This post is with regard to three theologians who have found themselves on opposing sides regarding
I first heard about this current round of controversy from Dr Jame White on his Dividing Line broadcast from November 21, 2019. He accused Bishop Swan of being a black racist to Dr Michael Brown. I was confused. I felt that Dr White was dismissive and not respectful of Swan at all. But the truth is I have followed both White and Dr Brown for years and I know the kind of men they are. Dr Brown is worthy of respect. Anyone who has spent any time listening him have to know he ain't racist. However when I looked up Talbert I found a lot in common between myself, Swan, and Dr Brown. Swan is a Bishop in the same denomination I am in, Church of God in Christ, and like us Dr Brown is Pentecostal. We agree that abortion on-demand is wrong. The Bible is inerrant. Homosexuality is not God's best for anyone. And James White would agree with all those statements as well. What happened? If you look at what James White says in the following video, I think you can see the problem: Swan posted a Tweet that Brown responded to in good faith, but instead of a helpful dialogue it degenerated to Swan and his supporters to stop listening to Brown and instead there is more name-calling.
This started with Talbert seemingly saying that all white evangelical Christians are racists and bigotted and this was why they overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump and voted for him despite all the moral failing we can point to. Dr. Michael Brown pushed backed on that a little. He wrote an article a bout why it's wrong to equate all white Christians with white supremacy. You can read the article for yourself: The Religion of White Supremacy? In it, I notice that Dr Brown does not deny that racism against black and brown people is a problem in the church and in society. He merely points out that it's racist to think all white people are racist just because they are white. I agree with him,
To call this the religion of white supremacy rather than Christianity is to make a bigoted and biased remark.
The problem is that I think they are talking past each other because if you listen to what Talbert and most Black christians are saying about social justice, not all are trying to say that all white people are racist and need to be held accountable and punished for being racist. No, we are talking about how all American institutions are tainted by racism and bigotry and negatively affect people today inside and outside of our churches. We want justice and the system fixed because that is what God says He wants us to be working towards.
To be fair to Dr Michael Brown, I do not know how anyone can listen to him and come away think that he's racist just because he points out that he and many white Christians he knows are not racist, while he does not deny that are institutions are racists. What more could we ask of him? He is on public record working for social justice and spreading the Gospel the way God has defined them in scripture.
I think that Swan is getting the short end. Dr James White does not seem to spend much time on him outside of reading his Wikipedia page but Dr Brown did look him up and realized that they were in agreement on homosexuality but Dr White dismissed Swan because he does not look like or sound like someone whom he puts stock in. This is the kind of racism that Swan and other black people be talking about and why I would say that Dr Brown is not racist. In most circumstances Dr White does try to understand other people's viewpoint. I just do not think he did that with Bishop Swan. We should allow people to speak for themselves. Look at what Swan has taught recently on his radio program.
It should not be an issue to listen to one another. Although Dr James White is not a racist person he does not understand Black people. He doesn't even try like Dr Michael Brown does. During the Twitter exchange, Bishop Swan retweeted something Dr James White tweeted and I think it exemplifies the issue.
This obtuse, evangelical bigot, who claims Black women “kill their unborn children” because of their “rebellious sexual ethics,” has the caucasity to do a podcast calling me racist and complaining about “Black racism” and “Black racists.”— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) November 24, 2019
You can’t make this stuff up. https://t.co/i9j1OLUvQQ
James White makes tweets like this and then wonders why black people are offended. He reason it's true after all so it's not racist. It presupposes that it mostly black unwed mothers having abortions of convenience and black men not stepping up to being fathers and husbands that we should be, The point is being made with no distinction that not all black people live like that - painting all black people with a broad brush. I get Bishop Swan's frustration, but calling James White "obtuse" and a "bigot" is not any more true as what White seemingly wrote about all black people. I'd argue that in context, White was not referring to all black people but is ignorant to how slavery still plays a part in messing up people's lives today and he refuses to learn about it. At least Dr Michael Brown is open to this. May be is has to do with the fact Dr Michael Brown is a Messianic Jew makes it easier to understand racism and oppression.
There is a huge disconnect. I think we are having these issues because we are either too worried about offending others and being labeled racist or not worried enough about hurting our brothers and sisters who are not the same race as we are.
I have been listening to James White for years and just like Bishop Swan said, he thinks that all black people who speak up for social justice think that we all want abortion and gay rights and all the unBiblical stuff society is trying to push on us. This is not true. Bishop Swan has a book he wrote chronicling how God can deliver people from Homosexuality. He is merely asking people to look at themselves and ask are they doing enough to follow what God requires for social justice - beyond just the lip service.
To be fair, I did find a tweet from Bishop Swan that gave me pause, and I think it would require more research - regarding how Bishop Swan looks at Dr James Cone work. James Cone is considered the father of Black Liberation Theology and from what I know it's antithetical to the Gospel we should be preaching and teaching.
Newsflash: Comparing me to the late great theologian and freedom fighter James Cone is not an insult as you meant it to be. It’s an honor.— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) November 24, 2019
I referenced his writings several times in my sermon today.
Also, there’s no such thing as Black racism. https://t.co/MC4554HhUo
I think I need more understanding about what Bishop Swan means, but written some things about James Cone. You can read my posts about James Cone at the following link:
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