It’s happened again. Fortunately, this time no one was shot or killed, so we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. That is, relief in the sense that innocent black children were “only” traumatized, their lives were “only” threatened and…
Racism evident in response to Texas pool party
True confession: I am a 53-year-old white male raised primarily in the South, and I occasionally find myself involuntarily thinking racist thoughts. Not big, dangerous racist thoughts, just the kind of insipient stereotyping that comes as second nature to most…
A grandfather’s advice to his black teen grandson
Dear Beloved Grandson, Be afraid. Be very afraid. You shouldn’t have to be, but in today’s America you need to be constantly on your guard. Or maybe “afraid” isn’t the right word. Be vigilant and very careful. Especially around police….
On reading Malcolm X’s autobiography
Marking the 50th anniversary of its publication Malcolm X’s Autobiography was the first book that scared me. Here I was, in the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, secretly abandoning my pietist-revivalist rearing in favor of the more verdant fields…
‘Colorblindness’ ignores systemic racism, speaker says
By Bob Allen Healing America’s racial rift will require changing not only hearts and minds but also systems that oppress racial minorities and the poor, said a speaker at a recent gathering of Baptists in Missouri focused on building peace…
Destroying our own neighborhoods
The recent uprising in Baltimore has occupied our screens and dominated our conversations for more than a week now. Protestors there pricked the consciences of the nation in their cries for justice for Freddie Gray. At some point, a small…
That which you call Baltimore will always be Bawlamer to me
Is it funny, sad, crazy, or criminal when I experience what happened in Ferguson, New York, and North Charleston—among other places—that I have a restrained dimension of response? When it happens in Bawlamer my emotions run much deeper. My sense…
Southern Baptists, racism and Biblical inerrancy
While Southern Baptists believe that scripture is “truth without any mixture of error” it is obvious that Southern Baptists do not read the Bible without any mixture of error. Southern Baptists, along with everyone else, read the Bible as fallible,…
Be informed, not ignorant on Baltimore
Baltimore is a great city. It is home to the sports teams I follow, universities, churches, an inner harbor, and more importantly where people live. My mother was born and raised in Baltimore. I was born outside Baltimore in Maryland…
“Surely not me”: The death of Jesus and corporate sin
Last night, Jesus once again gathered with his disciples, washed our feet and called us to love, and then shared the unthinkable news that he would be handed over by one of his own. No sooner did the words come…
Racially segregated churches ‘blasphemy,’ SBC leader says
By Bob Allen Ethics head Russell Moore told 550 people at a conference March 26 he believes God is giving the Southern Baptist Convention a second chance to atone for its racist past, but “in order to do that we…
Must we choose between fundamentalism and ‘belief-less Christianity’?
John Shuck is a Presbyterian pastor in good standing who doesn’t believe a single thing you learned in Sunday school. In a recent Patheos post, Reverend Shuck issued a list of six affirmations designed to boil the blood of every right-thinking American:…