IMAGE OF GOD IN OUR VISION OF OURSELVES: WHITE TI{EOLOGICA~L RACISM IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MOUNT IIERMON BAPTIST CHURCH OF FLINT, MICHIGAN
I
By
Kim DeWayne Varber Bachelor of Science, Ferris State University, 1976 Master of Divinity, Interdenominational Theological Center, 1990
A Doctoral Dissertation submitted to the faculties of the schools of the Atlanta Theological Association in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of the Doctor of Ministry at Interdenominational Theological Center 2007 ABSTRACT
IMAGE OF GOD IN OUR VISION OF OURSELVES: WHITE THEOLOGICAL RACISM IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MOUNT HERMON BAPTIST CHURCH OF FLINT, MICHIGAN by Kim DeWayne Yarber May 2007 151 pages
The purpose of this project was to demonstrate strains of white theological racism in the language and practice of Mount Hermon Baptist Church of Flint, Michigan (Mount
Hermon). The writer’s intends to do this by probing the congregation’s faith language of being made in the image of God. This investigation seeks to show how white theological racism is a part of Mount Hermon’s biblical, theological, and ideological understanding of being made in the image of God.
It is the author’s contention that whether consciously or unconsciously, white theological racism exists in both the language and practice of many African-American
churches. For this reason three questions propelled the author to undertake this project.
The first being: How can we recognize white theological racism in the consciousness of
Mount Hermon Baptist Church? The second question was: What role does Mount
Hermon play in causing its congregants to feel they are unable to achieve at higher levels
socially, politically, or economically because of their skin color? Thirdly: What steps are
necessary to overcome this dilemma? The author addressed these questions at length in
the project dissertation.
V The writer~ s study of Mount Hermon’ s members began in the summer of 2001 and continued until the summer of 2005 Particular focus was given to members who were forty years of age and over. Most members in this age category have served on the
Church Board of Christian Education. In preparation for this study, the writer led the church to select a biblical theme: Image of God and the Vision of Ourselves. All formal and informal church activities were informed by our theme, borrowed from Genesis
1:26-27. The writer’s intent was to raise church members’ consciousness of who they
are in the image of God.
The author hypothesized that the more we learn about the image of God in our
vision of ourselves the better we will feel about ourselves. Our knowledge of God
affects our ability to function dynamically as members of the body of Christ.
Some members of Mount Hermon have consciously and unconsciously
internalized strains of white theological racism, which minimize their image, promote
self-hatred and are predicated on myths of inferiority, which began long before African
enslavement in the United States of America. Damon Jones in “Understanding Racism to
End Its Effects,” concludes that there are four ways that the myth of racism effected
Africans and African Americans.1 Jones described the first major effect of the myth of
racism occurred with the enslavement of Africans in North America during chattel
slavery for over four centuries; thereby creating a consciousness of Black inferiority. He
goes on to detail the second effect of the racism myth as building a platform that
perpetuates the stigma of race in the American South. The third effect Jones described
was the reinforcement of Black inferiority through education. Credible scholars of the
Damon R. Jones, “Understanding Racism to End Its Effects,” available from lmp:/!www.blackandchristian.c0m!a11ic1e5Iaca1~Y~J01~5~hl -07 .shtrnl; Internet.
vi day refder ed ifdifgs reif orcif g black if eriority that were ifc orporated ifto pro essiofal jourfals o sciefce afd philosophy. Lastly, Jofes described the ourth e ect o the racist myth as the use o the Bible to support chattel slavery afd the lyfchif g o
A ricaf males. White theological racism distorts the image o God if our visiof o who we are. It has provef aft i-productive if the past f or caf it serv e the preseft age.
A survey was created to determife the embedded ideology afd theology preseft if Mouft Hermof Baptist Church’s aith expressiofs. This survey was desigfed to idefti y implicit afd explicit racist ideas, afd the lack o sel -esteem if the members’
aith expressiofs. If order to idefti y embedded biblical afd theological ufderstafdif gs withif the cofgr egatiof, the survey ifclude s questiofs addressifg participaft’s ideological, biblical, afd theological views. The survey oufd that fe gative belie s afd attitudes cofcerfif g race did exist if Mouft Hermof afd they were harm ul afd based upof allacious if ormati of.
Later. the same survey was givef to a group o the Wolverife State Baptist
Cofveftiof o Michigaf mifisters. The author’s purpose if askifg this group o mifisters to participate was to compare afd coftrast the embedded ideological, biblical, afd theological ufdersta fdifgs o the cofv eftiof with those o Mouft Hermof Baptist
Church. Whef comparifg afd cofirastif g the ifdifgs, the author oufd parallelisms afd
dissimilarities if belie 5 afd ufde rstafdif gs. Completiof o the survey by mifisters
ifdicated how white theology racism, doctrife, afd ethics are preseftl y shapifg
cofg regatiofs. It was the author’s hope that mifisters who participated if the survey
would idefti y straifs o white theological racism if their persofal theology afd motivate
urther ifv estigatiof. 0 course, the writer’s theology mirrors the theology o Wolverife
vii State Baptist Convention ministei~ thereby shaping ihe theology of our particular congregations. The survey used allowed the author to learn more about Mount Hermon’ s congregation~ fellow Baptist ministers, and most of all self.
Mount Hermon can be helpful in validating, liberating, and raising the self-esteem of its believers. Moreover~ it is possible for Mount Hermon to have far-reaching influence into the future by dis-allowing faulty faith language and the influence of white theological racism to prevail in Christian Education efforts. Christian supremacist theology claims that morality is predicated upon unwavering faith in Jesus Christ and that
the Bible is the source of law. This view sees all non-Christian beliefs as atheism and the
root of wickedness in society. Christian supremacist theology is the parent of white
supremacy 2
The writer’s study helped Mount Hermon Baptist Church and its pastor to see the
continuing need for contemporary teaching resources to address Christian Education in
African-American congregations at all ages. The author has come to understand the need
for ongoing Christian Education to enlighten African-American church so that it might
transform the future.
2Mitchell Kahie, “Opposing the Christian Supremacy Movement,” available from http: ‘\Vww. lava. net/~.~hcssc/ChristianSuPremaCYMOve111ent.ht1T1l ] nternet.
viii DEDICATION
This Doctor of Ministry Dissertation is dedicated with love and thanks to my wife
Shirley Hardman Yarber and our children Kim DeWayne II and Lorenia Angel for their insurmountable love, undying support, and patience in enduring the disorganization of the kitchen table and seemingly every other room in the house. I also give gratitude to my parents, Reverend Herman & Mrs. Anne Yarber and Reverend Leo & Mrs. Sereatha
Hardman for your love, prayers, and support. I am also grateful to the best church this side of heaven, Mount Hermon Baptist Church, Flint, Michigan. I cannot tell you how much your support has meant to me while I have worked towards the completion of this project.
ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge the contributions of my Doctor of Ministry Committee.
Without the able assistance and support of these individuals I would never have completed this work. Thank you to my chainnan, Dr. Riggins Earl, co-chairman, Dr. Randall Bailey, and co-chairperson, Dr. Reuben Green.
x TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ~
DEDiCATION ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT x
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Ministry Issue 1 Intent of Project 2 Definition of Phrases 3 Methodology 20
II. FRAMING THE ISSUE 39
Motivation for Research 39 Historical Background of the Issue 40 Relationship of Issue to the Researcher’s Model of Ministry 51
IlL REVIEW OF LITERATURE 57
Biblical Perspective 59 Theological Perspective 68 Ethical Perspective 73
IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS 82
The Reason Behind the Research 82 Racial Identity Attitude Scale 84 Self-Esteem and Racial Stereotypes 87 Assessing Optimal Theory Applied to Identity Development 89 Black Internalization of White Stereotypes About African Americans: The Nadanolitization Scale 93 The Meaning 103
xii Chapter *
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 108
Summary 108 Conclusions 111 Recornmendations Need for Additional Research and What We Can Do For Ourselves 114
APPENDICES 118
A. The Image of God In Our Vision Of Ourselves: White Theological Racism In The Consciousness Of Mount Hermon Baptist Church of Flint, Michigan Research Survey Results 119
BIBLIOGRAPHY 143
xiii CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
White theological racism is a horrendous problem in the black church. Much thought has been given to the presence of racism in the Christian community and its impact on African American people and their image of God. Moreover, racism has hampered African Americans in their understanding of being made in the image of God.
The author’s purpose in this Doctor of Ministry Project Dissertation is to call awareness to white theological racism in Mount Hermon Baptist Church (Mount Hermon), Flint,
Michigan. This project informs the reader of how white racist ideology and theology relates to understanding Mount Hermon Baptist Church’s lack of critical understanding of itself as an African-American Christian community. It seeks to ascertain how members identify and reflect the biblical idea of being made in the image of God in light of their skin color.
THE MINISTRY ISSUE
Many would think that the last place one would look for the manifestations of white theological racism would be in an African-American church. The author seeks to help Mount Hermon to see itself in the image of God, without the presence of white theological racism. 2
INTENT OF~THE PROJECT
The intent of this project is to demonstrate the extent that the internalization of
white theological racism, acceptance of racial stereotypical understandings, literal
approaches to the Bible, and Mount Hermon’s adoption of white conservative preachers’
interpretations. The researcher began this project desiring to ascertain the extent of
congregation’s demonstrated affirmation of white theological racism.
When African Americans attempt to apply white theological descriptions of
themselves from a hostile perspective, the faith language becomes out of sync with black
reality. For example, African American’s embrace a James Nicholson hymn that
lyrically speaks of the individual being made whiter than snow by Jesus’ blood.’
Another example is when we insist on using non-inclusive language during worship
service.
White theological racism is the result of an uncritical cultural bond between
European values and Christian beliefs. It is so deeply woven into the American psyche
and thought process that African Americans knowingly and sometimes unknowingly
assume white identities. James Cone has reminded us that White images and ideas
dominate the religious life of Christian beliefs and the intellectual life of theologians
thereby reinforcing the moral right of White people to dominate people of color socially,
economically, and politically.2
White theological racism can be seen in the fact that many African American’s
1James L. Nicholson, “Whiter Than Snow,” in Joyful Songs (Philadelphia: Methodist Episcopal Book Room, 1872), available from http://cyberhyrnnal.org/htm/w/h!i/whiterts.htrn; Internet.
2James Cone, “The Religious Cancer of Racism,” available from http:!!www.gracecathedral.org/emichment/excei~pts/exec 200002 16 html; Internet. do not always realize that at every ii~≤titutional level the church and nation are failing to
develop progressive social policies that include all people. As a result, African-
American churches are perpetuating and colluding with others who would create a racist
society where all individuals do not have access to dignity, power, self-determination
and expectation of equal outcomes for the value of their unique contribution to society.3
It is the author’s suggestion that African-American churches consciously and
unconsciously collude with others to sustain a white dominant society, based upon the
church’s acceptance of traditions, ideologies, and theologies that oppose equality for all.
Churches that embrace white theological racism accept a hegemonic traditional theology that affirms the existence of God as male and White. Mount Hermon Baptist Church, as well as other congregations, often unconsciously perpetuates discriminatory practices that have historically been sanctioned by the church.
DEFINITION OF PHRASES
The title of this dissertation includes three phrases that require defining. 1) The phrase, “The image of God” is what makes us human, both male and female. The phrase encompasses the biblical belief that humans are different from other creatures and resemble the Creator. Consequently, every human being is special and important. 2)
The phrase, “In our vision of ourselves” means to be in total relationship with Christ and each other as members of Mount Hermon. In other words how we envision ourselves from the inside as demonstrated through responses to ideological and theological statements. 3) Thirdly, the phrase, “White theological racism in the consciousness of
Mount Herrnon Baptist Church” promotes anti-Black faith language and practices in the
3Louis Derman Sparks & Carol Brunson Phillip, Anti Racism A Developmental Approach (New York: Teachers College Press, 1997), 7. 4 congregation. White theological re~oism, according the Perkinson, is the theological-ness of mainstream whiteness. It is normal Christian theology with the subjectivity of white that has historically projected blackness as the most incorrigible other,4
The first phrase in the title, “Image of God,” indicates humankind was created “in the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:26-27). The word image invokes the idea of a statue or tangible representation. Image has been defined in terms of humankind’s dominion (Genesis 1:26-68). Likeness qualifies image in two ways: 1) humankind is limited and therefore, not identical to God. God is both invisible and immaterial and 2) humankind is a reflection of God and is to live as God’s created analogy.5
The second phrase in the title of this writing “In our vision of ourselves” speaks of how we envision ourselves, based upon the results of statements affirmed or denied in the surveys completed by members of Mount Hermon Baptist Church Board of Christian
Education. When speaking of vision, the author shares George H. Meade’s which promotes the understanding of a society of many personalities in personal communication with one another. Every person would be capable of putting herself into the place of the other person.6 The researcher seeks to analyze the congregation’s sense of the gospel, church, mission, and ministry through self-analysis. Through examination of Mount Hermon’ s sense of nature and mission we can discover if a link exists between the congregation’s theology and self-esteem or self-identity problems. Further, it
4iames W. Perkinson, White Theology Outing Supremacy in Modernity (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), 2.
5S. B. Ferguson, ed. et. al., “Image of God,” New Dictionaiy of Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 328.
6George Herbert Meade, Internet Encyclopedia ofPhilosophy, available from http:// www.iep.utm.edu/mead.htm; Internet.
J 5
provides insight to the congregati~n’s level of consciousness. The collective self-
analysis gained through the survey allows us to consider the meaning and effectiveness
of church educational ministries by exploring the depths of our affirmations in regards to
our sense church self and practice of faith.
The third phrase, “White theological racism in the consciousness of Mount
Hermon Baptist Church” refers to the conscious and unconscious use of non-religious
ideology accompanied by religious doctrine and practice that create and enforce social
hierarchies that increase white privilege while degrading non-Whites. White is a racial
category that acknowledges physical skin color and social status. White is non-Black.
The term has been applied with varying degrees of formability and consistency in many
disciplines including: sociology, political science, medicine, human language, cultural
analysis, and legal analysis.
Seemingly in white culture it is fairly unusual for White people to notice that
others are White. This dissertation focuses on the internalization of white theological
racism from the social status prospective. The writer contends that traditional theology
in African-American churches, including Mount Hermon, is primarily hegemonic in nature, affirming the existence of God as male and White. Further, that the internalized perception by African American people of a male White God and Jesus is a barrier to salvation that does not liberate God’s people.
Biblical Commentary Perspectives
For hundreds of years people of faith have wondered what it means to be made in the image of God. The image of God is different for each person. Which gives rise to the question: “What does it mean to be created in the image of God?” The researcher 6
consulted three biblical commetj,tary sources, The African Bible Commentary, The
International Bible Commentary, and the JPS Torah Commentary Genesis.
Assohoto and Ngewa
According to Barnabe Assohoto and Samuel Ngewa, the privileged position of human beings is shown by the fact that our creation required a special decision, presented as if it was made at some great gathering. “Let us make humankind” is a
plural statement, which indicates the solemnity of the decision and stresses that
something new and important is about to happen (Genesis 1 :26a). “Let us” also suggests the community of the Godhead, which involves three persons the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Human beings, both male and female, are made in the image of God (Genesis
1 :26b-27). Humans are different from God’s other creations, like animals, and this fact
greatly impacts how we should live. First, it means that every human being resembles
the Creator in some way. Therefore, every human being is special and important. We
should be able to recognize the Creator in the people we see around us.7
Boadt
When the author consulted The International Bible Commentary, Lawrence
Boadt noted that human beings are made in God’s image and are God’s servants.
Genesis 1:26-30 and Genesis 2:15-17 are considered by Boadt to record two of the ten
significant themes in Genesis.8 Boadt indicates that many scholars have pointed to the
wisdom tradition at work in these chapters particularly in the author’s interest in
7Barnabe Assohoto and Samuel Ngewa, “1:1 -1 1:9 God and Humankind” and “1:1-3 1 Creation of All Things,” The Africa Bible Commentary, ed. Tokunboh Adeyemo (Nairobi: Vondervan/Alive Publishers, 2006).
8Lawrence Boadt, “Genesis,” The International Bible Commentary, ed. William IL Farmer (Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1998), 351. 7 different classifications of life anththe ways humans are like God. We share God’s likeness through the ability to govern the world as a community of people who are fluitful and obedient and live in peace with all other creatures. The first humans are even commanded not to eat animal life (Genesis 1:30): “And every beast of the earth and every bird of the air, and everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.”9
Sarna
The JPS Torah Commentary on Genesis, by Nahum M. Sarna, indicates that “Let us make” in Genesis 1:26 reports the extraordinary use of first person evokes the image of a heavenly court in which God is surrounded by God’s angelic host. Such a celestial scene is depicted in several biblical passages. This is the Israelite version of the polytheistic assemblies of the pantheon monotheized and depaganized,’°
It is noteworthy that this plural form of divine address is employed in Genesis on two occasions, both involving the fate of humanity. In Genesis 3:22 we read, “Then the
Lord God said, ‘See humankind has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, they might reach out their hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever’.” This connects with human expulsion from Eden. Genesis 11:7 states, “Come let us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another speech in reference to the dispersal of the human race after building the tower of
9lbid., 362.
10Nahum M. Sarna, “Day Six,” The JPS Torah Commentary on Genesis (Jerusalem: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 12. 8
Babel.”11
Adam is a generic Hebrew term for humankind that never appears feminine or plural. In the first five chapters of Genesis the term Adam is rarely used as a proper name. The term encompasses both man and woman as shown in Genesis 1:27-28: “So
God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 12
Genesis 5:1-2 reads, “This is the list of descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, God made them in the likeness of God. Male and Female he created them and blessed them and named them ‘Humankind’ when they were created in our image afler our likeness.” This unique combination of experiences, virtually identical in meaning, emphasizes the incomparable nature of human beings and their special relationship to God. The magnitude of these terms can be grasped only within the broader context of biblical literature and against the background of ancient Near Eastern analogues. 13
According to Sarna, the construction of verse 26 establishes an evident connection between resemblances to sovereignty over the earth’s resources, though it is not made clear whether humankind has power over nature as a result of being like God
1lbid., 12.
12Ibid.
~3Ibid. 9 or whether that power constitutes thq ~very essence of the similarity.’4 Genesis 9:6-7 is a parallel passage which states: “Whoever sheds the blood of a human by a human shall that person’s blood be shed: for in God’s own image God made humankind. And you be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.” This passage tells of
God’s renewal blessing on the human race after the flood and declares murder to be the consummate crime precisely because in God’s image did God make humankind.’~ In other words, humans’ resemblance to God bespeaks of our infinite worth and affirms the inviolability of the human person. Killing any other creature, even wantonly, is not murder.’6 According to Sarna, the phrase “in the image of God” conveys something about the nature of the human being as opposed to the animal kingdom; it also asserts human dominance over nature.
Historically the phrases currently used to convey these ideas would be better understood in Mesopotamia and Egyptian societies. Both societies describe the ruling monarch as “the image” or the likeness of a god. The following salutations comes from
Mesopotamia: “The father of my lord the King is the very image of Bel (salam bel) and the king, my lord in the very image of Bel,” “The king lord of the lands, is the image of
Shamash,” and “0 king of the inhabited world, you are the image of Marduk.” In Egypt the same concept is expressed through the name Tutankhamen which means Amun, “and designates Thutmose IV as the likeness of Re.”8 Sarna asserts that:
‘4lbid.
15Ibid.
‘6lbid.
7lbid. 10
“The terminology employed in Genesis 1:26 is derived from regal vocabulary, which serves to~elevate the king above ordinary people. In the Torah this idea becomes democratized. All human beings are created in “the image of God;” therefore, each person bears the stamp of royalty. It is a royal term and it should be further pointed out that in Assyrian royal steles the gods are generally depicted by their symbols: Ashshur by the wing disk, Shamash by the sun disk, and so forth. These depictions of the great gods are called images of salam. In light of this, the characterization of humankind as in the image of God furnishes the added dimension of being a symbol of God’s presence on earth. While humanity is not divine, our very existence bears witness to the presence of God in the life of the world. This awareness inevitably entails an awesome responsibility and imposes a code of living that conforms to the consciousness of that fact.’9
Pairing the terms tselem and demut, “image and “likeness,” is parallel in a ninth century
B.C.E. Assyrian and Aramaic inscriptions on a statue at Tell Fekheriyeh in Syria. The two terms are used interchangeably and indiscriminately and obviously cannot be used as criteria for source differentiation.2°
This project considers how the Mount Hermon congregation collectively envisions the image of God in our understanding and practice of the faith. The project requires Mount Hermon to answer the question: What does the image of God look like to us when we look at it all together? What understanding dominates the people of this congregation regarding God as the empowering omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immutable Spirit who is made manifest in all people? In simpler terms, the image of
God is what God looks like to the church collectively.
Human beings are made in the image of God. The image includes the spiritual and immortal nature of the soul and our capacity to know and do what is right. An
‘8lbid.
‘°Ibid.
20Ibid. 11
accurate understanding of the irnage’of God is foundational to ethics as demonstrated in
Genesis 9:6 which states, “Whosoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall
have his or her blood shed; for in the image of God has God made humankind.” God has
given to every person a soul, which is our true resemblance to God. The Eternal Spirit
breathed on Adam and he became a living soul. This idea of the image of God is stated
differently in various churches. An example is the Latin image is Imago Dei.
Imago Dci, the Latin image of God, has been defined in several ways. According
to Genesis 1:27, the image of God is first of all human: “So God created humankind in
His own image, in the image of God created the Lord them; male and female created He
them.” Therefore humankind is distinguished from animals because of physical
appearance. Secondly, humankind is made in the image of God because we are rational.
This allows people to create and creativity is an aspect of God.2’
Theologians Perspective
Although early Christian theology held classical answers for “Imago Dci,”
contemporary theologians have provided additional insight. Karl Barth believes that the
phrase “male and female” points out that God is inclusive in all genders. The typical
image of God is, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Without any of these parts, He would
not be able to be who God is. Barth also points out that only during the creation does
God speak utilizing plural pronouns: “Let us make humankind in our own image.”22
Brunner and Tillich
~J. Shaw, “The Irnago Dei,” available from http://www.cs.rochester.edu/user/grads/ j shawlirnagodei .htrnl; Internet.
22lbid., 5. 12
Emil Brunner proposes ai~ther theory. Brunner assumes that because humankind has free will and a responsibility to act morally therefore, “responsibility is the uniqueness of humankind; it is the image of God in which humankind was created.23
Finally, Paul Tillich proposes that the defining mark of humanity is that we are self- aware. As humans, we study ourselves and try to understand our nature. We understand that we have enough free will to change the world in which we live. We are able to plot the course of our own lives. This is the mark of being human.24
In the researcher’s limited study of Barth, Brunner, and Tillich the author noted that the scholars seldom make explicit reference to the problem of racism in Christianity.
This maybe because past and present White theologians had no reason to consider the subject matter. James W. Perkinson, author of White Theology, is one of the few White theologians to examine white race privilege and its relationship to black theology.
Perkinson offers a full-length treatment of white racism that is politically informed and theologically constructive. Perkinson’s work offers a critical and constructive articulation of the theological meaning of white racial supremacy in shaping institutional life, personal relationships, and cultural practices in America at the turn of the millennium. 25
Kelley Brown Douglass
Kelly Brown Douglass, author of The Black Christ, an Episcopal minister and associate professor of theology at Goucher College Baltimore, Maryland, offers a unique
23Ibid., 7.
24Ibid., 8.
25Jarnes W, Perkinson, White Theology Outing Supremacy in Modernity (New York: Paigrave Macmillan, 2004), 2. 13 understanding of Christ. Keith JDhnson’s work offers insight regarding Douglass’ images of Christ within the African-American community. In theological terms she traces how Black people share resemblance to the image of the Black Christ. From secret meetings in the harbors and quarters African’s in American talked about their
Jesus, whose body was beaten and mortally wounded but His spirit could not be killed.
Their hope was shaped in the fire of great determination.
The story of the Exodus most definitely shaped slave Christianity. Our ancestors believed the Lord would do for them what the Eternal Spirit had done for other oppressed people. Further, the enslaved believed that their image of God and Jesus were true representations. Our fore parents felt that Jesus offered them freedom in this life and not just in the next life. Additionally, they recognized contradictions between the White Christ upholding slavery and the message of the gospel. Douglass writes about the images Christ has in the Black community and the theology that each image represents.26
Professor Douglass compares and contrasts Martin L. King Jr. and Malcolm X in relation to the image of the Black Christ. King, according to Douglass, challenged
White ministers to respond to the questions such as: “Who is your God?” “Is your God the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph?” and “Is your Savior the Savior who hung on a cross at Golgotha?” The great civil rights leader challenged the White clergy image of
Christ. King believed the image of a White Christ like the one held by segregationist and slaveholders was in conflict with the liberating message of the gospel taught by
26Keith Johnson, “Review of The Black Christ by Kelly Brown Douglass,” Chicken Bones: A Journal for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes, available from http://www.nathanielturner.com/blackchrist.htrn; Internet. 14
Jesus.27
In Professor Douglass’ opinion Dr. King attempted to help America see African
Americans as children of God and in so doing identified the Creator with the plight of the oppressed. According to King, God cares for all of God’s children, regardless of skin color in this life, world, and ages to come. In contrast to King, Malcolm X believed
Christianity was a tool to keep African Americans in their place.28
Malcolm, according to Douglass, saw no difference in the slaveholder and slave
Christianity. King’s theology made Christ a liberator of African American people, but
Malcolm made the anointed ones skin color an important component to the theology of the Black Christ. Douglass provides three examples of the theology of a Black Christ by defining the theologies of Albert Cleage, James Cone, and J. Deotis Roberts.29
Douglass asserts that Cleage firmly believes that Christ is Black based upon the fact that both Arabs and Egyptians are Black people. Cleage theorizes the tribes of Israel are composed of non-White people including Chaldeans, Egyptians, Midinites,
Ethiopians, Kushites, and other dark people. According to Cleage, Jesus was a Black
Messiah born of a Black woman. This allows Christianity to be viable to people of
African decent during the turmoil of the 1 960s. A non-Black Christ would have forced
Cleage to choose between Christianity and Nationalism.30
Douglass feels a Womanist approach to Black Christ provides the image of
27Ibid.
/ 28Ibid.
29Ibjd
‘°lbid.
/ 15
Christ a multidimensional layer. By, this she means a Womanist perspective and portrayal of Jesus confronts the struggles in the larger society as well as in the Black community. According to Brown Douglass, a Womanist view of the Savior is better equipped to deal with all types of oppression. In her eyes the Womanist theological challenge is for everyone to see Christ in herself or himself as well as others. A great problem is that Black people do not favor the white pictorial images of Christ.31
James Cone and J. Deotis Roberts
Cone offers a symbolic version of Christ’s Africanism; borrowing from Tillich’s definition of ontological symbols, Cone says the blackness of Christ is the best way for
Blacks to relate to Christianity. Cone desires to dialog with White theologians about their silence on the unfair treatment of African Americans while they are compelled to comment on the more militant aspects of nationalism. For Cone more conversation is needed on the systematic violence African Americans experience due to white indifference to the black plight. Cone seeks to make the Christian faith meaningful to
African Americans in this present age.32
J. Deotis Roberts also saw the blackness of Christ as symbolic. However, he goes further than Cone in that he sees Christ as a universal figure for all people. Roberts believes Christ is Black, White, Native American, or Asian depending upon whose eyes are looking upon the Savior. The important thing is for Christ not to be oppressive to any people.33 The Messiah is capable of relationship with any and all people without
“Ibid.
‘2lbid.
3~Ibid. 16 becoming oppressive or excluding others. Claiming Christ in ones own race or nationality is for self-esteem purposes but should not reduce the universal nature of
Christ.34
Historical Christian Perspective and Its Influence
In the 19th century many Christians were taught that Africans, as the descendants of Ham, deserved to be slaves. The notion derived from Genesis 9:18-27, which tells the story of Ham, the son of Noah, who found his father naked in a drunken stupor and exposed him to his brothers. Shem and Japheth, brothers of Ham, wished to save their father humiliation and covered his nakedness, making sure not to look at his unclothed body. When Noah woke he knew what Ham had done and pronounced a curse on the son of Ham, Canaan.
Europeans immediately accepted the curse of Canaan as a denunciation of
African people despite the absence of racial identification in the Bible. In part this was due to suggestions of inherent Black inferiority in Western literature as seen in the works of classical Greco-Roman writers. The Sicilian historian Diodorus wrote:
“The majority of them are black in colour and have flat noses and wooly hair. As for their spirit, they are entirely savage and display the nature of a wild beast... and are as far removed as possible from human kindness to one another; and speaking as they do with a shrill voice of cultivating none of the practices of civilized life as these are found among the rest of humankind, they present a striking contrast when considered in the light of our customs.”~5
Diodorus portrays Ethiopians as a sub-human species incapable of civilized practices.
Christian’s distorted the story to infer God ordained slavery in the Bible; therefore,
34lbid.
35Katherine George, “The Civilized West Looks at Primitive Africa: 1400-1800. A Study in Ethnocentrism,” The Concept ofPrimitive, ed. Ashley Montagu (New York: The Free Press, 1958), 63. 17 anyone criticizing slavery was consic~ered to be criticizing God, which is blasphemy.
That there is no specific condemnation of slavery found in the Bible adds to the problem of racism. At no point does God express mild disapproval of enslaving human beings, which robs them of freedom and independence, On the Contrary, God is
depicted as approving of and regulating slavery; ensuring that trafficking and ownership
of fellow human beings occurs in an acceptable manner. In many cases the regulations
display a horrible disregard for the lives and dignity of enslaved individuals; hardly the
sort of thing one would expect from a loving God.
Old Testament biblical passages further add to this notion. “When a slave owner
strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall
be punished. If the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment, for the slave is
the owner’s property” (Exodus 21:20-21). The New Testament demonstrates little
improvement. Jesus never expressed any disapproval of the enslavement of other human
beings and in many statements attributed to Him reveals tacit acceptance or even
approval of the inhuman institution.
The gospels are full of passages that refer to slavery. “A disciple is not above the
teacher, nor a slave above the master” (Matthew 10:24). “Who then is that faithful and
wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves
their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will
find at work when he arrives” (Matthew 24:45-48). Jesus uses the institution of slavery
to illustrate a larger point; however, the question remains, why would He directly
acknowledge slavery without saying anything negative about the institution.
The epistles attributed to Paul are worse. They infer that slavery is not only 18
acceptable, but also that enslaved should not presume to take the idea of freedom and
equality preached by Jesus too far by attempting to escape their forced servitude.
“Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them on the grounds that they are members of the church, rather they most serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these duties. Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, is conceited understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain” (I Timothy 6:1-5).
“Slaves obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:5-6).
“Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:9-10).
“Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval” (I Peter 2:18-29).
God’s providence in slavery and segregation were subject to multiple interpretations, even among biblical literalists. Theological racism is not simply prejudice, but prejudice with power. Racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to another.
Consequently, some races are inherently superior physically, intellectually, or culturally; therefore, the superior race has the right to dominate inferior races. In the United States 19 racism, particularly by White agaii~st Black, has created racial tension and conflict in virtually all aspects of American society. Misinformed racial understandings perpetuate actions, practices, and beliefs that reflect the White physical, intellectual, and cultural view as the exclusive worldview.
The writer suggests that ideology exists that divides humans into separate and exclusive entities called races and a causal link between inherited physical traits, personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features exists that infer these characteristics make some races innately superior to others. Moreover, this ideology is destructive to the personhood of the oppressed. Racism is a form of oppression that has been systematically initiated, encouraged, and powerfully enforced and re-enforced by society and its institutions. In the United States Black people have been the primary victims of this ideology and have suffered every form of abuse, invalidation, oppression and exploitation.36
There are a variety of racist theologies and many proponents deny they are in fact racist. Typically racist theologies are staunchly anti-abortion, anti-welfare, anti- homosexual, anti-affirmative action, anti-feminist, anti-gun control, anti-free trade, and generally anti-liberal (both religiously and politically).37 In everyday speech, folklore, self-published tracts and pamphlets, church school lessons, sermons, and theological exegeses, southern Caucasians preached that the Creator ordained division of the races and the sexes and therefore, God sanctioned inequality between White and Black people and between women and men. The Christian myths that ground ideas of whiteness and
~6”Internalized Racism,” available from http://www.rc.org/publications/journals/black reemergencelbr2/br25sl.html; Internet.
37Matthew C. Ogilvie, “Children of a White God: A Study of Racist ‘Christian’ Theologies,” available from http:!/www.human-nature.com/njbbs/O 1/ogilvie.html; Internet. 20 blackness are powerful; but they ar~ also unstable and should be subject to unrelenting argument and change.
Racism extends considerably beyond prejudicial beliefs. The essential features of racism are not hostility or misperception, but rather the defense of a system from which advantage is derived on the basis of race and a God who has a chosen people.38
Internalization of white theological racism in African-American churches enables the conscious and subconscious incorporation of negative stereotypes and images from media, folklore, and accounts of history that define persons by race and sex as inferior.
When the writer speaks of white theological racism being located in the consciousness it means to consider the aggregate subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and ability to perceive the relationship between our environment and ourselves with the intent of leading and advising Mount Hermon’s congregation in a discovery of
itself as a whole. Through understanding our present condition we can recommend
changes in the future direction of education, growth, and development.
Consciousness has been the subject of much research in philosophy, psychology,
neurology, and cognitive sciences. Consciousness differs from moral conscience, often
expressed through a voice of conscience that tells good from evil. According to Locke,
personal identity (the self) is dependent on consciousness not of substance nor on the
soul. We are the same people to the extent that we are conscious of our past and future
thoughts and actions in the same way we are conscious of our present thoughts and
38Paul Harvey, “Freedom’s Coming: Religious Cultures and the Shaping of the South from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era,” available from http://web.uccs.edu/pharvery/freedoimhtml; lnten3et. 21 actions.39 This dissertation considers ~he image of God in how Mount Hermon look upon itself from the outside inward, based upon review of our attitudes and beliefs surrounding various ideologies and theologies that reveal portions of the collective consciousness of Mount Hermon. In simpler terms, Mount Hermon wants to consider who the congregation is together as a local autonomous Christian body and examine itself through a measure designed to allow the church to consider itself as seen through self examination.
METHODOLOGY
In this section consideration was given to the research methodology including design components and participants. The researcher does not contend to be a professional sociologist and no claims or findings have been evaluated by a social science professional, However, the majority of statements used in the research instrument were taken from Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations
Volume 2. The handbook assembles and describes a diverse sampling of psychological tests and measures developed for use with African-American populations. 40
Mount Hermon is a mainline congregation that is affiliated with the National
Baptist Convention USA Incorporated and is located in the urban area of Flint,
Michigan. The congregation was formed in 1959, has a membership of approximately
200 persons, and a worshiping congregation of approximately 80. The research project intends to demonstrate that well-meaning people are currently using faith language and/or practices that further the racist causes. The research instrument includes
39”John Locke,” available from hnp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John Locke#The Self’ Internet.
40Reginald L. Jones, ed. Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations Volume 2 (Hampton: Cobb & Hem’y Publisher, 1996), xv. 22 statements from seven tests and measu~es professionally designed to gain information on respondents’ self-identification with regard to internalized racist identification, self- esteem, black consciousness, spiritual consciousness, and African consciousness.
Gaining information in the above areas provided a means to promote awareness among participants of white racist tendencies in their personal ideology and theology. The research survey included components of the following tests and measures. 1) “The
Racial Identity Scale,” by Janet E. Helms and Thomas A. Parham.4 The Racial Identity
Scale was designed to measure attitudes reflective of four stages of racial identity in the development of African Americans. The stages include: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion-emersion and internalization. Pre-encounter is the stage where an individual is prone to view the world from a White frame of reference. He or she thinks, acts, and behaves in ways that devalue and/or deny his or her blackness.
An individual experiencing one or several significant personal and social events that are inconsistent with his or her frame of reference characterizes encounter stage.
Immersion-emersion is the stage where an individual turns from an old to a new frame of reference. This period of transition is characterized by a struggle to repress and destroy vestiges of the pre-encounter orientation. The individual achieving a sense of inner security and self-confidence with his or her blackness combined with a more pluralistic, non-racist perspective characterizes internalization.
2) “Self-Esteem, Racial Stereotypes and Satisfaction Indices,” by Maxine Clark.42
The indices utilize demographic data and responses to questions about self-esteem,
41Ibid., 167.
42Ibid., 543. 23 group and self-identification, and lif~satisfaction.
3) “Assessing Optimal Theory Applied to Identity Development: The OTAID-R
Instrument,” by Kristee L. Haggins, Linda James Myers, Suzette Speight, Pam Highien,
Chikako Cox, and Amy Reynolds.43 The OTAID-R instrument was developed to assess identity development incorporating the assumptions of a non-fragmented woridview that encompasses spiritual dimensions of life and compartmentalizes them to be experienced apart from other aspects of daily life.
4) “Milliones’ Development Inventory of Black Consciousness,” by Jerome
Taylor, Anita B. Brown and Stanley E. Denton.44 The instrument assesses four developmental stages of black consciousness, which are: pre-consciousness
(characterized by an acceptance of mainstream ideology, rejection of black nationalism, and general denigration of Blacks as a people), confrontation (characterized by a rejection of mainstream ideology and acceptance of black nationalism), internalization
(characterized by deliberative efforts to learn more about one’s culture of origin), and integration (characterized by openness to working with coalitions of Whites or with philosophically different Blacks around the agendas of relevance to the black community).
5.) “The Armstrong Measure of Spirituality,” by Tonya D. Armstrong, was designed to incorporate an inclusive view of spirituality that acknowledges cultural differences and examines the impact of a relationship with God on relationships with
43Ibid., 175.
44Ibid., 191. 24
others .~
6) “An Introduction to the African Self Consciousness Scale” (ASCS), by Kobi
K. K. Kambon (a.k.a. Joseph A. Baldwin).46 The instrument was developed to assess
African self-consciousness in an African-centered personality measure based upon his
black personality theory. It is African-centered in that the central principles of African-
American cultural reality form the conceptual framework. Chief among these principles
are communality (communal phenomenology), interdependence, corporate
responsibility, and collective survival.
7) “Measuring Black Internalization of White Stereotypes about African
Americans: The Nadanolitization Scale,” by Jerome Taylor and Carolyn Gundry,47 The
scale is named for the skin bleaching cream advertised as making black skin lighter and
more like white skin. It was designed to measure the extent to which African Americans
identify with white stereotypes about African Americans.
Seven introductory questions from “Comments you believe and questions you
want to know about Blacks but are afraid to mention” were used from the book, Why Do
African Americans Call Themselves the N... Word?48 Questions were also developed
from statements included in “The Bible and Contemporary African American Culture II
Report on a Preliminary Ethnographic Project” from the book African Americans and the
45Ibid., 105.
46Ibid., 207.
47Ibid., 217.
48Samuel Taylor, Why Do African Americans Call Themselves the N... Word? (Glen Allen, Virginia: Jarneir Productions, 2000), 3-4. 25
Bible.49 Doctrinal and theological statements were selected for the survey from four different Baptist documents that were created by different denominational organizations.
All of the above sources were used in an attempt to learn about white ideological and theological racism present in Mount Hermon Baptist Church.
The purpose of using various documents was to increase the likelihood that persons taking the survey would accept the doctrine and theology. While all of the organizations were Baptist in denomination, they were in no other way affiliated. The documents used to compose the survey included: “Doctrine and Administration of the
Church,” published by Regular Baptist,5° “Revival Fires!” a periodical published by
Dennis Corle,5’ “The New Hampshire Confession” included in The Hiscox Guide for
Baptist Churches,52 published by Judson, and the “Statement of Belief” contained in
Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary Catalog.53 A statement from the National Baptist
Convention USA Incorporated, Annual Report 2005-06 was also used.54 Further. statements from James Cone’s Black Theology & Black Power were also utilized.55
Lastly, statements from “The African Methodist Social Creed” which is included in The
49John M. Shopshire, “The Bible and Contemporary African American Culture II: Report on a Preliminary Ethnographic Project,” African Americans and the Bible: Sacred Text and Social Texture, Vincent Wimbush and Rosamond Rodman, eds. (New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001), 69.
50Paul Jackson, “Doctrine and Administration of the Church,” (Schaumburg: Regular Baptist Press, 1984), 170.
51Dennis Cone, “Revival Fires! ,“ available from http:l/revivalfirespub.org/?page id=2; Internet.
52Everett C. Goodwin and Edward T. Hiscox, “New Hampshire Confession,” The New Hiscox Guide for Baptist Churches (Valley Forge: Judson Pres, 1995), 195-20 1.
53Grand Rapids Baptist Theological Seminary, “Cornerstone Confession,” available from hap ://grts.cornerstone.edu/about/confessions; Internet.
54William Shaw, “2005-06 National Baptist Convention Annual Report Record of the 125th Annual Session and Minutes of the 2006 Board Meeting, “29. ~ James Cone, Black Power & Black Theology (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1997), 32-42. 26
Social Teaching of the Black Churclfès,56 by Peter J. Paris, are included in the survey.
All of the above sources were used in composing the survey, which intends to expose
white theological racism present in the consciousness of Mount Hermon.
Design Components
A 133-statement survey served as the research instrument. The number of
statements used in the survey was arbitrary, having no significance other than to allow
the researcher to gain as much significant information from the respondents as possible.
Each question in the research instrument allowed the participant to respond one of five
ways: 1) strongly agree, 2) agree, 3) uncertain, 4) disagree, or 5) strongly disagree. Each
response was given a numerical value: strongly agree = 5, agree = 4, uncertain = 3,
disagree = 2, and strongly agree 1. Each participant was allowed to answer questions
anonymously and asked to answer using the number which best identified his or her
personal mindset. See Appendix A.
Questions 1-15 addressed racial identity and were selected from Parham and
Helms “The Racial Identity Attitude Scale.” Respondents were able to obtain a score on
four scales which included pre-encounter, encounter, immersion, and internalization
attitudes. Pre-encounter attitudes predicted poor self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, and
anxiety, Encounter attitudes have been related to euphoric affective states including
positive self-esteem, self-actualizing tendencies, and low anxiety.
People with predominantly encounter attitudes tend not to use a rational decision- making style as often as people with a predominantly pre-encounter or internalization attitudes. Immersion attitudes, according to Parham and Helms, relate to unhealthy
56 J. Paris, The Social Teaching ofthe Black Churches (Philadelphia: Fortress Press), 135. 27 affective adjustment as indicated b~ poor self-esteem, high anxiety, low levels of self- actualization tendencies, and high levels of anger and hostility.
Internalization attitudes usually tend to correlate with affective measures in a manner similar to encounter attitudes, though usually not significantly so. According to
Helms and Parham, internalization attitudes also predict a racial decision making style. ~
Questions 16-35 of the survey concern self-esteem and stereotypes and were drawn from “Self-Esteem, Racial Stereotypes and Satisfaction Indices”, by Maxine
Clark. Respondents were scored on the indexes of self-esteem and racial stereotypes.
Questions 16-21 surveyed self- esteem. Questions 16, 17, and 21 are positive statements and a high score of 12-15 is preferential. Mount Hermon’s MH aggregate score was
13.8. Wolverine Ministers WM aggregate score was 13.16. Questions 18, 19 and 20 are negative statements and a low score of 3-6 was preferential for these questions. MH scored 4.32 and WM scored 3.49 on questions 18-20. Questions 22-35 surveyed racial stereotypes. Questions 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, and 35 are positive statements and scores of 32-40 are preferential. MH scored 29.86 and WM scored 30.74, both lower than the preferential score. Questions 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, and 34 are negative statements with a score of 5-10 being preferential ~58 MH scored 11.02 (slightly higher than the preferential) while WM scored 9.50.
Questions 3 6-47 addressed identity development and were drawn from “The
57T. A. Parham and J. F. Helms, “The Racial Identity Attitude Scale,” Handbook of Test and Measure,’n ents for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 173-174.
58Maxine Clark, “Self-Esteem, Racial Stereotypes and Satisfaction Indices,” Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 545. 28
Optimal Theory Applied to Identity Development- Revised Instrument,” by Kristee L.
Haggins, Linda James Myers, Suzette Speight, Pam Highlen, Chikako Cox and Amy
Reynolds. Questions in this portion of the survey allowed respondents to be scored in three stages of development: individuation, integration, and transformation.
Individuation is a phase in which individuals lack awareness of any view of self other than those introduced by family members. MH scored 3.95 and WM scored 4.25 out of a possible 5.00 on statement 43, “Most of my beliefs and views are similar to the ones I grew up with.”
Integration includes a change in the way an individual views life, others, and implies a self-conceptual switch is beginning to occur. People in this stage of development connect with more people because the criterion of acceptance goes beyond appearance. One begins to understand that all people can oppress or be oppressed, depending upon ones assumptions, MH scored 3.0 and WM scored 3.25 out of a possible 5.00 possible on statement 46, “People in the United States are socialized to be oppressive.”
The transformation stage is the phase of identity development in which a person
defines his or her self as including ancestors, those unborn, nature, and community. MR
scored 3.857 and WM 4.00 out of a possible 5.00 in response to the statement 42, “My
ancestor, generations to come, nature and the community are represented through me.
There has been a shift in the worldview based upon the realization of the interrelatedness
and interdependence of all things. Reality is based upon spiritual awareness rather than
external circumstances and negatives are understood as providing opportunities for 29 growth. It is L” ~
Questions 48-64 have to do with the internalization and identification of racial prejudice and are drawn from “Nadanolitization Scale,” by Jerome Taylor and Carolyn
Grundy. Taylor and Grundy labeled questions 48-53 and 55-58 as racist. Question 54 differed from the original statement. Questions 59-64 are identified as social. Racist attitudes and behaviors are organized around the assumption of biological or genetic inferiority. Social questions are based upon perceived truths or imagination more so than evidence. These questions seek to ascertain to what extent respondents accept white stereotypes about Blacks.6°
Questions 65-71 address spiritual orientation and are taken from “The Armstrong
Measure of Spirituality,” by Tonya D. Armstrong. Spirituality or the presence of a relationship with a higher power that affects the way one operates in the world has received little attention in the psychological literature; despite ideas that this concept has great relevance for the mental health of many individuals. MH average score was 4.04 and WM scored 3.95 out of a potential 5.00. It was not surprising that respondents scored high in this area of the survey.61
Questions 72-79 address black consciousness and are taken from “Milliones’
Development Inventory of Black Consciousness,” by Jerome Taylor, Anita B. Brown,
59Kristee L. Haggin, et. al., “The Optimal Theory Applied to Identity Development-Revised Instrument,” Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 186-190.
60ierorne Taylor and Carolyn Grundy, “Nadanolitization Scale,” Handbook of Test and lvleasurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 22 1-222.
61Tonya Armstrong, “The Armstrong Measure of Spirituality,” Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 114-115. 30
and Stanley E. Denton, Questions ~2, 73, 74, 76 are considered positively keyed items
while questions 75, 77, 78, 79 are considered as negatively keyed items. 62 MR scored
3.59 and WM scored 2.94 out of a possible 5.00 on the positively keyed items. MR
averaged 2.76 and WM averaged 2.13 on negatively keyed items with the lowest r and
best possible score being 1.00.
Questions 80-90 assessed African self-consciousness and were taken from
“African Self-Consciousness Scale (ASC),” by Kobi K. K. Kambon (a.k.a. Joseph A.
Baldwin). These statements reflect beliefs, opinions, and attitudes of Black people and
are based upon Kambon’s theory of black personality, in which the construct of the ASC
is a central or core component.63 Statements 80, 84, 87, and 89 were considered
positively keyed. MR scored 3.60 and WM scored 3.42 on a scale of 5.00. Statements
81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 88, and 90 were keyed negatively. MR scored 2.20 and WM scored
2.24 on negatively keyed items with 1.00 being the lowest and best possible score.
Questions 91-98 concern generally accepted white stereotypes about Black people and are taken from Samuel Taylor’s book, Why Do African Americans Call
Themselves the N. . . Word? Taylor labels them, “Comments you believe and questions you want to know about blacks, but are afraid to mention.”64 All of the questions are negatively keyed. MR scored 2.10 and WM scored 2.25 with 1.00 being the lowest and best possible score.
62Jerorne Taylor, et. al., “Milliones’ Development Inventory of Black Consciousness,” Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 1 14-1 15.
63Kobi Kambon, “African Self-Consciousness Scale,” Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 22 1-222.
64Samuel Taylor, Why Do African, 3-4. 31
Questions 99-117 were taken from various theological and doctrinal statements generally accepted by both Black and White Baptist churches. Racists’ using the same sources as traditional theology is not unusual. At issue is the methodology. This portion of the survey was scored according to the most agreed upon source of doctrine.
Questions 99-103 were taken from the statement of faith in Revival Fire!6~ MR scored
3.64 and WM scored 4.35 on a 5.00 scale when responding to Revival Fire statements.
Questions 104, 105, and 107 came from ~ArticIes of Faith of the Regular Baptist
Churches.”66 MR scored 3.84 while WM scored 4.25 on a 5.00 scale on regular Baptist doctrine statements. Question 106 is an adaptation of I Corinthians 2:2 from which the
National Baptist Convention motto “Jesus Christ Only and Always”67 MR scored 3.57 and WM scored 3.83 on a 5.00 scale. “Articles of Faith from Regular Baptist Churches,” questions 108 and 109 were taken from the “New Rampshire Confession.”68 MR scored
4.14 and WM scored 4.44 on a 5.00 scale. Statements 110-111 were taken from the
Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary’s “Statement of Belief”69 MR scored 3.865 and WM scored 4.27 on a 5.00 scale on statements taken from Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary.
Questions 112-113 are adaptations of James Cone’s black theology.70 MR scored 3.62
6~Dennis Cone, “Revival Fires! ,“ available from http://revivalfirespub.org/?page ic12; Internet.
66Donald K. Anderson, The Biblical Distinctives of Baptist (Schaumbung: Regular Baptist Press, 1984).
67Williarn Shaw, ‘2005-06 National Baptist Convention Annual Report Record of the 125th Annual Session and Minutes ofthe 2006 Board Meeting, “29.
68Everett C. Goodwin and Edward T. Hiscox, “New Hampshire Confession,” The New 1-liscox Guide for Baptist Churches (Valley Forge: Judson Pres, 1995), 195-201..
69Grand Rapids Baptist Theological Seminary, “Cornerstone Confession,” available from http://grts.cornerstone.edu/about/confessions; Internet.
70Cone, Black Powet; 32-42. 32 and WM scored 3.79 on a 5.00 scale regarding black theology statements. Statements
115-117 were adapted from the “Social Creed of the African Methodist,” found in Peter
J. Paris book, The Social Teaching of the Black Churches.7’ MR scored 3.44 and WM scored 3.83 on a 5.00 scale.
Questions 118-133 were adapted from statements in The Bible in Contemporary
African American Culture II, by James M. Shopshire, Ida Rousseau Mukenge, Victoria
Erickson, and Rans A. Baer. This report is found in African Americans and the Bible, by
Vincent Wimbush.72 Questions 118, 119, 120, and 133 concern earliest exposure to the
Bible. MR scored 4.14 and WM scored 4.58, which indicated earliest exposure to Bible as a child. MR scored 3.52 and WM scored 2.75, which indicates teenage years being the earliest exposure to the Bible. MR recorded a score of 2.71 and WM recorded a score of 1.83, which indicates young adulthood as being the earliest exposure to the
Bible. MR recorded 2.38 and WM recorded 1.17, which indicates being an adult when first exposed to the Bible. The majority of respondents were first exposed to the Bible as children.
Statement 121 addresses the impact of the Bible on daily living. MR scored 4.43 and WM scored 4.42 on a 5.00 scale regarding the statement, “The Bible has great impact on my daily living.” Statement 122 regards how respondents turn to the Bible for comfort, direction, and guidance; MR scored 4.52 and WM scored 4.60 on a 5.00 scale.
MR scored 4.10 and WM scored of 4.83 on a 5.00 scale regarding statement 123, “I
remember a particular sermon preached by pastor that inspired me.” MR scored 4.52
71Peter J. Paris, “Social Creed of the African Methodist,” The Social Teaching of the Black Churches (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985).
72james Shopshire, et. al., “The Bible in Contemporary African American Culture,” African Americans and the Bible, Vincent L. Wimbush, ed. (New York: Continuum, 2001). 33
and WM scored 4.00 o a 5.O0scale ~oncerning statement 124, “Others refer me to parts
of the Bible for guidance and support.” MR scored 4.28 and WM scored 4.67 on a 5.00
scale in response to statement 125, “I refer others to the Bible for guidance and support.”
MR scored 4.09 and WM scored 4.75 on a 5.00 scale in response to statement 126,
“Bible Study impacts my personal Bible reading.” MR scored 3.28 and WM scored 4,25
on a 5.00 scale in responses to statement 127, “My views and opinions about the Bible
sometimes lead to conflict.” MR scored 2.28 and WM scored 1.83 on a scale of 5.00 in
response to statement 128, “I think the Bible is sometimes oppressive.” MR scored 4.38
and WM scored 4.67 on a 5.00 scale in response to statement 129, “The Bible is my
daily guide for living.” MR scored 4.38 and WM scored 4.67 on a 5.00 scale regarding
statement 130, “I believe Jesus is more important than the Bible.” MR scored 3.14 and
WM scored 2.83 on a 5.00 scale in response to statement 131, “I believe the Bible is
equal to Jesus.” MR scored 2.24 and WM scored a 1.92 on a 5.0 scale in response to
statement 132, “I believe the Bible is more important than Jesus.”
The researcher used all of the above components in the research survey to draw
out as much pertinent information as possible from participants concerning the influence
of religion and its potential for good or bad impact on their lives. The purpose of using
particular portions of the above tests and measures was to consider elements that would
aid in discovering and evaluating white ideological and theological racism in Mount
Hermon’s congregation.
Participants
In this section, consideration was given to those who participated in the study.
Since August 2001, adult members of Mount Rermon, the majority of who have served 34 in the Christian education ministry, have devoted extended time exploring the question of what it means to be created in the image of God in our vision of ourselves. Also, while developing the method of investigation members completed a Beginning Social
Analysis adapted from the work of Holland and Henriot.73
When the study began the city of Flint was in political turmoil caused by racial divide. Efforts were underway that eventually led to the recall of the African-American
Mayor. Flint was on the brink of a state take over, which later occurred because of the city’s economic condition. As the writer began this case study community members’ positive and negative experiences over the past twenty years were considered.
Consideration was given to economic factors, important community decision makers, the most important relationships people have in the community, root causes of community problems, and cultural traditions. The writer and congregation also discussed what people want most out of life and where members though Flint would be in ten years. The Beginning Social Analysis helped the author and the church learn about the community and see the strengths and weaknesses of the church and larger urban community. The writer and congregation also learned that there was a lack of optimistic feelings within the community.
The Beginning Social Analysis revealed that at times Mount Hermon has overemphasized the fact that the church is a small congregation. Discussion allowed the writer and members the opportunity to reflect on community assets and liabilities. The writer and congregation learned that assets include a talented people who love the Lord, people who know and love each other, and possess the ability to partner with others of
73Joe Holland and Peter Henriot, Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice (New York: Orbis Books, 1983). 35 various backgrounds, experiences, and vocational skills. Participants also believe Mount
Hermon has a future, as evident in the babies being born into the church family.
In 2002, still exploring the subject, “Image of God and Our Vision of Ourselves,”
Mount Hermon began crafting the vision of what a church made in the image of God should look like and what ministries it should engage. The writer utilized a questionnaire developed by Church Growth Institute to help people discover their spiritual gifts.74 The congregation considered how or if Mount Hermon’s ministry was helping and/or hindering people in their quest to find their place in God’s world. The participants discovered that the church’s biblically based ministry had blessed many people in their quest to discover who they are in the body of Christ. In addition, church ministries had been helpful in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and providing shelter.
In 2003, Mount Hermon considered how to best address practical concerns such as helping people find significance in life, overcoming depression, and how to realize change. An interactive video curriculum from Center for Biblical Counseling, a
Division of American Association of Christian Counselors, Forest, Virginia, was used.
The course entitled, “Caring for People God’s Way,” allowed us to consider new understandings of biblical counseling in areas such as our own faith and life, in addition to marriage and family.75 A segment from “African American Psychology” was added to consider the relationship between internalized racism and marital satisfaction.
74”Spiritual Gifts Inventory Team Ministry Questionnaire,” Church Growth Institute (1986), available from http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifls.cgi?intro= I; Internet.
75Ron Hawkins, “Caring for People God’s Way Center for Biblical Counseling” American Association of Christian Counselors, available from http://aacc.net/courses/biblical-counseling/caring-for people-gods-way!; Internet. 36
In 2004, the congregation co-sponsored with Concerned Pastors for Social Action and other organizations a community-wide conference, which addressed meeting the practical needs of people. The conference included a job fair and special appearance by
Les Brown, world-renowned motivational speaker. The theme of the event was “Expect to Win” and over 1,000 people participated.
In Mount Hermon’s Christian education endeavor the church continued discussing, “Caring for People God’s Way” and added components regarding financial planning and life readiness. The financial planning component taught participants ways to save money, get out of debt, and prevent identity theft. The life readiness component included discussion on making one desires clear through both living and final wills and testaments.
In 2005, discussions centered on our use of the Bible; by no means was this typical Bible study. The intent was to use the microcosm of Mount Hermon’s Christian education experience to begin a dialogue between laity and clergy on the subject of black theology. Participants used the book, African Americans and the Bible,76 which was an excellent text for this discussion because the Bible is the primary source of African-
American theology.
The secondary source of African-American theology should be experience, but more often is white evangelical theology. Participants engaged in a discussion of personal Bible use and responses ranged from a source of inspiration, knowledge, salvation, and instruction. Everyone in attendance agreed that the Bible holds a special place in his or her personal life.
76Vincent L. Wimbush, ed., African Americans and the Bible Sacred Texts and Social Textures (New York: Continuum, 2001). 37
The group also discussed the historical use of scriptures. Slavery in America produced one of the greatest biblical controversies of early modern times. In sixteenth century, between 1730 and 1860, Spain and United States used biblical texts to debate the institution of slavery. For instance R. H. Rivers, professor of moral philosophy at
Wesleyan College Alabama, claimed in his book, Elements ofMoral Philosophy (1860), that his god established slavery. He wrote:
“We maintain that God’s law is always right, and that whatever God established is right, not because He established it, but we maintain that God established it because he saw that it was right.” Rivers declared “No one should place
conscience above God or above His law. . . man does not have a higher law in his moral nature which is above God’s revealed law.”77
For the majority of congregants, this was new information about historical use of the scripture and they were asked to respond individually and anonymously to formal statements and questions. The statement and questions were designed to measure racial identity, acceptance of stereotypes, self-esteem, the level of spiritual development, black consciousness, African self-consciousness, African-American self-consciousness, Bible, embedded ideology, theology, and ethic. The 133-statement survey was designed through selecting questions from a number of sources including several psychological examinations and various Baptist Church doctrinal statements. The same survey given to the congregation was administered to volunteer Baptist pastors and ministers who attended the Wolverine State Baptist Ministers Retreat in Saginaw, Michigan, in hopes of identifying and overcoming tendencies that perpetuate the system of white theological racism in the groups’ faith language and practice.
The writer seeks to probe the depths of white theological racism present in Mount
77William Sierichs Jr., “The Christian Origin of Racism: Atheist Abolitionist Serpents in Slaves Eden Part 4,” available from http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/aah/sierichs. 38
Hermon to learn of the culture of asiti-blackness and to ascertain the effects colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation that continue to influence the African-American church. The author agrees with James Cone’s suggestion that silence is racism’s best friend. Many people do not like to address racism because it makes them feel guilty, a truly uncomfortable feeling. However, it is a greater disaster to be a victim of internalized racism without recognizing you are a victim.
When oppressive history is hidden the victims are made the oppressors and the oppressors are made the victims. Cone says no one can be neutral or silent in the face of racism. Individually you are either for it or against it. In the author’s opinion, anti- blackness in African-American churches under girds and supports the profound cultural link between white supremacy and Christianity.
Eugene Rivers, pastor of Azusa Christian Community in Dorchester,
Massachusetts, in an address to the 1996 conference, “The Legacy of William
Stringfellow,” at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia, called white supremacy the dominant principality of America.78 Consequently, white supremacy has a theological racism all its own.
White culture is a misnomer; there can only be white culture when people of various European ethnicities (English, French, German, Irish, and Polish) surrender their cultures.79 America is socially, politically, and economically a white nation. Because the nation is white, America has become a long-standing issue with African Americans
78Eugene F. Rivers III, “The Idol of White Supremacy Blacking the Prayers of the Church,”
Sojourners Magazine (March — April 1997), 1.
79Ibid., 2. 39 who are at times considered the problem.8° It seems that African Americans must change their skin color or at least act and talk as white as possible to thrive in America.
Attempting to act or talk white carries over into the theology of the African-
American church because pastors have not taken seriously the need to question their own theology. African Americans tend to be Bible theologians, in the sense of knowing biblical stories and having favorite inspirational passages. Unfortunately, African-
American Baptist pastors tend to be ignorant of and/or indifferent to modern critical methods of Bible exegesis and have been slow to introduce churches to systematic theology. Many are convinced that the necessary spadework has been done and conservative theology is the right alternative for the church.
The experiences of African-American people being made in the image of God are different from those of our Caucasian brothers and sisters. Although white culture dominates in the United States, it is not the only culture. When white culture is viewed as the only legitimate culture, African Americans and other non-whites are defined by a power structure that is non-therapeutic and oppressive; which contributes towards feelings of inferiority and low self esteem and the acceptance of color prejudice, stereotypes, and self hatred.
80W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls ofBlack Folks, (Penguin Classics, 1996). CHAPTER II
FRAMING THE ISSUE
The writer’s motivation for studying white theological racism present in Mount
Hermon Baptist Church (Mount Hermon) stems the need to consider the effectiveness and relevance of efforts to teach the Bible, theology, and ethics to the congregation as an
African-American minister. As pastor of Mount Hermon, the researcher’s inquiry into this subject began as a result of motivation by members of the church who raised thought provoking questions such as: “Pastor, what does God have against Black folks?” and
“Pastor, show me in the Bible, where God cursed all the darker colored people and made the light skinned people rule over the darker ones” (K. Yarber, personal communication).
These questions were raised by both male and female congregants who ranged in age from mid 50s to 70s.
Questions such as these gave the writer pause to wonder what in my preaching and/or teaching had provoked such questions. The researcher had served Mount
Hermon’s congregation nearly eleven years when these questions were raised. In years past hundreds of sermons on Africans in the Bible had been preached. Additionally, the researcher has taught the history of African-American religion at a local university. As a congregation we celebrate African-American history on a year-round basis; despite these efforts there were those who had not heard or understood that Black people are not inferior to other people in God eyes.
40 41
The questions raised by Mou~t Hermon congregants convinced the researcher that some African-American Christians in particular struggle with feelings of low self- esteem as it relates to Christian beliefs. The writer wanted to ascertain whether white theological racism is being practiced in Mount Hermon and demonstrate how the same theology contributes to feelings of low self-esteem, inferiority, and low self- identity. If so, to undertake efforts to change the way we talk and act in relation to the practice of our faith.
The researcher’s intent through revisiting faith language and practice is to assist people realize positive self-images reflective of God. The investigation, which began in
2001, revealed that the cause of feelings of low self-esteem, inferiority, and low self- identity in African American’s stems from hundreds of years of misinformation about our history, which include widely, held and accepted stereotypes that are unflattering and untrue.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE ISSUE
Theological language in the African-American church can be traced to its foundation; E. Franklin Frazier notes, “The Negro slaves seemingly from the beginning of their residence in the United States took over the religious beliefs and rituals to which they were exposed.” African-American Baptist churches tend to be revivalist in style, fundamental in doctrine, and anti-modern in ethics, yet they do not typically call themselves fundamentalist.2
Revivalist evangelism is the dominant religious style of African-American people
“The History of African American Baptist,” available from http://theodmassey3.blogspot.com/3; Internet.
2George M. Marsden, “Fundamentalism,” New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 267. 42
and is a Calvinist theology that was ‘first introduced in the antebellum period and is still
being taught in many African-American churches. This form of fundamentalism teaches that humankind is totally depraved, a sinner by nature and practice. Consequently, humankind is estranged from God and totally lost. Man requires the convincing and regenerating ministry of the Holy Spirit and faith in Jesus for salvation and being born again.
Being biblically based in the Baptist Church often means maintaining an unwavering commitment to the King James Version of the Bible. Being biblically based in the Baptist church sometimes requires a literal historical approach to scripture interpretation. The Bible is esteemed in traditional African-American Baptist churches and is foundational to all our beliefs. Careful attention should be given to its historical interpretation including its current application.
As Baptists, we believe the authority of the Bible and it greatly shapes our beliefs.3 In some sense it is nothing short of amazing that the African-American community cherishes the Bible as it does. Wimbush remarks:
“The African American embrace of the Bible is a strange historical phenomenon. Forced in the first place into a strange New World, a world in which a document the Bible was prominently even iconically, featured, one would think Africans a people known in general to be steeped in oral tradition should not embrace or have found comfort in the Bible or in a religion of the Book. Nevertheless, in a fascinating and complex way, such a phenomenon developed rather quickly and perdures for an astonishing large segment of African Americans... Why did this happen? And how could this happen?”4
The United States has long been considered by some to be a Christian nation.
3Donald K. Anderson, The Biblical Distincrives ofBaptists (Schaumburg: Regular Baptist Press, 1984), 19.
4Barbara A. Hoidrege, “Beyond the Guild Liberating Biblical Studies” African Americans and the Bible (New York: Continuum, 2001), 145. 43
Today right wing television evangeli~ts often claim that America was founded as a
Christian nation. Even some politicians agree. It is a common belief that the majority of
Americans are Christian by religious preference. However, calling America a Christian nation more often is used as a gentler term for Christian supremacy.
Christian Supremacy has dominated in the United States for much of its history.
We are living in a time of great debate for and against the placement of the Ten
Commandments courthouses. Recently a bill was introduced in the Missouri statehouse that designates the state as a Christian majority. Officially the United States is not a
Christian nation. The Constitution of the United States does not mention Christianity or
Jesus the Christ. Where there is reference to religion in the First Amendment, it bans laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
Additionally, Article VI prohibits religious tests in order to hold a public office.5
The theology of those who believe America is or should be officially designated as a Christian nation is in some ways suspect. Christians Supremacy claims that
America’s founders were all devout Christians despite the well documented fact that
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Thomas Paine were all desists who openly rejected Christianity.6
Christian Supremacy encompasses both a moral attitude and a political program.
In the moral realm, Christian Supremacy is the idea that Christianity is superior to all other religions, and by extension, that Christians are superior to all non-Christians.
Politically, Christian Supremacy’s agenda includes getting political institutions to reflect
5Mitchell Kahie, “Opposing the Christian Supremacy Movement,” available from http://www.lava.nethesse/ChristianSupremnacyMovement; Internet.
6lbid. 44 this superiority by favoring ChristiaiTS over non-Christians and Christianity over all other beliefs.7
Christian Supremacy would reduce non-Christians in America to an inferior status. Christian Supremacy leads to a Christian theocracy, which means all laws and culture would reflect the idea that Christians are superior. Many Christian Supremacist feel that non-Christians should be tolerated and be very grateful for the leniency extended towards them. Unfortunately, in America Christian Supremacy has often paralleled white supremacy. White Supremacist often tout their beliefs are based on
Christianity including differences in race and the identity of True Israel.8
African Americans were first exposed to Christian Supremacy on southern plantations where they were taught their blackness made them inferior to Caucasians.
Slaveholders dedicated a great deal of attention to mis-educating and training ideal slaves. In general there were five steps in molding enslaved non-persons. First, strict discipline was applied. Secondly the enslaved were made to feel inferior. The third step was to convince the enslaved that the master was superior. The fourth step was to make the slaves conform to the master’s standards. The fifth step was to inspire a deep sense of the helplessness and dependence in enslaved persons. At every point this mis education was firmly founded on white superiority and black inferiority.9
Besides teaching the slave to despise his skin and denying access to traditional culture, the master strove to inoculate his own value system into the enslaved. The slave
7Austin Cline, “Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America,” available from http://www.atheism.about.com/od/christianis nationalism/p/Christian Supremhtm; Internet.
8lbid., 2.
9”Chronology of the History of Slavery (1619-1789),” available from http://www.innercity.org/ Holt/slavechron.html; Internet. 45
owner’s belief in African inferiority inspired African self-hate, which graduated to
African-American self-hate. Additionally, writers of American history have
intentionally stripped Black people of the personhood by failing to acknowledge
African-American contributions. Blacks who accepted the indoctrination of slaveholders
saw themselves as subservient to white authority figures and explicitly accepted their
imposed inferiority and were considered Uncle Tom’s.’° The Uncle Tom label can also
be used in other analogous relationships including non-Christians who assist the cause of
Christian Supremacy by promoting the idea that America is a Christian Nation where
Christians should have special privileges and non-Christians should accept second class
status.
Teaching the Bible and Fundamentalism
Most Christian denominations pre-enlightenment considered the Bible as the
inerrant and/or infallible Word of God. Inerrancy signifies the total truthfulness of a
source of information that contains no mistakes. Infallibility implies the full
trustworthiness of a guide that is not deceived and does not deceive,” Historians
generally recognize Fundamentalist Christianity as a separate movement beginning in
the late 19th and early 2O~ centuries as a response to theological modernism, which
subordinates the Bible to human precepts. In the l9~” century a number of evangelicals prepared the way for the movement. Among those were American evangelist Dwight L.
Moody and British preacher and father of dispensationalism John Nelson Darby. These
persons, among others, propounded ideas and themes carried into fundamentalist
‘°Austin Cline, “Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America,” available from http://www.atheism.about.com/od/christianis nationalism/p/Christian Suprem.htm.
Nj, ~• Packer, “Infallibility and Inerrancy of the Bible” New Dictionary of Theology (Dowers Grove: Intervarsity Press), 337. 46
Christianity)2
The term fundamentalist is originally derived from a series of twelve volumes entitled The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth. Among this publications 94 essays, 27 of them object to higher criticism of the Bible which is by far the largest number addressing any one topic.’3 The word fundamentalism originated in the United
States during the ~ century. The editor Curtis Lee Law (1868-1946) used the term for his anti-modernist party in the Northern Baptist Convention. The term fundamentalist was soon used to describe a broad coalition of evangelical Protestants who fought militantly against modernist (i.e. liberal) theology and against some features of secularization of modern culture. To date, this remains the most accurate use the word.’4
The formulation of American fundamentalist beliefs can be traced to the Niagara
Bible Conference (1878-1897) and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(1910), which distilled into what became known as the five fundamentals. The five fundamentals include: (1) inerrancy of Scriptures, (2) the virgin birth and the deity of
Jesus, (3) the doctrine of substitutionary atonement of Christ through God’s grace and human faith, (4) the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and (5) the authenticity of Christ’s miracles (or, alternatively his premillennial second comjng).’’
While fundamentalism itself is not inherently racist, fundamentalist’s image of
God and Christ are male and White. Further, the practice of fundamentalism lends itself
‘2”Fundamentalist Christianity,” available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist christianity; Internet.
13Ibid., 2.
‘4George M. Marsden, “Fundamentalism,” New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 66.
‘5Wikipedia Page 2. 47 towards Christian supremacy which~is racist. In addition, southern and northern fundamentalists have expressed racist sentiments through the medium of fundamentalist theology. In a 1986 article on southern fundamentalism, historian Samuel Hill Jr. delineated several types of evangelical evident within the framework of the southern religion practicing a form of racism.16 These included the “Truth party,” concerned with correct belief~ the “Conversion party,” primarily interested in personal evangelism, the
“Spiritual party,” stressed continuous experience of divine presence, and “Service party,” whose representatives aimed at racial and communal reconciliation.’7
“Truth party,” according to Hill, was the primary representative of fundamentalist dogma in the south. These individuals emphasized “correct belief~” eschewed cooperation with those who deviated from doctrinal conformity, tended to be anti-culture, and lived and died by precision in definition and behavior. Theirs is a separatist fundamentalism characterized by a theology of against in their response to other Christian traditions.18
Fundamentalist historian George Dollar defined a historic fundamentalist as one who:
“Not only holds to the exposition, but also sets himself to expose every affirmation and attitude not found in the Bible. His negatives, like his affirmations, are as many as those found in the Bible. Southern fundamentalist view the Civil rights movement as a national crisis and as challenge to certain unchanging truths taught in the Holy Scripture and required of all true Christians. Those who contradicted such teachings
16Samuel J. Hill Jr. and Dennis Owen, The New Religious Political Right in America (Nashville: Abingdon, 1982), 151. and David Bromley and Anson Shupe eds. New Christian Politics (Macon; Mercer University Press, 1984), 49-50.
17Samuel J. Hill Jr., “Fundamentalism and the South” Perspectives in Churchmanship (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1986), 49-50.
8lbid., 49. 48
were not merely social deviants, they were also Biblical apostates.”9
Independent Baptists include a collection of fiercely autonomous local
congregations who are fundamentalist in theology, Baptist in polity, and separatist in their ecclesiastical relationships. Congregants limit themselves to certain ministerial
“fellowships” including the Baptist World Fellowship, Baptist Bible Fellowship, and
South Wide Bible Fellowship. Congregations are located primarily in the American
Bible belt which includes the South, Southwest, and Midwest.2°
During the 1 960s, three independent Baptist periodicals The Fundamentalist, The
Baptist Bible Tribune, and Sword of the Lord devoted extensive attention to the civil
rights movement. Founded in Fort Worth, Texas, The Fundamentalist was originally
edited by the infamous independent Baptist Frank Norris. His successor, T. H. Masters,
was an outspoken critic of civil rights activjties.21 Tennessee’s Noel Smith was the
longtime editor of Springfield, Missouri’s The Baptist Bible Tribune. Smith was an
unabashed advocate of Baptist fundamentalism and right wing politics. Smith
continually addressed civil rights issues and published innumerable editorials and
articles critical of the movement. Bob Jones Jr., once called Smith ‘The greatest
religious editor in the century.”22
John R. Rice founded The Sword of the Lord in 1934 and served as the editor
until his death in 1980. Located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this publication remains
~9George Dollar, A Hisloiy ofFundamentalism in America (Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1973), 265.
20Ibid., 265.
21Jbid 4.
22Robert L. Summer, “John R. Rice: A Man Sent from God,” Fundamentalist Journal (January 1984), 25. 49
one of the most widely circulated fundamentalist journals in America. Rice was a
constant opponent of racial mingling and political liberalism evident in the civil rights
movement. Jerry Falwell suggested that more than any other man Dr. Rice protected and
guarded the prize jewels of fundamentalism. Because of him fundamentalism has been
defined, purified, and passed on to the next generation. Rice spoke at Faiwell’s Liberty
Baptist Church almost every year from its founding to Rice’s death in 1980.23
Falwell called John R. Rice and Noel Smith the patriarchs of independent
fundamentalism in the United States. These southern fundamentalists demanded
complete separation from all churches, agencies, and individuals that did not conform to
fundamentalist ideology. Fundamentalists hold many of the same racist attitudes as non-
fundamentalists and take their cues from the prevailing culture and social attitudes of the
South. More than any other southern religious group they were compelled to interpret
the civil rights upheavals in light of their own systematic and highly rationalistic theology.24
Southern fundamentalism provided a theology for racism in which civil rights activities were viewed as a violation of fundamentalist dogma and biblical norms. The civil rights movement was unacceptable to southern fundamentalists for numerous reasons. First, it promoted racial mingling which undermined the God ordained separation of races and increased the possibility of interracial marriage, a clear violation of biblical teaching. Second, it fostered social and political anarchy which disturbed the social order and engendered violence, riots, and civil disobedience, a violation of biblical
23Elmer Towns, “John R. Rice Came to Liberty Mountain,” Sword ofthe Lord (September 10, 1980).
24John R. Rice, “Moral Principles and National Politics,” Sword of the Lord (July 24, 1964). 7. 50 teaching on authority and government. Third, at best the civil rights movement was a tool of socialists and communists to bring down American democracy. At worst the movement itself was a communist inspired attempt to destroy the nation and considered a threat to Christian civilization and freedom. Fourth, it was led by religious modernists, infidels, and apostles whose views of Scripture, the virgin birth, and other fundamental dogmas made them enemies of true religion and genuine faith, a violation of biblical doctrine.2~
The writer’s research reveals evidence supporting the opinion that literal Bible interpretation, fundamentalist theological understanding as delineated in articles of faith, and traditions held and esteemed by traditional Black Baptist churches hampers the spiritual development of individuals and physical growth of congregations. Further, the author has found that congregations who subscribe to abrasive, self righteous, separatist fundamentalist theology that promote the literal truth of the Bible, including the subordination of women, are oppressive.
The researcher concurs with the eminent father of Negro History, Carter
Woodson; we need to take a closer look at how we are looking. Woodson’s statement that follows refers to our need as a people to consider the source of our religious paradigm.
“It is very clear, that if Negroes got their concepts of religion from slaveholders, libertines and murders, there may be something wrong about it, and it would not hurt to investigate it. It has been said that the Negroes do not connect morals with religion. The historian would like to know what race or nation does such a thing. Certainly the whites with which the Negroes have come in contact have not done so.”26
25Ibid.
26Carter G. Woodson, Mis-Education of the Negro (Trenton: Africa World Press Inc., 1990), 73. 51
African-American Baptist churches need to engage theology at the congregational level and consider the circumstances of allowing racism, classism, and sexism to be confused with the authentic representation of the church.
In light of historical research, the question now becomes, “To what extent is
Mount Hermon’s vision of itself in the image of God being influenced by traditional theology?” To our own disadvantage, is the church practicing a pro-racism understanding of the Bible, theology, and ethics? In our indifference to practical theology concerns have we neglected to address issues of justice and equality in a proactive manner? James Cone, black liberation theologian, challenges African
American’s thusly:
“In view of the silence of the great majority of white theologians when faced with the realities of slavery and segregation, the white churches preoccupation with academic issues in theology and their avoidance of the issue of justice especially in the area of race do not surprise me. What does surprise me and sadden me, however is the similar situation among many African American churches and their theologians.”27
It’s time for the church to take a new look at articulating, interpreting, and assessing the essential doctrinal affirmations of African-American faith. Closer attention must be devoted to the resources being to shape our theology and ethics. James Evans in his book, We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology, provides a framework for a doctrine of humanity and how Jesus embodies being Black. Evans
articulates his dissatisfaction with traditional doctrines such as revelation, the authority of
scripture, God, Jesus Christ, theological anthropology, ecclesiology, pneumatology,
Christian hope and eschatology, and reinterprets them from an African American
27Jarnes H. Cone, Black Theology & Black Power (New York: Orbis Books, 1997), ix. 52
perspective.”28
Like all African American people, Mount Hermon’s congregants have a dilemma
with respect to racial self-understanding and national belonging. W.E.B. DuBois aptly
labeled our dilemma double consciousness. Double consciousness among Black people
involves one consciousness imposed by White people and another emanating from the
history, traditions, and longings for liberation of the Black community.
“After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil and gifted with a second sight in this American world, a world which yields him no true self consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring ones soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels this twoness an American, a Negro, two souls two thoughts, two un-reconciled strivings two warring ideals in one dark body whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”29
We are a people of double consciousness according to DuBois. Our community
is persuaded, informed, and influenced by the dominant culture in the United States. The
dominant non-black culture has determined what the authentic representation of the
Church ought to be through its literal Biblical interpretation and theology; complete with
a right wing political agenda and powerful television evangelist infiltration squad. Every
mainstream African-American congregation is at risk. Since Mount Hermon is typical of
other conventional African-American Baptist congregations, a study of this sort will also
assist other churches of this nature to measure the degree to which congregants have
absorbed pro-racism teachings and surpass white racist understandings of what the
28James H. Evans, We Have Been Believers.’ An African- American Systematic Theology (Minneapolis Press, 1992).
29Quoted in Peter J. Paris, The Social Teaching ofthe Black Churches (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), 28. 53
church should be and believe.
RELATIONSHIP OF ISSUE TO THE RESEARCHER’S MODEL OF MINISTRY
The model of ministry can be considered real, relevant, and refreshing. The ministry at Mount Hermon is beneficial for people living in this present age who desire to preserve and celebrate African-American history, tradition, and culture. As its pastor, the researcher has the awesome responsibility of being the main, but not only, theologian. The writer’s personal preference in theology is black liberation theology.
This personal preference hopefully makes the theology utilized at Mount Hermon practical and aids in liberating the church from social, political, and economic oppression.
The author has tremendous respect for James Cone and the way he uses liberation theology as the central theme of the gospel message. 30 Through Cone’s efforts pastors have an organizing principle for the systematic presentation of the Christian gospel from the standpoint of the Black struggle for freedom. Inspiration has also been gained from the passion of Albert B. Cleage Jr., a nationalist whose relevant preaching spoke to the complex and urgent needs of black America. 31 Chicago native Jeremiah Wright is a master of portraying Africans in the scripture and has also served as a great inspiration.~2
The researcher also has great affinity for Gayraud Wilmore’s theology with its emphasis on self-affirmation with the understanding that God wills Black folks to be free, equal,
~°JamesH.Cone,BlackTheolo~
31AIbert B. Cleage Jr., The Black Messiah (Trenton: African World Press Inc., 1989).
32Jeremiah Wright, In Need of a Miracle Biblical Strategies for a Cornrnuni~ in Crisis What African Americans Can Do (Chicago: Urban Ministries, 1992). 54 and at peace with themselves. ~ This entails the need for greater affirmative action, along with greater educational, economic, social, and political opportunities that involve the global community. Through this work, the author hopes to liberate individuals from a religion that actively binds believers through rules, regulations, and prohibitions.
Kelly Brown Douglass work, The Black Christ, concentrates on social justice issues. Her approach to Womanist problems rescues the image of the Black Christ from the halls of academia and places Him in the church. The use of a Womanist approach gives the image of Christ a multidimensional layer. She confronts the African-American women’s struggles from the wider angle of total society in addition to the African-
American community. Brown Douglass addresses issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia. A Womanist portrayal of Christ confronts all types of oppression. Kelly
Douglass’s Black Christ challenges everyone to see Christ in himself or herself and in everyone.34
Mount Hermon must engage itself in actions that change the status quo, i.e. dismantle pro-racism that leads to the internalization of dominate culture value systems based upon avarice and greed. Members of Mount Hermon must become liberators.
The author firmly believes that the elimination of white theological racism in the church will lead to a reduction in black on black crime, teen pregnancy, and encourage mentoring of young boys and girls.
Within Mount Hermon there are many embedded theologies. Like many traditional African-American Baptist congregations with conservative theological roots,
33Gayraud S. Wilmore, Black Religion and Radicalism (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1998).
34Keith Johnson, “The Black Christ,” Chicken Bones: A Journal, available from http://www.nathanieltumer.com/blackchrist.htm. I 55 it seeks to conserve long-term traditions and promote a commitment to a biblical faith.
Theology has always been more about what we do than what we say. A great deal of stock has been placed in living a “saved life.” In other words, faithfulness to traditional
Bible interpretations has taken precedence over contemporary theological understanding.
However, theology is present in the teaching and preaching which occurs and is biblically based.
We often hear and read about Black seminary students attending white seminaries who upon graduation return to black churches and face the dilemma of trying to convey new information to people steeped in their own Biblical understandings and traditions. Unlike many seminary-trained pastors, the researcher graduated from a predominately African-American seminary that accents liberation theology and offers better theological preparation for ministry in the black church. Being born and raised in a traditional African-American Baptist church, the writer was unconscious of the mis education until reaching seminary. As pastor, the writer seeks to liberate others who do not realize they need liberating from white theological racism.
PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO ADDRESS MINISTRY PROBLEM
Selective reading of the empirical literature reveals several brilliant achievements in the area of research concerning the Black Church including: W. E. B. DuBois’ book
The Negro Church and article, “Against Racism” in Unpublished Essays and Papers
]887-]96]; F. Fanon books: Black Skin, White Masks and A Dying Colonialism; Carter
G. Woodson’s The History of the Negro Church; Benjamin Mays and Joseph
Nicholson’s The Negro ‘s Church; May’s The Negro ‘s God; E. Franklin Fraizer’s The
Negro Church in America; James Cone’s Black Power and Black Theology; and C. Eric 56
Lincoln’s The Black Church Since Fraizer.
C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya’s article, “The Black Consciousness
Profile” in The Black Church in the African American Experience is an empirical attempt to begin charting the influence of the black consciousness movement upon the black clergy since the civil rights period. The study was limited to the views of clergy and not laity. Data from the study reflected the views of 2,150 ministers. Of the ministers, 1531 came from urban congregations and 619 from rural congregations.
Participants were asked to answer seven questions designed to elicit their views on the
impact of the black consciousness movement upon them and their churches.35
Summarizing the Lincoln study, fifty-four percent of African-American ministers
thought their ministries where different because they where in a black denomination.
Sixty three percent believed the mission of the black church and the white church is the
same. Eighty-six percent of pastors surveyed served churches that support church-
related black colleges. Seventy-one percent taught children about the distinctiveness of
the black church. Sixty-eight percent answered yes to the importance of having black
figures on Sunday school literature. Sixty-four percent indicated their sermons reflect
changes in black consciousness since the civil rights movement. Sixty-five percent of
urban ministers felt no influence by authors and thinkers of black theology.36
No sacred writing is as revered as the Bible in the African-American community.
The Bible is the sole authority in matters of faith as well as way of life for many black
people. In making the Bible the foundation for faith, African Americans have embraced
35C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence Mamiya, “The New Black Revolution: The Black Consciousness Movement and the Black Church,” The Black Church in the African American Experience, 168.
36Ibid., 169. 57 a narrow canon or source of authority giving no regard to the full range of African-
American experiences.
While religion and the Bible have always been of paramount importance in the
African-American community, data from the 1993 National Black Politics Study shows
only about 30% of respondents had a black image of Christ. This fact highlights the need for further examination of cultural variations within established religious
communities.37
Black consciousness is pervasive and difficult to measure in the black church.
The church represents a paradoxical community of social, political, and theological
views and stances. In Chapter III key literature will be reviewed for the purpose of
learning from whence white theological racism stems. The researcher will discuss what
is already known about the problem as it relates to the congregation and the methods
others have tired to solve the dilemma.
~7AIIison Calhoun- Brown, “The Image of God: Black Theology and Racial Empowerment in the African American Community” GSUReview ofReligious Research vol 40 no.3 (March 1999), 1. CHAPTER III
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In this chapter key literature will be reviewed to learn from whence white
theological racism stems. The review seeks to ascertain what is already known about the
problem as it relates to the embedded theology of the congregation and the methods
others have tried to solve the dilemma. Consideration begins with the question, where
did the problem come from?
In the middle l8~ century slaveholders considered it an insult to even suggest
that slaves be Christianized because they were not willing to concede Blacks had souls.
Woodson reminds us that it was not until white preachers assured slave owners that
Christianity would make better slaves and provide greater profit that our forefathers and
mothers were introduced to the faith of the enslavers. Preachers of the antebellum day
taught that it was God’s will that Africans be saved from their life of savagery.’
The use of white Christian faith language implicitly if not explicitly racist was
the norm for the uncompromising biblical literalists White preachers, who frequently
quoted: “Slave, obey your masters,” (Ephesians 6:5-8), to encourage the enslaved to be
obedient because it was the will of God. Early interpretation of the book of Genesis
implemented the so-called curse of Ham (Genesis 9:20-27), which contributed to the
fallacious thinking among White supremacists and pro-racists that African Americans
are inferior. Initially Blacks were only evangelized in the United
‘Henry Mitchell, Black Belief Folk Beliefs of Blacks in America and West Africa (New York: Harper& Row, 1975), 108.
58 59
States because Christianity was considereti an effective tool for indoctrinating slaves.2
Of course White teachers, for the most part, would have been ignorant of the theological contributions of people such as Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo, who wrestled with the mystery of the trinity, Tertullian, Cyprain, Origen, Clement of
Alexandria, and Athanassius, Dionysius, or Cyril of Alexandria. Their writings, influence in church synods and councils, defense of Christian doctrine as they interpreted it, and sometimes independent thinking all attest to the role of the African Church in
Christendom.3 God forbid that Africans in American would have gained full exposure to the Hattian revolution (1790-1804) or of revolutionaries like David Walker, Henry M.
Turner; moreover be inspired by the exploits of Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark
Vessey, and others who were willing to challenge the status quo.
David Walker particularly reminds us that those who know better have not always shared with those who do not know and have allowed them to continue in the path of ignorance or worsened their condition by discouraging the ability to think for themselves. Article II, “Our Wretchedness in the Consequences of Ignorance” in David
Walker ‘s Appeal To the Coloured Citizens of the World, but in particular, and very expressly, to those in the United States ofAmerica states:
The Christians and enlightened of Europe and some of Asia, seeing the ignorance and consequent degradations of our fathers, instead of trying to enlighten them, by teaching them, they have plunged them into wretchedness ten thousand times more intolerable, than if they had left them, entirely to the Lord, and to add to their miseries, deep down into which they plunged them tell them, that they are an inferior and distinct
2James Cone, A Black Theology of Liberation (Ethics and Society) (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1990), 127.
3Mario Azevedo, Africana Studies: A Survey of Africa and the African Diaspora (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 1985), 394. 60
race of beings which they will be glad enough to recall and swallow by and by.4
In Article III, “Our Wretchedness in the Consequences of the Preachers of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Walker reminds us of the efforts of Bartholomew Las Casas, a
Catholic priest and adventurer with Columbus in the second voyage, proposed to his countrymen, Spaniards in Hispaniola, to import Africans from the Portuguese settlement in Africa to dig up gold and silver and work their plantations.3 Additionally, how
Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans tried to make proselytes in their religions; human beings that adopted their religion were extended every protection. But Christian Americans hindered their fellow creatures, the Africans, and most slaveholders would absolutely beat an enslaved person nearly to death if caught on their knees praying to God.6
African-American churches are in danger of being or becoming a greater enemy to African American people searching for a relationship with God than White preachers and missionaries who first delivered the gospel to our forefathers simply because we have embraced half truths and whole lies without recognizing having done so.
As a busy pastor, at times the writer has found it difficult to investigate difficult questions or issues that come before our community. Even so, there are many people in the African-American community who desire to know about the faith in which they have been asked to believe. In the remainder of this chapter consideration will be given to how normative literature has addressed white theological racism in the consciousness of black churches by considering biblical, theological, and ethical literature.
4David Walker, David Walkers Appeal (Canada: HarperCollins Canada Ltd., 2000), 19.
~Ibid., 35-36.
6lbid., 36-37. 61
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
R. A. Morrisey, an early African-American biblical scholar, wrote Colored
people and Bible History, which was published in 1925. The book details the genealogy
of Ham in Genesis 10 and I Chronicles 1:8-16; it was a beginning point for addressing
white theological racism.7 During the seventies Robert A. Bennet wrote four articles
including “Africa and the Biblical Period,” “Black Experience and the Bible,” “Biblical
Hermeneutics and the Black Preacher”, and “Biblical Theology and Black Theology.”8
“In Black Experience and the Bible,” Bennett demonstrates there is no simplistic
convergence for the Bible past and the contemporary day. He examined the differences
and similarities between the African-American experience and the stories of the Bible in
the context of the African-American freedom struggle.9
Bennett points out the similarities and differences in the Jewish Christian and
African-American struggle. At the core of the biblical writing is the story about a
desperate group of nobodies existing on the fringe of society who were held in bondage
and eventually liberated from their oppression, enabling them to become somebody in a
newly formed community; a community that saw itself as a people of religious assembly
bound to its God.’°
Bennett shows us that by human struggle, conflict, and choice people are
7jacqueline Trussell, “Making Religion Relevant: What Does it Mean To Be Black and Christain?,”available from http://www.blackandchristian.com.
8lbid., 2.
9Gayraud Wilmore, African American Religious Studies an Jnterdisciplinaiy Anthology (Durham: Duke University Press, 1995), 102.
~°Robert A. Bennett, “Black Experience and the Bible,” available from http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/j an 1971 /v27-4-article5htm; Internet. I 62 liberated and community is formed. The hermeneutical task of preaching Bible meaning in this present age is based upon learning what the Bible says about ancient day. Even more so the experience of blackness must be allowed to speak; African-American people must speak themselves out of their own experiences.1’ The African-American pastor, preacher, and teacher must speak from his or her own context before dealing with modern situations. Bennett suggests we consider an important question similar to the one raised by Renita Weems, “Given the many problems faced in relationship to the
Bible, why is it that Black women even read the it?’2
Bennett questioned why enslaved Africans accepted the religion of the oppressors. He concludes: a) slaves accepted the gospel as a means of survival and advancement in the repressive slave system, b) ancestors of African Americans maintained a veneer of Christianity while keeping African heritage alive, and c) many did not accept the gospel. House slaves were more likely to take the slaveholders religion than yard and field servants.13 Bennet also questions why present day African-
Americans churchgoers accept a religion that continues to oppress Black people and insults our aspirations. The scriptures, according to Bennet, speak in present times of
God acting in the course of human events to bring about God’s purpose for human kind.
Black History allows the black experience to speak its peace.’4
The enslaved and their descendants learned something about what God intended
‘1lbid., 129.
2RandaIl C. Bailey, “Academic Biblical Interpretation Among African Americans in the United States” African Americans and the Bible, 702,
‘3Bennett, 131-132.
1lbid., 132. 63 even though their God given color was the reason for their oppression.’5 The American problem is not its inability to see the African presence, it is America’s refusal to accept or deal responsibly with the presence. Yet African Americans have a responsibility for responding to the Bible in the context of the community experience. Black people will not always find themselves in the Bible through the experiences of Israel but through our own experiences and self-awareness in present situations we must free ebony minds from ivory myths about blackness.’6
Of course the African experience in America has given us much reason for disillusionment; we have experienced oppression in this land, which is not the birth place of our forefathers and can hardly consider ourselves the chosen people. Our Messiahs are far and few between. Yet Black people believe that God is real and we shall not be annihilated. From Bennet we learn our belief that there is a God who is in control of creation is a source of hope and means by which we communicate.’7
Vincent Wimbush, editor of In African American Religious Studies, sheds light on the liberation struggle from the biblical interpretation standpoint by African-
American community leaders. Leaders in African-American communities have been biblical theologians in their own right through their esteem of biblical texts and reverence given to the scriptures. However Black biblical scholars trained in the modern methods are not plentiful.
The Black community lacks in biblical scholars for the following reasons. 1)
‘5lbid., 133.
~61bjd
7lbid., 137. 64
Historical critical methods, now the common possession of reputable biblical scholars, were first introduced in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; a period when African American’s were otherwise involved with slavery, reconstruction, and Jim Crow. 2) African American’s had begun to use their own symbols, concepts, and language while White-American Protestants, Catholics, and
Jewish persons benefited from a variety of doctrinarism, moralist, and pietistic ways of reading of the thinking)8
The scriptures were understood as a source of correct doctrine, a handbook for right living and decision-making, or a combination of both.19 African Americans learned more through the repetition of biblical stories than academy teachings and musings. Black church denominations understood and expanded themselves in terms of social, political, economic, and educational opportunities in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The separation of Black people from white denominations occurred because of White Christians’ racism.20 Wimbush points out that while the church has long been divided by race, African-American Baptists still hold tenaciously to
Anabaptist and/or Calvinist statements of faith. African Methodist’s continue to hold the line of Wesleyan doctrine and piety while maintaining a European theological structure, which explains their existence as enabling Black people to survive.21
In 1964, Joseph Washington criticized the realized or unrealized dilemma for
‘8Vincent L. Wimbush, “Biblical Historical Study as Liberation: Toward an Afro-Christian Hermenuetic,” 140.
9lbid., 141.
20Ibid., 143.
21Ibid., 143. 65
African-American congregations is th~ ~f being mere social clubs or transmitters of primitive folk traditions ignorant of historic Christian doctrines. Unfortunately, in many places Washington’s statement is just as true today as it was over forty years ago.
Wimbush calls for a meeting of the academy and church for a frank conversation and dialogue about the Bible and problems with biblical and theological understanding.22
The suggestion of such a conversation will no doubt be met with resistance.
Especially by preachers and pastors who have been trained in so called orthodox and conservative schools of theology that continue to use biblical theology prior to the enlightenment period. African-American pastors and theologians must learn to allow the
Bible to serve the church and not the church to serve the Bible. Scriptures should be used as a means for freeing the imagination and affirming self-understanding and existence. Historical exegesis makes religion relevant.23
Randall C. Bailey in his essay, “Academics Biblical Interpretations among
African Americans in the United States,” explores four tasks of interpretation and research among African Americans. The first task of interpretation demonstrates
African presence in the text; the second task of interpretation responds to white
supremacist interpretations of the text; the third task of interpretation addresses cultural
historical interpretations; and the fourth task is ideological interpretation.24
Bailey also discusses the contributions of Charles Copher 25 who has been
22lbid., 143.
23Ibid., 150.
24Randall C. Bailey, “Academic Biblical Interpretation,” 696.
23Ibid., 697. 66 considered the dean of black biblical study for many years. Copher’s works include but is not limited to: Perspectives and Questions: The Black Religious Experience (1970),
The Black Man in the Biblical World (1974), and Black Biblical Studies: An Anthology of Charles B. Copher, The Biblical and Theological Issues on the Black Presence in the
Bible (1993). Dr. Copher also contributed articles to Cain I-lope Fielders book Stony the
Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation.26
Copher wrote Three Thousand Years ofBiblical Interpretation with References to
Black Peoples, in which he traced the development of anti-black rhetoric back to rabbinical exegesis. Copher demonstrates how the so-called curse of Cain and Ham can be traced back to statements found in the Talmud and Midrashim.27 Copher further demonstrates how this interpretation was lifted by medieval commentators and passed on to enlightenment and post enlightenment hermeneutics. Copher also addresses how historical critical interpretation, including annotations in the New Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, appeals to such interpretations.28 Overall, Copher’ s purpose was to
review the history of biblical interpretation with reference to African American people
from the very beginning of the Bible as a collection of literature of various times, to how
it exists today in the English translation and is presently interpreted.29
Copher arrives at no less than four conclusions in his survey. 1) The most
probable original text of the Hebrew was free of pejorative statements about peoples
26Jacqueline Trussell, “Making Religion Relevant,” 2.
27Randall C. Bailey, “Academic Biblical Interpretation,” 700.
29Charles B. Copher, “Three Thousand Years of Biblical Interpretation with Reference to Black Peoples” African American Religious Studies, ed. Gayraud S. Wilmore, 105. I 67 regarded as black and with one or tvJo exceptions there was no inner biblical pejorative statements. 2) Early Christians adopted methods of interpretation that failed to adopt anti-Black interpretations of Jews while Muslims did. Thus non-inclusive interpretations where adopted by Europeans and applied to people of African descent. 3) African-
American people have advanced their own interpretation and in many cases invalidated interpretations of anti-Black Hamatic doctrines that challenge the idea that Africans are not included in the scripture. 4) Lastly, literal interpretation of the Bible as the word of
God, as the norm of faith and practice, has allowed people to accept legend and myth for actual historical facts regarding the real cursing of Black people.3°
Randall Bailey demonstrates the delineation of racist white supremacist interpretations of the texts. In Professor Bailey’s review of Isaiah 1:1 8: “Come let us reason together... though your sins be as scarlet they shall be made white as snow,” he argues White supremacists have turned an announcement of punishment into a salvation oracle by translating the Hebrew word “im” as “though” instead of how it is translated elsewhere in the text. In other words, the phrase to be made white as snow, in the
Standard English translation, was changed into a benefit Whites as opposed to its usage in other passages in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears as a curse.3~
Bailey also includes other major contemporary opponents of white supremacist interpretation research such as Clarice J. Martin and Cain Hope Fielder. Martin, in her consideration of Acts 8, argues that White scholars have the tendency of arguing that
Ethiopians in the texts are not African’s but rather Jews (understood to be proto if not
30Ibid., 123-124.
~2Bai1ey, 700. I 68 fully European) who traveled to Jerus~1em for the holiday. Fielder argued that there has been subjugation of knowledge in the case of African presence. According to Fielder,
White supremacists have used a “sacralization process using oppressive ideologies raising them to a sacred premise and secularization thus powerful biblical motifs for justice are watered down.”32
A third type of research being done is Cultural Historical Interpretation, which
assesses and reviews biblical interpretation. Vincent Wimbush has argued that one of the problems with black religious scholarship is the assumption that the Bible is a major
resource for the history of Black people without examining the ways this has been the
case.33
The fourth type of research Bailey presents is in the area of ideological approach;
trying to discover the African story and how to use it as a strategy for
reading.~4 Itumelerg Mosala of South Africa is considered the first contemporary
scholar to incorporate an innovative view.35 Renita Weems followed Mosala’s approach
in her treatment of Exodus 1-15. Weems argues that most commentators ignore social
class, gender, and racial indicators in the writing. Further, Weems argues the significant
role of women in Exodus 1-2 is not rewarded by advocacy for a change in the status of
women in society.36 Bailey using this ideological approach argues that priestly writer
have sought to replace liberation thought with piety while trying to diminish the role and
32Ibid.
3~Ibid., 704.
33lbid., 702.
34Ibid. 69 influence of African nations in ancient Israel.37 Research of this type by the referenced scholars is much needed. African-American churches and communities require assistance identifying African presence in scripture, understanding the role white supremacy holds in forming our understanding of the Bible, and comprehending the cultural historical interpretation and ideological culture used in formulating traditional understandings of the scripture.
According to Bailey, readers need to understand that the Bible itself must be taken to task whenever possible. Supremacist and racist interpretations are so normative in our understanding of the text that reader’s must be brought to awareness as to how these biases are formative in our understanding. Assumptions made in interpretations are so second nature to the culture that we miss them because they are often passed on without question.38 Similarly, Weems argues that Black women must counteract patriarchal interpretations of the text in ways that help liberate African Americans.39
THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
The world-renowned theologian James Cone has written eleven books and hundreds of articles on the subject of black theology. In his book, Black Theology and
Black Power, Cone influenced a great deal of discussion surrounding African-American
Christian identity. Cone provokes us when he asks questions such as: “Is it possible for
35Ibid., 704.
36Ibid.
37Ibid.
37Ibid., 701.
38Ibid., 701.
39Ibid., 701. S 70 men to be really Black and still feel any identity with the biblical tradition expressed in the Old and New Testaments?”4° and “Is it possible to strip the gospel as it has been interpreted of its whiteness, so that its real message will become a live option for racial advocates of black consciousness?”41 In Speaking the Truth: Ecumenism, Liberation and
Black Theology, Professor Cone shares that, “Theology as rational reflection about God was foreign to the intellectual and religious sensibilities of African slaves. Most could not read or write and the few who could were forced to apply what they believed about
God to the survival and liberation of their people rather than to consider it systematically.”42 The justice of God has been the dominant theme of black religious thought. Blacks, says Cone, have always believed in the living presence of God who establishes right by punishing the wicked and liberating victims from oppression. The idea of hope is closely linked to themes of justice and liberation. Dr. Cone tells us that
Black peoples hope is based upon their faith in God’s promise not to leave the little ones
alone in bondage.43
Originally African slaves were not taught Christianity because baptism requires
emancipation and there were many references to freedom in the Bible.44 Eventually
White missionaries convinced slave masters that Christianity made Blacks more docile
and obedient. One slaveholder put it this way, “The deeper the piety of the slave, the
more valuable he is in every respect.” Before the rapid growth of Methodist and Baptist
40Jarnes Cone, Black Theology & Black Power (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997), 33.
41lbid., 33.
42iames Cone, Speaking the Truth Ecumenism, Liberation and Black Theology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1986), 83-85.
43Ibid., 84.
44Ibid., 132. ~~1 71
denominations in the late 18th and ealy 1 9t1~ centuries, African slaves remained outside the belief systems of Christianity.45 Once African slaves were converted to Christianity their conversion was different from the conversion of their White owners. Cone aptly
describes the situation as follows:
“If worship is inseparably connected with life, then we must assume that the worship services of slaves could not have had the same meaning as the worship service of slaveholders, because they did not share the same life. They may have used the same words in prayer, songs, and testimony, or even preached similar sermons. But slaves and slaveholders could not mean the same thing because their social and political realities were radically different.”46
Slaves developed and kept their distinctive faith alive in intimate communication
between friends, within families, and in larger secret meetings, which scholars call the
invisible institution or secret church. White preachers would say that God permitted or
even ordained slavery, but Black slaves refused to give up the idea that God would
restore their freedom. They risked terrible beatings and even death to steal away into
the woods or swamps at night to sing, preach, and pray for liberation.47
These secret meetings, Cone tells us, were the birthplace not only of slave
insurrections but also a black version of the gospel consistent with the search for
freedom. Negro spirituals were the products of these secret meetings. Liberation themes
can be found in songs such as “Go Down Moses/Way Down in Egypt Land/ Tell Old
Pharaoh to Let My People Go,” “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho,” “Oh Mary Don’t You
I I.
p
45Jan Garrett, “Black Christianity and the Prophetic Church Insights from the Black Theology of James Cone,” available from http ://wwwwku.edu/~jan.garrett/bc&pc.htm; Internet.
46James Cone, Speaking the Truth: Ecumenism, 87.
47Ibid., 88. 72
Weep,” and “My Lord Delivered Daniel.”48
Cone disputes the interpretation many scholars have given black religion when they emphasize its otherworldly dimension. Heaven in black religion, says Cone, signifies not only a reality beyond space and time, but also earthly places regarded as lands of freedom, particularly Africa, Canada, and northern United States. Fredrick
Douglass had already noted the double meaning of the black spirituals. The song whose words went, “Oh Canaan, sweet Canaan, I am bound for the land of Canaan” meant more than the hope of reaching heaven; our fore parents had a practical end in mind, reaching the northern land of freedom was their Canaan.49 Cone demonstrates that historically African Americans possessed their own theology independent of the enslavers’ racist interpretations.
Russell G. Moy in American Racism: The Null Curriculum in Religious
Education contends religious education has responded inadequately to racism. The majority of seminaries and theological schools in the United States operate under an illusion that America is one big happy family and the only civilization is Western. To remedy this situation, educators must become aware of social constructs, the ideology of assimilation, and potential the Bible offers as a multicultural resource. Race is a social construction based on prevailing winds of ideology.50
Peter Paris in The Social Teaching of the Black Churches inquired into the way black religious institutions have sought to relate themselves to larger white society.
48Ibid., 88.
49lbid., 89.
50Russell G. Moy, “American Racism: The Null Curriculum in Religious Education,” available from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi; Internet. 73
Paris’ investigation lays the basis for ccfmparative analyses with other racial minorities in
similar circumstances. In addition, the inquiry comprises a study of internal relationships of church and society and how each has been a necessary condition of the other.5’ Paris shows that teachings of the black church not only expresses sociological and political dimensions but also shapes both their internal life and external mission.
Because the African-American community has governed the black church, Paris concludes that their major response to the nation’s racism reveals models of thinking and actions that have become customary for the community at large.
Additionally, Paris demonstrates that black and white churches are different in respect to purpose although they are similar in doctrine and polity. Black churches, according to Paris, are more than poor replicas of white churches. Revisionist black scholarship has changed the otherworldly and escapist understanding of black churches.
The primary mission of black churches is to call the nation to racial equality and justice that demonstrates the brotherhood of all people as members of the fellowship of God.
For Paris the formation of separate African-American churches has never been viewed as fully satisfying Blacks because of difficulty in logically associating it with their ideal societal vision; the same vision that has restrained black churches from working toward self-development.~2
American racism is a theological dogma in line with ideologies expressed in the text, yet from a distorted Christian perspective. The distortions, biblical and theological, were products of colonial era northern Christian ideologies. It was American Puritans
51Peter J. Paris, The Social Teaching of the Black Churches (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), 133.
52lbid., 134. 74 who first planted and then cultivated seeds of racism of America. Griffin suggests racism is present in the United States despite sincere efforts to eliminate it because we have locked in place the seeds of racism. The Wright State University Professor claims the starting point is not economics, the starting point of racism is the American mind; it is in the mind where we find the seeds of racism that continue despite good intentions.53
Matthew C. Ogilvie wrote an article entitled, “Children of a White God: A Study of Racist ‘Christian’ Theologies.” Ogilvie’s article provides clear parallels that racist
Christianity shares with biblical fundamentalism, which include: 1) common view of evolution, 2) extreme negativity towards human creativity, and 3) counter-modern suspicion.54 Richard McBrien points out that biblical fundamentalism is an example of naïve realism. For biblical fundamentalists the meaning of the word of God is obvious and what Christians need to do is obvious.55 Ogilvie points out that the racist
Christianity approach to the Bible equals fundamentalists. Racists use selected portions of the Bible to support predetermined dogmas of race, culture, and creed. Still further, racists use the Bible without consulting other interpretations or the history of the text, analyzing its literal form, or giving consideration to wider contexts of the passage in question. Racist theologians approach the Bible with an unquestioning uncritical mindset and guiding prejudgment that scriptures teach racist doctrines.56 Additional
53Paul Griffin, “Racism’s Roots in Puritan Christian Beliefs,” available from http://www. wright. edu/news events/news/griffin html; Internet.
54Matthew Ogilvie, “Children of a White God: A Study of Racist Christian Theologies,” available from http://www.humannature.com/nibbs/al/ogilvie.html.
55Ibid.
‘6lbid. 75 parallels that Ogilvie notes of those Who promote racist theologies frequently agree with stances that are anti-abortion, anti-welfare, anti-homosexual, anti-affirmative action, anti-feminist, anti-gun control, anti-free trade, and generally anti-liberal (both religiously and politica1ly.~7
ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE
Riggins R. Earl Jr. in Dark Symbols and Obscure Signs God, Self & Community in the Slave Mind gives us a glimpse into theological genius of a people exposed to a
God who did not know them. Slaveholder’s presented Christianity to the enslaved who in turn successfully contextualized or otherwise renovated it to adapt to their cunent situation. When the enslaved from West Africa were evangelized they were told about a
God who knew nothing about what they were experiencing. Earl, a scholar and expert in the ethical branch of Philosophy, convincingly demonstrates how African ancestors combated enslavers’ efforts to take away their person-hood to become authentic slaves.
While perhaps more historical than ethical, Earl provides the opportunity to see the strength of African sojourners resisting manipulation at the hands of enslavers in
America. Earl demonstrates that Africans were not simply recipients of theological understanding but shapers of their own brand of liberation theology. In chapter five of his book, Earl shares a story that demonstrates selflessness on the part of a slave. The
enslaved finds no fulfillment in simply being a self-redeemer. The individual could have
run away and saved himself, but refused to because he would have had to leave behind
loved ones who were still enslaved. He says, “I could not be satisfied myself being free
57lbid. 76
and my family yet being enslaved.”58
Often seminary-trained pastors make decisions for their parishioners regarding
what they are exposed to biblically, theologically, and ethically. Consequently,
congregations suffer from missed opportunities to be inspired by accomplishments of
those who have gone before us. Perhaps if more African Americans realized what our
fore parents accomplished with far less than we have today, we would reach a new level
of appreciation for our heritage. The problem of white racist theology must be addressed through a revival of critical thinking resulting in penetrating theological insights and inspiration that change and bless faith communities.
Slave conversion sources are treasures mined from the archives and made available to people in search of a vision of who the enslaved understood themselves to be. People need a vision that transcends present circumstances and offers new possibilities and perspective for themselves. Today African-American preachers talk and sing about dying, but a lesson from their fore parents might help them understand that it is not the body that needs to die. We need not crucify the flesh rather paradigms of our faith language.
African-American churches needs to change its old out-dated ways of thinking about enslaved persons and the period of enslavement. Riggins Earl provides a catalyst to transform our thinking about enslaved persons. Earl helps us to understand our fore parents made adjustments and changes in the theology thrust upon them. Earl’s efforts inspire a new level of consciousness about a period we know so little about. We can appreciate that many enslaved who were made new by conversion no longer saw
58Riggins R. Earl, Jr., Dark Symbols, Obscure Signs God, Self & Comrnunj~) in the Slave Mind (New York: Orbis Books), 128. 77 themselves as property but as people fashioned in the image of God. No one envies a slave’s circumstances, but we are all blessed by the musing Dark Symbols inspires.
in Christian Ethics for Black Theology, Major Jones wrote out of a deep ethical sense in an attempt to address the lack of adequate ethical formulations or foundations on the part of many who speak and write black theology from a negative viewpoint.
Jones contends ethical questions should be divided for the ex-slaveholder and the ex enslaved because each has the responsibility to act from a different vantage point and in a different way.
“The Ethical Meaning of Black Liberation” is chapter four of Jones’ book, The
Ethical Meaning of being Black Under God, and particularly speaks to the subject matter of this dissertation. The chapter informs the reader that the enslaved do not always recognize their enslavement. It is possible for a slave to arrive at a point where he or she loves being enslaved. All African Americans, says Jones, will not freely embrace freedom or liberation even when it is a realizable achievement; even if it is acceptable to everyone, liberation would not be easy.~9
Liberation requires spiritual and political struggle, two quiet different dimensions. Spiritual liberation is victory over the power of what is foreign to the foundational human spirit. It also means to acquire and possess the power to be a self and the security to give that self to others in a love that needs no return of any kind.
Liberation is an internalized spiritual principle.60 The spirit can become the possessor rather than the possessed; when the spirit becomes the possessor it leads to a self
59Major J. Jones, Christian Ethics for Black Theology (New York: Abingdon Press, 1974), 74-75.
60Ibid. 78 centered existence. Being lost to such a spirit misses the mark of full liberation possible through a relationship between the human and divine external being which calls one to a deeper experience with the Creator. All turning to God is subjective and danger presents itself when the concept of God is distorted. The self, the other, and God form necessary relationships for spiritual liberation and ultimate freedom.6’
The political meaning of liberation requires the individual to consider the following questions: “Who am I?” and “What is my relationship to others and my creator through my actions?” Each of us must make decisions that involve ourselves as well as our relationships with others and God. The political part of the liberation struggle requires participation in governmental functions such as voting, holding elected officials accountable and responsible, and engaging in our civic responsibilities. Political liberation requires that we hold on to hope of what America can be and not what it is.
Also, we must overthrow the status quo.62
Anthony B. Pinn’s article, “Rethinking the Nature and Tasks of African
American Theology: A Pragmatic Perspective” in American Journal of Theology &
Philosophy Volume 19, states: “African American theology has often embraced a limited canon of black religion that does not acknowledge the full range of African American experience.” As a result much of the theology being communicated in African-
American communities is outdated. Pinn’s essay offers initial thoughts on how African-
American theology should look and be reworked.63 James Cone goes further and calls
61Ibid., 75-76.
62Ibid., 76-77.
63Anthony B. Pinn, “Rethinking the Nature and Tasks of African American Theology: A Pragmatic Perspective” American Journal of Theology & Philosophy vol. 2 (May 1998), 1. I 79 for the destruction of God as we kn~ow God if that God is not concerned about black liberation. In other words, Cone suggests that the God worshipped by African American people is a murderer who needs to be murdered. Cone sees a need to destroy the symbols and systems being used so that fresh visions of liberation may come forth.64
Traditionally, in many African-American Baptist churches every Sunday Jesus must be dramatically crucified, buried, and raised from the grave. Otherwise the preacher has failed in his or her effort to preach the word. Yet Jesus having died once for all, perhaps our attention should be turned towards crucifying other traditions in the church that hold us back. Pinn invites us to rethink our concepts of religion and experience faith in many ways as a means to recognize the multiplicity of worship opportunities. Pinn encourages thinking through theology and allowing ourselves to be guided by experience and historical discipline so that we may come to know cultural fulfillment. Finally, Pinn calls upon the African-American church to reflect on methodologies used in African-American theology and argues for a critical, real commitment that puts experience first and seeks fulfillment over tradition. Pinn attempts to help African Americans overcome the stagnation of the status quo in order to meet contemporary needs.65
In many cases African-American church traditions cause the church to be unethical in her actions. African-American traditions suffering the influence of white theological racism have succeeded in alienating more than 70% of black churches constituency. Of course here the researcher is speaking of the sisterhood, which is also
64Ibid., 1.
65Ibid. 80 the motherhood of coming generations. Jaoquelyn Grant and Delores Williams both call the ethics of black churches in question.66 One evidence of internalized white theological racism in the African-American Baptist church is its treatment of the greatest supporters, women.
In a quest to be faithful to the Bible, many pastors have blindly given their allegiance to doctrines that disenfranchise women. Black women easily represent 50% of the African American population and definitely represent 70% of Mount Hermon’s congregation. Literal interpretations of scriptures like I Corinthians 14:34-35, “Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a shame for women to speak in the church,” have been used to justify inequality of the sexes. Unfortunately, many churches have not progressed past the Baptist tradition of women being silent partners in the church. Lots of people describe women as the “backbone” of the church. Initially this can be viewed as a compliment. However, when viewed in light of the fact that many congregations keep women in completely subordinate roles while men are promoted to leadership roles, it can be inferred that the true meaning of this statement refers more to the position of women in the church, not their importance.67
The black church would have a great trouble sustaining itself without the contributions of female members. Where white theological racism remains the status
66Mark Chapman, Christianity On Trail (New York Orbis Press, 1996), 135. Also see Jacquelyn Grant, “Black Theology and the Black Woman,” Black Theology: A Documentaty History, 1966-1979, Gayraud S. Wilmore and James H. Cones, eds. (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1979), 418-433.
67Jacquelyn Grant, “Black Women and the Church,” All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us are Brave, eds. Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith (New York: The Feminist Press, 1982), 141. 81
-“4 quo the most oppressed people in society continue to be forgotten; we must remember the oppressed of the oppressed. There are Black women in America seeking identity in an image of God that favors them while living under tremendous strain and hard realities such as discrimination, unemployment, under employment, homelessness, and substance abuse, just to name a few.68
68Chapman, 135. Also see Delores S. Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1993), 1-6. CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS
In this chapter, consideration is given as to how members of Mount Hermon
Baptist Church (Mount Hermon) and Wolverine ministers responded to Case Study
Survey Statements. The researcher intends to identify similarities and differences between responses and demonstrate potential sources of white theological racism in the consciousness of Mount Hermon. When the writer began the Doctor of Ministry
Program the primary concern was to help Mount Hermon more fully realize her potential of being created in the image of God without the interference of white theological racism. Many African American’s are not achieving their full potential because they have been convinced they are inferior to White people and therefore have no expectation of achieving at the same level.
The researcher also became intrigued that his personal theology was out of sync with real experiences, thereby hindering potential outcomes. For many years the author used a number of self-help tools, motivational materials, and metaphysical understandings to aid in remaining focused, motivated, driven, and committed. These tools were used with the expectation that if they worked for others then certainly with effort they would work for me. Certainly self-help tools, motivational materials, and metaphysical understandings have a place to can help participants see life from a different prospective. Further, these methods offer short-term benefits in that they encourage users to achieve beyond what they once believed possible.
82 83
The author was presented with the problem of understanding sources of influence
in Mount Hermon and began to consider positive and negative historical influences of
religion on Black people. In the literature review of white theological racism from
biblical, theological, and ethical perspectives, the researcher found information that
warrants further investigation into the effects of white theological racism on the black
church. The author contends that the theological language being used in Mount Hermon
is a source of influence that accounts for a great deal of misunderstanding concerning the
community’s identity.
Psychological tests and measures believing were used to demonstrate negative tendencies regarding racial identity, self-esteem, racial stereotypes, and internalized
stereotypes that lead to a lack of confidence as an aggregated whole. Statements from several psychological tests and measures were selected and added to black theology, fundamentalist, liberal, and neo orthodox theological statements. Questions were designed to determine where congregants stood in relation to a particular theology and demonstrate the extent white theological racism hampers the congregation’s spiritual growth.
By identifying our weakness together we can begin building the necessary skill set to eliminate the problems through corrective action. What follows is a summary of the results and meanings of the research survey used in the study. Twenty-one members of Mount Hermon Baptist Church of Flint, Michigan (identified as MR in the results) and twelve ministers from the Wolverine State Baptist Convention of Michigan
(identified as WM in the results) completed the survey. 84
Mount Hermon participants were persons who were present or previous members of the Board of Christian Education. Respondents were composed of 4 males and 17 females all adults between the ages of 35 and 75. No attempt was made to separate male and female responses in the research survey.
Ministers of the Wolverine State Baptist Convention were asked to take part in the study to compare two otherwise unrelated groups having only the researcher in common. The group was composed of all male respondents between the ages of 3 5-75.
Respondents completed the survey during free time at a minister’s retreat at the
Wolverine State Baptist Headquarters in Saginaw, Michigan. Each minister was offered
$1.00 for completing the survey, although few took advantage of the offer.
Approximately nine or 75% of ministers participating in the survey pastor a congregation and the other three (25%) were associate ministers of local congregations.
The researcher serves as pastor of Mount Hermon and Wolverine Ministers represent theological peers. No attempt was made to learn the level of education or theological training attained by individuals in either group. Participants were simply asked to complete survey using a rating scale of one to five. One (1) equals strongly disagree, two (2) equals disagree, three (3) equals uncertain, four (4) equals agree, and five (5) equals strongly agree. Participants were assured that there was no one right answer for the statements and they should answer each statement according to their own beliefs, feelings, and knowledge.
RACIAL IDENTITY ATTITUDE SCALE
Part one of the survey asked participants to respond to twelve regarding racial identity. The statements were from “Racial Identity Attitude Scale” (RIAS), by Helms 85 and Parham. These statements aflowed the researcher to learn about respondents attitudes in four reflective areas: 1) pre-encounter, 2) encounter, 3) immersion, and 4) internalization. Pre-encounter attitudes tend to predict poor self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, and anxiety. Encounter attitude statements relate to euphoric states including positive self-esteem, self-actualizing tendencies, and low anxiety. Immersion attitudes relate to unhealthy affective adjustment as indicated by low self-esteem, high anxiety, low levels of self-actualization tendencies, and high levels of anger and hostility.’
Internalization attitudes statements predict a rational decision making style.
Pre-Encounter Scoring
Pre-encounter statements 76% of MH and 100% of WM indicated they did not believe large numbers of Blacks are untrustworthy. The majority of MR (76%) and WM
(91%) were not in agreement with the statement, “Whites look better and express themselves better than Blacks.” As relates to the statement, “I feel uncomfortable around black people,” 90% of MR and 75% of WM were not in agreement. 71% percent of MR and 58% of WM agreed, “I get embarrassed when I see a person who is Black does something embarrassing in public.” 81% of MR and 50% of WM agree with the statement, “I cant feel comfortable with other Black or White people.”
MR scored 1.64 and WM scored a 1.70 with 1.0 being the lowest possible score on negative pre-encounter responses. Both MH and WM demonstrated good self-esteem and little indication of inferiority or anxiety. However, nearly 10% of MR respondents indicated agreement with the statement, “Large numbers of Blacks are untrustworthy;” while 14% of WM respondents indicated they were uncertain if “Large numbers of
T. A. Parharn and J. E. Helms, “The Racial Identity Attitude Scale,” Handbook of Test and Measurements for Black Populations vol. 2, Reginald L. Jones, ed. (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publisher, 1996), 1985. I 86
Blacks are untrustworthy.” In addition, nearly 10% of MR respondents indicated they agreed, “White people look and express themselves better than Blacks;” while 14% indicated they were uncertain.
Encounter Scoring
As it relates to encounter attitudes questions, 90% of MR and 91% of WM respondent believe, “Being black is a positive experience.” 76% of MR and 83% of
WM respondents agree with the statement, “I know through experience what being
Black in America means;” 24% of MR and 17% of WM participants responded as unsure. MR attained a score of 4.33 and WM attained a score of 4.58 out of a potential
5.0 on encounter inquiries. The high score recorded by both groups regarding encounter attitudes indicates positive self-esteem, self-actualization tendencies, and low anxiety.
Immersion Scoring
As it relates to immersion attitudes, 76% of MR and 83% of WM respondents disagreed with statement, “I often find myself referring to White people as honkies, devils, pigs etc.;” 19% of MR and 8% of WM agreed with the statement. MR recorded a
score of 1.13 and WM recorded a scored of 1.91 with 1.0 being the lowest possible score
on statements addressing immersion attitudes which indicates both groups scored well in
areas indicating positive self esteem, self-actualization, and low levels of anxiety, anger
and hostility.
Internalization Scoring
Sixty-seven percent of MR and 100% of WM respondents agreed with the
statement, “I involve myself in causes that help oppressed people.” Seventy-one percent
of MR and 42% of WM respondents agreed with the assertion, “I feel comfortable 87 wherever I am.” Eighty-one percentof MR and 92% of WM respondents agreed with the statement, “I feel good about being Black, but do not limit myself to black activities.” Ninety-five percent of MR and 83% of WM respondents agreed with the assertion, “A person’s race has little to do with whether or not he/she is a good person.”
95% of MR and 92% of WM respondents agreed with the statement, “I am satisfied with myself.” MR scored 2.91 and WM scored 3.20 out of a possible 5.00 on internalization statements. Like the previous three indicators, both groups demonstrated positive self- esteem, self-actualization, and low levels of hostility.
SELF-ESTEEM AND RACIAL STEREOTYPES
The researched selected the following statements from Maxine Clark’s Racial
Stereotypes and Self-Esteem of African Americans, with the intent of considering the relationship between racial stereotypes and self-esteem.
Self-Esteem
Respondents were asked to respond to six survey statements regarding self- esteem. Ninety-five percent of MH and 100% of WM agreed with the statement, “I am useful person to be around.” One-hundred percent of MR and 92% of WM agreed with the statement, “I feel that I am a person of worth.” Ninety-five percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I feel that I can’t do anything right.” 95% of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I feel that my life is not helpful.”
Seventy-six percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I feel I do not have much to be proud of.” One-hundred percent of MR and 92% of WM agreed with the statement, “As a person I do a good job these days.” Both groups had very similar scores when compared to African Americans from other parts of the country, 88 which indicated 93% of surveyed individuals feel good about themselves and that they are useful persons. Also, MR scored below WM and the national average when responding to the statement, “I feel I do not have much to be proud of,” with only small number (19%) agreeing to the statement.
Racial Stereotypes
Respondents from MR and WM were asked to respond to fourteen racial stereotypes statements. Responses were as follows: 71% of MR and 83% of WM agreed with the statement, “I think that most African American people keep trying.” Ninety-
five percent of MR and 91% of WM agreed with statement, “I think that most African
American people love their families.” Eighty-one percent of MR and 100% of WM
disagreed with the statement, “I think that most African Americans are ashamed of
themselves.” One-hundred percent of MR and WM disagreed with the statement, “I
think that most African Americans are lazy.” Eighty-one percent of MR and 92% of
WM disagreed with the statement, “I think that most African Americans neglect their
families.” Eighty-one percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I
think that most African Americans are lying and trifling.” Eighty-one percent of MR
and 33% of WM agreed, “I think that most African Americans are hard working:” Fifty
percent of WM indicated they were uncertain while 17% disagreed with the same
statement. Nearly 10% of MR respondents indicated uncertain and nearly 10%
disagreed with the statement, “African Americans are hard working.”
Sixty-seven percent of MH and 75% of WM agreed to the statement, “I think that
most African Americans do for others.” Nearly 10% of MR and 17% of WM were
uncertain and 5% of MR disagreed with the statement, “African Americans do for 89 others.” Fifty-two percent of MR and~58% of WM disagreed with statement, “I think that most African Americans give up easily.” However, 19% of MR and 17% of WM agreed with the same statement. Nearly 29% of MR and 25% of WM were uncertain regarding the above referenced statement. Ninety percent of MR and 92% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I think most Blacks are weak.” Ninety percent of MR and
83% of WM agreed with the statement, “I think that most African Americans are proud of themselves.”
Fifty-two percent of MH and 91% of WM agreed with the statement, “I think that most African Americans are honest” 43% of MR indicated uncertain relating to the same honesty statement. Seventy-one percent of MR and 92% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I think that most African Americans are selfish;” while 14% of MR and 8% of WM agreed. The majority of respondents, 81% of MR and 92% of WM, agreed with the statement, “I think that most African Americans are strong;” 19% of MR and 8% of
WM were uncertain.
Both MR and WM subjects had favorable own race stereotypes. Both groups described African Americans as proud, strong, hardworking, and family orientated. The
WM group tended to believe that most African Americans are honest, which appears to be the greatest degree of disparity between the two groups in this phase of the survey.
Of course African-American Christians are not a homogenous group possessing one basic personality structure. All African Americans have experienced racism and discrimination. The extent of these experiences and their impact increase the number of variables not considered in this survey such as social class, education, physical appearance, family socialization, and support network. 90
ASSESSING OPTIMAL THEORY APPLIED TO IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
In this phase of the research survey, questions were selected from the “Optimal
Theory Applied to Identity Development Revised” instrument designed by Raggins,
Myers, Speight, Highien, Cox, and Reynolds. This portion of the survey instrument utilizes a world-view that is not dominant in western society. It is centered in Africa as the historical point of generation at the beginnings of human culture and civilization.
The following twelve statements consider four phases which progress towards spirituality described as the courage to look within and trust a sense of belonging, completeness, connectedness and openness. The four stages MR and WM respondents were asked to consider include the following topics. 1) Individuation, a phase indicating a persons lack of awareness of any view of self other than the one known through family.
2) Dissonance, a phase in which a person starts to explore aspects of self that may be devalued by others. This may lead to conflict between how ones see his or her self verses how one is seen by others and may cause a person to wonder who they are. 3)
Integration is the third phase considered. In this phase an individual views life, others, and self. One begins to understand that all people can oppress or be oppressed. 4) The final stage utilized in the research survey is the transformation phase, which identifies how a person defines self, including ancestors and the unborn, nature, and community.
Reality is based upon spiritual awareness rather than external circumstances and negative experiences are accepted as providing opportunities for growth.
Individuation
When considering research survey questions dealing with individuation MR and
WM responded as follows: 67% of MR and 83% of WM disagreed with the statement, 91
“All people have the same opportunities in this country.” Forty-eight percent of MH and
33% of WM agreed, “Sometimes I get tired of people complaining about racism while;”
38% of MR and 58% of WM disagreed with the statement. Seventy-one of MR and
100% of WM disagreed with the assertion, “I have not been oppressed or discriminated against.”
Eighty-six percent of MR and 83% of WM agreed with the statement, “Most of my beliefs and views are similar to the ones I grew up with.” Eighty-six percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the assertion, “True discrimination occurs only rarely in this country.”
MR scored 2.60 while WM scored a 2.2lout of a possible 5.00 in this phase of the survey. Both scores indicated that the groups have little awareness of views other than ones they were introduced to by family. Rowever, both groups recognize that discrimination does occur. Both MR and WM groups scored below the mean for persons taking OTAID-R 3.15.
Dissonance
When considering the only dissonance survey statement, 100% of MR and WM
agreed, “I now see that people from some groups are treated differently in this society.”
The response indicates both groups are starting to explore those aspects of the self that
may be devalued by others. MR scored 4.71 while WM scored 4.50 out of a possible
5.00. Both groups scored above the mean in this phase, which is 3.38.
Integration
As it relates to integration survey statements, 81% of MR and 92% of WM
agreed, “People who commit hate crimes are victims of their own oppression.” Fifty- I 92 seven percent of MR and 75% of WM indicated, “I have a sense of inner security that comes from a strong faith in a just universe;” 29% of MH indicated uncertain, 14% of
MR and 25% of WM disagreed with the same statement, Fifty-two percent of MR indicated uncertainty and 50% of WM disagreed with statement, “People in the United
States are socialized to be oppressive;” while 24% of MR and 41% of WM agreed. Both groups score 3.58 out of a possible 5.00 in this phase of the survey. Groups indicated a change in the way individuals view life, others, and self; a conceptual switch has begun to occur. Individuals in this phase of the survey connected with more people because the criteria for acceptance went beyond appearance. One begins to understand that all people can be oppressed or become oppressors. WM believed to a lesser degree that people are socialized to be oppressive. The response indicated little change about either groups assumptions about the United States. Both MR and WM scored below the mean in this phase, which is 3.97.
Transformation
As it relates to transformation statements, 38% of MR indicated uncertainty and
42% of WM agreed, “I can accept all people for who they are including those who would oppress others without fear or anger;” 29% of MR and 33% of WM disagreed
concerning acceptance of all people. Eighty-one percent of MR and 50% of WM agreed with statement, “I believe that if I could fully know myself, I would know God;” 10% of
MR and 17% of WM were uncertain. Regarding the same statement, 5% of MR and
25% of WM disagreed. Eighty-one percent of MR and 92% of WM agreed with
assertion, “My ancestors, generations to come, nature and the community are represented
through me.” MR respondents score 3.66 and WM respondents scored 3.30. MR scored I 93 above and WM below the mean, which is 3.53.
Tabulations
After tabulating MR and WM scores in the identity development phase of the research survey, both groups scored highest in the dissonance phase. MR scored 4.71 and WM scored 4.50 out of a possible 5.00; however, only one question was selected from the dissonance phase. The second highest phase for MR was transformation phase, the third highest score for MR was integration, with a score of 3.66 and individuation scoring 2.60. The second highest scoring phase for WM respondents was integration phase at 3.58, the third highest score was transformation at 3.30, and the fourth was individual with a score of 2.21. Among all people taking the OTAID-R the individuation score is typically lowest, followed by dissonance, transformation, and then integration.
BLACK INTERNALIZATION OF WHITE STEREOTYPES ABOUT
AFRICAN AMERICANS: THE NADANOLITZATION SCALE
The next series of statements included in the research survey considered the extent to which MR and WM identified with racial stereotypes about Black people being mentally defective. The Nadanolitization Scale, by Taylor and Grundy, was designed to measure the extent to which Black people identify with racist stereotypes. Fifty-seven percent of MR and 58% of WM disagreed with the assertion, “African Americans were born with a greater sexual desire that White people;” 29% of MR and 42% of WM responded uncertain and 14% of MR agreed with the same statement. Fifty-two percent of MR and 75% of WM disagreed with the statement, “Racial differences explain why
African Americans dont live as long as Whites;” 24% of MR agreed with the statement 94 while 24% were uncertain. 5% of WM respondents agreed with the above referenced statement and 10% responded uncertain. Fifty-two percent of MR and 75% of WM disagreed with the same statement. Forty-eight percent of MR and 25% of WM agreed with the statement, “African Americans are born with greater physical strength and endurance than Whites;” 38% of MR and 42% of WM did not agree with the same statement.
Ninety-five percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with statement, “Whites are superior to African Americans.” Sixty-two percent of MR and 82% of WM disagree with assertion, “Genetic inferiority explains why more African Americans than Whites drop out of school;” moreover, 24% of MR agreed with the same statement. Forty-eight percent of MR and 33% of WM agreed with statement, “African Americans are born with more musical talents than Whites;” 38% of MR and 42% of WM disagreed with the
same statement.
Ninety-five percent of MR and 92% of WM agreed, “Blacks are just a smart as
Whites.” Seventy-six percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with statement,
“Blacks are mentally unable to contribute more to Americ&s progress.” Sixty-two
percent of MR and 58% of WM agreed, “Race is an important factor in explaining why
Whites have succeeded more than Blacks;” Twenty-five percent of MR and 24% of WM
disagreed with the same statement. Eighty-six percent of MR and 92% of WM
disagreed with the assertion. “The Black man’s body is more skillful than his mind.”
Seventy-six percent of MR and 72% of WM disagreed with statement, “The large
number of Blacks addicted to hard drugs suggests a form of biological weakness;”
however, 19% of MR agreed. Forty-three percent of MR and 50% of WM disagreed 95 with the statement, “African Americans are superstitious;” 29% of MR agreed with the statement and 33% of WM were uncertain. Forty-eight percent of MR and 42% of WM disagreed with the statement, “It is easy to work for an African American;” while 19% of
MR and 50% of WM agreed with the same statement.
Seventy-one percent of MR and 100% of WM agreed, “The ideas of African
Americans are to be admired.” Forty-eight percent of MR agreed with the statement,
“African Americans are more religious than Whites;” however, 75% of WM disagreed with statement and 38% of MR uncertain. Eighty-six percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the assertion, “African Americans are sloppier than Whites.” Thirty-eight percent of MR and 25% of WM agreed with the statement, “African Americans are
carefree, happy go lucky;” 58% of WM and 38% of MR disagreed with the same
statement.
Armstrong Measure of Spirituality
The following statements were included in the research survey to explore the
spirituality of MR and WM respondents. Questions were selected from ‘The Armstrong
Measure of Spirituality” (AMOS), by Tonya Armstrong. Ninety percent of MR and
100% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe in the existence a Supreme Being.”
100% of MR and WM agree with affirmation, “Prayer is an important aspect of my life.”
Fifty-seven percent of MR and 75% of WM respondents disagreed with the statement,
“Fasting is not a method I find useful for drawing close to God.” One-hundred percent
of MR and WM agreed, “Knowing that God supports me makes me feel secure.”
One-hundred percent of MR and 92% of WM agreed with the statement, “I
believe in miracles.” Fifty-three percent of MR agreed and 92% of WM disagreed with 96 statement, “I am not able to keep my patience in most challenging situations.” One- hundred percent of MR and WM agreed with the affirmation, “Because of involvement of God in my life, peace abides within.”
Milliones Development Inventory of Black Consciousness
The following statements were designed to consider levels of black consciousness among MR and WM respondents. Statements were selected from
Milliones Development Inventory of Black Consciousness. Thirty-three percent of MR disagreed and 67% of WM agreed with statement, “Blacks should be loyal to this country in every respect;” 33% of MR agreed with statement while 33% of MR were uncertain. Eight percent of WM disagreed and 25% were uncertain regarding the same statement. Forty-eight percent of MR and 50% of WM agreed with the statement,
“There is too much race hatred taught by black power.” Forty-three percent of MR and
58% of WM agreed with the statement, “We are first Americans, and then White, Black,
Chinese” 43% of MR disagreed with the same statement. Seventy-six percent of MR and 83% of WM disagreed with the statement, “African Americans are currently just as bad off as they were 50 years ago;” while 19% of MR and 17% of WM agreed regarding the same statement.
Seventy-one percent of MR and 92% of WM disagreed with the assertion,
“Blacks who are uncertain of their identity should not be trusted.” Sixty-seven percent of MR and 100% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I am in agreement with excluding Whites in every from the Black struggle.” Sixty-two percent of MR and
100% of WM disagreed with statement, “The only issue is racism when we speak of
Black peoples difficulties in America.” Sixty-two percent of MR and 50% of WM 97 agreed that, “Conflict among African Americans as always an unhealthy sign.”
African Self-Consciousness
The following statements are designed to access African self-consciousness of
MR and WM respondents. Statements were selected from Kobi K. K. Kambon’s (aka
Joseph S. Baldwin) “African Self Consciousness Scale. One-hundred percent of MR and
WM agreed, “African-American children should be taught that they are African people at an early age.” Eighty-six percent of MR disagreed and 50% of WM agreed with the statement, “African Americans who trust Whites in general are basically very intelligent people.” Forty-three percent of MR answered uncertain and 38% disagreed with the assertion, “White people generally speaking are not opposed to self-determination for
Black People.” Amongst WM respondents, 33% agreed, 33% disagreed, and 33% were uncertain regarding the same statement. Fifty-seven percent of MR and 92% of WM disagreed with the statement, “White images of God or Jesus and the holy family are not such bad things for Blacks to worship.”
Fifty-two percent of MR and 50% of WM agreed with the statement, “White people, generally, do not respect Black life;” however, 33%of MR and 42% of WM disagreed with the same statement. 86% of MR and 83% of WM disagreed with the assertion, “I have difficulty identifying with the culture of African people.” Eighty-one percent of MR and 75% of WM disagreed with the statement, “African is not the ancestral homeland of all Black people throughout the world.” Fifty-seven percent of
MR agreed and 83% of WM disagreed with the statement, “African culture is better for humanity than European culture.” Fifty-seven percent of MR and 58% of WM disagreed with the statement, “I don’t necessarily feel like I am being mistreated when I 98 see other Blacks being mistreated.”
Seventy-one percent of MR and 67% of WM agreed with the statement, “Racial consciousness and cultural awareness based on traditional African values are necessary to development of black marriages and families that can contribute to the liberation and enhancement of Black people in America.” Eighty-one percent of MR and 83% of WM disagreed with the statement, “There is no such thing as African culture among Blacks in
America.”
General Self-Consciousness
The following statements are intended to consider the general self-consciousness of MR and WM respondents. Questions were selected from Samuel Taylor’s book, Why
Do African Americans Call themselves the N... Word? One-hundred percent of MR and
WM disagreed with the assertion, “Since Adam and Eve were White, then all other races evolved from them.” Regarding the statement, “Whites were the first human so doesn’t that mean they are more advanced than other races?” Ninety-five percent of MR and
92% of WM respondents disagreed. Ninety percent of MR and 89% of WM disagreed with the statement, “Blacks are closer to apes and monkeys than Whites.”
Ninety-five percent of MR and 92 % of WM disagreed with the statement, “The written word was created by Whites, thus aren’t they more intelligent?” Eighty-one percent of MR and 67% of WM agreed with the assertion, “It makes no difference if
Jesus was White or Black.” Fifty-seven percent of MR and 58% of WM disagreed with the statement, “If other Blacks were like you we would not have a race problem.” Sixty seven percent of MR and 67% of WM disagreed and 29% of MR were uncertain regarding the question, “Judaism and Christianity are products of white culture so 99 shouldnt other races be grateful for their introduction to religion by Whites?” Seventy-.
six percent of MR and 75% of WM disagreed with the assertion, “African Americans
cannot progress as other groups like Jews, Asians, and Cubans.” Ninety percent of MR
and 75% of WM disagreed with the statement, “There is no White conspiracy against
Blacks?”
Revival Fire!
The following statements were selected from Statements of Belief in Revival
Fire. Fifty-two percent of MR and 67% of WM agreed with assertion, “I believe the
Bible to be the inspire, the only infallible authoritative Word of God, and that Re has
preserved it for the English speaking world in the Authorized King James Version;”
while 29% of MR and 33% of WM disagreed with the same statement. One-hundred
percent of MR and WM agreed with the statement, “I believe that there is one God, the
source, support and end of all things eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.” Fifty-two percent of MR and 83% of WM agreed with the statement, “I
believe that man is totally depraved, a sinner both by nature and practice, therefore
estranged from God, totally lost and in need of the converting and regenerating ministry
of the Roly Spirit a born again experience” and 29% of MR responded they were
uncertain. Ninety percent of MR and 100% of WM agreed with the assertion, “I believe
that life with God is the free gift of God offered to man by Ris grace and received by
personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ plus nothing.” Fifty-two percent of MR
responded uncertain while 92% of WM agreed with the assertion, “I believe and practice
both ecclesiastical and personal separation on the basis of the Word of God.” Thirty
eight percent of MR and nearly 87% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe in the 100 authority and sufficiency of the Holy Bible consisting of the 66 books of the Old and
New Testaments as originally written, that it was verbally and plenarily inspired and is the product of Spirit controlled men and therefore is infallible and inherent in all manners of which it speaks.” Regarding Revival Fire Statements of Belief, MR scored
18.88 and WM scored 21.90 points out of a possible 25.00.
Regular Baptist
The following statements were selected from Regular Baptist Articles of Faith.
Sixty-two percent of MR and 83% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Bible consisting of the sixty six books of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written, that it was verbally and plenarily inspired and is the product of Spirit controlled men and therefore is infallible and inerrant in all manners of which it speaks.”
Sixty-two percent of MR and 92% WM agreed with the statement, “I believe that man was created in innocence in the image and likeness of God under the laws of the
Maker, but by voluntary transgression Adam fell from his sinless happy state and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved and partakers of
Adams fallen nature and are sinners by nature and by conduct and therefore are under condemnation without defense or excuse.” Twenty-nine percent of MR respondents were uncertain regarding the same statement. Sixty-seven percent of MR and 75% of
WM agreed with the statement, “I believe Christianity is the one and only true religion;” however, 33% of MR and 17% of WM disagreed with the same statement.
Ninety-five percent of MR and 83% of WM agreed with the statement,
“I believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the media ional office of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Who, 101
by the appointment of the Father, voluntarily took upon himself our nature, yet without sin, and honored the divine law by his personal obedience, thus qualifying Himself to be our Savior, that by the shedding of His blood in His death He satisfied the just demands of the holy and righteous God regarding sin; that his sacrifice Consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinners place, the Just dying for the unjust. Christ the Lord bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, that having risen from the dead He is enthroned in Heaven, and uniting in His wonderful Person the tenderness sympathies with divine perfection. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable compassionate and all sufficient Savior. I believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation. Repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God, prompted by the Holy Spirit, and is an integral part of saving faith.”
MH scored 11.51 and WM scored 12.24 points out of a possible 15 regarding Regular
Baptist Articles of Faith.
New Hampshire Confession
The following statements are taken from the New Hampshire Confession. 80%
of MR and 100% of WM agreed with the affirmation,
“I believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter that revels the principles of by which God will judge us and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.”
Eighty-six percent of MH and 100% of WM agreed with the assertion,
“I believe the Scriptures teach that adoption is a gracious act, by which the Father, for the sake of Christ accepts believers to the estate and conditions of children, by a new and spiritual birth; sending the Spirit of adoption into their hearts, whereby they become members of the family of God and entitled to all rights and privileges and promises of children; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to the heritage of the saints an inheritance in heaven for them.” Regarding the New Hampshire Creed, MH scored 8.28 and WM scored 8.92 out of a possible 10. 102
Reformed Theology
The following statements were selected from Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary’s
“Statement of Faith”. 86% of MR and 100% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe God’s provision in Christ is the only ground for man’s justification, which includes pardon from sin and the gift of eternal life.” 100% of MR and WM agreed with the statement, “I believe life with God comes to man only by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ apart from all other human merit.” 57% of MR and 33% of WM were uncertain regarding the assertion, “I believe the Bible is the revealed word of God given to men who wrote without knowing that they were to become historians.”
Twenty-four percent of MR and 33% of WM agreed with the statement, “They expressed their ideas about God for their time when it was thought that God was a big man with all knowledge sitting high above a cloud. But in truth God is a spirit.” 81% of
MR and 100% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe that Christianity begins and ends with Jesus, Ris life death and resurrection. Re is the Revelation the special disclosure of God to man, revealing who God is and what Ris purpose for man is. Christ is the essence of Christianity.” Ninety-five percent of MR and 92% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe that the universal laws of God supersede all human devices for peaceful relations among men and nations and that man’s first loyalty is to God and his conscience.” Forty-eight percent of MR and 50% of WM uncertain about the assertion,
“I believe the dignity of men and the sacredness of human personality and I regard as that most enlightened steps in social progress those political teachings, which recognize these basic concepts.” Forty-three percent of MR and 50% of WM agreed with the same statement. 103
Twenty-nine percent of MR and 75% of WM agreed with the statement, “I believe the work of Christ is essentially a liberating work directed toward and by the oppressed.” Thirty-three percent of MR indicated uncertain and 38% of MR disagreed with the above referenced statement. Twenty-five percent of WM disagreed with the same statement. Fifty-seven percent of MR and 75% WM agreed with the statement, “I believe that as Jesus liberates the wretched of the earth Re also liberates those responsible for the wretchedness.” Eighty-six percent of MR and 100 % WM agreed with the statement, “My earliest exposure to the Bible was as a child.” Sixty-seven percent of MR and 42% of WM agreed with the assertion, “My earliest exposure to the
Bible was as a teenager.” Forty-three percent of MR and 83% of WM disagreed with the statement, “My earliest exposure to the Bible was as a young adult.” Ninety percent of
MR and 100% of WM agreed with the assertion, “The Bible has a great impact on my daily living.” One-hundred percent of MR and WM agreed with the statement, “I turn to the Bible for comfort, direction, and guidance.”
Seventy-six percent of MR and 100% of WM agreed with the assertion, “I remember a particular sermon preached by the pastor that inspired me.” Seventy-six percent of MR and 100% of WM agreed with the statement, “Other members of my church or family refer me to parts of the Bible for guidance and support.” One-hundred percent of MR and WM agreed with the statement, “I refer members of my church and family to parts of the Bible for guidance and support.” Eighty-six percent of MR and
100% of WM agreed with the statement, “Bible study like mission and church school greatly impact my personal Bible reading.”
Sixty-seven percent of MR and 83% of WM agreed with the statement, “My 104
views and opinions about the Bible sometimes lead to conflict with others.” 86% of MR
and 100% of WM disagreed with the statement. “I think the Bible is sometimes
oppressive” One-hundred percent of MR and WM agreed with the statement, “The
Bible is my daily guide for living.” One-hundred percent of MR and WM agreed with
the assertion, “I believe Jesus is more important than the Bible,” 57% of MR and 50%
of WM disagreed with the statement, “I believe the Bible is equal in importance to
Jesus.”
Fifty-seven percent of MR and 50% of WM disagreed with the statement “I
believe the Bible is more importance than Jesus.” Sixty-seven percent of MR and 100%
of WM disagreed with the statement, “My earliest exposure to the Bible was as an adult.” MR scored 8.58 and WM scored 9.49 out of 10.00 possible points regarding reformed theology statements.
THE MEANING
In this section consideration was given to the research responses and what we learned from the respondents. The majority of Mount Rermon and Wolverine Ministers responded the same way to approximately 80% of the statements in the research instrument. Mount Rermon and Wolverine Ministers agree 100% to the following ten statements:
o J now see that people from some groups are treated differently in this country.
• Prayer is an important aspect of my life.
• Knowing that God supports me makes me feel secure.
• Because of the involvement of God in my life peace abides within.
• African-American Children should be taught that they are African people at an I 105
early age.
• I believe that there is one God, the source, support and end of all things eternally
existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• I believe that life with God comes to man only by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ apart from all other human merit.
• I turn to the Bible for comfort, direction and guidance.
• The Bible is my daily guide for living.
• I believe that Jesus is more important than the Bible.
What Both Groups Disagreed to Unanimously
Both groups disagreed unanimously regarding three statements:
• I think that most African Americans are lazy.
• Since Adam and Eve were white, then all other races evolved from them.
o Whites were the first human so doesn’t that mean they are more advanced than
other races.
What Wolverine Ministers Agreed to Unanimously
Wolverine Ministers answered unanimously either strongly agreeing or agreeing to a total of 30 statements.
• Feel an overwhelming attachment to Black people.
• Involvement in causes that will help oppressed people.
o Believe that Blacks can be close friends with White people.
o Believe they are useful people to be around.
o Feel ideas of Blacks should be admired.
o Believe in the existence of a Supreme Being. 106
• Believe that life with God is the free gift of God offered to humankind by God’s
grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ plus nothing.
• Believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect
treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its
end, and truth without any mixture of error for it matter that revels the principles
of by which God will judge us and therefore is and shall remain to the end of the
world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all
human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
• I believe the Scriptures teach that adoption is the gracious act, by which the
Father, for the sake of Christ accepts believers to the estate and condition of
children, by a new and spiritual birth; sending the Spirit of adoption into their
hearts, whereby they become members of the family of God entitled to all rights
and privileges and promises of Children; and if children, then heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to the heritage of the saints an inheritance in heaven
for them.
• I believe Gods provision in Christ is the only ground for mans justification,
which includes pardon from sin and the gift of eternal life.
• I believe life with that Christianity begins and ends with Jesus his life death and
resurrection.
• He is the Revelation the special disclosure of God to man, revealing who God is
and what His purpose for man is.
• Christ is the essence of Christianity. e My earliest exposure to the Bible was as a child. 108
o The only issue is racism when we speak of Black people’s difficulties in America.
° I think that sometimes the Bible is oppressive.
• My earliest exposure to the Bible was as an adult.
Statements Mount Hermon Agreed With Unanimously
There were two statements that only Mount Hermon agreed to 100% the
statements were: (1) I feel that I am a person of worth and (2) I do a good job these days.
Theological Stances
The groups were asked to respond to a total of 19 theological questions selected from various Christian Articles of Faith or Statements of Belief. The statements were derived from Revival Fire Fundamentalist, Regular Baptist, National Baptist Convention
USA Inc., The New Hampshire Confession, reformed theology, black theology, and statements from the African Methodist Episcopal Social Creed.
Mount Hermon ranked its theological preferences as follows: (1) New Hampshire
Confession 83%, (2) reformed theology 82%, (3) African Methodist Episcopal Social
Creed 77%, (4) Regular Baptist 76%, (5) Revival Fire Fundamentalist72%. (6) Black theology 0.71%, and (7) National Baptist Convention USA Inc. 0.7 1%.
Wolverine Ministers ranked its theological preferences as follows: (1) reformed theology 95%, (2) The New Hampshire Confession 89%, (3) Revival Fire
Fundamentalist 87%. (4) Regular Baptist 85%. (5) African Methodist Episcopal Social
Creed 79% (6) National Baptist Convention USA Inc. 76%, and (7.) black theology
0.75%.
Two statements were selected from The New Hampshire Creed. Mount Hermon scored 83% while Wolverine Ministers scored 89%. Two statements were selected from 109 reformed theology. Mount Hermon ~~red 82% while Wolverine Ministers scored 95%.
Two statements were adopted from black theology as taught by James Cone. Mount
Hermon scored 71% while Wolverine Ministers scored 75%. Four statements were selected from the African Methodist Episcopal Social Creed. Mount Hermon scored
77% while Wolverine Ministers scored 79%.
When considering theological statement responses provided by Mount Hermon and Wolverine Ministers, MH found the greatest affinity with The New Hampshire
Confession and the least with black theology and the National Baptist Convention. WM found the greatest affinity with the reformed theology and least with black theology. In both cases participants indicated a preference for white theological language over
African-American. In reference to black theology and National Baptist Convention Inc. theological statements, Mount Hermon respondents scored black theology sixth and
National Baptist Convention doctrine statements seventh among possible choices.
Wolverine Ministers scored National Baptist Convention doctrine statements sixth and black theology seventh out of a possible seven choices. I
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Chapter V concludes this dissertation with the researcher’s summary, conclusions, discussion, follow-up, implications, and recommendation for further research focused on the “Image of God in Our Vision of Ourselves: White
Theological Racism in the Consciousness of Mount Hermon Baptist Church of Flint,
Michigan.”
SUMMARY
The goal of this endeavor was to study the theological language and practice of Mount Hermon Baptist Church (Mount Hermon). White racist theological faith language is implicit and sometimes explicit in our God talk. The congregation challenged itself by considering how they identify and reflect the biblical idea of being made in the image of God. Additionally, congregants considered our own expression of faith and consciousness of reality.
The ministry issue sought to identify potential of white theological racism in
Mount Hermon in an attempt to aid the congregation in seeing itself in the image and likeness of God without language that demeaned and/or invalidated its person-hood.
The dissertation title, “The Image of God in the Vision of Ourselves: White
Theological Racism in the Consciousness of Mount Hermon Baptist Church” encompasses a local congregation defining its identity as an African-American
Baptist church composed of working-class urban people. In other words, the
110 111
congregation wanted to know itself and desired a sharper, clearer vision of its God
given identity, self-awareness, and purpose.
Historically Mount Hermon’s doctrine and Bible theology has been based
upon fundamentalist understanding, literal interpretations, and tenaciously holding
on to traditions of Faith. However, in the African-American Baptist church, the
teaching of theology is largely in the hands of the local pastor and is therefore subject
to change when the pastor moves to another congregation. Of course there will
always congregants who reminisce on, “how we use to do it” or “it has never been
done that way before.”
Recently, the researcher heard a sermon suggest that if faith was good enough for our fore parents then it is good enough for us. When speaking of faith in this instance the researcher means the Baptist faith as it has been passed on from one generation to the next without change. The world of our fore parents was entirely different than today’s society; travel time has been cut in half and the Internet magically connects people all over the world with the touch of one button.
The researcher’s ministry project revealed that the church’s failure to evaluate its theology is a serious problem and has dire consequences for congregants.
We read and study the Bible, lift it to the highest pinnacle, almost worship; yet we are disconnected to the point that we fail to explore our practice of theology. Too often the words and thoughts of others are accepted as gospel without question or serious investigation.
Any given Sunday morning church school attendees read literature from several different publishing houses that offer their religious understanding. There is 112
no doubt that people are hungering for religious interpretations and understanding
that related to them, want to make the most out of their study time, and grow in their
relationship with the Almighty. However, in their quest to grown spiritually they
have been forced to select materials unsuited to address their particular needs.
Christians are not all the same, we are not one homogenous group; we are of many
multifaceted races and even when our skin color is the same we are uniquely
individual. Yet, as Christians, we are all made in the image of God.
The intent of this dissertation was to demonstrate the extent that racial
stereotypical understandings, literal approaches to the Bible, and other commonly
held theological positions and ethical practices in Mount Hermon paralleled those of
racist Christianity. We began by defining terms relating to the image of God. This
included understanding that we are made in the image of God, just as all of God’s
human creations, male and female. Also we defined the phrase, “in the vision of
ourselves.” This was important because are not able to see ourselves through Gods
eyes, we must look through our own eyes to learn God’s purpose in creating our
congregation as God has. Then consideration was given to white theological racism, which was found to be pro-racist and oppressive; white theological racism assists in making victims of people who are non-White.
The research survey utilized a cadre of individually selected statements from various research instruments to design a research instrument composed of Because the researcher is not a professional social scientist and the use of specific statements differs from their original intended use, the validity of the survey is not above question. Nevertheless, the instrument did provide insight about members of Mount 113
Hermons Board of Christian Education and Wolverine State Convention minister’s
personal beliefs and theologies.
The project began in August of 2001 with adult members of Mount Hermon
who assisted in all phases of the project. On an annual basis from 2001-2005,
participants during August for an intensive session and considered what it means to
be made in the image of God. In the summer of 2005, Mount Hermon participants
completed the survey and we later discussed tabulation results. Further, the
researcher became intrigued with the possibility gaining insight from ministers of the
same denomination and approached ministers during the Wolverine State Convention
retreat. They willingly completed the survey and the results are detailed in the case
study. The motivation for this study was to increase the validity, self-assurance, and
self-determination among Mount Hermon members.
CONCLUSIONS
The responses to the research survey used in this dissertation project speak volumes about Mount Hermon and its congregants. When considering the responses, we can plainly see that the congregation is positive about being what God has made it, Even though congregants have heterogeneous experiences, all share a common bond and blessing in their heritage and ethnicity; we trust one another, are proud of our skillful minds, and are not ashamed of ourselves. However, members recognize race as an advantage in America if you are White. Also, members agree that persons of differing races can also be religious even if their beliefs do not exactly mirror ours.
Members involve themselves in numerous outreach ministries and feel 1
114
comfortable engaging with all of God’s children wherever they go. Congregants
consider prayer of paramount importance, have confidence in their abilities, and see
themselves as unlimited individuals in Christ. As a church, we resist stereotyping or
hating others because of their ethnic background, sexual desires, physical strength, or
gender and try to treat others as we would like to be treated. This includes feeling
empathy for the ignorant, while feeling; we reject ideas of being inferior. Members
are open to building relationships with persons and entities that differ from them and
believe we have something to contribute towards America’s progress. Mount
Hermon members understand themselves to be neat, talented, smart, able, and
invaluable in our own right.
The church has tremendous ability and is very helpful. Members have a lot to
be proud of and many great things have been accomplished. We preserve love
within our church, families, and relationships. The congregation works hard to
support the church and their families; members are strong, trustworthy, and
unselfish. Although participants did not have extensive experience working for
African American’s they believed that it would be a good experience because we all
have good ideas to contribute towards our success as a people. As a group, the
congregation has taken to task tremendous issues such as oppression, equal
opportunity for all people, and race; although we wish these issues were not a
problem, at least congregants were willing to discuss them amongst themselves.
Mount Hermon believes there is a God in us and that Spirit helps us to better know ourselves. Members also desire to be drawn closer to God. Faith and belief in the fairness of God allows members to feel safe and secure. This belief in a Superior 115
Being sometimes translates into superstition, more often not. As a congregation, we are slow to change; however, members recognize that change in others is also slow.
Individually, members have experienced discrimination although our own oppressive behaviors are not as easily recognized. As a whole, the church now realizes that all people are not treated the same.
The researcher believes undertaking this study was helpful to Mount Hermon.
It allowed participants to see and know that despite what others may say God created a vast world full of different kinds of people; moreover, that Western civilization is not the only or best civilization. The American way is not the only way or even necessarily the best way for us to accomplish what is in our best interest as African
American people of God.
Questions about our identity require further investigation into our ancestral roots. These roots inform us from whence we came and greatly influence our present reality. Further, members realize that our vision of ourselves must be futuristic. The influence of the past is evident on the present and members are conscious that what we do today has tremendous influence on generations to come.
Time stops for no one; although we celebrate past and present accomplishments, we must work hard for an even brighter future. As a pillar in the community, the church understands that we contribute to the shape of our future.
The church must realize its full potential of being a love fellowship station where
God’s inspiration breathes fresh upon those who are architects, engineers, renovators, and innovators in our ever-changing world.
The objective is not to exchange white theology for black theology, which 116 would increase racism and prejudice; the goal is to inspire pride in our identity, heritage, and encourage education which leads to greater accomplishments for our children. As an African-American community we must claim our identity as children of God; not stepchildren, but Gods children the same as others who stem from the same Creator. The lack of a grounded identity not only affects adults, children also suffer. There are children in many African-American homes who either do not know their fathers, have been denied, or otherwise abandoned. African
American’s are expressions of God and when tomorrow comes there should be new conversations that remember yesterday and today as building blocks for the future; we cannot rest upon our past and present accomplishments nor become complacent regarding the current state of African-American America.
As a people, we are in the midst of a struggle to become who God would have us be in a world that wants to deny the essence of our person-hood. In the fields of Georgia and Tennessee our fore parents prayed for this generation long before it was reality; it is our responsibility to extend the benefit of our prayers to generations yet to come. The African-American community, church, and individuals must understand that past, present, and future generations are inextricably linked through our sense of self, therefore, it is imperative that we understand ourselves.
When we speak of the vision of ourselves we are referring to our ongoing identity struggle to define ourselves encompassing our past, present, and future. As
Christian’s we must overcome this struggle to define ourselves as children of God in the midst of this ever-changing world. 117
RECOMMENDATIONS: NEED FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND
WHAT WE CAN DO FOR OURSELVES
Both Mount Hermon and Wolverine Minister unanimously agreed that
African-American children should be taught that they are African people at an early
age. Riggins Earl, in his classic book, To You Who Teach in the Black Church,
reminds us that, “We should have some knowledge of the period of miseducation.”1
Christian education is the means that the church should use to correct past and
present fallacious information. African-American children must learn who they are
as children of God and know more about the history of their ancestors. Providing
and education of this nature will raise up spiritual warriors and perhaps make a dent
in the national crisis of Black on Black crime. Our failure to address the needs of the
smallest ones in our communities has resulted in many of our youth finding
themselves in penitentiaries or other oppressive institutions. The church must return
to ministries of the past that nourished souls of the youth such as recreational
activities, scouting, and Rights of Passage programs.
Research survey results highlight the need for pastors and ministers to dialog
more about contemporary theology. Further research needs to be done in the area of
creating an affirming theology. The African-American community, theologians, and
individuals must answer questions such as: What does it mean to be Black? What’s positive about being Black? and What does it mean to oppress? The National Baptist
Convention USA Inc. is more than 100 years old and still has no collective resource
for our doctrine or theology. While many local congregations have sought to address
‘Riggins Earl, To You Who Teach In The Black Church (Nashville: National Baptist Publishing House, 1982), 35. 118
this issue by developing materials independently, the majority of materials currently
used are outdated or otherwise do not reflect the true beliefs of those they are
intended to serve.
The researcher believes that we must commit ourselves to the following: (1)
investigate and address the issues of white theological racism and its influence on the
local church and broader community. (2) Learn to identify and recognize patterns of white theological racism in ourselves and moreover, suspect white theological racism in all relationships and interactions with others that are not characterized by understanding, cooperation, and clear thinking. (3) Re-evaluate all traditions and beliefs with understanding that white theological racism has negatively impacted current norms; thus the church has further oppressed its congregants, especially women. (4) Discard practices and beliefs that invalidate, oppress, or exploit children of God. We should learn from past mistakes so not to repeat them, (5) Commit ourselves to direct and bold action to forcefully contradict patterns of white theological racism and its resulting oppression in all parts of our existence. (6)
Continuously and fully share information, knowledge, and experiences that have been collected through our positive interaction with one another through our various gatherings. (7) Lastly, translate our progress into effective liberation activities in the larger society and worldwide. APPENDICES APPENDIX A
IMAGE OF GOD IN OUR VISION OF OURSELVES: WHITE THEOLOGICAL RACISM IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MOUNT HERMON BAPTIST CHURCH OF FLINT, MICHIGAN RESEARCH SURVEY RESULTS
1 believe being Black is a positive experience.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 14 10 Agree 5 1 Uncertain Disagree 2 1 Strongly Disagree
2. I know through experience what being Black in America means.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 7 7 Agree 9 3 Uncertain 5 Strongly Disagree 2
3. 1 believe large numbers of Blacks are untrustworthy.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 2 Uncertain 3 Disagree 9 5 Strongly Disagree 7 7
4. 1 feel an overwhelming attachment to Black people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 10 Agree 11 2 Uncertain 1 Disagree 1 Strongly Disagree 2
120 121
1. I Involve myself In causes that will help oppressed people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 10 Agree 6 2 Uncertain 3 Disagree 3 Strongly Disagree I 2. I feel comfortable wherever I am.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 3 Agree 9 2 UncertaIn 3 3 Disagree 3 3 Strongly Disagree i 3. I believe White people look and express themselves better than Black people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree I Agree I UncertaIn 3 I Disagree 9 6 Strongly Disagree 7 5 4. 1 feel uncomfortable around Black people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 2 Uncertain i Disagree 7 1 Strongly Disagree 12 8 5. I feel good about being Black, but do not limit myself to black activities.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 9 7 Agree 8 4 Uncertain i Disagree 3 1
6. I often find myself referring to White people as honkles, devils, pigs, etc. Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 4 I Uncertain 1 I Disagree I 4 Strongly Disagree 15 6 122
7. A person’s race has little to do with whether or not he/she is a good person.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 12 8 Agree 8 2 Uncertain Disagree 2 Strongly Disagree 1
8. When a person who is Black does something embarrassing in public I get embarrassed.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 3 Agree 12 4 Uncertain 1 Disagree 5 5
9. I am satisfied with myself.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 14 7 Agree 6 4 Uncertain 1 Disagree Strongly Disagree i
10. I believe that Black people can be close friends with White people
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 3 Agree 14 9 Uncertain 4
11. I can’t feel comfortable with other Black people or White people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 3 Agree 3 2 Uncertain i Disagree 10 2 Strongly Disagree 7 4
12. I am a useful person to be around
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 9 8 Agree 11 4 Uncertain 1 Disagree Strongly Disagree 123
13. I feel that I am a person of worth.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 12 5 Agree 9 6 Uncertain I
14. 1 feel that I can’t do anything right.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 Uncertain Disagree 6 3 Strongly Disagree 14 9
15. I feel that my life is not helpful.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 Uncertain Disagree 6 2 Strongly Disagree 14 10
16. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 3 Uncertain 1 Disagree 4 1 Strongly Disagree 11 11
17. As a person I do a good job these days.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 3 Agree 13 8 Uncertain 1 Disagree Strongly Disagree
18. 1 think that most African American people keep trying.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 4 Agree 10 6 Uncertain 4 2 Disagree 2 Strongly Disagree 124
19. 1 think that most African American people love their families.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 5 Agree 12 6 Uncertain 1 Disagree Strongly Disagree 1
20. I think that most African Americans are ashamed of themselves.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 10 5 Strongly Disagree 7 7
21. I think that most African Americans are lazy.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree 13 5 Strongly Disagree 8 7
22. 1 think that most African Americans neglect their families.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain 4 1 Disagree 12 6 Strongly Disagree 5 5
23. 1 think that most African Americans are lying and trifling.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 7 4 Strongly Disagree 10 8
24. I think that most African Americans are hard working.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 4 Agree 13 Uncertain 2 6 Disagree 1 2 Strongly Disagree 1 125
25. I think that most African Americans do for others.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 1 Agree 11 8 Uncertain 2 2 Disagree 4 1 Strongly Disagree 1
26. 1 think that most African Americans give up easily.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 3 2 Uncertain 6 3 Disagree 4 6 Strongly Disagree 7 1
27. I think most Blacks weak.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 Uncertain 2 Disagree 10 6 Strongly Disagree 9 5
28. 1 think that most African Americans are proud of themselves.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 2 Agree 13 8 Uncertain 2 1 Disagree 1 Strongly Disagree
29. I think that most African Americans are honest.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 1 Agree 8 10 Uncertain 9 1 Disagree 1 Strongly Disagree I 126
30. I think that most African Americans are selfish.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 3 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 12 9 Strongly Disagree 3 2
31. I think that most African Americans are strong.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 2 Agree 13 9 Uncertain 4 1 Disagree Strongly Disagree
32. People who commit hate crimes are victims of their own oppression.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 10 5 Agree 7 6 Uncertain 2 Disagree 2 1
33. I can accept all people for who they are including those who would oppress others without fear or anger.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 1 Agree 5 4 Uncertain 8 3 Disagree 6 4
34. All people have the same opportunities in this country.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 4 2 Uncertain 3 Disagree 7 4 Strongly Disagree 6 6
35. Sometimes I get tired of people complaining about racism.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 2 Agree 7 2 Uncertain 3 1 Disagree 8 5 Strongly Disagree 2 127
36. I believe that if I could fully know myself, I would know God.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 9 3 Agree 8 3 Uncertain 2 2 Disagree 1 1 Strongly Disagree 1 3
37. 1 have a sense of inner security that comes from a strong faith in a just universe.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 4 Agree 8 5 Uncertain 6 Disagree 3 3
38. My ancestors, generations to come, nature and the community are represented through me.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 2 Agree 15 9 Uncertain 3 1 Disagree 1
39. Most of my beliefs and views are similar to the ones I grew up with.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 1 Agree 13 9 Uncertain 1 1 Disagree 1 1 Strongly Disagree 1
40. True discrimination occurs only rarely in this country.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 1 Uncertain Disagree 8 4 Strongly Disagree 10 8
41. I have not been oppressed or discriminated against.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 10 4 Strongly Disagree 6 8 128
42. People in the United States are socialized to be oppressive.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 5 4 Uncertain ii 1 Disagree 4 5 Strongly Disagree 1 1
43. 1 now see that people from some groups are treated differently in this society.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 15 6 Agree 6 6 Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree
44. African Americans were born with a greater sexual desire that White people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 2 Uncertain 6 5 Disagree 6 4 Strongly Disagree 6 3
45. Racial differences explain why African Americans don’t live as long as Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 4 1 Uncertain 5 2 Disagree 7 5 Strongly Disagree 4 4
46. African Americans are born with greater physical strength and endurance than Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 8 3 Uncertain 3 4 Disagree 5 4 Strongly Disagree 3 1
47. Whites are superior to African Americans.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree Uncertain Disagree 3 2 Strongly Disagree 17 10 129
48. Genetic inferiority explains why more African Americans than Whites drop out of school.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 5 Uncertain 3 1 Disagree 6 3 Strongly Disagree 7 7
49. African Americans are born with more musical talents than Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 Agree 7 4 Uncertain 3 3 Disagree 8 3 Strongly Disagree 2
50. Blacks are just a smart as Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers StronglyAgree 15 5 Agree 5 6 Uncertain I Disagree Strongly Disagree 1
51. Blacks are mentally unable to contribute more to America’s progress.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 3 Uncertain 2 Disagree 4 3 Strongly Disagree 12 9
52. Race is an important factor in explaining why Whites have succeeded more than Blacks.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 3 Agree 11 4 Uncertain 2 Disagree 2 1 Strongly Disagree 4 4
53. The Black man’s body is more skillful than his mind.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 Uncertain 2 1 Disagree 12 2 Strongly Disagree 6 9 130
54. The large number of Blacks addicted to hard drugs suggests a form of biological weakness.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 4 1 Uncertain 1 Disagree 10 1 Strongly Disagree 6 10
55. African Americans are superstitious.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 5 2 Uncertain 6 4 Disagree 9 5 Strongly Disagree 1
56. It is easy to work for an African American.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 3 Agree 3 3 Uncertain 7 1 Disagree 9 5 Strongly Disagree 1
57. The ideas of African Americans are to be admired.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 4 Agree 12 8 Uncertain 3 Disagree 3 Strongly Disagree
58. African Americans are more religious than Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 2 Agree 6 1 Uncertain 8 Disagree 3 7 Strongly Disagree 2
59. African Americans are sloppier than Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree Uncertain 2 Disagree 10 5 Strongly Disagree 8 7 131
60. African Americans are carefree, happy go lucky.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 1 Agree 7 2 Uncertain 5 2 Disagree 7 7 Strongly Disagree 1
61. 1 believe in the existence a supreme being.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 12 10 Agree 7 2 Uncertain 2 Disagree Strongly Disagree
62. Prayer is an important aspect of my life.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 14 10 Agree 7 2 Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree
63. Fasting is not a method I find useful for drawing close to God.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 3 3 Uncertain 5 Disagree 9 3 Strongly Disagree 3 6
64. Knowing that God supports me makes me feel secure.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers StronglyAgree 11 9 Agree 10 3 Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree
65. I believe in miracles.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 12 9 Agree 9 2 Uncertain 1 Disagree Strongly Disagree 132
6& I am not able to keep my patience in most challenging situations. Mount Hermon Wolverine MinIsters Strongly Agree I Agree 11 Uncertain I DIsagree 8 8 Strongly DIsagree I 3 67. Because of involvement of God in my life, peace abides within. Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 11 9 Agree 10 3 Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree
6& Blacks should be loyal to this country in every respect Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers StronglyAgree 2 2 Agree 5 6 UncertaIn 7 3 Disagree 6 1 Strongly Disagree I 69. There Is too much race hatred aught by black power. Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree I Agree 10 5 Uncertain 6 DIsagree 3 5 Strongly Disagree 2 1
70. Wean first Americans, and then White, Black, Chinese, eta Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers StronglyAgree 4 1 Agree 5 6 Uncertain 3 Disagree 8 2 Strongly Disagree 1 3
71. AfrIcan Americans are currently just as bad off as they were 50 years aga Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 2 2 Uncertain I Disagree 13 9 Strongly Disagree 3 1 133
72. Blacks who are uncertain of their identity should not be trusted.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Agree 3 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 14 8 Strongly Disagree 1 3
73. I am in agreement with excluding Whites in every from the black struggle.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 3 Uncertain 4 Disagree 13 5 Strongly Disagree 1 7
74. The only issue is racism when we speak of Black people’s difficulties in America.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Agree 3 Uncertain 5 Disagree 11 7 Strongly Disagree 2 5
75. Conflict among African Americans is always an unhealthy sign.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 3 Agree 8 3 Uncertain 3 1 Disagree 4 4 Strongly Disagree 1 1
76. African-American children should be taught that they are African people at an early age.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 6 Agree 15 6
77. African Americans who trust Whites in general are basically very intelligent people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 2 5 Uncertain 1 3 Disagree 14 2 Strongly Disagree 4 1 134
78. White people, generally speaking are not opposed to self-determination for Black people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 3 4 Uncertain 9 4 Disagree 7 3 Strongly Disagree 1 1
79. White images of God or Jesus and the holy family are not such bad things for Blacks to worship.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 2 Uncertain 5 1 Disagree 8 7 Strongly Disagree 4 4
80. White people, generally, do not respect black life.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 11 3 Uncertain 3 3 Disagree 6 1 Strongly Disagree 1 5
81. I have difficulty identifying with the culture of African people.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 2 Uncertain 1 1 Disagree 12 5 Strongly Disagree 6 5
82. Africa is not the ancestral homeland of all Black people throughout the world.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 3 1 Uncertain 2 Disagree 10 5 Strongly Disagree 7 4
83. African culture is better for humanity than European culture.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 1 Agree 9 1 Uncertain 4 7 Disagree 5 3 Strongly Disagree 135
84. 1 don’t necessarily feel like I am being mistreated when I see other Blacks being mistreated.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 2 Agree 6 2 Uncertain 2 1 Disagree 7 3 Strongly Disagree 5 4
85. Racial consciousness and cultural awareness based on traditional African values are necessary to development of Black marriages and families that can contribute to the liberation and enhancement of Black people in America.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 5 Agree 13 3 Uncertain 5 1 Disagree 1 3
86. There is no such thing as African culture among Blacks in America.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 1 1 Uncertain 3 1 Disagree 12 4 Strongly Disagree 5 6
87. Since Adam and Eve were White, then all other races evolved from them, so doesn’t that mean they are more advanced than other races?
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree Uncertain Disagree 8 2 Strongly Disagree 13 10
88. Aren’t Blacks closer to apes and monkeys than Whites?
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 1 Uncertain Disagree 5 1 Strongly Disagree 15 10
89. The written word was created by Whites, thus aren’t they more intelligent?
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 1 Uncertain Disagree 4 3 Strongly Disagree 16 8 136
90. It makes no difference if Jesus was White or Black.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 5 Agree 11 3 Uncertain 1 Disagree 2 2 Strongly Disagree 1 2
91. If other Blacks were like yourself, we would not have a race problem.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 1 Agree 4 2 Uncertain 4 2 Disagree 11 6 Strongly Disagree 1 1
92. Judaism and Christianity are products of white culture so other races be grateful for their introduction to religion by Whites.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 1 Agree 1 Uncertain 6 2 Disagree 9 5 Strongly Disagree 5 3
93. African Americans cannot progress as other groups like Jews, Asians, and Cubans.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 1 Agree 4 Uncertain Disagree 8 3 Strongly Disagree 8 8
94. There is no White conspiracy against Blacks.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 1 Agree 1 2 Uncertain 1 Disagree 13 6 Strongly Disagree 6 3
95. I believe the Bible to be the inspire, the only infallible authoritative Word of God, and that He has preserved it for the English speaking world in the Authorized King James Version.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 5 Agree 6 3 Uncertain 4 Disagree 6 4 137
9& ~ three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 14 8 Agree 7 4 97. I believe that man Is totally depraved, a sinner both by natnre and practice, therefore estranged from God, totally lost and In need of the converting and regenerating ministry of the Holy Spirit-a born again experience.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 8 Agree 7 2 UncertaIn 6 DIsagree 3 2 Strongly Disagree I 98. I believe that life with God Is the free gift of God offered to man by His grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ plus nothing.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers StronglyAgree 7 10 Agree 12 2 Uncertain i Disagree i 99. 1 believe and practice both ecclesiastical and personal separation on the basis of the Word of Goi
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 6 Agree 6 5 UncertaIn ii Disagree 2 1 100. 1 believe in the anthority and snificlency of the Holy Bible consisting of the sixty six books of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written, that It was verbally and plenarily inspired and is the product of Spirit controlled men and therefore is infallible and inerrant in all manners ofwhich It speaks.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 7 Agree 8 3 UncertaIn 6 1 Disagree 2 1 138
101. 1 believe that man was created in innocence in the image and likeness of God under the laws of the Maker, but by voluntary transgression Adam fell from his sinless happy state and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved and partakers of Adam’s fallen nature and are sinners by nature and by conduct and therefore are under condemnation without defense or excuse.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 6 Agree 11 5 Uncertain Disagree 6 1 Strongly Disagree 2
102. I believe Christianity is the one and only religion.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 7 4 Agree 7 5 Uncertain I Disagree 5 1 Strongly Disagree 2 1
103. I believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the mediational office of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Who, by the appointment of the Father, voluntarily took upon himself our nature, yet without sin, and honored the divine law by his personal obedience, thus qualifying Himself to be our Savior, that by the shedding of His blood in His death He satisfied the just demands of the holy and righteous God regarding sin; that his sacrifice consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinners place, the Just dying for the unjust. Christ the Lord bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, that having risen from the dead He is enthroned in Heaven, and uniting in His wonderful Person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable compassionate and all sufficient Savior. I believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation. Repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God, prompted by the Holy Spirit, and is an integral part of saving faith.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 12 7 Agree 8 3 Uncertain 1 2
104. I believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter that revels the principles of by which God will judge us and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 7 4 Agree 10 8 Uncertain 3 Strongly Disagree 1 139
105. I believe the Scriptures teach that adoption is a gracious act, by which the Father, for the sake of Christ accepts believers to the estate and conditions of children, by a new and spiritual birth; sending the Spirit of adoption into their hearts, whereby they become members of the family of God and entitled to all rights and privileges and promises of children; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to the heritage of the saints an inheritance in heaven for them.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 9 7 Agree 9 5 Uncertain 2 Disagree Strongly Disagree 1
106. I believe God’s provision in Christ is the only ground for man’s justification, which includes pardon from sin and the gift of eternal life.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 10 Agree 10 2 Uncertain 2 Disagree 1
107. I believe life with God comes to man only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ apart from all other human merit.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 10 8 Agree 11 4
108. I believe the Bible is the revealed word of God given to men who write without knowing that they were to become historians. They expressed their ideas about God for their time when it was thought that God was a big man with all knowledge sitting high above a cloud. But in truth God is a spirit.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Agree 5 4 Uncertain 12 4 Disagree 4 3 Strongly Disagree I
109. I believe that Christianity begins and ends with Jesus, His life death and resurrection. He is the Revelation the special disclosure of God to man, revealing who God is and what His purpose for man is. Christ is the essence of Christianity.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 8 Agree 9 4 Uncertain 4 140
110. I believe that the universal laws of God supersede all human devices for peaceful relations among men and nations and that man’s first loyalty is to God and his conscience.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 4 Agree 12 7 Uncertain 1 1
111. I believe the dignity of men and the sacredness of human personality and I regard as that most enlightened steps in social progress those political teachings, which recognize these basic concepts.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 3 Agree 5 3 Uncertain 10 6 Disagree 2 Strongly Disagree
112. I believe the work of Christ is essentially a liberating work directed toward and by the oppressed.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 2 Agree 2 7 Uncertain 7 3 Disagree 8
113. 1 believe that as Jesus liberates the wretched of the earth he also liberates those responsible for the wretchedness.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 4 2 Agree 8 7 Uncertain 8 2 Disagree 1 1
114. My earliest exposure to the Bible was as a child.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 9 7 Agree 9 5 Uncertain 3 Disagree
115. My earliest exposure to the Bible was as a teenager.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 2 Agree 9 3 Uncertain 1 Disagree 4 4 Strongly Disagree 2 3 116. My earliest exposure to the Bible was as a young adult.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 1 Agree 6 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 6 3 Strongly Disagree 3 7
117. The Bible e has a great impact on my daily living.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 11 5 Agree 8 7 Uncertain 2
118. I turn to the Bible for comfort, direction, and guidance.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers StronglyAgree 11 8 Agree 10 4
119. I remember a particular sermon preached by the pastor that inspired me.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 7 10 Agree 9 2 Uncertain 5
120. Other members of my church or family refer me to parts of the Bible for guidance and support.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree Agree 16 12 Uncertain Disagree 5 Strongly Disagree
121. I refer members of my church and family to parts of the Bible for guidance and support.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 7 8 Agree 13 4 Uncertain Disagree I Strongly Disagree 122. Bible study like mission and church school greatly impact my personal Bible reading.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 9 Agree 12 3 Uncertain 2 Disagree 1
123. My views and opinions about the Bible sometimes lead to conflict with others.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 5 Agree 13 5 Uncertain 1 2 Disagree 7 Strongly Disagree
124. I think the Bible is sometimes oppressive.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 Agree Uncertain Disagree 15 10 Strongly Disagree 3 2
125. The Bible is my daily guide for living.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 8 Agree 13 4
126. 1 believe Jesus is more important than the Bible.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 8 8 Agree 13 4
127. I believe the Bible is equal in importance to Jesus.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 6 4 Agree 3 2 Uncertain Disagree 12 Strongly Disagree 6
128. I believe the Bible is more importance than Jesus.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 2 Agree 2 1 Uncertain 3 Disagree 6 8 Strongly Disagree 8 3 129. My earliest exposure to the Bible was as an adult.
Mount Hermon Wolverine Ministers Strongly Agree 3 Agree 4 Uncertain Disagree 5 2 Strongly Disagree 9 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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