Graven Images: Racist Fundamentalist Churches of America

American Digest ^ | March 17, 2008 | Gerard Van der Leun

[Islander7]

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We're told, over and over, that Christian Fundamentalism is the single greatest threat to the American way of life; that it is, among many other evils, a breeding ground for race hate. We are reminded of the virtual descendants of Simon Legree among the Baptist Republicans of the Caucasian persuasion. We are harangued without end about their ceaseless lust for power. Baptist Democrats, it would seem, possess a "Get Out of Racism Free" card. Not because of their religious belief, but because of their party affiliation. It is a strange religion where sanctity is determined by politics and not by faith, but that seems to be the case.

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I've been church shopping on and off for several years. During that time I've attended more than three dozen churches whose congregations could be considered Fundamentalist.

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From my direct observation, these Christian Fundamentalist churches have all -- every single one -- had congregations composed of all the races. From my auditing of the sermons I have never, not once, heard a message of race hate preached. Neither have I heard race hate promoted in the social meetings after. Not one single time, not even in the whitest of congregations. I have never, not for one instant, felt anything coming from these meetings that is anything other than embracing tolerance and Christian love for mankind. I have never, not for one instant, detected a whiff of bigotry or of anti-Semitism in these gatherings.

[Islander7]

What has also become clear to me -- what has been a revelation to me -- in the last week is that you do find racism embedded in some Christian Fundamentalist churches; churches whose congregation is almost strictly African-American.

[DB]

I don’t think they are “Christian”. In fact I think they are the opposite. They boil down to a cult of common hate and personality.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

Ya think.... < /sarc>

It is not just the churches. Schools, local government, etc... As soon as you allow the Afro-Nazis (Ethno-Race-Oppertunist-MeMeMe-Oppertunists-Mugabe’ists) to take control you have racial strife.

[Islander7]

I agree, but they hide behind the label of Christian. The kooks from Westboro ‘Baptist’ church who protest soldier’s funerals are of the same ilk.

[GodGunsGuts]

...

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

There is no diff between Sharpton or Mugabe and the Douche bag from the Westboro church.

[joebuck]

This is a very good article, well thought out and not afraid to tell it like it is but from a Christian perspective. I strongly recommend going to the source and reading the entire piece as the excertps don’t do it justice.

[Fzob]

It was like watching people letting themselves be hypnotized for the greater glory not of Christ but of men. It was like watching a generation willing to continue their enslavement to a self-imposed definition of inferiority rather than rise up in the liberation of truth faith and equality. I saw not a hunger for the glory of God, but a thirsting after the glory of a race to the detriment of all others. How weak, I thought, and how shameful. A Christ triumphant would drive these race hustlers from His temple.

Amen

[RushLake]

I don't think his assertion that Baptist Democrats, it would seem, possess a "Get Out of Racism Free Card" is accurate. Having spent a fair amount of time in a Baptist Church, my observation that some Democrats in the congregation are racist, but they play the "saved" card at least in their own mind when the circumstances require. I think its the same thing when it comes to abortion, homosexuality, and rendering unto Caesar more than that which is Caesar's. The preachers I am familiar with do not preach racism as this writer points out.

I have heard a woman identified as Lorain calling Rush and Sean Hannity in the last few days. She is Lorain X to Rush. She identifies herself as an ahyphena christian (I refuse to enoble her as a large C Christian, she is not). Her call to Hannity yesterday was interesting. She was thanking him, Rush, and the other talkers for highlighting the Reverund Jeremiah Wrong because it points out the racism among whites. What I took from her call was, if she is any indication, ahyphenas are frightened because they have been found out, and now they have to go on defense. I hope this topic can be expanded upon and kept alive for a long time. Ahyphena racism against whites has been swept under the carpet for way too long, the statement that ahyphenas cannot be racist is pure undiluted crap.

[TigersEye]

Like all leftism it’s founded in a culture of victimhood. I’m not a Christian but I sincerely doubt that Jesus taught anyone that they should play on the problems they have had in life as a way to elevate themselves or to try to illicit guilt and sympathy from others. The “turn the other cheek” advice seems to me to be just the opposite.

[libs_kma]

"I don’t think they are “Christian”. In fact I think they are the opposite. They boil down to a cult of common hate and personality."

They are Christian like the ACLU is pro-American and the Fairness doctrine is fair.

[ought-six]

It is coming as a shock to many that blacks can be racist to the core, and, in fact, such racism and hatred is institutionalized.

I saw this first hand. I lived in New Orleans for many years. New Orleans city government was overwhelmingly black. Both my wife and I were often treated like sh!t whenever we had to deal with the city government.

[RU88]

This has been taking place for quite some time now and has really only come to light because of Obama’s candidacy. From listening to some of these sermons it becomes clear that they do not view their beliefs as racist but rather do to some preconceived notion of institutional discrimination they feel a certain entitlement to these opinions. Everything that does not go their way is viewed in this prism. These views become mutually supportive when they are heard from the pulpit every Sunday morning. All you have to do is substitute the word black for white in these sermons to understand my point. Any white preacher would be drummed out of town on this ear.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

They are black separatist organizations masquerading as churches, and getting the benefits and privileges accorded to churches. They are breeding grounds for hatred for the country and a culture of gittin over on Whitey.

[Traianus]

In effect nowadays the MOST ANTI-RACIST CHURCH is RCC....
Look to THE SACRUM COLLEGIUM in ROME....To have an IDEA

[Enterprise]

Remember that the Revrunt Wright and his crowd are among the "Walkin' 'round money" groups that the Democrats just love - or used to - because it helped promote political "loyalty." Liberalism is a cross between a cult and mental illness. Revrunt Wright and his flock are just another strain of this dysfunctional group. And yes, cult is appropriate. Very!

It is long past time for the vile nature of Wright and his fellow hate whitey churches to be exposed. For decades he and his fellow haters have enjoyed a huge comfortable hypocrisy. They have been allowed unlimited opportunity to gleefully point at others and accuse them of racism and bigotry, and all this time, they themselves have wallowed in it in the name of religion. They are Democrats.

[stayathomemom]

I was going to post the same quote from the article. They are practicing idolatry. Their god is their race.

[holden]

I came face-to-face with similar black-on-white racism when I visited some friends in Jackson, MS a number of years ago. A simple visit to a Dairy Queen jumped straight out of a nightmare. The three or four of us were the only whites, and though several blacks arrived after we did, the staff behind the counter pointedly served every black in the place before they would recognize our presence.

It clearly was unadulterated hate in action. Knowing they would not be held to account "gave their hatred wings." No brand of Christianity I know of preaches an acceptability of unaccountable sin, nor excuses willful, on-going sin.

HF

[Albion Wilde]

I am sensible, as I write the above, that such beliefs and behaviors are not true of the majority of African-American Fundamentalist Churches. And I pray that that is true. At the same time, I am not at all convinced that Reverend Wright's church is a single anomaly, a one-off. There are, I am certain, others. But since, given the nature of such churches, their doors are closed to me, I cannot get a real sense of how big a fraction of the churches they represent. I can only hope they are not many.

Before the racial progress in the late 60s onward, I heard not race prejudice, but anti-Catholic prejudice, in our majority-white Methodist Church here in suburban Maryland when I was young; but my parents would explain to me when we got home that the minister's daughter had run off with a Catholic, and therefore he was irrationally prejudiced. My parents were not overly analytical and certainly not "progressive"; this was just a clarification of our expected Christian values.

Maryland now is very multi-cultural, and over one-third of the state is African-Americans. True, they tend to be concentrated around DC and Baltimore; but it has been my privilege to visit several majority-black (97-99%) congregations and be welcomed very graciously, and to hear very inspiring sermons with deep Bible scholarship.

That said, I did hang out at one congregation for over a year, but the excellent pastor/teacher refused to answer over ten attempts at making an appointment with him. Finally after I cornered him and asked why, he revealed his not wanting to discuss my volunteer work on behalf of traditional marriage, because it was being conducted by Republicans in this state.

I moved on, but have retained several vital friendships with five other prayer warriors I met there, older women with whom we can talk freely about racial dynamics, always with an eye to turning over all situations to God. We have all lived through the terrible times of segregation, civil rights legislation and social progress to correct a great Christian wrong, and it is wonderful to be friends who help and support each other as Christians.