Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

‘The Cross and the Lynching Tree’: A broken gospel

OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist  |  July 20, 2017

Bill Leonard“The cross and the lynching tree are separated by nearly 2,000 years. One is the universal symbol of Christian faith; the other is the quintessential symbol of black oppression in America. Though both are symbols of death, one represents a message of hope and salvation, while the other signifies the negation of that message by white supremacy.”

That’s how professor James H. Cone of Union Theological Seminary in New York begins his 2011 book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, a volume that overwhelmed me like few I have ever read. I must confess to and repent of reading it only recently, as part of a research project in which I’ve been engaged. The experience convicted me of the sin of omission, one of “the things we have left undone,” as the Book of Common Prayer calls it. I’ve been studying American religion a long time, often on topics related to race and racism, slavery and Jim Crow, the South and southern faith communities, black and white. But I’ve failed to give more than peripheral attention to the slaughter of black men and, yes, black women, during the “lynching era” from 1880 to 1940.

And because I have given so little attention to lynching and the acquiescence or indifference of white churches to the practice, I’ve failed to communicate to my students the brokenness of the Christian gospel represented by those horrendous actions. That inattention to the lynching tree warrants Cone’s poignant critique of individuals like Walter Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr and other “white theologians” who “have written thousands of books about Jesus’ cross without remarking on the analogy between the crucifixion of Jesus and the lynching of black people.” He is particularly critical of Niebuhr, his erstwhile theological mentor, who could address the cross “with profound theological imagination,” and yet “say nothing of how the violence of white supremacy invalidated the faith of white churches.”

It was a killing field. Cone cites white supremacist and Methodist bishop Atticus G. Haygood, who declared in 1893: “Now-a-days, it seems the killing of Negroes is not so extraordinary an occurrence as to need explanation ….” Accounts of those brutal murders make for heart-rending but necessary reading. Cone contrasts them with the courage of African Americans, sustained not only in the black church, but also in literature, poetry and music, particularly jazz. “Strange Fruit,” Billie Holiday’s trademark song, (written by a Jewish composer) contained this plaintive refrain:

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern Breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Beneath such violence, white supremacy lies at the root of the lynching tree, a “struggle to define America as a white nation and blacks as a subordinate race unfit for governing and therefore incapable of political and social equality.” Southern Christians lent their support, summoning “biblical” defenses of slavery and segregation that fabricated the “mark of Cain,” the “curse of Ham” and various Pauline admonitions (“slaves be subject to your masters”), a bastardized (the term fits) hermeneutic that some still retain.

The blight of white supremacy then and now demands our response. African-American pastor Dwight McKissic’s recent efforts to compel the Southern Baptist Convention to repudiate alt-right white supremacy finally produced near unanimous approval of a resolution denouncing such ideology. But America’s largest Protestant missed the opportunity, even when asked, to publicly reject the “curse of Ham” as a long and often implicitly “normative” dogma in an errant biblical text. (See Alan Bean’s recent BNG column for details.) Nonetheless, as white Christians in the American South, we’ve all got a lot of history to make up for, whatever our denomination.

And then there is Jesus and the “ignominy of the cross,” as Thomas à Kempis says of it. Cone writes profoundly, and without hesitation, that for Americans to comprehend the meaning of the cross, “we need to take a look at the lynching tree in this nation’s history — that ‘strange and bitter crop’ that Billie Holiday would not let us forget.”

He insists the gospel’s “real scandal” means that “humanity’s salvation is revealed in the cross of the condemned criminal Jesus, and humanity’s salvation is available only through our solidarity with the crucified people in our midst.” The lynching tree keeps Christ’s cross from becoming “a symbol of abstract, sentimental piety.” But the lynching tree needs the cross, “without which it becomes simply an abomination,” with no sign of hope.

So let’s stop pontificating about theories of biblical inspiration, at least until we own up to ways in which we’ve use corpse-cold literalism and make-believe theology to perpetuate the “mark of Cain,” “the curse on Ham,” “biblical” defenses of chattel slavery, Jim Crow segregation, “lynching eras” and KKK-alt-right white supremacy. Amid our perpetual debates over Christ’s atoning work on the cross, let’s reclaim our own atoning work to be accomplished at the foot of the cross and the trunk of the lynching tree — binding up a gospel still broken by the racism that so easily besets us.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:racismBill LeonardRacial Reconciliationlynchingtheology of the crosswhite supremacylynching tree
More by
Bill Leonard, Senior Columnist
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      News

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      Opinion

    • Christian nationalism is a danger to our nation

      Opinion

    • How The Jetsons and Westworld help us think about robots, personhood and faith

      Analysis


    Curated

    • New York City’s Largest Evangelical Church Plans Billion-Dollar Development

      New York City’s Largest Evangelical Church Plans Billion-Dollar Development

      August 10, 2022
    • Ben & Jerry’s fears its new Israeli owner could sell ‘Judea and Samaria’ ice cream in latest court hearing

      Ben & Jerry’s fears its new Israeli owner could sell ‘Judea and Samaria’ ice cream in latest court hearing

      August 10, 2022
    • Why Alexander Hamilton gave his heart to Jesus at a Texas church this weekend

      Why Alexander Hamilton gave his heart to Jesus at a Texas church this weekend

      August 10, 2022
    • Baby Blues: How to Face the Church’s Growing Fertility Crisis

      Baby Blues: How to Face the Church’s Growing Fertility Crisis

      August 10, 2022
    Read Next:

    40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Christian nationalism is a danger to our nation

      OpinionMarvin McMickle

    • How The Jetsons and Westworld help us think about robots, personhood and faith

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • Some evangelical leaders see FBI visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as evidence of the religious persecution coming to them

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Advice from a sunflower

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • Where are the women on the SBC’s first and second sexual abuse task forces?

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • New study finds scammers luring migrants with false information via Facebook and WhatsApp

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What I learned at Wake Forest Baptist Church

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • Progressive Baptist congregation on Wake Forest campus votes to close

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Why can’t we accept sexual and gender diversity in humans as well as in all creation?

      OpinionDan McGee

    • I’ve been unaware of my privilege, and if you are a man, you probably have, too

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • South African women’s soccer team success shines a light on gender wage discrimination

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Are left-wing radicals pushing Cracker Barrel to the edge of the slippery slope?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • It isn’t a church and doesn’t have members, but it is a way to keep United Methodists in the fold as their congregations disaffiliate

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Al Mohler derides a dead man, and the dead man’s friends aren’t happy

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Rural church offers community development grants through Gratitude Project

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • To be more welcoming, let’s remove our flags

      OpinionJustin Pierson

    • The church needs to do better on monkeypox than it did on HIV, faith leaders say

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • News flash: Not all Baptists are Southern

      OpinionBrian Kaylor

    • Russell Moore named editor in chief of Christianity Today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Why aren’t we defending Brittney Griner?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • 40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Some evangelical leaders see FBI visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as evidence of the religious persecution coming to them

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New study finds scammers luring migrants with false information via Facebook and WhatsApp

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Progressive Baptist congregation on Wake Forest campus votes to close

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • South African women’s soccer team success shines a light on gender wage discrimination

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • It isn’t a church and doesn’t have members, but it is a way to keep United Methodists in the fold as their congregations disaffiliate

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Rural church offers community development grants through Gratitude Project

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The church needs to do better on monkeypox than it did on HIV, faith leaders say

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Russell Moore named editor in chief of Christianity Today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Online religion content isn’t luring Millennials away from in-person church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Study finds congregational leaders report LGBTQ conversations are worth the pain

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • There’s something odd about this Mary, did you know?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Cuban government clamps down more on religion

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • September symposium will celebrate life and legacy of John Claypool

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Faith leaders urge Congress to fund help for families torn apart by Trump’s ‘cruel’ family separation policy

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • It’s possible some senior adults in your church need help with medical costs or food but won’t say anything

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • It’s still ‘Christians only’ at this Tennessee Methodist adoption agency

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • War in Ukraine transforms churches into centers of care

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Distinguished preaching professor says he was fired from Southwestern Seminary; administrators say he quit

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • As frustration and misinformation mount, United Methodist Church’s reputation takes a beating

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Want to lower grocery prices? Urge Senate to pass Farm Workforce Modernization Act, panelists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Christian nationalism is a danger to our nation

      OpinionMarvin McMickle

    • Advice from a sunflower

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • What I learned at Wake Forest Baptist Church

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • Why can’t we accept sexual and gender diversity in humans as well as in all creation?

      OpinionDan McGee

    • I’ve been unaware of my privilege, and if you are a man, you probably have, too

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Are left-wing radicals pushing Cracker Barrel to the edge of the slippery slope?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • To be more welcoming, let’s remove our flags

      OpinionJustin Pierson

    • News flash: Not all Baptists are Southern

      OpinionBrian Kaylor

    • Why aren’t we defending Brittney Griner?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • A school administrator reflects on rebuilding relationships between schools and homes

      OpinionStanton Eugene Lawrence

    • Judging the stripper and the carouser in ourselves at the Communion table

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • After the Guidepost report, we need to know more about FBC Woodstock’s City of Refuge and NAMB’s support for it: Was ‘moral failures’ code for sexual abuse?

      OpinionJoanna Sullivan

    • Forsaking Baal for the God who is in recovery

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King and Critical Race Theory

      OpinionKen Zagacki

    • What evangelicals won’t tell you about the actual sin of Sodom

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Giving birth in prison: The grief of separation, the grace of presence

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Dear Denny Burk, your view of gender is not biblical, it is dangerous

      OpinionEllie Dote

    • Roger Williams, the father of American deconstruction

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • Why I’m an LGBTQ ally who won’t boycott Chick-fil-A

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Do the arts in church still matter?

      OpinionDoug Haney

    • When Christianity becomes toxic ‘Christianism’

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • When a friend went to prison for murder, the words of Jesus took on new meaning

      OpinionAllan Smith

    • What should we think of celebrities for Jesus?

      OpinionKatelyn Beaty

    • Dealing with the truth: An interview with Sarah Churchwell on Gone with the Wind, the Lost Cause and Donald Trump

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • New York City’s Largest Evangelical Church Plans Billion-Dollar Development

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ben & Jerry’s fears its new Israeli owner could sell ‘Judea and Samaria’ ice cream in latest court hearing

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Alexander Hamilton gave his heart to Jesus at a Texas church this weekend

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Baby Blues: How to Face the Church’s Growing Fertility Crisis

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Orthodox Alaska Part 2: The Beatles, Bees And Orthodoxy Animated In One Man’s Life

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Hundreds of thousands gather for mass prayer in Baghdad

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ukrainian seminary professor faces difficult decisions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Nondenominational Churches Are Adding Millions of Members. Where Are They Coming From?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Religious Right’s Agenda Is Center Stage Again — And It’s As Unpopular As Ever

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • After Trump, Christian nationalist ideas are going mainstream – despite a history of violence

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, whispered prayers defy unwritten accord

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Assemblies of God Ordains Record Number of Women

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck debate God’s position on abortion on ‘The View’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis’ Pilgrimage of Penance: A Step on the Nonviolent Journey

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Christian flag in speech battle flies, briefly, over Boston

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A group of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn is reviving the golden age of cantorial music

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At Lambeth, Anglican Communion abandons vote on same-sex marriage

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Oglala Sioux ban missionary, require ministries to register

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • White Southern Evangelicals Are Leaving the Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Kansas voters resoundingly protect their access to abortion

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Sikh Americans honor 10th anniversary of Oak Creek shooting

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Congress is considering making same-sex marriage federal law – a political scientist explains how this issue became less polarized over time

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • When does conflict become spiritual abuse? Churches large and small face that question.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope to Kazakhstan Sept. 13-15, may meet Russia patriarch

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • When ‘Pro-Life’ Isn’t Enough: Abortion ‘Abolitionists’ Speak Up

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS