The easy response could be, "How could White Christians vote for a man like Donald Trump who is a trice married, convicted sexual abuser, convicted criminal on fraud, serial liar, and only used the pro-life language to get votes."
The arguments that many use against Black people represent double standards as they do not apply the same arguments to themselves. People continue the fallacy of thinking that there's something spiritual about voting. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, there will not be a section for Americans to be judged on how they voted. Voting is not a spiritual act but a civil duty. The objective is a select the most competent and qualified persons to do a job.
To the argument that voting for someone who is pro-choice is supporting abortion, it's no different than those same people having satellite, cable, Internet, and streaming services that also have pornography on the same network, to which they do not subscribe.
It is the most shallow of arguments to overlook the extraordinary competence of someone like Kamala Harris to then presumptuously argue that there's something sinful about voting for her. Psalms 19 clearly states that presumption is a sin.
Worst of all is the implicit White supremacy and high-mindedness of making any judgment about what Black people should or should not do.
I too, was once told the same by a sibling. As I try to distance my world further from white-centering, I am appalled by THEIR voting intentions. They won’t even enter into a conversation. I am grateful for Black Christians and how progression has benefitted us all. Thankful too, for how your writing makes me better.
I ask them why it’s ok for them to question my faith and to condemn me for voting for a party that tries to make things better for everyone, but it’s not ok for me to question their faith when they are supporting a man who is the antithesis of everything Christ preached. Usually they stomp off or accuse me of being “deceived” or claim they are being persecuted. Once I did have a conversation after asking my question and the person admitted they never even thought about the policies of the republicans, but just followed the lead of their pastor. Sad and scary.
As far back as the general social survey by NORC in the mid-nineties, the clarity of world view was discussed in "Divided By Faith" by Smith and Emerson. Questions were posited to the general public and a subset of highly religious (Whites called evangelical and Blacks called conservative Christians if I remember correctly).
The book defined a system of beliefs by white Evangelicals as a "toolkit", the lens through which one is supposed to interpret the world. Accountable Freewill Individualism, Anti-Structuralism and Relationalism comprise the toolkit. The NORC survey consistently found that generally whites identify mostly with the idea of individual autonomy over blacks who could generally identify structural issues at the heart of differing societal and economic location.
Most revealing about the survey was that white evangelicals and black conservative Christians found that their faith structures exaggerated the findings. It makes sense, since in the white evangelical world, the personal faith responded to as an individual takes pre-eminence. Blaming structures has no/zero merit within the white evangelical narrative and must be strongly resisted.
That's my understanding of demonizing the entire democratic party. Even that is a system which cannot be embraced by white nationalist evangelicals. Individuals who choose to entertain democratic ideals are deemed as "evil" primarily because they challenge the toolkit.
Evangelicalism is a closed subset. By nature, it must close in on itself. It does not lead to openness or understanding, just indoctrination. And it, as a principality, will fight like hell to maintain it.
I was recently told by classmate from a Christian college, “I hope few other Christians think like you”. Embarrassingly, I would have voted with them 20 years ago. Years of evaluating my faith with Christians “not from here” and the challenge of a Ph. D. Program in US history forced a major shift in my thinking. Keep going!
Though I have always found that voting Democrat and my faith briefs were not in conflict, I have great reassurance in standing besides my brother's and sister's in the faith. You faithfulness gives my reassurance and hope in moments of doubt
In the documentary on Christian Nationalism titled God and Country, there is a scene where a Pastor, so riled up he was literally spitting his words out, shouted for any Democrat in his church to get out. Right then. Get out! I couldn’t help but reflect on what words Jesus might have had for him.
I think Dr. Jemar Tisby's book, "The Spirit of Justice," helps answer this ludicrous question too! I love Dr. Tisby's writing about early Church history and the Black Church too. The book is brilliant, inspiring, & compelling. I hope many of us read the book and stand up for racial justice too.
I think centering the Black Church theologically & historically with more of church history—minus the white-washing—is helpful. The receipts of history are debated with white-centering too. The response I get is that I’m fixated on skin-color.
This is an exceptional piece by Dr. Tisby.
The easy response could be, "How could White Christians vote for a man like Donald Trump who is a trice married, convicted sexual abuser, convicted criminal on fraud, serial liar, and only used the pro-life language to get votes."
The arguments that many use against Black people represent double standards as they do not apply the same arguments to themselves. People continue the fallacy of thinking that there's something spiritual about voting. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, there will not be a section for Americans to be judged on how they voted. Voting is not a spiritual act but a civil duty. The objective is a select the most competent and qualified persons to do a job.
To the argument that voting for someone who is pro-choice is supporting abortion, it's no different than those same people having satellite, cable, Internet, and streaming services that also have pornography on the same network, to which they do not subscribe.
It is the most shallow of arguments to overlook the extraordinary competence of someone like Kamala Harris to then presumptuously argue that there's something sinful about voting for her. Psalms 19 clearly states that presumption is a sin.
Worst of all is the implicit White supremacy and high-mindedness of making any judgment about what Black people should or should not do.
I too, was once told the same by a sibling. As I try to distance my world further from white-centering, I am appalled by THEIR voting intentions. They won’t even enter into a conversation. I am grateful for Black Christians and how progression has benefitted us all. Thankful too, for how your writing makes me better.
I ask them why it’s ok for them to question my faith and to condemn me for voting for a party that tries to make things better for everyone, but it’s not ok for me to question their faith when they are supporting a man who is the antithesis of everything Christ preached. Usually they stomp off or accuse me of being “deceived” or claim they are being persecuted. Once I did have a conversation after asking my question and the person admitted they never even thought about the policies of the republicans, but just followed the lead of their pastor. Sad and scary.
As far back as the general social survey by NORC in the mid-nineties, the clarity of world view was discussed in "Divided By Faith" by Smith and Emerson. Questions were posited to the general public and a subset of highly religious (Whites called evangelical and Blacks called conservative Christians if I remember correctly).
The book defined a system of beliefs by white Evangelicals as a "toolkit", the lens through which one is supposed to interpret the world. Accountable Freewill Individualism, Anti-Structuralism and Relationalism comprise the toolkit. The NORC survey consistently found that generally whites identify mostly with the idea of individual autonomy over blacks who could generally identify structural issues at the heart of differing societal and economic location.
Most revealing about the survey was that white evangelicals and black conservative Christians found that their faith structures exaggerated the findings. It makes sense, since in the white evangelical world, the personal faith responded to as an individual takes pre-eminence. Blaming structures has no/zero merit within the white evangelical narrative and must be strongly resisted.
That's my understanding of demonizing the entire democratic party. Even that is a system which cannot be embraced by white nationalist evangelicals. Individuals who choose to entertain democratic ideals are deemed as "evil" primarily because they challenge the toolkit.
Evangelicalism is a closed subset. By nature, it must close in on itself. It does not lead to openness or understanding, just indoctrination. And it, as a principality, will fight like hell to maintain it.
Thanks Jamar for this important dialogue.
I was recently told by classmate from a Christian college, “I hope few other Christians think like you”. Embarrassingly, I would have voted with them 20 years ago. Years of evaluating my faith with Christians “not from here” and the challenge of a Ph. D. Program in US history forced a major shift in my thinking. Keep going!
Though I have always found that voting Democrat and my faith briefs were not in conflict, I have great reassurance in standing besides my brother's and sister's in the faith. You faithfulness gives my reassurance and hope in moments of doubt
In the documentary on Christian Nationalism titled God and Country, there is a scene where a Pastor, so riled up he was literally spitting his words out, shouted for any Democrat in his church to get out. Right then. Get out! I couldn’t help but reflect on what words Jesus might have had for him.
My previous evangelical pastor preached from the pulpit that Democrats were evil and that if we didn't vote for DT we were going against God.
I was shocked, dismayed, and grieved.
I think Dr. Jemar Tisby's book, "The Spirit of Justice," helps answer this ludicrous question too! I love Dr. Tisby's writing about early Church history and the Black Church too. The book is brilliant, inspiring, & compelling. I hope many of us read the book and stand up for racial justice too.
🔥👏well said!
I think centering the Black Church theologically & historically with more of church history—minus the white-washing—is helpful. The receipts of history are debated with white-centering too. The response I get is that I’m fixated on skin-color.