Bloodline Sin in America
Christ wants His Church to walk in the same unity that He enjoys with the Father. Perfect harmony exists within the Godhead; there is a complete oneness between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No competition, jealousy, or pushing for position there! And that is how the Godhead wants us to walk with each other. It is time to look under our rugs and see what we have attempted to hide for years. Under the rug of the great American experiment, you will find the debris of racism, pride, and prejudice.
Clearly the unity of all believers is both the burning desire and the demand of our Lord. Yet today there are many things that we have allowed to separate us into different camps. From the very beginning, satan has followed a strategy of “divide and conquer” to cripple the Church. His intention has been to trip us up and cause us to fight among ourselves instead of focusing on the commission that Christ gave us to make disciples of all nations. We are divided over theology, doctrine, and denominational perspectives—as well as over baptismal methodology, communion, and spiritual gifts. Worse still, however, is that we are divided along racial lines.
Excuse me, Sunday is still the most segregated day in America!
Racism: A Deadly Disease
Racism is probably the most virulent malignancy infecting American society today, with black-white antagonism being its most potent form. From 1619, when the first 20 African slaves were sold in Jamestown, Virginia, until the end of the Civil War nearly 250 years later, the ugly specter of slavery cast a grim shadow over our land. Although President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the Union victory in 1865, and passage of the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in December 1865 secured the physical freedom of the slaves, the “Jim Crow” laws passed and enforced by the white majority effectively kept black Americans bound politically, socially, and economically for another century. The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s brought an end to the dominance of “Jim Crow,” but more than 30 years later many of the dreams and goals of African-Americans for complete equality remain dreadfully unfulfilled.
The sin and injustice of white-black racism in general, and slavery in particular, has had devastating effects on both sides. For many blacks it has created a legacy of bitterness, anger, hopelessness, and despair. This is seen most clearly in the cycles of poverty, crime, and broken homes in the inner cities of our major urban areas. Writing from the African-American perspective, pastor and author Michael Goings states,
We battle an ethnic inferiority complex developed over several hundred years of dehumanizing slavery, subsequent racism, segregation, and discrimination. As a result, most African-Americans face a formidable battle to find equality in their own minds—a fight many lose before they ever reach the marketplace or job site. (Michael E. Goings, Free at Last? The Reality of Racism in the Church)
On the other hand, many whites struggle with feelings of guilt, self-inflicted or otherwise. Sometimes it is guilt by association: “I’m guilty because I’m white,” which often leads to attitudes of defensiveness, resentment, and self-protection. In their extreme form, these attitudes are reflected in the vehemence of white supremacist groups and in the rise of white-against-black “hate crimes.”
The evil seed of racism bears bitter fruit. As Michael Goings writes,
Racism is the mother of bigotry, discrimination, “Jim Crowism” (discrimination against African Americans by “legal” means or sanctions), Nazism, the “white supremacy” movement, anti-Semitism, apartheid, and the Black Muslim movement. All of these belief systems and ideologies spring from an attitude of superiority over others who are different.…This same evil and deep-rooted belief is still ingrained in the minds of many whites in America and South Africa, respectively perpetuating discrimination and apartheid in these nations. (Michael E. Goings, Free at Last? The Reality of Racism in the Church)
Racism is based on ignorance. Ignorance breeds fear, which gives birth to hatred. All of these—ignorance, fear, and hatred—are contrary to the will and the Spirit of God. As pastor and author Kelley Varner writes,
God hates racism in any form—it is sin. Racism is rooted in degeneracy, pride, superior attitudes, ignorance, and fear. Unregenerate Adamic flesh is the soil from which racism springs. Included here are pride of place (social status), pride of face (physical attributes), pride of grace (religious or denominational traditions), and pride of race (based on skin color or ethnicity). (Kelley Varner, The Three Prejudices)
Michael Goings defines racism as “racial attitudes, beliefs, and false concepts of ethnic superiority,” and has identified three forms of racism according to their sources:
Hereditary racism. Racist attitudes passed down from parent to child, from one generation to the next, often in the guise of religious instruction.
Environmental racism. Racist attitudes caused by the overpowering influence of one’s environment and association (such as hate groups and racist organizations).
Reactionary/reverse racism. Racist attitudes triggered in a suppressed minority by ill treatment and acts of racism inflicted by members of other dominant groups.
The divisiveness and destructiveness of racism in our land should cut to the heart of every sensitive and reasonable American, regardless of race. As believers, we are responsible in large part for these atrocities, since throughout our nation’s history many segments of the American Church have aided the existence and perpetuation of racism in our land. But we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, to my fellow white brothers and sisters I say, “Our hands are not clean! May we change our ways!”
The divisiveness and destructiveness of racism in our land should cut to the heart of every sensitive and reasonable American, regardless of race. But we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, to my fellow white brothers and sisters I say, “Our hands are not clean! May we change our ways!”
Slavery: America's National Shame
From 1619, when the first slaves stood on the block in Jamestown, Virginia, until 1807, when the United States banned the further importation of slaves, well over three million African men, women, and children were brought to these shores against their will and sold into lives of permanent servitude. Stolen from their homes and families, these captives were crammed aboard ships especially fitted out to transport as many slaves as possible. Flat on their backs, shackled hand and foot with no space between them, and unable to move, the slaves were often forced to lie in their own excrement for days at a time during a voyage lasting several weeks. In the heat, stale air, and accumulated filth, hundreds of thousands did not survive the trip. Those who died were simply and unceremoniously dumped over the side like so much driftwood.
Those slaves who lived to stand on the auction block faced a bleak future with little hope. Terrified and unable to speak the language of their captors, they had no rights, no redress under the law, and no one to stand for them. Even family ties meant nothing; countless times families were torn apart as children, and even husbands and wives, were sold to different owners, never to see each other again. All children born to slaves were automatically considered slaves as well. Unless they escaped, were able to buy their freedom, or were freed by their masters, slaves were in bondage for life. Because they were “property,” slaves could be willed to successive generations of owners.
Slave life was hard, particularly on the Southern plantations. The majority of slaves were field hands who labored from sunrise to sunset six days a week and sometimes seven. Punishment for infractions was often harsh and terribly brutal. Runaway slaves who were recaptured usually faced at least a severe whipping. Sometimes they were maimed in a manner that would make it difficult for them to run away again. Another punishment was to be “sold down the river”—sold to another owner—which usually meant an even worse situation for the slave.
Although in the beginning slavery existed in both northern and southern states, strong abolitionist sentiment arose, particularly in the North. Even though states north of the Mason-Dixon line gradually abolished slavery, federal laws continued to support the institution until the Civil War. A Fugitive Slave law, passed in 1793, provided for the return of runaway slaves to their owners from any state into which they had fled, even if that state was a free state. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 admitted my home state of Missouri to the Union as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and outlawed slavery in every state or territory (except Missouri) north of 36º 30' latitude.
As northern states eventually abolished slavery altogether, they also relaxed enforcement of the 1793 Fugitive Slave law. The Underground Railroad also did much to nullify the effects of the law. The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a slave state and abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. It also strengthened the 1793 Fugitive Slave law by stating that since slaves were officially property and that ownership of property extended across state lines, slave owners were within their rights to cross state lines in order to retrieve their runaway slaves. One consequence of this law was that it became much easier to capture blacks, ex-slaves or not, and ship them south in chains. In this way many “free” blacks were charged with being runaways and taken into bondage. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this trend in its 1857 Dred Scott decision, ruling that slaves were property, even if they were living in a free state, and that Congress had no authority to forbid slaveholding. The whole slavery issue was decided permanently just a few years later in the fiery cauldron of the Civil War, at the total cost of 562,130 dead and 418,206 wounded.
The Blindness of the White American Church
Now hold onto your hat, because I’m about to make some weighty statements. The enslavement of blacks for nearly 250 years, and their subsequent disfranchisement socially, politically, and economically, remains one of the greatest “generational sins” of America. Confession and repentance on this issue are doubly important for we who are Caucasian American Christians because, to a great degree, the white Church in America has been very cooperative, first in the legitimization of slavery and second in the perpetuation of racial stereotypes and segregation. We stand guilty!
One of the reasons so many white Americans accepted slavery for so long is that many churches supported it in their teaching.
There were notable exceptions, of course. For example, the Quakers were adamantly opposed to slavery on spiritual and moral grounds, as were the Mennonites and many other groups and individuals. In general, the people and churches of the more industrialized northern United States were less inclined to support slavery than those in the South. The agriculturally based economy of the southern states depended heavily on slave labor. Slavery was knit into the very social, economic, and religious framework of Southern culture. Southern churches acknowledged the “necessity” of the “peculiar institution.” Southern preachers supported slavery on supposed scriptural grounds.
Typical of their “biblical” arguments were these:
"Slavery was an accepted reality in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and other biblical leaders, teachers, and writers had ample opportunity to denounce slavery if it was so evil, yet they did not. Therefore, it is an acceptable practice."
"Africans are inherently inferior, created by God specifically as a 'servant race.' Among other things, this was based on the supposed 'curse of Ham,' one of Noah’s sons, through whom the Negro 'race' is descended."
"Because they were 'inferior,' the Negro race needed—for their own good—the regulation, control, and guidance of the 'higher' and more 'enlightened' white people."
Many Southern Americans saw slavery not only as acceptable and necessary for their society, but also as an institution established and sanctioned by God. During his inaugural address as provisional President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis said,
[Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God…it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation…it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts. (Quoted in “What the Bible says about Slavery.” 10 Sept. 1999.)
The Reverend Alexander Campbell said, “There is not one verse in the Bible inhibiting slavery, but many regulating it. It is not then, we conclude, immoral” (Quoted in “What the Bible says about Slavery.” 10 Sept. 1999.). The Reverend R. Furman, a Baptist in South Carolina, had this to say: “The right of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example (Quoted in “What the Bible says about Slavery.” 10 Sept. 1999.).”
These quotes are typical of what most Southern Americans, including many, many Christians, believed. Yes, often our “cultural lenses” taint how we read God’s instruction manual. Slavery was thoroughly entrenched in Southern society and culture. Hereditary and environmental racist influences blinded them (I must now say 'us,' as I am now a resident of a Southern state) to the gross immorality and injustice of slavery, as well as to the inconsistency of a pro-slavery stance with the true message of the gospel.
Often our “cultural lenses” taint how we read God’s instruction manual.
In the years since the end of the Civil War, many segments of the white Church in America have perpetuated racial stereotypes and encouraged racial separation, even in church. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said that the most segregated hour in America is 11:00 on Sunday morning. Although much progress has been made, after 30 years Dr. King’s statement is just as true, in many ways, as it was when he first made it.
The answer to racism is found only in the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the surface, the American racial landscape today looks much different than it did even 50 years ago. Desegregation and equal opportunity are the laws of the land in education, housing, employment, public facilities, and virtually every other area of life, yet racial tension between blacks and whites remains. The problem actually seems to be escalating. Why? One reason is that “integration” only addresses the surface, or the appearance, of the race problem. True racial harmony cannot be achieved by any law or legislation. Racial harmony requires reconciliation of the differences that divide us, and reconciliation is a matter of the heart. It is also the ministry of the true Church. The answer to racism is found only in the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rough Road to Reconciliation
The road to reconciliation will not be, is not, and never has been, an easy one. There is a lot of baggage to deal with on both sides. White American Christians have the legacy of a Church that, in many ways and for many years, has been an obstacle standing in the way of blacks, both by supporting slavery and by hindering blacks’ full spiritual, social, and economic development.
In the earliest years of slavery, a general practice existed that discouraged evangelizing slaves, in the belief that a pagan slave would be a better slave—a more controllable slave—than a Christian slave would. Some even believed that blacks were subhuman and did not have souls to save! There was also the moral dilemma of a Christian slave owner keeping a fellow Christian in bondage. As concern for the “souls” of slaves grew, evangelizing them became more accepted, but laws were passed expressly stating that a slave’s conversion to Christ was not automatically grounds for setting him free. For many, this removed both the moral dilemma and the economic risk of bringing slaves to Christ. Over the course of the years, many African-Americans, both slave and free, became authentic Christians. They were touched by God in many of the same revivals that swept through white America: the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and ’40s, the second Great Awakening of the 1790s and early 1800s, and subsequent movements. Believing slaves developed a vibrant faith with a style of worship and expression uniquely their own, and the gospel spread readily through many slave communities.
However, due to fear of slave insurrections, in most places slaves were forbidden to congregate together in any numbers, even for worship. Often slaves were taken to their master’s church where they sat shackled together in specially designated pews. Many slaves defied the rules, however, and risked severe punishment to sneak off into the woods to attend secret prayer meetings and worship services with other slaves. Imagine, this is part of our “American history”!
On the other hand, many slaves rejected the “white man’s religion” because they clearly saw the hypocrisy between what Christianity taught and the lifestyles and practices of the white Christians whom they knew.
As the number of African-American Christians grew, many of the traditionally “white” denominations, particularly the Methodists and Baptists, were flooded with black members. The white leadership of these denominations sought to limit black members’ involvement by prohibiting them from holding any positions of leadership or authority of any kind. This helped precipitate not only separate black and white churches in the same denominations, but also the formation of completely independent, all-black denominations, thus widening the rift between black and white Christians. That rift still remains today.
The white leadership of these denominations sought to limit black members’ involvement by prohibiting them from holding any positions of leadership or authority of any kind.
But it’s a two-sided street. Reconciliation is difficult also because of the accumulated hurt and anger among blacks due to generations of bigotry and injustice (not to mention the reactionary guilt and defensiveness of many whites). In Healing America’s Wounds, John Dawson provides an excellent discussion of this.
When a people have been oppressed and wounded and the yoke is lifted, when the circumstances finally change, the emancipation of their souls is not immediate. The first generation, those who are free but carrying the memory of hurt, are often too numb to be angry.…The past is literally unspeakable, and…they are reluctant to talk about it.…
This means that the second generation…are often relatively ignorant of the suffering that overshadows the recent past. It is often the third generation that stumbles across the awful truth in their search for understanding about identity: the unspeakable is spoken about and anger and bitterness surface into the public domain. This also means that the grandchildren of the oppressor often face the greatest hostility and rejection from elements of the offended people group, leaving them bewildered and struggling for an appropriate response. (John Dawson, Healing America’s Wounds)
Breaking the Bonds of Racism
One key to racial reconciliation is understanding the false premise that lies behind racism: that “races” are genetically distinct and specific and that some “races” are inherently superior to others. This is a complete and total fiction with its roots in a time long before knowledge of modern biology, propped up by generations of people who needed to justify their enslavement and persecution of people who were superficially different from them. Once again, John Dawson says it well:
Biologically, there are no races. So-called racial characteristics vary so much from individual to individual that all attempts at establishing distinct biological units that deserve classification are arbitrary. Each person has tens of thousands of different genes. At the genetic level, human beings are incredibly diverse in a way that transcends geographic dispersion. Therefore, what we call a race is a classification of culture, having more to do with tribal membership or national citizenship than any real genetic distinction.
For some reason, skin color has been the defining characteristic in cross-cultural relationships. No personal physical feature, except gender, has made such an impact on the fates of individuals and people groups, yet pigmentation is a relatively superficial thing. (John Dawson, Healing America’s Wounds)
If there is any issue that keeps the American Church from reaching its greatest potential, it is racism. Until we resolve this problem at a heart level, we will not see the fullness of God in our midst and our ministry. As Dawson says, “If racism is the thing more than any other that reveals the spiritual poverty of the American Church, let’s take up this issue as the first order of public confession.” I give a hearty “Amen!”
If there is any issue that keeps the American Church from reaching its greatest potential, it is racism.
Racial reconciliation calls not only for confession of sin, but also for the courage and the willingness to enter into dialogue with one another on more than a surface level. We need to learn to talk to each other honestly and openly about the hurt and the anger, the fear and the resentment, the bitterness and the misunderstanding that divide us.
A New Day is Dawning
Efforts are underway in many parts of the country. In some cases there have been denominational recognition of responsibility.
Today I live in Franklin, Tennessee—site of one of the bloodiest battles in the “Uncivil War.” Redemptively, a ministry called Empty Hands Fellowship is doing a great work of reconciliation in this quaint community. The leadership is comprised of one black and one white pastor who truly love one another. What a joy it was in September 2002 to witness, at the town square in Franklin, a public rally of praise, prayer and testimony of black and white leaders embracing one another in Christ.
I believe an amazing work of grace is taking place in our nation today. In many metropolitan cities, the fastest growing and largest congregations are black. I believe this is the work of a just God, who knows the pain of years and is returning dignity and honor to these previously enslaved people. A new day is upon us.
We could tear other pages out of history and consider issues concerning the Chinese, Irish, Polish, Japanese, and many other nationalities. But to heal America’s wounds, we must begin at one of our greatest historic sins and stains—the fear, prejudice, and pride between white and black Christians. The hideous shadow of slavery and its legacy of racial hostility and violence must be banished from the land.
An Honest Confession
As a white Christian, I ask my black brothers and sisters to forgive us for denying to you the love of Christ we claimed for ourselves and shared among ourselves. Forgive us for our blindness, our prejudice, and our spiritual arrogance. We confess our past contempt of your culture, your identity, and your personhood. Forgive us for so often denying your essential worth in the eyes of God and man. Forgive us, my friends! We need you!
We have sinned, God. Forgive us, Your Caucasian children, for our bigotry and injustice toward our black brothers and sisters—people created in Your image and likeness and precious in Your sight. Cleanse us from our arrogance and for our pride of place, our pride of face, our pride of grace, and our pride of race. Cleanse our hearts of any trace of prejudice and renew a right spirit within us.
May new beginnings emerge out of the ashes of racism. Lord, lead us boldly into reconciliation and unity with all believers, so that we may, as Your Bride, be prepared for Your coming—pure and spotless, holy and innocent, and undivided in our love. I proclaim that the black community will have a revival movement that will surpass the days of William Seymour and the Azuza Street Revival. May it ever be so!
James W. Goll
