(Re) imagining the Problem of Racism: An Evangelical Response to Racism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v21i2.600

Keywords:

Racism, Evangelicals, Racial Reconciliation, Racial Justice, Individual Sin, Structural Sin

Abstract

This article aims to re-imagine and offer an evan­ge­lical response to the problem of racism that is not di­choto­mous, but holistic, where racism is understood both as an individual and structural sin, leading to a balance between racial reconciliation and racial justice that needs to be con­sistent­ly practiced. This research indicates that evangelicals generally do not yet have a holistic imagination to understand racism. Hence efforts to fight this persisting problem are still one-sidedly inclined toward racial reconciliation. For this purpose, this article begins by analyzing the common yet problematic understanding and response by some evangelicals who emphasize racism as only an individual sin and racial reconciliation as a solution. The next step is to describe the importance of imagination, namely the capacity to con­cept­u­al­ize the problem of racism in its entirety by involving sensitivity to racist situations, interpretation of Scripture with virtues, and introspection of our position toward racism—all of which are used to understand the dual nature of racism and response against it. In the end, as I demonstrate that racism is both an individual and structural sin, evangelical churches thus need to strike a balance between racial reconciliation and racial justice if they want to handle the problem of racism well.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aruan, Abel K. "Apologetika Imajinatif: Sebuah Proposal bagi Apologetika dalam Konteks Pascamodern." Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 20, no. 1 (2021): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v20i1.357. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v20i1.357

Bradford, Carl. “A Gospel-Centered Approach to the Issue of Racism: Race, Ethnicity, and the Gospel’s Influence towards Racial Reconciliation.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 63, no. 2 (2021): 101-117.

Butler, Anthea. White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661179.001.0001

Chandler, Diane J. “Spiritual Formation: Race, Racism, and Racial Reconciliation.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 13, no. 2 (November 2020): 156-175. https://doi.org/10.1177/193979092096050. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1939790920960540

Christena, Cleveland. Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2013.

DeYoung, Kevin. “10 Reasons Racism Is Offensive to God.” The Gospel Coalition, Juni 2015. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/10-reasons-racism-is-offensive-to-god.

DeYoung, Kevin. “Racial Reconciliation: What We (Mostly, Almost) All Agree On, and What We (Likely) Still Don’t Agree On.” The Gospel Coalition, April 2018. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/racial-reconciliation-mostly-almost-agree-likely-still-dont-agree.

DeYoung, Kevin. “Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions: Sin and Guilt.” The Gospel Coalition, Juli 2020. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/thinking-theologically-about-racial-tensions-sin-and-guilt.

DiAngelo, Robin. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. Boston: Beacon, 2018.

Edmondson, Christina dan Chad Brennan. Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022.

Emerson Michael O., dan Christian Smith. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Foster, Douglas A. “Reclaiming Re-conciliation: The Corruption of ‘Racial Reconciliation’ and How It Might Be Reclaimed for Racial Justice and Unity.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 55, no. 1 (2020): 63-81. https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2020.0015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2020.0015

Fowl, Stephen E. “Virtue.” Dalam Dictionary for the Theological Interpretation of the Bible, diedit oleh Kevin J. Vanhoozer, 837-838. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.

Frame, John M. The Doctrine of Christian Life. Vol. 3. Phillipsburg: P&R, 2008.

Gasaway, Brantley W. Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469617725.001.0001

Green, Emma. “The Vortex of White Evangelicalism.” The Atlantic, Juli 2021. Diakses 25 Januari 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/07/esau-mccaulley-black-christianity/619371.

Grudem, Wayne. Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning. Wheaton: Crossway, 2018.

Ham, Ken dan A. Charles Ware. One Race One Blood: A Biblical Answer to Racism. Green Forest: Master Books, 2010.

Harris, Antipas L. Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?: How the Bible Is Good News for People of Color. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 2020.

Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1996.

Jennings, Willie James. The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origin of Race. New Heaven: Yale University Press, 2010.

Keller, Timothy. Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just. New York: Dutton, 2010.

Keller, Timothy. “The Sin of Racism.” Gospel in Life, Juni 2020. Diakses 25 Januari 2022. https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/the-sin-of-racism.

Keller, Timothy. “A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory.” Gospel in Life, Agustus 2020. Diakses 25 Januari 2022. https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/a-biblical-critique-of-secular-justice-and-critical-theory.

Keller, Timothy. “Justice in the Bible.” Gospel in Life, September 2020. Diakses 25 Januari 2022, https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/justice-in-the-bible.

Mamahit, Ferry Y. "Globalisasi, Gereja Injili dan Transformasi Sosial." Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 6, no. 2 (2005): 255-278. https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v6i2.151 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v6i2.151

McCaulley, Esau. Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise of Hope. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 2020.

McCaulley, Esau. “The Cross is God’s Answer to Black Rage.” Christianity Today, Desember 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/january-february/esau-mccaulley-reading-while-black-rage-cross.html.

McNeil, Brenda Salter. Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness, and Justice. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 2015.

Oyakawa, Michelle. “Racial Reconciliation as a Suppressive Frame in Evangelical Multiracial Churches.” Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review 80, no. 4 (2019): 496-517. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srz003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srz003

Liou, Jeff. “Racism.” Dalam Discerning Ethics: Diverse Christian Response to Divisive Moral Issues, diedit oleh Hak Joon Lee dan Timothy Dearborn, 239-258. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2020.

Rah, Soong-Chan. Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2015.

Resane, Kelebogile T. “White Fragility, White Supremacy, and White Normativity Make Theological Dialogue on Race Difficult.” In die Skriflig 55, no. 1 (Januari 2021): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v55i1.2661. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v55i1.2661

Rieuwapassa, Risye Yulika "Rahim Mandul Allah: Suatu Konstruksi Imajinatif yang Menginterpretasi Realitas Chaotic Penciptaan bagi Pengalaman Perempuan Mandul." BIA': Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Kristen Kontekstual 4, no. 2 (2021): 335-352. https://doi.org/10.34307/b.v4i2.304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34307/b.v4i2.304

Rosyadi, Ahmad Fanani, dan Villarian Burhan. Rasisme di Papua: Tinjauan Pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia pasca Kasus Rasisme Surabaya. Jakarta: Lembaga Studi dan Advokasi Masyarakat, 2021.

Piper, John. Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011.

Smith, Andrea. Unreconciled: From Racial Reconciliation to Racial Justice in Christian Evangelicalism. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478007036

Tisby, Jemar. The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020.

Tisby, Jemar. How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey toward Racial Justice. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021.

Tseng, Timothy. “Race.” Dalam The Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology, diedit oleh Gerald R. McDermott, 465-480. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Is There a Meaning in This Text?: The Bible, The Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. dan Daniel J. Treier. Theology and the Mirror of Scripture: A Mere Evangelical Account. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2015.

Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.

Vyhmeister, Nancy Jean., dan Terry Dwain Robertson. Quality Research Papers: For Students of Religion and Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2020.

Wallis, Jim. America’s Original Sin: Racism, White, Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America. Grand Rapids: Brasoz, 2016.

Williams, Thaddeus J. Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020.

Winarjo, Hendra. “Etika Kebajikan Kristen di Ruang Publik: Keterbukaan, Kejujuran, dan Keberanian.” Jurnal Abdiel: Khazanah Pemikiran Teologi, Pendidikan Agama Kristen dan Musik Gereja 6, no. 2 (Oktober 2022): 163-178, https://doi.org/10.37368/ja.v6i2.426. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37368/ja.v6i2.426

Winarjo, Hendra. "Menuju Satu Tubuh dengan Berbagai Anggota: Sikap Kaum Injili untuk Memediasi Konflik yang Berpotensi Muncul Akibat Keragaman Demonimasi Gereja di Indonesia." Jurnal Amanat Agung (September 2021): 255-283. https://doi.org/10.47754/jaa.v16i2.495. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47754/jaa.v16i2.495

Wytsma, Ken. The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2017.

Yosia, Adrianus. “Merupa Wujud Evangelikalisme di Indonesia: Suatu Usulan Awal.” Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 19, no. 1 (Mei 2020): 85-95. https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v19i1.339. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v19i1.339

Published

31-12-2022

How to Cite

Winarjo, Hendra. “(Re) Imagining the Problem of Racism: An Evangelical Response to Racism”. Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 21, no. 2 (December 31, 2022): 283–298. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://ojs.seabs.ac.id/index.php/Veritas/article/view/600.

Issue

Section

Special Themes: (Re)Imagining the Church in a Postpandemic Era