Hi Everybody,
We have a bunch of great highlights in this week’s newsletter, and a very exciting preview of our podcast, Shake the Dust. So, without further ado, this week’s resources to help us leave colonized faith for the Kingdom of God:
Jonathan’s recommendations:
The Syrian civil war erupted over ten years ago and, as with other geopolitical conflicts, Americans were initially engaged. But as soon as the media attention changes to the next thing, oftentimes the focus of our hearts and minds moves along with it. This podcast episode of Slate’s What Next is an interview with a former political prisoner in Syria. It’s powerful, and presses us towards something different; something genuine, authentic, and hopeful in the midst of war, conflict, and violence far removed from our own context. One way that we can love our neighbors in pain is to listen and learn from them- whether nearby or far away.
It is difficult to imagine a world where whiteness is not the standard by which all people are measured. Independent, self-sufficient, idealized masculinity embodied in fair skin, no matter the profession, field, position, or place, is the ultimate goal and mark of success in the United States. If that standard is removed, for someone like me, it is hard to know what is an objective good, just, true, and beautiful thing. I have been formed this way and I suspect many of you reading this have been as well. This is where After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging by Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings is a unique and precious gift. He is an associate professor at Yale Divinity School and former associate professor and academic dean at Duke Divinity School. His invitation to rigorously interrogate the process of discipleship to root out white supremacy while inviting us into intimacy with God, one another, and the faith we hold dear, is wonderfully challenging and affirming. We’ve already mentioned Dr. Jennings on the podcast, and we will again. So this is a great place to get started familiarizing yourself with his work.
Sy’s recommendations:
A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article for Red Letter Christians laying out why I was so disheartened by many Christians’ reactions to the police killing of foster child Ma’Khia Bryant. As part of that article, I tried to give a window into what some aspects of her life in foster care were probably like. Now, we have a clearer, and more tragic, view from The New York Times. The Times’ report only cements my view that the question of whether the officer was justified in shooting Ma’Khia is almost entirely irrelevant for Christians. The question is how to bring drastic change around foster care and poverty so that children, and particularly Black children like Ma’Khia, aren’t unnecessarily separated from their loving families by the government and placed in danger.
For a long, LONG time, the people of the Heiltsuk Nation, who live in modern day British Columbia, have known about the relationship between the number of salmon in their regional waters in a given year and the abundance of a certain kind of berries called, simply, salmon berries. Recently, a group of scientists, working with Heiltsuk people, explained for the first time the specific nutrients the mating salmon bring to the waters which contribute to the growth of salmon berry bushes. Heiltsuk writer and activist ‘Cúagilákv (who also goes by the name Jess Housty) took the occasion to write a moving, personal essay reflecting on her people’s belief in the interconnectedness of the Earth and the species on it. Consequently, she also highlights the way in which indigenous wisdom and Western science can thrive together when the latter approaches the relationship with humility and respect.
Suzie’s recommendations:
As the violence in Palestine and Israel continues to escalate, it is more imperative than ever that Christians seek a renewed and more deeply informed understanding of this conflict. For those of us who grew up in the white evangelical church steeped in Christian Zionism, it can be difficult to disentangle our political views from faulty religious narratives. Whose Promised Land? by Colin Chapman provides the kind of careful historical and theological excavation essential to such a task. While the book was originally published in 1983, an updated edition was released in 2015. Dr. Chapman is a former professor of Islamic Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon and is a well-respected scholar and Christian theologian in the Middle East. For further resources on this topic, check out these book recommendations by Calvin Theological Seminary Professor Gary Burge featured in Christianity Today.
In this poignant New York Times op-Ed, foreign policy expert Peter Beinart argues that part of the key to resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine may be a concept deeply embedded in the Jewish tradition: repentance. It is only when the Israeli government is able to acknowledge and address the horrors of the 1948 mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, which continue to this day, that the two sides will be able to achieve true reconciliation rooted in justice. Repentance is likewise a practice that white American evangelicals will need to embrace if we hope to be a force that advocates for shalom in the Middle East; repentance for the ways that we have so often fueled conflict rather than serving as instruments of peace.
Shake the Dust preview
Tomorrow, the podcast is a lively interview with the one and only Sandra Maria Van Opstal, who is an author, preacher, activist, and the executive director of the non-profit Chasing Justice. We talk with her about her work, the challenges women of color face leading as activists and pastors, what keeps her motivated and joyful, and a lot more. You don’t want to miss this one, so give it a listen, and please remember to subscribe, rate, and review Shake the Dust wherever you listen to podcasts.
Bonus Shake the Dust!
On Tuesday, as subscribers, you all will get your first bonus episode of Shake the Dust! You will receive an email with a URL that you can very easily and quickly add to your podcast player of choice, which will give you access to a feed that contains all regular and bonus episodes. Of course, if that sounds complicated, you can always just listen to bonus episodes on KTFPress.com.
The episode is what turned out to be a pretty heavy conversation between the three of us about the ways that Christians often consume the trauma of other people as a product, offering tragic testimonies to raise money, listening to tales of persecution as entertainment or to reinforce political agendas, and more. We also discuss how to avoid these dehumanizing traps.
Thanks a lot for reading, and we’ll see you next week!
The KTF team