Sounds like Andre Sung Park's heretical B.S. Christians should stick to preaching the gospel, rather than trying to sound erudite with idiotic theories about how "slave-trading states created the concept of race to perpetuate manifest destiny". These liberation theologists are some of the most ignorant scholars there are.

And on the flip side, it's shockingly arrogant to accept the presupposition that "white america" is the center of Christianity. Seriously? How magnanimous of us to realize it.

I have not read the book, but it does sound very challenging to the American Evangelical church's status quo. I am a white immigrant to the U.S. I am part of a multi-ethnic church. And I do have to agree with the book's premise about the evangelical church's position on immigration (among others); Christians that I know take a much more Republican/Conservative position on this issue, rather than a scripture-centered one (often ignoring all those verses about God's concern for the alien). My suggestion would be to develop an openness to this challenging (and uncomfortable!) perspective and to entertain the possibility that God may be raising up poeple like Park to speak to us.

I guess, using the author's premise, most A.M.E. churches are racist too, because they are predominantly black congregations with black leadership. How many white leaders are there in those churches? I'm sure it would be just as difficult for a white pastor to assume the leadership in an A.M.E. church as it is for a black pastor to become pastor at a mostly white evangelical church.

But it's easy to point a finger at mostly white congregations in mostly white neighborhoods and call them racists, citadels of white western power, etc., etc., etc. Let's face it, people go to chuches where they feel comfortable, whether they are black, white, or asian. The white's aren't any more racist than the black or asians.

I attend Northland, the Church Distributed, in Longwood, Florida. We have a white senior pastor, Joel Hunter, but we have other pastors, elders, staff, worship leaders, and volunteers who are African, Asian, black, and hispanic as well as white. The church is growing; there is no "white flight" because of the diversity in our church. We send volunteers to work hand in hand with residents in poor neighborhoods and send volunteers on mission trips around the world. And I don't think we are that different than other evangelical churches, are we?

The criticism leveled by this book exaggerates the influence of the White Evangelical Church. For years it has been obvious that the center of Evangelical growth was in countries with dark skinned people.

The author gives too much power to American slavery in "creating racism". The word slave comes from the Slavs taken as slaves by Italians and Greeks. There were so many Whites taken captive by Whites that a term was invented.

I have spent years working overseas and see US White Christians as some of the least racist of any nationality. Arabs, Asians, Europeans and Africans have killed each other over race for years. Is there prejudice and racism? Yes! Do we need to change? Yes!

For thirty years White Christians have led rallies, marches and meetings to confess our national and church sins. We have repented numerous times. When will forgiveness be extended to us?

People may vote with their feet in America and attend any church they want. Does any church in the US forbid attendance by other races? Maybe Obama's former church but I doubt even Dr. Wright would do that.

Most of these claims are, to my mind, bogus and impossible to change nationally. I wish he would say something helpful.

"Racism," he says, "is America's original sin." Our culture and economy were built on the backs of Native Americans and black slaves. But American individualism and consumerism keep Christians from understanding and confessing corporate sin.

/facepalm
America’s original sin is racism?
Really?
/sigh
Greg, I have just decided that any Christian author who constructs an argument for whatever problem and labels the subject as “[proper-noun]’s original sin is”, and then extrapolates a solution from the disparate issues associated with the problem will automatically go into my “I will go out of my way not to read this book” list.
I'm not sure that was your intent, but you took me there with this review.

I grew up in a town where probably 90% of the people went to church. Very hard-core Christian, regardless of the denominational flavor.

I never saw an African-American until I was 17 years old, because any coming through were warned to not let the sun go down on them. People will openly tell you they're racist and to this day, not one black person lives in the entire county.

Racism may be dead in a lot of places, but not everywhere.

I think there is a huge disconnect between whites and non-whites in America. I recently heard a story on the radio of a young woman who was bi-racial, who said that in the family gatherings on the black side of her family, the topic of conversation always turned to race, while on the white side of the family, the topic of race was never brought up, even avoided.

So when we whites hear these broad assertions of white hegemony, we say, "what are you talking about? We just go to church and live our lives like anyone else. Nobody is trying to stamp out diversity here."

I think the most perceptive line of this review is this: But American individualism and consumerism keep Christians from understanding and confessing corporate sin.

The temptation for us is to claim innocence through our individual blamelessness, to say "tell me how I am racist." But Jesus calls us to a greater righteousness, a righteousness that is about your benefit at my expense.

I really admire my friends who are able to actively seek to understand the Other, to seek justice and exercise compassion in ways that are deliberately uncomfortable in order to break through those walls of suspicion and mistrust. As Rah suggests, "this will require that white leaders intentionally give power to Hispanic, Asian, black, and other minority cultures." I can't say I'm very good at doing this, but I hope I'm learning.

Now, I understand some of the objections raised in the comments here. I, for one, don't think the way forward is to focus on who has, who keeps, and who cedes "power" in the Church. I don't think Power is the currency of the Church, and if non-white ethnic groups are going to show the way forward, it won't be by getting "power" from the white evangelicals, it will be by embodying the truth that the Kingdom belongs to the powerless.

But our response to this message has to be better than "Yeah, who you callin' racist?" None of us can justify ourselves, even individually. We claim the grace of Jesus, hoping that he will make us into the people who can break through those ethnic barriers.

Yes and we're tired of hearing that comparison. The Christians in Acts did not confiscate each other's property and give it to different people; they donated it to the congregation *willingly*. They actively waived their rights rather than forfeiting them.

but what is the end result?

and, just for the record, there has been in the past a spot on the front of the tax return that asks for voluntary contributions.

refresh my memory, chris: how much have you written on that line ... ?

there is no reason one cannot look at what is given in taxes to help others as a way to be selfless and giving. unfortunately, it's generally pure selfishness that makes one parse clear passages of scripture that hits too close to home.

which is exactly why some are 'tired of hearing'...

let him who has ears...

The Next Evangelicalism is just a load of anti-white hot air.And Mr.Taylor is a typical guilt-ridden white liberal trying to atone for his race and his wealth.Maybe he should return to Uganda and stay there.

This book is just a load of anti-white hot air.And Mr.Taylor is a typical guilt-ridden white liberal out to atone for his race and his wealth.Pathetic.

ken, you have to say it once more AND click your heels if you want to get back to kansas...

We had all better starting atoning for our wealth, for it's hard for rich people to enter the kingdom -- and we live in a society where everything from health care to education to justice is, by conscious design, based on a person's wealth.

We base a person's worth on how well they do at grabbing money in a merciless dog-eat-dog world. But God sees it just the opposite.

Suppose that the last shall be first turns out to be true? Suppose letting children die for lack of health care is really murder, just like abortion? We are in big trouble.

"But American individualism and consumerism keep Christians from understanding and confessing corporate sin."

I think it is more institutionalism and consumerism. It is the institutionalized form of faith that demands believers devote 75 - 85% of their giving to buy staffing and crowd gathering comfort facilities for themselves. It is now more important for brother Joe and sister Sally to hear a hired Bible lecture every week of their lives than for those who have never heard and have no one within 2 days journey to tell them even once. Perpetual dependency on hired experts sucks up more "giving" than any other institutionalized church "thing".

Crowd oriented gatherings (50+) are almost always very style and performance focused. It trains the saints to only be able to "worship" if the style is just right for their tastes. God designed believers gatherings to be relationship focused. The kind of relationship that is eager to ignore style in order to connect at the heart level. There are probably 25 different styles for blacks and 40 different styles for whites. Each must have their own building and staff. Emerging churches are just another style offering nothing different of any substance.

Having grown up as an MK, I've watched Americans export our very expensive institutionalized system to very poor countries. What a tragedy! They think hired staff and special buildings are inspired by God, just like Catholics think their pope is God's design.

I also believe the institutionalized "pooling of money to buy stuff for ourselves" instead of actually giving beyond the givers is why American believers seem to be locked into giving on average up to only 2.3%. Why would the H.S. bother to convict saints to give any more than that when it's just going to buy more staff and buildings for themselves.

Question for all of you:

As the author stated, have you ever placed yourself in a position to learn from and/or be accountable to Christians of color who possibly come from historically marginalized groups?

Some of you take issue with his idea of racism. I agree that American slavery did not create racism BUT this country still struggles with the idea of white privilege.

Forgiveness should be extended from those of us that are people of color. But the recognition of the privileged place white people still have in our society seems to be ignored by many Christians who are white.

I am not surprised that people think Rah's book is overblown. That seems to be the typical reaction to racism and privilege from the majority.

Do any of you know people of color that you have had consistent meaningful conversations about this subject? I have some white friends who have and they are few and far between.

many of the more irate reactions to this book's proposals only serve to prove its point.

My new parish is 80% Hispanic. More than 10,000 people. We have to rent the fairgrounds for big feast days.

Best days of my life were living in Mexico. And I now have a much better understanding of their culture when they come to the USA.

The racism is present, no doubt. I don't preach against, I don't preach for. I preach for understanding and mutual respect, that we are all children of God.

I am deeply saddened by the type and tone of the responses to this article. May God's power continue to be at work healing the racial issues we struggle with in His church.

Prophetik Soul

You must be spending a lot of time in or looking at Christian institutional structures. This is where the hierarchy, the privilege, and the pecking order are refined and justified as "godly". "Doesn't the Bible talk about "OVERseers" and "obey those that have the RULE OVER you." These are twisted proof texts that must be interpreted in light of Jesus own words:

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

What you are concerned about is not just white pedestalized over black. It is also black over black, just as slavery continues in Africa black on black and there is no uprising among blacks here to stop it.

Arm yourself with the Word and prophesy against this false tradition in your current fellowship. When they reject you, shake the dust off your feet, leave Ur, and follow Jesus in faith into church life with no institutional power structure, no pooling of money for us, and no perpetual dependency of any leader. Jesus will connect you in His time. When I did this, the first believer God connected me to was a black brother with cerebral palsy confined to a wheel chair who needed my help going to the bath room. God taught me more through this brother than any Dr., Pastor, Founder, Author, etc. If your faith is not ready for this, then you will reject it and continue on a treadmill complaining about privilege.

Tim, there is a difference between acknowledging white privilege and complaining about it.

I have enough friends of all stripes to discuss this issue, whether we agree or not. In my experience, what I find most telling about the issues that Rah addresses is that there is hardly any meaningful conversation across the aisle.

I have my own prejudices which is why I reach across the aisle especially being in a multiethnic church. That has been a huge benefit to me but it comes with a cost that many of us Christians dont want to experience.

Jesus addressed the issue of privilege in the Bible at the micro and macro level and reached out to the oppressed so much so that his rep was questioned.

That was Jesus' example.

What the…
Here I am, scanning for new topics and find this thread still going on.
Racism isn’t limited to just whites in the US anymore.
Racism is wildly rampant, and here is the gist of it all…everyone, regardless of race has an axe to grind…some of the issues are legit, some are stupid beyond belief, and some are just plain ignorance…as my old boss from long ago once told me, “if anyone ever says they ain’t racist…they’re just lying to you, and to themselves. Hell, even I’m racist.”
She was black, and the incredible thing is she was completely and totally honest with me which I appreciated. She didn’t like me because she thought I was another crazy-@ss white boy (she was right about the crazy part)…but that was okay, because she was honest with me. We had a great relationship because she taught me the secret of how to get along with people of differing races which I will share with you…

If you want to break the racist cycle here is what I recommend.
Take your under-informed opinions and throw them in the trash.
They’re useless and will only make things worse.
Go out to the outside world, and get to know people and their cultures.
Doesn’t matter which one, pick one if you have a lot around you…just pick one.
Eat their food, listen to them talk, and you’ll find something incredible…you’ll find that regardless of race, sex, or education people want respect.
Show respect to them as a living, breathing, reflection of our living G-d and you will be amazed at how quickly things change around you.
Now the other person may not know how to express their appreciation for the respect being shown to them, hell, they probably don’t even know how to respond to kindness except to suspect a quid pro quo that they think you’re setting them up for, but just show respect and a little kindness to everyone.
And then…pick another culture to learn about and repeat the steps above.
And here is something that’ll totally surprise everyone you meet…and this is the secret I learned…treat everyone like they are your better…it’s amazing how unthreatening that position is…and how willing the other party is to trust you.
It’s called…humbling yourself.
There you go…no costs except for your ego and pride, and no book, so it’s all free of charge.
Now go, and do as Y’shua would do.

sheerahkahn's post is right on. cultures are racist, and people get poisoned by them and their own insecurities and sinfulness. Try seeing the good in people and other races. And the problems with yourself. Amazing the difference it makes.

"The next evangelicalism...would embrace a theology of suffering as well as celebration..."

The immigration issue would build border walls that would transform USA into a virtual prison. People would suffer, but would celebrate as well.

"It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually, it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes, not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through human hearts. So bless you, prison, for having been in my life." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn