Race, Racism & Christian Identity

Living in modern nation-states, intensified by globalization, our personal lives and relationships and everyday activities are unavoidably embedded in the complex realities of societal racial disparities and tensions, but in ways often unrecognized and unaddressed. How should we engage Christianly with the historical, political, economic, and cultural factors that condition and either restrict or expand our capacities to live out the biblical vision of identity in Christ in God’s kingdom (Phil 3; Col 3:1-17; Rev. 21-22) in our racialized familial, ecclesial, communal, and institutional contexts? We’ll correct several common misconceptions and clarify the concepts of “culture,” “ethnicity,” “‘race,'” and “nationality,” aided by biological, historical, and social scientific research, and develop a theological-ethical vision based on God’s revealed character and will and a fresh conception of God’s kingdom. A case study displaying the effects of “race”-based laws and policies applied to indigenous, immigrant settler, enslaved, and other groups will be examined, and students will reflect on their own formative lived experiences, privileges, and responsibilities before God in view of the mission of God. Finally, a restorative path forward will be indicated based on identity-in-Christ, attending to personal transformation in Christlikeness and pursuing justice and wholeness in intentional, proactive partnerships with others, informed by the work of leading practitioners in various sectors of society.