Here’s my review of “America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America,” a new book by Jim Wallis: If you are a Christian, you should read this book.
Wallis, founder of Sojourners, a national faith-based organization that advocates for social justice, is a public theologian and the best-selling author of 12 books. He is white.
Rather than summarize his latest book, I am sharing some of my favorite passages. In Wallis’ own words:
Ian Haney Lopez articulated like no one else has why Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) talking about race comes off as cold to my African-American ears. And his explanation highlighted for me not only how I believe Hillary Clinton gets it right, but also how discussions of race and “America’s Original Sin” of racism should be handled going forward.
On Super Tuesday, Donald Trump easily swept the four states with the heaviest majorities of Protestants who consider themselves “evangelicals” – Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia.
So the campaign’s major religious puzzle – likely to be pondered come 2020 and 2024 – continues to be how to explain Trump’s appeal to Bible Belters.
“SOMETIMES I wonder,” said Doug Long, shivering among the demonstrators in Raleigh, North Carolina, on February 13th, “whether everyone who defines themselves as Christian really believes in the same God.” As a rabbi sharing the interfaith stage blew a shofer, and a protest group called the Raging Grannies denounced restrictions on voting rights, Mr Long, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, explained that, in his view, Jesus would have stood for racial and sexual equality.
While black churches have long led the charge against racism, the white Christian community has largely held back, says author Jim Wallis.
He's on a nationwide mission to change that, including in Portland.
Wallis's newest book, "America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America," is an indictment of white Christian apathy and inaction towards systemic racism. We interviewed Wallis about the book last week.
Listen to the interview here.
The leader of the Christian social justice group Sojourners says the young black Americans who have been killed by police are victims of deep, structural racial sins that go back to the founding fathers.
The Denver areas's best-selling books, according to information from The Tattered Cover.
FICTION
1. All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
2. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah
3. Midnight Sun, by Jo Nesbo
4. The Widow, by Fiona Barton
5. Georgia, by Dawn Tripp
6. The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins
7. S., by J. J. Abrams
8. Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf
9. My Name Is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout
How the hell can anyone who calls themselves a Christian vote for Donald Drumpf?
That’s the question that needs to be asked as this racist, misogynist hate-monger who supports torture, ridicules the disabled and wants to ban all Muslims from America, comes ever closer to winning the Republican nomination and, potentially, the White House.
Editor’s Note: We’ve had the privilege of connecting with many members of the broader Sojourners community (including some of you reading this!) during Sojourners President Jim Wallis’ America’s Original Sin book and town hall tour. Our conversations in cities like New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Portland are serving as a tool to engage people – particularly people of faith and white people — more robustly on issues of white privilege, race relations, criminal justice reform, and inequalities work. The conversations have already been so rich and we wanted to capture a few reflections from those we see on the road to share with you all. The following reflection is from Alicia Philipp, CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, who we met up with at the Atlanta History Center gathering alongside 70 of CFGA’s donors and board members.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2016
Sojourners President and Founder Rev. Jim Wallis released the following statement today:
"Bridges or Walls?
"As Christians, we are called to answer: What does God want us to build, bridges or walls?
"To use anger politically, especially by turning people against other people, is one of the worst sins in politics, and both Cruz and Trump are doing that."
The Erie Times-News Faith page has a copy of “America’s Original Sin” by theologian Jim Wallis to give away this week. The book is subtitled “Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America.”
