Chapter 21

Today’s Christians and conservatives are largely unaware of the extent of the suffering of blacks in American History, from slavery to Jim Crow to the 1960s and even to today. They are largely unaware how systematic it was and what institutions were created specifically to maintain the injustices. Christians are largely unaware that their own clergy and churches were among the leading proponents of the systems, and have no idea of the convicting and sad reasons why, or of the theological justifications employed for turning a blind eye to the injustice, or worse, active perpetuation of it. That such theologies are still widely taught today—and are in some cases the norm—is not a good sign when so many social ills still surround a silent church. In general, Christians and conservatives are not nearly as informed as they may think when it comes to understanding black history in the United States and the black saga it contains.

The Problem of Slavery in Christian America aims at providing otherwise well-intended Christians and conservatives a deeper understanding of that history, a starting point for discussion and, if necessary, repentance, and with a biblical response to the larger problem of racism, all while refusing to capitulate to non-Christian leftism.