussion around science, some young cats getting jazzed about it, just might be thing that jars them loose from the hold the negative things have on them.
Anyhow, great post…keep’em coming!
Darryl
You are absolutely right. In our Bible study tonight, we read 1 John 4, which contains the verse (paraphrasing), “How can you say you love God, Whom you haven’t seen, while you hate your brother, whom you have seen?” Hypocrisy is the death of the church — non-Christians can sniff it out and spot it a mile away. May God have mercy on us all, and grant us repentance.
Hey Gabriel thanks for the comments and I agree our culture and and circumstances effect our filters greatly my friend.
Kathy you may want to read the excerptYou may want to read the excerpts from UnChristian. I heard it is a great piece along those very lines. I would read it with great discernment however due to the fact that many non-christians today feel that we are hyprocritical and judgmental.
Pastor Williamson you said a mouthful my friend a mouthful indeed. Let me address them as you have wrote them
1. I am wrestling with the Seminary issue now. I would want to go to Southwestern but would have to go to a SB church to get the benefits of the coop tuition. I am actually going to meet with Pastor Lance and hopefully Pastor Irywn at the PCA meeting here in Dallas this summer. That should be interesting indeed.
2. I was saying that I think ID has taken the forefront in the Evangelical conversation while things such as human trafficing, Sudanese Genocide, Police Brutaity and Inner City violence and the such haven’t even been mentioned. None of the big time blogs that I read had even addressed the issues of Philly or Chicago once. I saw no one saying pray for this I saw more uproar of the Golden Compass and Harry Potter than I did these issues. I also haven’t met many urban folks who don’t belive in God some of them may be more agnostic or Deist or even post-modern as it relates to the Gospel but very rare is there a Darwinistic view of Creation.
3. I also think God has blessed us with a Free Marketplace and through that we can be instruments in the Redeemer’s hands. As we engage each part of culture we understand that the Gospel is our sole purpose not a corner office, not tenured, not being prosperous enterperneurs but to be bold about the Gospel in deed and word.
So thanks for the very kind comments. As I work through these issues I write about them. I earlier found myself boxing with shadows and wondering why I was tiring out. Most of my arguements of infra versus supralapsarianism wasn’t getting me far. Most of the theological discussions were above most heads other times they just weren’t relevant issues facing those who I was trying to convey the Gospel to. So I really wanted to evaluate my convictions to see if they were mine or others and I realized down the line that I wanted to fit into circles and I was a square. I want to communicate to squares because as Paul says in Acts 17 “He set the boundaries of our habitat” God allowed me to be born and raised in and saved in a context foreign to that of many of Evangelicals not by mere chance but to be able to convey the message of the Gospel to those who were also born by the sovereign hand of God in the same context.
Don’t forget George Leile, our Baptist brother.
http://gunny93.blogspot.com/2008/02/god-made-men-men-made-slaves.html
Good slooge, Lionel. It’s inexcusable the atrocities done to those who bear God’s image, and I’m not merely talking about the unborn.
I think, in general, Reformed folks are susceptible to live in the 16th century, with an aspiration to return to the “good ol’ days” of the Reformation instead of realizing that we have different contexts in our day, but we still need modern day Luther’s to further the cause of the kingdom.
Interesting thoughts.
The primary basis of my blog concerns issues of Intelligent Design/Creationism versus antitheistic science, so I would like to offer this food for thought [and I am not criticizing you for I do agree with you in almost all respects]:
We are all called to do ministry, but not necessarily the same ministry. We are all part of the Body equally but we do have different gifts and ministries. So while it’s possible that the emphasis of my ministry could be creation apologetics leading to the Gospel, yours could be social reform leading to the Gospel — So long as we are preaching the Gospel! This is where we must not differ: the message, not the method.
It is not enough to combat ideas. We must effect the change ourselves. God’s method is men. He sends redeemed men and women into the world to be a Light for the world, so they may see our good works and glorify God for them.
I choose apologetics against antitheism [be in it the realm of science, theology or philosophy] because I see it as an assault on the foundation of Christendom. Why? Because the first 3 chapters of Genesis are the basis for our NEED of salvation. It is for this reason that antitheistic science attacks the Book of Beginnings.
I applaud you for your focus. I pray God gives you boldness in your endeavors and that he blesses your ministry. I hope you will pray for my efforts as well.
Good post,
Sirius Knott
A further note: I am not suggesting some idea of apartheid of ministry [You take care of yours and we'll take care of ours]. I believe your comments about white evangelicalism largely ignoring the issues of non-white Christendom are quite to the point. I’m sure they would call themselves mainstream, but that doesn’t excuse the silence on these other issues.
Also, having read your note on Harry Potter and the Golden Compass, bravo! Superman actually poses a bigger Christological problem than either of these other fictional works, but everybody loves the Man of Steel. I certainly do.
Many of the issues the “mainstream” evangelical media concern themselves about are, well, trivial. Not that we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. But I think the moden USAmerican church is, by and large, concentrating on these trivial, sometimes purely intellectual or ideological questions in order to otherwise busy themselves so that they do not have to occupy themselves with what they are called to do: make disciples.
–Sirius Knott
I agree with Sirius — it’s far easier to sit here at the computer and type this than to go out and minister to someone or witness to them. I feel all nice and Biblical and Christian when I “defend the faith” or split theological hairs just so. There may be a place for that, and I do fear losing ground to those who promote various anti-Christian, anti-Biblical things (like those Lionel mentioned); but perhaps the best defense is a good offense. Perhaps if we busy ourselves more about making disciples, we will have to worry less about non-Christians, because there will be fewer of *them* and more of *us*.
But we can exercise our individual gifts in the way that suits us best (as long as that’s really what we’re doing, and not just talking about it) — as Paul said, “if the whole body were the eye, where is the hearing?” We all need each other — eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, hands for doing, feet for walking.
Another thought provoking post!
Have you read Vincent Wimbush’s little but excellent book “The Bible and African Americans: A Brief History. A Review” ?
Wimbush’s outlines six major ways (or “phases”) in which African Americans have engaged with Scriptural interpretation during slavery up to the modern era. He argues that African Americans’ interaction with the Bible has been shaped by the dynamics of social-cultural, economic, political-educational, yet religious conditions of the African American community. The gist of the book is so “provide the framework for a different kind of interpretive history of African Americans—based not on great individuals or prestigious institutions , but on the people’s interpretations or sensibilities and orientations as evidenced in their engagements with the most important, most accessible, and most influential text in our culture” (9-10).
In addition, Thabiti’s in his excellent work, “The Decline of African American Theology” addresses similar issues in terms of how African American slaves understood the Bible and slavery. For example, Thabiti writes, “Indeed, Calvinism seems to have corroborated the deepest structuring elements of the experiences of such men and women as they matured from children living in slavery or servitude into adults desiring freedom, literacy, and membership in a fair society. From Calvinism, this generation of black authors drew a vision of God at work providentially in the lives of black people, directing their sufferings yet promising the faithful among them a restoration to his favor and his presence. Not until 1815 would African American authors, such as John Jea, explicitly declare themselves against Calvinism and for free-will religion” (68).
So there’s a sense many slaves held that their suffering was divinely ordained by the Almighty God who rules sovereignly over all earthly and heavenly power.
Lionel,
One more thought-
There’s a sense in some christian circles Christianity is the religion of the Elite group and therefore run by those who have the power, authority and the credential. Look at what’s going in many mainline denominations in America. (Take the SBC as an example). So there’s a sense that issues facing the urban community will not be a concern to those people. Who cares about “racism, segregation, Social Injustice, Slavery, apartheid, child trafficking, unfair labor.” These are the same issues many people on “the left side” (Theologically) of Christendon have been trying to stress and teach us for many years but we only see the bad side of it.
I do not remember the last time I’ve stepped in an evangelical church I’ve heard a sermon on social justice, racial integration, slavery, and etc. On the other hand, those who emphasize such critical issues are quickly labeled as “liberal.” Not only that, many say “they preach a social Gospel.” But what do we do with the application of the Gospel itself?
But we can talk about “Da Vinci Code,” hold seminars on modernism and post modernism and spend billion of dollars on building projects.
Do you think that the people who are suffering in Sudan, Haiti, Rwanda, and many other countries in the world care about calvinism, Intelligent Design, creation, evolution. I’m afraid not. Oh Yes, we can gladly talk about gay marriage, homosexuality, republicanism vs democraticism.
You see the Gospel in America has been americanly structured and constructed; to the point that its meaning and application have no relevance to the oppressed, disenfranchised and the outcat among us.
I must stop
Keep up the good work my dear brother.
CJ you said:
“So there’s a sense many slaves held that their suffering was divinely ordained by the Almighty God who rules sovereignly over all earthly and heavenly power.
A Reformed view of God can’t prevent this but also a Reformed view of God can’t allow it to continue and I am glad that God open the blinders of many of our ancestors of the flesh to see this as an evil against not only the black people but also agaisnt God Himself.
CJ you also said:
“Do you think that the people who are suffering in Sudan, Haiti, Rwanda, and many other countries in the world care about calvinism, Intelligent Design, creation, evolution. I’m afraid not. Oh Yes, we can gladly talk about gay marriage, homosexuality, republicanism vs democraticism.
You see the Gospel in America has been americanly structured and constructed; to the point that its meaning and application have no relevance to the oppressed, disenfranchised and the outcat among us.”
Brother what is funny is the more you study this the more frustated you become. I see man marching on Washington for the “sanctity of marriage” while outright ignoring the genocide in Sudan. Evangelicals as a whole have little problem with a justice system that instead of rehabilitating the guilty allows DA in office who cares more about a convictio than the truth and votes for this guy because he is Republican. We are more concerned with are borders and illegal immagrants (which really means Mexicans because all if not most of their great-grandparents were illegals) than they are those with no healthcare (not to mention more healthcare will raise their taxes and that will cut into their early retirement).
Hey Kathy you said:
“There may be a place for that, and I do fear losing ground to those who promote various anti-Christian, anti-Biblical things (like those Lionel mentioned); but perhaps the best defense is a good offense. Perhaps if we busy ourselves more about making disciples, we will have to worry less about non-Christians, because there will be fewer of *them* and more of *us*. ”
I agree that we need more time engaging the culture for Christ. We are more concerned about Gays getting married than we are seeing Gays regenerated and I think most of our Evangelical time is used to refute the sanctity of marriage than engaging gays with the truth of the gospel.
next you said:
“But we can exercise our individual gifts in the way that suits us best (as long as that’s really what we’re doing, and not just talking about it) — as Paul said, “if the whole body were the eye, where is the hearing?” We all need each other — eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, hands for doing, feet for walking.”
I also agree with this Sirus said some awesome things and as long as the cross in the end focus of his apologetics than I am with him 100% which he explained he is.
Sirus you said:
“It is not enough to combat ideas. We must effect the change ourselves. God’s method is men. He sends redeemed men and women into the world to be a Light for the world, so they may see our good works and glorify God for them”
Brother keep holding it down in apologetics we need it, and as long as you are pointing them to Christ and Him crucified then I say “great” but many aren’t my friend.