Reviewed by Heather Hedlund
In Reading While Black, Esau McCaulley writes that the way the Black church has practiced reading and interpreting the Bible has been a crucial source of hope in the midst of unjust circumstances. He calls this practice Black ecclesial interpretation.
McCaulley explains the foundational elements of Black ecclesial interpretation and provides several examples of how to apply these elements to specific issues that challenge the Black community such as political witness, policing, pursuing justice, and slavery. This is not a dry theological text; McCaulley is an engaging writer and includes many stories from his own experiences as he helps us understand Scripture more deeply.
By Grace Brown
The response of white Christians to address racial blind spots and assumptions often defaults in white communities and churches to try to become more racially diverse to solve the problems. Swanson asserts that the segregation within white Christianity is not actually a diversity problem, but really a discipleship problem. American culture disciples white Christianity toward racial segregation and injustice. Swanson encourages white Christians to honestly assess the damage done by misguided forms of discipleship. He then outlines a rethinking of discipleship practices, including new habits, teaching, and uncommon friendship, that can lead us into authentic solidarity as members of the diverse body of Christ. The reader finishes the book having reckoned with painful truths, bringing forth hope and a reorientation to the diverse kingdom of God.
Reviewed by Heather Hedlund
Reparations. What emotions does that word conjure up for you?
Reparations is a word that can easily be a conversation ender or an argument starter. We usually think of it in terms of a large national, political project that seems doomed to never find consensus. This book looks at the idea of reparations from a very different perspective – a Christian perspective. Kwon and Thompson leave the political debate to others and instead ask the question, what is the responsibility of the Christian church in America to respond to the harms caused by centuries of racial injustice in this country.
The authors delve into the root causes of the injustices that have occurred and are still occurring. They help us understand the effects of racism through the lens of the root cause of White supremacy. That's another phrase that can shut a conversation down, but I encourage you to persist through any discomfort you feel and seek to understand how and why they use the term.
Reviewed by: Grace Brown
Privilege can be misunderstood, but "Subversive Witness" makes clear that privilege must be understood and stewarded faithfully to empower us to bear witness to God's love in new and sacrificial ways. This book left me with an unforgettable impression for two reasons.
First, the author takes Bible stories I thought I knew well—Moses, Zacchaeus, Esther, and others—and completely flips them upside down in ways I still can't believe I've never seen before. Second, this book prompted deep self-reflection of my own privilege. I ended the book feeling restless, seeing places where my own unchecked privilege is now exposed for repentance and new growth.
Reviewed by Pam Hinrichs
This is a God-honoring, faith-filled, how-to book—how to have conversations about race, how to listen to others (both alike and different from ourselves), how to listen to ourselves, how to listen to God, how to listen to what Scripture has to say to us. The author describes the book as showing us how, to "faithfully combat the racism so many of us say we hate, while mastering the unity so many of us say we want."
In the first part of the book, the author presents fictional scenarios and conversations. He follows each scenario with questions for reflection and discussion. The author then counsels the people in the scenarios as a pastor/counselor would. He also makes observations to help us better understand where the people in the scenarios are coming from.
Reviewed by Pam Hinrichs
A desire for a place to call our own, a home, seems to be a fundamental part of who we are. The systematic, purposeful and comprehensive denial of that opportunity to African Americans, based solely on race, is a travesty and not a well-known or understood part of our recent history. In this book, Rothstein investigates and explains how in the 20th Century, the U.S. government at all levels, Federal, State and local, deliberately instituted racist policies that denied financing and therefore home ownership to African Americans and segregated our cities nationwide.
Reviewed by Amanda Geers
Both a memoir of her fight for justice and a prophetic call to the Church, Sarah Augustine takes us through her story of learning the impact of the Doctrine of Discovery: how it shaped the colonization and taking of land historically, the ways the Church and governments have benefited together from these set of legal decrees, bulls, etc., the long term impact on Native families and individuals, and how even today it is allowing land theft to be perfectly legal particularly in countries in South America, and supports efforts to claim resources from Native owned lands in North America.
Can you share a quote from the book that was meaningful to you?
Reviewed by Vicki Foreman
The vision for BelPres is to help each one of us become disciples, a people committed to becoming more and more like Christ where we live, work, play, and learn. This book has much to say about the simple obedience as disciples of Jesus to both be just and to "do" justice. In Matthew 25, Jesus famously puts it like this: "whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me, and whatever you didn't do for one of the least of these, you didn't do for me."
The author writes from an evangelical point of view specifically to an evangelical audience. The book has two main points: privilege, and responsibility regarding race. He addresses difficult issues such as "white privilege" from a Biblical perspective, not a political perspective. The reader is invited to consider hard truths from a gospel perspective; truths that may run counter to our cultural beliefs.
Page 3 of 4