Over the past year, my doctoral research has offered me the opportunity to analyze the evolution of the Christian tradition from Jesus to the emergence of White American Evangelicalism.
The catalyst for this project was a conversation in 2016 with a handful of global leaders about whether White American Evangelicals are viable partners in the work of systems change. The general consensus was an emphatic “No!”
Their sentiment was captured with this:
“White American Evangelicals have consistently proven to be the most dangerous people on the planet. The news they claim to be good is bad for far too many. They are either oblivious to this or simply do not care. Thus, from our point of view, they are not irrelevant…they are a liability. They are the problem.”
Rather than generating defensiveness, that kind of analysis—which is held by many outside the fishbowl of White American Evangelicalism—peaked my curiosity and deepened my sense of urgency.
How is it that an ancient tradition that was marked by self-sacrifice has morphed into a contemporary expression that has a lethal reputation? Is it a perception issue or is White American Evangelicalism a dangerous distortion of a restorative movement? If it is, in fact, a dangerous distortion, is White American Evangelicalism redeemable or will the world be better off if it dies?
These are the questions that have fueled my research. What have I uncovered thus far?
A first-century understanding of what it meant to be image bearers of the Creator—both individually and collectively—distorted as the Christian tradition got proximate to power. History tells us that the closer the Church got to power, the more violent it became. Ultimately it reflected the very Empire that it sought to transform.
The roots of White American Evangelicalism begin not with the incarnation, death, and resurrection of a dark-skinned Palestinian Jew named Jesus. They begin with the early church fathers’ theological justifications for human hierarchy. Rather than fertilized with sacrifice and generosity, these roots are seasoned by supremacy and patriarchy. The roots of this contemporary distortion have given life to the seedlings of colonialism, capitalism, and racism. They have nourished the growth of wealth building through the domination, slavery, genocide and ongoing imprisonment of indigenous and “non-white” communities.
Thus, rather than resembling the life and teachings of Jesus, I argue that White American Evangelicalism is, in fact, a dangerous distortion of ancient Christianity.
So, I’m appalled by this picture, but I’m not surprised by it. The image exposes the fruit of White American Evangelicalism. Rather than Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control, it revels Whiteness, Patriarchy, Supremacy, Racism, Exceptionalism, Nationalism, Consumerism, Ignorance, and Violence.
That said, while the research tells an insidious story of a dangerous distortion, my hope is growing. It grows with every conversation I have with folk who have been groomed within this system and are daring to interrogate its legitimacy. Over the past ten years, I’ve walked with thousands of you who are searching for a Jesus-centered faith that’s worth your lives.
Friends, the pilgrimage through disorientation and into the restorative revolution is awaiting you. As one who has stepped beyond the precipice and into the hopeful alternative, let me assure you, it is a liberating pilgrimage worth embarking upon.
Author: Jer Swigart – Cofounding Director of Global Immersion Project.