Jesus And The Disinherited

A Reflective Book Review

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac

“If a man knows precisely what he can do to you or what epithet he can hurl against you in order to make you lose your temper, your equilibrium, then he can always keep you under subjection.” — Howard Thurman –“Jesus And The Disinherited”

Rlated topic Podcast (more indpeth)

Howard Thurman is an unsung grandfather of the civil right movement. His most notable book “Jesus And The Disinherited” was the blueprint of non-violent resistance that propelled the civil rights movement in the 60’s. I want to take a few moments during Black History Month to stop and reflect not only the man behind it but the power of this colossal book.

Quote images from quotes.thefamouspeople.com

It is no secret that Thurman may have been the greatest influence on Martin Luther King Jr in the development of his approach to the civil rights movement. Legacy says, whether true or not, I don’t know, that Martin Luther King carried in his briefcase a copy of, “Jesus And The Disinherited” every place he went. What is certain is that Thurman knew Martin Luther King Jr’s father at Morehouse College as classmates. Martin Luther King Jr also formed his own direct friendship with Thurman years later during his time at Boston University. Thurman played a mentoring role in the friendship with Martin and other young future black leaders he sought to enlighten. It seems his time was not wasted because Martin adopted the key teaching of Thurman’s thesis, that only a non-violent life of love, like Jesus, can overthrow the power of oppression.

“Jesus And The Disinherited” is a systematic map of the mechanics behind holding a non-violent stance of rebellion, for the long term. Thurman’s book was influenced heavily by studying the life of Mahatma Gandhi. He traveled to meet him in India and had direct conversations with Gandhi about the plight of black people in America. Their conversations lead Gandhi to reach the following, near prophetic, conclusion: “It may be through the Negroes that the unadulterated message of nonviolence will be delivered to the world.”[1]

The whole structure of the book itself is a sermon worth considering. Thurman creates a “sandwich” structure that starts off with a chapter about understanding the life of Jesus, moves on to three chapters about oppression, and ends with a chapter on Love.

The structure goes like this.

Chapter One: Jesus. An Interpretation

The Three Hounds Of Hell Of The Oppressed.

Chapter 2: Fear

Chapter 3: Deception

Chapter 4: Hate

The Solution As The Only Option

Chapter 5: Love

So to greatly simplify it in a “snapshot,” the message of the book follows this pattern: Jesus faced great oppression and we can find comfort in his life and the solution will be only in finding out how Jesus overcame. Because, in the human experience, oppression always leads to fear. Fear always leads to deception, even for good reasons, like protecting your family or loved ones from real threats. Deception always leads to hate because living a dishonest life, even for good causes, creates unbearable resentment in the heart of the oppressed from generation to generation. Once hate sets in, the oppressed is headed toward destruction, both internally, on a moral level and externally in a defeated person model. The only escape from hate is the “Love of Jesus.” When we see into the heart of the hater we are broken by pity for the hater because you realize they, themselves, are also being oppressed by their own hate and you have been called to spiritually set them free.

Quote images from quotes.thefamouspeople.com

Thurman’s central hypothesis in the book is that the religion that Jesus lived produced the kind of life for Him that identifies with downtrodden, outcast, broken, and disinherited of the world. That is to say, the true religion of God is expressed in living a life of love, under oppression, that you may find the transformative power of Christ to love your oppressor. While not denying the divinity of Jesus, it is fair to say Thurman grounds himself in the humanity of Jesus and brilliantly exegetes the oppression of the Jews by the Romans and the response of Jesus facing off against it. He takes this picture of Jesus and brilliantly compares it to the oppression of Blacks in America. Thurman is unapologetic in his honesty about the evils of ethnic oppression and racism. Unlike others I have read, he does not romanticize the spiritual side of living through oppression, but calls its long-term impacts on people the “Hounds of Hell.” He spends the largest portion of his book being blunt in exploring the hounds of hell found in oppression.

Thurman pulls no punches as he awakens us to the call Christ would demand of us, but which we, too often, have denied. Thurman had a way as I read and re-read his words to shatter my white privileged Christian façade that this is a problem of the world and not the church;

“It cannot be denied that too often the weight of the Christian movement has been on the side of the strong and the powerful and against the weak and oppressed—this, despite the gospel.”

Quote images from quotes.thefamouspeople.com

The most heartbreaking truth about this book is that it was written in 1949 and it could have been written today because it is still valid and relevant today. As I reflect on this classic book, I can’t help but see how much ground in civil liberties has been lost in the last couple of years. Worse yet, new brands of white supremacy in the highest of our offices goes unchecked, treated as the new normal, and is seemingly untouchable. We have not lost everything we once gained during the Civil Rights movement, but if things are permitted to remain the way they are, we are well on that path. So after having read this book now a few times all I can say is… Jesus, Help us! Jesus, speak to us anew through your servant Howard Thurman and teach us to have the love you had that foils the darkest heart of hate.

As a white man, living in modern America during a time when white supremacy is making a resurgence I am glad Howard Thurman calls for non-violent means to overthrow hate and yet at the same time, I seek to understand and have compassion upon those who are currently, and have a history, of being oppressed by people that look like and have the privileged of myself. I don’t blame people from the oppressed if when they see someone like myself they are suspect. And while I don’t actively engage in racism, as I know it[2], if I don’t use my privilege to fight it at every turn then I am  just another passive oppressor who is in denial. True, Christians can’t stand on the sidelines and watch hate win. We can’t watch neo-Nazi events[3] happen and say to ourselves, “that is a shame,” yet do nothing because it has not yet come to our neighborhood. We must realize the hounds of hell that Thurman talks about were the life and culture Jesus was born into and overcame. And when we help fight back this hounds of Hell with love we are actually walking in the very footsteps as Jesus walked and to not walk in those footsteps is to depart from the Master’s path!

May we reflect and pray on these true words of Thurman about Jesus until they are also true about us…

“Jesus rejected hatred because he saw that hatred meant death to the mind, death to the spirit and death to communion with his Father. He affirmed life, and hatred was a great denial.”

 

The Last Word On Love!

Related Articles:

RACISM: MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

Failing Naika

THE POLITICS OF JESUS (Dispelling Theo Politics Pt3)

The Thirteen: One Crisis

Footnotes:

[1] Dixie, Quinton; Eisenstadt, Peter (2011). Visions of a Better World: Howard Thurman’s Pilgrimage to India and the Origins of African American Nonviolence. Boston: Beacon Press.

[2] Racism is a tricky thing that can deceive anyone’s heart.

[3] https://www.vox.com/2017/8/12/16138246/charlottesville-nazi-rally-right-uva

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RACISM: MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

Exploring Racism and Christianity

By Pastor Vinnie

Can a Christian be racist? And if he/she is racist, is that person really still a Christian? It is easy to label people. It is harder to understand them. And that is the very reason racism even exists at all in the world, let alone in the church.

Racism is deeper than skin. It is not about a person’s complexion. It is about our inability to understand the differences of the Human race as God created it. A keen theologian will surmise that was a big factor in the need of the cross and its post-resurrection theological applications. Humanity, in its fallen nature, assumes that “self” is the real deal, and the “other” the real danger. Sin reduces us to mere animals that thrive on instinct, fright, and flight rather than compassion and higher reasoning. This quickly escalates to an “us versus them” way of thinking and gathers people of similar attributes into camps of people against people or different attributes. It is sinful nature then, being rooted in fear and motivated by false perceived danger, not complexion, that is the root cause of racism.

This is why Paul writes to Christians to say,

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV)

You are all one. You are all similar. You all belong to the same family. You are all Human. You are all bought with a price. You are all valued at the same price. That cost is the cross. Your worth is not based on your gender, your worth is not based on your level of independence or even self-responsibility, and your worth is certainly not based on your ethnic or genetic makeup. Your worth is only based on what God would pay for you, and that price has not only already been fixed; it has been paid! You are a ‘collector’s item’ of the highest value. No one in all of the universe is worth more than you. And so, you will be cared for by the One who collected you up as if nothing could be valued more. Ergo, your fears are folly in the face of a Father’s love.

But then, why did Paul, the chief theologian of the New Testament church have to write such a declaration to the church, of all people? You would think, such an understanding would be self-evident? The answer, as in all astute biblical questions, is found in the context. The answer is so simple we passed right over it on our way to Galatians 3:28. The answer is Paul himself came face to face with a fellow and senior^[1] Apostle who was openly practicing racism in the church and Paul was forced to rebuke him in chapter two of this same famed Galatians we quoted above.

This is the correct context in which leads Paul to the conclusion of Galatians 3:28;

But when Cephas [Peter][2] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas [Peter] before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatian 2:11-14)

I am ashamed to have to show you this passage, in this context, because I am ashamed to have to admit Peter [Cephas] fell prey to racism. Yes, this is the same Peter who long before Paul ever began to officially preach to the Gentiles received a vision from God and began preaching the Gospel to them (see Acts 10 and 11). Peter lit the candle of equality that he passed to Paul who became the torchbearer[3]. But, because of fear, Peter folded on what God had made clear to him, even in vision, and put it aside so as not be out of step with his peers. If Peter, under pressure, could fall, whom God showed in Heavenly divine vision that no man was to be called “common” because all belonged to God Almighty, then what dangers might we be in if under the right stressors?

The fact that you may not have grown up in a racist home, or considered yourself to have racist tendencies or ideology, is not in itself any provision that can protect you. Look, most of us Christians can’t claim direct divine prophetic vision. But what Peter’s experience teaches us is that even if we had, that would not be enough to safeguard us. This incident shows that given the right pressures, perceived dangers, or prolonged culture of fear, we all could become a racist and not even know it.

Peter folded because he feared the faithful who had a direct connection to the hierarchy in Jerusalem. According to Eusebius (who quotes Clement), James was the Bishop of Jerusalem^[4], so it appears that Peter, not wanting to offend the “company men” of James, folded to their biases. What Paul makes clear, and therefore it is not sanctified speculation at all, is that Peter’s discrimination was rooted in the same common cause we all share, “fear.” Paul writes, “…but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” This should be highly disconcerting to all of us because that means, giving the right amount of pressure, we all could fall into fear patterns that would drive us to the same depths of action as did Peter.

It is unclear if Peter knew what he was doing or if the fear blindsided him and it was reactive. But it works both ways, in that we don’t have to be at our core a hardened racist bigot to partake in racial prejudice. But it could also mean we may have some of that deep down inside us due to our culture, or upbringings, or isolated experiences, and not even know it. The problem with sin is it is the great ‘perception distorter.’ Once you are infected, it takes an outside source to alert you to the problem. Thank God, Paul was that outside source that brought Peter back to the ground.

Notice, Paul, as opposed to Peter, works under the power of conviction of God and God’s Kingdom principles rather than out of fear. Paul had every reason to fear Peter’s reaction. Peter was not only one of the original 12, but he was always in the inner circle of Jesus^[5] and had a reputation of knowing how to be fiery when he wanted to be. Paul, on the other hand, had a history of persecuting the church, he was a murderer in his past life, and his whole career had the authenticity of his apostleship questioned since he had not been a direct disciple of Jesus. If Peter had not been willing to be corrected and insisted on leading out in his fleshly fear he could have easily rained down chaos on the ministry of Paul, with the brethren of James backing him up. However, Paul knew Peter’s actions were “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” and that God was on his side, and even more important than being right, he had to save Peter from himself.

There can be no excuse for the Christian he practices racism in the church. How can you argue when Paul flat out said it was “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” and Peter himself found no rebuttal for such a rebuke? If Peter, one of the favored disciples of Jesus had no rebuttal than all our excuses are just self-taught lies, and if we hold on to them Peter will rise in the resurrection and condemn us! He, after all, did not dare attempt lame cultural excuses for ungodly action.

“Paul knew Peter’s actions were

“not in step with the truth of the gospel!’”

Paul was not motivated out of holy zeal and sanctified fire of justice but rather out of compassion, love, and mercy for a fellow apostle who let fear catch him up in a moment. Paul also knew it had to stop now because it was already spreading. We are told, “The rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.”

There is no doubt Peter, once the fear had discharged, would have also come under the conviction of the Spirit about his actions. But how many would have been led astray by that time? And how much guilt and fires would Peter have to deal with and put out after that? No, Paul instead acted in love, standing boldly, and called Peter, that great apostle of repentance^[6], to repentance for the sake of the Gospel and its reputation among Gentiles.

While we are not told of Peter’s response in the narrative, we have no reason to doubt it, either. In   2 Peter, chapter 3, we find Peter, himself, making his endorsement of Paul clear. While addressing other people who are having difficulty with Paul, Peter calls Paul his “beloved brother,” and speaks to his “wisdom” and expertise in the Gospel.

Calling a brother to repentance is never a casual thing that we do. It could damage relationships forever. It could even cause a person to stumble. Normally we try to take great care, and with much prayer, and biblical insight do as Paul would have normally done even as he counseled in this same letter, “you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness^[7], ” but there are some sins so damaging to the cause of the faith that they must be done with the razor-sharp discernment of correctness and swiftness of action lest they infect the rest of the church with the same sin. All forms of bigotry fall into this level of sin because bigotry is based on fear that exponentially increases ignorance because only fear shuts down reason and intellect as the person regresses to animalistic tendencies of “fight or flight.”

We are currently living in a culture of fear. Some want to believe it is a political culture of fear but I am not so convinced the current spikes in the American race divide are political as much as from a darker source. Making them a political problem only makes them a skin-deep problem. Racism is deeper than skin. It is a fear problem in the heart of fallen mankind who fails to depend on God for security and takes matters into their own hands[8]. Jesus warned the heart of men would grow cold in the last days. He warned that the fear would be so turned up that we’d betray our own families^[9], and more and more Christians are buying into the mantra^[10] that it is a “persecute or be persecuted” world and have totally forgotten, or selectively abandoned, the true words of Jesus that call us to stand strong and be blessed in persecution;

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you, falsely, on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”^[11]

Why the shift in Biblical thinking to cultural crosses? Real pain hurts. Yes, there are blessings in persecution, but it means the pain of ‘Dying to Self’ first. For many have chosen the false Gospel^[12] of cultural rage, and it’s demanding of rights and fear-fueled false faith which is a fast falling Babylon. The wrong answer to Peter’s dilemma that many embrace is to cry counter racism, but this too is bad logic, for even if you were a victim of counter-racism the questions remains, are you not called by Jesus to suffer for your brother’s betterment? Love overcomes hate, and Christians do not fight fire with fire! They are called to create coals of fire with love and mercy that is beyond the enemies understanding. That is what the civil rights movement got right in America. Martin Luther King Jr (among others) was largely successful because the movement operated on the Christian principle of love concurs fear!

With this consideration in mind, two things going forward are of the most urgent priority for the church in this current climate of fear:

1) We can’t let fear stop us from pointing out bigotry in even in our own faith communities and
even more important,
2) we cannot let fear stop us from finding hidden bigotry in our own heart.

After all, our heart is where racism lives, It is, truly, deeper than skin. No one is immune to it unless you have been translated. Peter, himself was a product of a race, culture, and twice over religion that had been highly discriminated against, and that did not stop his own discrimination from getting a hold of him.

There is only one person who is safe from the dangers of discrimination and prejudice, and that is the person who thinks he/she has honestly sought his or her heart and genuinely found none there. They are free, but only because they are deluded, lack perception, and live in a mockery of faith that is a distortion of self-awareness. All other fallen beings, are shaped by more than skin and thus struggle because of the failed, degenerate heart, that even in faith tries to rise, causing us to have to fight to keep our fears at bay at all times and with all people.

Paul knew what hate looked like because he murdered^[13] in hate before and he wished to save Peter from that fate. Let Jesus, now through Paul, rescue you. We all have fears, that can shut down our minds, and create selective ignorance. Don’t hide from your fears, admit them and face them because they are, “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” but to some degree or other they are buried in the degenerated heart of all humanity until translation. While through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we can be free, we still remain on guard at all times because the battle rages on and we must fight this good fight until Jesus comes. Love casts out all fear, but love must be embraced, chased, pursued, trained, and practiced. Real love never fails because real love is hate backward. Real love is deeper than skin and real love has the ability not only to look into your own heart but to look into the heart of the person of vast difference standing before you and to find the very Imago Dei[14] that is stored deeper than skin deep!

Be deep. See deep. Love deep. Deeper than Skin Deep. Imago Dei Deep!

Related:

Jesus And The Disinherited – (A Reflective Book Review)

UNLESS THEY AGREE…Waving a flag or waving hate?

FOOTNOTES

^[1] senior is not a rank in this case but rather a factual point that Peter was an apostle before Paul chronologically.

[2] Cephas is simply Aramaic while Peter is from Greek but both are the same name.

[3] This is Peter’s relocation of how he came to realize Gentiles were equal and under God’s Grace; “And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:12-18

^[4] But Clement in the sixth book of his Hypotyposes writes thus: “For they say that Peter and James and John after the ascension of our Saviour, as if also preferred by our Lord, strove not after honor, but chose James the Just, bishop of Jerusalem.” But the same writer, in the seventh book of the same work, relates also the following things concerning him: “The Lord after his resurrection imparted knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter, and they imparted it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom Barnabas was one. – Church History II.1.3-5

^[5] John, James, and Peter are always found in the key events of the gospels with Jesus more than the rest.

^[6] Acts 2:37-41, Acts 3:19

^[7] Chapter 6:1

[8] Adam in the garden having found Eve in sin also failed to seek a cure from God and thus fell in face first himself. Racism spreads in much the same way.

^[9] MARK 13:12 and please note he is talking about the church

^[10] Matt. 24:24

^[11] Matthew 5:11-12 The famed Sermon On The Mount

^[12] That Paul Ironically warned about in Galatians 1

^[13] or some would weakly contend only permitted murder.

[14] Image of God

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