Anti-racism

Review: The Anti-Greed Gospel

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Cover image of "The Anti-Greed Gospel" by Malcolm Foley

The Anti-Greed Gospel, Malcolm Foley. Brazos Press (ISBN: 9781587436307) 2025.

Summary: Argues that greed is the root of racism and calls the church to economic solidarity, anti-violence, and truth-telling.

We often think that hate and ignorance are at the root of racism. And certainly we can come up with examples of hate and ignorance. But Malcolm Foley argues in The Anti-Greed Gospel that the love of money is the root of the evil of racism. He shows how racism both arose and persisted after the abolition of slavery for economic reasons. The effort to subject one people by another was first and foremost about economic advantage.

Foley introduces his argument through showing that economic reasons (coveting) led to breaking other commands of God including bearing false witness, theft, and murder. He shows how unfettered capitalism and racism are intertwined in the economic growth of our nation through slavery. Then in post-reconstruction America, he traces the rise of lynching as a tool of economic subjugation. He argues that the tendrils of greed that eventuate in lynching undermined the witness of Christians like Francis Grimke and Atticus Haygood. The former eventually embraced violent resistance; the latter a kind of cynical paternalism. By contrast, he offers the example of Ida B. Wells, whose truth-telling exposed the roots of racialized greed and whose resistance sought justice through legal means.

The example of Wells provides the transition to the second part of Foley’s argument. He explores what the church can do. First, he argues for economic solidarity between Christians across racial lines such that we strive toward the Acts ideal of “no needy among us.” Then he contends for love rather than violence as we seek remedies for greed. For example, love resists practices like property appraisals that keep people in poverty. Love also opposes wars, which often rely upon minorities disproportionately to fight the battles while draining resources from domestic programs. Thirdly, he argues for prophetic truth-telling amid the culture of racial lies. Finally, he stresses the importance of creativity as we cast vision for a kingdom that is not of this world.

First for one criticism. Indisputably, in the American context, greed found expression through a form of racist capitalism. But I would argue that greed is an evil that finds expression in every economic system. In every economic system we can see classes or racial groups who are exploited for the economic gain of others. What this demonstrates is that Foley’s thesis that racism is rooted in greed has cross-cultural validity. I wonder if the association of “racialized capitalism” throughout the book weakens the focus on the root cause of greed.

That said, Foley’s thesis helps explain the persistence of racism. It also clarifies both the danger to the church of the “tendrils” of greed upon its life and the way it addresses racism. It is more than just relationships across racial lines. Whether society follows or not, finding ways to express economic solidarity, practice loving resistance, and engage in prophetic truth telling are more substantive alternatives than saying “let’s be friends.” It also seems to me that the challenge of creativity is to transcend our polarities and political binaries while not losing contact with earthly realities. We need to cast alternative visions people understand and find compelling.

Malcolm Foley is a young leader who is a scholar-pastor, and well-positioned to implement the recommendations he makes in this book. I look forward to hearing more from him!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Woke: An Evangelical Guide

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Cover image of "Woke' by John G. Stackhouse, Jr

Woke: An Evangelical Guide, John G. Stackhouse, Jr. THINKBETTER Media (ISBN:
9781738098316) 2024.

Summary: A brief and balanced introduction and response to the terminology associated with being “woke.”

Our contemporary political discourse throws around variety of terms, often as epithets, including Critical Race Theory, socialism, liberalism and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Often these come under the umbrella of the culture of “woke.” Often the use of these terms initially had a positive association. For Blacks, in particular, it meant being awake to systems of injustice, often identified by Critical Race Theorists, allowing them to advocate remedies for those injustices. But they have increasingly been used pejoratively by those pushing back against what they perceive as self-righteous excesses.

Historian John G. Stackhouse, Jr. argues that often those who throw around the terms don’t understand the ideas behind them and certainly do not understand the terms as those who originated them do. In this book, he offers a concise guide that seeks to define various terms associated with “wokeness,” assessing both the commendable aspects of the ideas behind the terms as well as the aspects in need of critique. He writes as an evangelical for evangelicals and observes that evangelicals should be familiar with turning good terms into epithets. Whereas many who self-identify as “evangelical” understand the term as meaning “gospel-centered,” in contemporary parlance the term means “religious political conservatives” or something even more derogatory.

The first part of the book takes seven terms, and defines and offers a balanced appraisal of the significance of each. They are: postmodernity; critical theory; liberalism, socialism, and communism; diversity, equity, and inclusion; critical race theory, anti-racism, and political correctness. For example, on its face, anti-racism seems to make sense. Racism does need to be actively opposed. Furthermore, there is good evidence through our history that racism is baked into our societal institutions in ways that advantage whites. To not recognize, and act against this is to collude with the system. Where pushback occurs is in the extreme assumption that if you are white, you are irredeemably racist and there seems to be no way to move forward. As you can see, Stackhouse says uncomfortable things for both those who are on “conservative” and progressive ends of the spectrum.

The second part moves from understanding and critical appraisal to engagement. For example, with regard to “liberal politics” he would observe that liberal politics doesn’t equal liberal Christianity. Often, it is associated with liberty and justice for all, including those on the margins, values consonant with biblical Christianity, while drawing the line art true communism. Likewise, the Christian doctrine of total depravity would expect the pervasive influence of sin in systems and structures as well as individual lives, mirroring Critical Race Theory. We can embrace calls for action against these things while drawing the line at coercive or censoring actions.

As for diversity, equity and inclusion, it would be distinctly un-Christian to support sameness, unfairness, and exclusion. But our efforts shouldn’t result in segmentation rather than community, complaint instead of justice, or grievance instead of reconciliation. Finally, Stackhouse notes a shift from the relativism of post-modernity to a “new moralism” in which different “tribes” have their truth of which they are convinced and willing to go to war over. This calls for great skill and creativity and integrity in relating the gospel, which Stackhouse calls “the Big Story.”

As I’ve contended elsewhere, Stackhouse is advocating that we be “third way people” who do not join the partisans on either side but rather become bridgebuilders and reconcilers. To do this means to understand both the language of one and the critiques of the other. It means weighing all things by the scriptures and finding common ground wherever we can with our calling as kingdom people. As one who stands between, Stackhouse may find criticism from both sides. And that might be an interesting conversation if they hear and understand each other.

[Note: It came to my attention after posting this review that the author was discharged from his position at Crandall University in November of 2023 for inappropriate conduct toward students including inappropriate jokes, behavior, and treatment and an email exchange that amounted to sexual harassment. There was a pattern of similar complaints to his previous employer. I do not usually check the reputation of authors of books, preferring to allow the book to speak for itself. But after becoming aware of this information, I felt it necessary to disclose it so you can take it into consideration in deciding to read the book. There has been too much covering up of this kind of thing in Christian circles, protecting perpetrators to the harm of victims. An article (no paywall) was published in Christianity Today on the author that discusses both the allegations and his attorney’s response if you wish to learn more.]

Review: Faithful Antiracism

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Faithful Antiracism, Christina Barland Edmondson and Chad Brennan, foreword by Korie Little Edwards and Michael O. Emerson. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022.

Summary: Drawing upon the Race, Religion, and Justice Project, offers biblical and practical recommendations to engage racism personally and with one’s faith community.

The resurgence of white supremacy movements, police-involved shootings or other measures resulting in the deaths of a disproportionate number of Blacks, and efforts to suppress the history of slavery and racism in our country is, to be frank, discouraging. With the election of the first Black president, many of us had hopes that we had turned a corner in our racial history.

This book is one both of realism, rooted in the recent research findings of the Race, Religion, and Justice Project, and hope, rooted in the scriptures and the God in whom we trust. Indeed, the title, Faithful Antiracism, is a ringing challenge both to trust God and keep showing up to work against the forces that sustain racism.

The authors both come from long experiences of working with churches and other organizations in developing policies and practices fostering greater racial equity in their midst and greater effectiveness in addressing racism in society. Chad directed the Race, Religion, and Justice Project that studied the racial dynamics in U.S. Christianity, interviewing 115 leaders and experts, and involving 119 congregations with 3260 congregants. They also use research from Renew Partnerships Campus Climate Survey and Barna Research.

The first chapter of the group shares some of their research findings. It turns out that Christians often have less accurate racial views and are less motivated to address racial injustice. They attribute this to a “cultural toolkit” that emphasizes accountable freewill individualism, relationalism, and antistructuralism that hinder recognizing societal and economic differences, and embedded structures that account for disparities in things such as household wealth by race.

They then turn to scripture showing the structures of racial hostility evident in Ephesians 2 and the significance of the work of Christ in bringing both peace and justice. They survey the concerns of the prophets regarding the unjust structures in Israelite society that oppressed the poor. They note that while Christians attest to being committed to scripture, this is often qualified by the talking points of political culture which takes precedence. They elaborate a variety of principles that apply to racial justice from denunciations of greed, to making things right when we’ve benefited from unjust racial hierarchies. They then turn to biblical and historical figures who stood for justice.

They also emphasize how understanding the past is critical if we are to understand the pain of those who lived through these realities or bear the traumas of parents and grandparents who suffered them. They offer an outline of that history. They turn to the importance of understanding the present as well, pointing out key events from the 1960’s to the present, the forms of opposition, the superficial support that often covers this, and the ways political allegiance have taken precedence over biblical teaching. One of the most trenchant observations was the strategy of “label, mischaracterize, dismiss” to oppose pursuit of racial justice, calling actions of people of goodwill “a movement” (labelling), describing it as Marxist or Socialist when it is motivated by biblical concerns (mischaracterizing), and warning people to avoid such stuff (dismiss).

Often superficial efforts have focused around the “magic” of relationships, helping people become Christians, of “colorblindness, “of being welcoming, or even being “woke.” Often, these obscure deeper issues both in our own lives and in the organizational structures of our churches and other organizations. Rather, we ought take a page from a study of Acts, as the church overcame racial barriers. We also need mentors and solidarity with others beyond our own groups and should seek out coaches as we engage this work. We learn to measure change with substantive rather than superficial measures. And we learn both how to partner with those facing injustice and use our presence and economic and political resources to withdraw support from those acting unjustly.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a hopeful, though grittily realistic book. It grounds our efforts to stand against racial injustice in scripture while refusing superficial window dressing. But it also names practical steps individuals and groups can take. This is a handbook churches can use, with discussion questions and prayer that help bring truths before God for his illumination, leading to actions of substance instead of a world of talk.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Review: You Can Keep That to Yourself

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You Can Keep That To Yourself, Adam Smyer. New York: Akashic Books, 2020

Summary: A humorous and pointed list of “things not to say” to Black friends or colleagues.

“HELLO, WELL-INTENTIONED PERSON OF PALLOR!

“It’s Daquan–the black coworker you are referring to when you claim to have black friends.

“You are reading this book because you want to know what not to say. They get mad at you when you say the wrong thing. But no one will tell you, up front, what not to say. Well, I will tell you. Because I am your friend. Your real black friend.” (p. 7)

Adam “Daquan” Smyer more than delivers on that promise in a book that made me alternately laugh and cringe (“I’ve said that–ouch!”). The book is literally a list of things not to say to Black people, organized alphabetically. Here is the first:

Ally

Well-intentioned people of pallor went seamlessly from not seeing color to being allies. Being part of the problem was never considered. And, really, “ally” was fine for a while. It was aspirational. But now “I’m an ally” is the “Don’t hurt me” of our time. Don’t nobody want you, Karen. You can keep that to yourself.

Smyer, p. 10-11

Smyer can be blunt and use vulgarities. But that has become commonplace both in publications and public discussions. Think for example of the reference of one president to “sh*thole countries.” I’ve heard most of what Smyer says even in informal Christian circles. I’m not keen on this trend but I wouldn’t let the language distract from the message of the book, which it actually underscores, of the simmering frustration engendered by the repeated insensitivities of “people of pallor” And if you think this is just being “over-sensitive,” that’s in the list as well:

Over-sensitive

Y’all snap after you have been unpopular for two weeks. I’ve been black my whole life. In America. And I’m at least functional. I’m oversensitive? The record reflects otherwise.

Smyer, p. 67.

As for one of my cringes?

Yowza!

It’s weird–one minute we are having a normal conversation, and the next you are blurting out a minstrel show catchphrase. Verbal blackface.

So inappropriate! But mostly just weird. A thought: you could not.

Smyer, p. 111.

I did not know that. Now I do. I will not.

So much comes down to being considerate–to trying to imagine being in another’s place. When it comes to being Black, I cannot. But I can listen to how I am being heard by a Black person. That’s what Smyer does for us here. He says what is often only thought when we say what we people of pallor should keep to ourselves.

So what do we talk about?

There is so much that you can say. If we are at work, you can talk about work. (It really would be great if you could only talk to us about work, but we understand that you don’t know where you are.) You can talk about weather and/or sports. You can talk about your favorite shows. You can even talk about current events if your family raised you properly.

Smyer, 121.

This is a quick read that might be worth a periodic review. Old habits die hard. And it is probably worthwhile learning that we don’t have to say all we think or want to say. The truth is, black people have been doing that for a long time.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary advance review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program. The opinions I have expressed are my own.