Posted on 04/03/2018 8:42:17 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
NBC News received much backlash on social media after it published an op-ed on Easter Sunday that contended that the Christian faith is being used to "prop up" white supremacy.
As Christians across the world celebrated the resurrection of Christ on Sunday, NBC News published an op-ed written by Christian author Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, titled "Christians must remember how easily and often our faith is used to defend white supremacy."
"As a white evangelical in America, I can't celebrate Easter in 2018 without working to reclaim the concept of redemption," a subheading for the article states.
Wilson-Hartgrove, who authored the 2018 book Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom From Slaveholder Religion, warned that Christians must "reclaim redemption from those who would use it to prop up white nationalism and bigotry."
Although faith played a major role for abolitionist and civil rights heroes throughout United States history such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass, Wilson-Hartgrove explained that history shows that stories of faith have also been used for "evil in our world."
"Any serious attempt to grapple with American history must acknowledge that faith has played a role on both sides of our major struggles — among the abolitionists and the defenders of slavery in the 19th century; among civil rights activists and segregationists in the 1950s and 1960s," Wilson-Hartgrove wrote.
In his op-ed, Hartgrove mentioned the Colfax Massacre of 1873, where over 150 black men were killed by southern White Democrats in Colfax, Louisiana. Wilson-Hartgrove stated that the Christian "redemption narrative" was pushed during the 1876 election to capitalize on white fear in an effort to suppress black political power.Wilson-Hartgrove continued by arguing that "Christianity's redemption narrative" is being "deployed again toward disparate visions of what kind of nation America should become."
"As a white evangelical in this land, I can't celebrate Easter in 2018 without working to reclaim the concept of redemption from the forces that attempt to use my faith and its founding stories to defend white supremacy," Wilson-Hartgrove claimed as he railed on white evangelicals for supporting President Donald Trump in large numbers during the 2016 election.
"Trump's own slogan — 'Make America Great Again' — is a redemption story in a nutshell. It assumes a fall from which must now be saved. It may be tempting for some to point to 2008 and hang this white anxiety on America's first black president. But Barack Obama, as a person, remains too popular among all Americans for this theory to be true," Wilson-Hartgrove added. "No, the redemption narrative that gave us Trump is not so much about Obama as it is about the black, brown and younger white coalition that made Obama's presidency possible."
American political writer and editor of Commentary magazine John Podhoretz also responded to the op-ed in a tweet.
"Yes this is the perfect Easter oped. Good work, NBC Think. Or should I call you NBC Schmuck?" Podhoretz wrote.
Popular Fox News Todd Starnes columnist called the Wilson-Hartgrove op-ed "low even for the Christ-haters at @NBCNews."
Caleb Howe, editor-in-chief of the conservative political blog Red State, seemed to imply a double standard in NBC News' coverage of Easter versus that of its coverage of the Muslim holy month.
"[M]an I can't wait to see what you're supposed to remember on Ramadan," he wrote in a retweet of the op-ed.
It should be noted that many white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in 2016 after supporting other presidential candidates in the Republican primary election.
Faced with the realistic choice of Democrat and staunch late-term abortion supporter Hillary Clinton or Trump (who promised to appoint pro-life justices and protect religious freedom), many evangelicals voted for Trump for political reasons, not racial.
The hatred against Christianity is real. Believe it. They’ll murder Christians again by the thousands when they get the chance.
And Islam is used to prop up those killing fanatics in the name of ROP.
So Black congregations around the World are just pawns of Whitey? Right.
There is nothing in the Christian faith that supports supremacy of ANY skin color. Any who use it as such is corrupting Christ’s message, His life, death, and resurrection. As such, it is heresy.
Yeah, I suppose I really should free my slaves. Especially since there’s not much cotton to pick in my neck of the woods.
The MSM is determined to convince people that it's cool to slander Christians (of all races).
The newest attack on Western Culture strikes at white Christians... Watch for more of this style of hate - it’s coming.
The hidden Leftist end game pops up every so often:
BANISH CHRISTIANITY, THE BIBLE, PRAYER, AND ANY MENTION OF THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The Left is driven by the spirit of antichrist.
How come we seldom see “Op Eds” that question liberal holy grails?
Only a matter of time until “white” is promoted as inherently racist. I just wonder if white people will be stupid enough believe it.
Southern blacks are very religious. It’s racist to claim otherwise.
Christianity STOMPED out slavery. From the Roman Empire, thru Africa, thru Asia.
Yes, in the four thousand plus years of human slavery, Christian nations did join the evil bandwagon for a few hundred years (after the slave trading Moors were kicked out of Europe, the Europeans apparently decided it was ‘ok’ to reciprocate), but then they came to their senses and fought the primarily Islamic slave trade. Slavery exists today in Islamic countries because slavery is allowed in Sharia law (Mohammad had slaves, so slaves are ‘ok’). This guy should write a book about slavery and Islam (slavery Today) if he really cares.
Well I just looked at NBC’s lineup and realized that I can’t tune them out in response because..................I already don’t watch any of the crap they air, including so called news.
In a sane world, there would be mass firings of all involved in this public relations blunder.
Everyone is allowed to have their cultures preserved except whites.
Christianity is the only reason anything other than “white” still exists on this planet.
As far as we know, Jesus did not have white skin. So why would a “white Christian racist” call Him their Lord and Savior?
Too many people (many of whom are in the media) suffer from Chronic Perceived Racism Syndrome (CPRS).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.