Hebrew Israelites, Christmas Resistance, the Danger of a Single Story
KTF Weekly Newsletter
Hey everybody!
As we “wait” this Advent season, one additional resource we want to point you towards is this devotional by Reclaiming My Theology host, Brandi Miller. With all that is coming at us, we hope that this, along with our newsletter, ground you where God has His attention fixed — on the poor, marginalized, and the least of these. He sees all of us, knows our needs, and sent His Son to respond.
So, here are our resources for the week!
Suzie’s recommendations:
With Giving Tuesday in the rearview mirror and the holiday season in full swing, it’s good to be reminded of what true generosity looks like and part of why it is a lifestyle to which followers of Christ are called. This winsome piece featured in Plough, the online publication of the Bruderhof community, briefly profiles a Ugandan bishop, Zac Niringiye, and his message of unity and solidarity with the poor and marginalized. Rather than encouraging isolated acts of charity, Niringiye teaches that we are to enter into the lives of the poor in a transformative process of mutual liberation. “Help poor people? Who is the one who needs help here? It’s you. Poverty is not the problem,” he insists. “Greed is the problem.” “People don’t need projects,” he further elaborates, “They need you. A human, choosing their side, taking their place.” Let us carry this message of mutual transformation in fellowship with the poor and oppressed with us into the Advent season.
As stories of antisemitism propagated by public figures continue to circulate, this article from the Texas Tribune reports that antisemitic incidents in Texas reached a four-decade high last year in a recent wave of hate crimes. Tragically, this negative trend applies across the United States. As the piece conveys, “In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League tracked 2,717 anti-Jewish incidents nationwide— a 34% increase since 2020 and the highest number since the group began tracking antisemitism in 1979. In Texas, the ADL recorded 112 antisemitic incidents in 2021 — almost triple since 2020 — and both the state and nation are on pace to eclipse those records this year.” Scholars and observers have long documented that not only are such brazen acts of bigotry and violence terrifying and tragic for the Jewish community, but they have been historically linked to the rise of fascism. May we stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters across the nation and stand against any form of violence or hate.
In her seminal 2009 TedX Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” acclaimed Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes the misperceptions and misunderstandings that arise when we allow our view of the other and of the world to be dictated by a single narrative. With humor and humility, she describes her early childhood perception “that people like me could not exist in literature.” The first stories she penned as a young Nigerian girl mimicked the books she had read, depicting white children drinking ginger beer and playing in the snow. She further relays her American college roommate’s surprise at Adichie’s fluency in English, though English is the official language of Nigeria. Moreover, her roommate was confused when Adichie produced a CD of Mariah Carey rather than her “tribal music.” When we characterize others reductively according to their race, nationality, gender, sexuality, or social class, erasure and dehumanization takes place. “[T]he problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue,” observes Adichie, “but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” Adichie’s insight is an invitation to view the world through more than a single lens and to express genuine curiosity about the lives of others. This ought to apply especially for those whose experiences and backgrounds are vastly different from our own.
Jonathan’s recommendations:
I love soccer, but I also know the cost of the World Cup is not one counted only in dollars and cents. Not unlike any other World Cup, exploitation, bribery, abuse, and violence undergird and surround what is widely known as the beautiful game. This episode from The New York Times’ The Daily lays out the corruption, back door deals, and overall microcosm of our exploitative, capitalistic, post-colonial economy. The World Cup, especially because it is in Qatar — a nation no larger than Connecticut with limited infrastructure to host the tournament prior to its selection — provides a twelve-year snapshot of how capital and labor function. Through analyzing the engagement of four billion people around one event we can gaze into an honest mirror of the world that we have created. For followers of Jesus, there are many ways to watch the games, but we must also consider this an invitation to pray and act in ways that don’t perpetuate exploitation and violence but take one meaningful step to make the world a little more just, kind, and loving for those who made this game possible or suffer even as they occur.
Thirteen years ago, I watched this video and it has stuck with me ever since. The Story of Stuff is a movie that started a movement against the consistent and continuing exploitation of people and the planet via the rampant consumption of “stuff.” And as we consider this Christmas season and contemplate the radical generosity of God, it is incumbent upon us as followers of Jesus to resist the greed and temptation to unbridled accumulation. Not only that, but to embrace the open-handed, love-drenched economy of the Kingdom of God that Jesus ushers into being through His incarnation. The website is full of helpful information that is well-researched and useful. I hope you’ll take advantage of it and be inspired to pray and act differently this holiday season.
Kyrie Irving and Kanye West exposed the strain of antisemitism that thrives in a section of the Black community. It is a complex, layered problem and must be addressed carefully in order to equally avoid anti-Black tropes and the pitting of one minority group against another. With this in mind, one clear manifestation of antisemitism in the Black American community is the Hebrew Israelites. Whether or not you know who they are, I highly recommend you watch this short clip and check out this Bible study guide on how to engage Black Hebrew Israelites with empathy, contextualized scriptural references, and clarity on the divinity and messianic claims of Jesus. These resources from the Jude 3 Project are not only helpful for engaging with this particular group, but likewise model how we should approach anyone stuck in a long-standing, intricate conspiracy theory. In the clip, Jude 3 Project founder Lisa Fields provides insight into what I have experienced firsthand in conversations with Hebrew Israelites. And the Bible study guide by Pastor Cam Triggs speaks clearly to the points of contention that lead to spiritual vulnerabilities within the Black community. Colonized faith affects all communities, and this is one way that the Black and Jewish communities suffer profoundly.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
The KTF team