William E. Boyce. Outsiders on the Inside: Understanding Racial Fatigue, Racial Resilience, and Racial Hospitality in Our Churches. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2022. 146 pages. Since its founding in 1973, the Presbyterian Church in America has professed a commitment to welcoming all races. However, putting this commitment into practice has proven more difficult. Despite […]
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White fragility, white guilt, and the ring of Gyges
I think these books were meant to be read together. They are coming from very different perspectives—one a white progressive and the other a black conservative—but they are both attempting to make sense of white psychology in post-Civil Rights America. Even the book covers look similar, with the black and white appropriately inverted. Let me […]
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‘Splainshaming: when “centering other voices” becomes a tool to silence dissent
Straightsplainshaming: rebuking, ridiculing, or dismissing a straight person for speaking on issues of sexuality, just because they are straight. Whitesplainshaming: rebuking, ridiculing, or dismissing a white person for speaking on issues of race, just because they are white. Mansplainshaming: rebuking, ridiculing, or dismissing a man for speaking on issues of gender, just because he is […]
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Review: Beyond Racial Gridlock by George Yancey
“Gridlock” is a good word to describe the state of evangelical discussions on race today. The past couple years especially have witnessed a meteoric rise in the use (and misuse) of terms like “critical race theory” and “systemic racism.” If evangelicals are going to break through the current ideological impasse, then they need a reliable […]
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Review: The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
This summer I’ve been trying to read as much as I can on the topic of racial justice, covering a range of perspectives—both secular and Christian, and both progressive and conservative. One title that I just finished is The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone, who is considered to be the father […]
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Thornwell’s Inaugural Address of the Confederate Presbyterian Church
Note: In 1861, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was deeply divided over the issue of slavery, as well as the broader matter of the church’s role in addressing social and political controversies. It was a question of jurisdiction as much as one of morality. In May, the PCUSA General Assembly had […]
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Robert Lewis Dabney: A Review (Part Two)
This is Part Two of a review of Dr. Sean Lucas’ biography of the Southern theologian, Robert Dabney. In Part One of this review, readers were invited to consider the impact of Robert Lewis Dabney’s life and work. This overview of Dabney’s life shows that, like every minister, he was both a saint and a […]
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Robert Lewis Dabney: A Review (Part One)
This is Part One of a two-part review of Dr. Sean Lucas’ biography of the Southern theologian, Robert Dabney. Robert Lewis Dabney is one of the more polarizing figures in American Presbyterian history. Depending on whom you ask, Dabney was a staunch defender of biblical authority and the Westminster Standards, an important leader upholding the […]
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Racial Reconciliation and Ferguson, MO: Resources for Understanding
Over the past few months, the city of Ferguson, Missouri has been in the spotlight of national news. Ever since the death of Michael Brown, the city has experienced protest after protest. Both the citizens and the police seek to have justice done, yet many disagree over what that justice will look like, and ask […]
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Pride and Privilege in the American Church
The events in Ferguson, MO over the past few weeks have been like a social earthquake. The shooting of Michael Brown has revealed again the fault line in American race relations, and one overwhelming theme rising from the discussion is we don’t understand each other. Or to be more specific, whites, on the whole, don’t […]
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