The Jesus Take - Black Christians oh so much more than White
Christians
I've thought about the role of Christ and
salvation in the African-American communities and in Caucasian communities for a
lot of years. Watching this current coup by the religious right reinforced my
believe that faith and salvation in the black communities is more often a force
for good and in white communities it is increasingly a force for evil
(in the parlance of the
president).
In African-American communities, Christian faith
tends to be inward looking - focused on self, on family, and on one's own
community. While Christian faith in Caucasian communities tends to be focused
outward - used to exclude, to judge, to divide (not by works
indeed!)
I think this it is best
encapsulated by phrases commonly used by adherents in both
communities:
A common saying of African
American Christians: I'm
blessed.
A common saying of
Caucasian Christians: I'm
chosen.