Quote from trendlover:
Yes, white churches were just as guilty of justifying slavery with bible twists. We are talking about now, now that this white obression is not tolerated and is kept in check by laws. Slavery has ended. It was a crime against black people that has been proven wrong and ended. So why is it still being used as an excuse to allow black people to perpetuate thier white hate? Some black people (who were never slaves) hold onto this crime for leverage to justify their own bad behavior. Guilt trip layed on whites (who were never slave owners) That is the point How long must white people say they are sorry for the past?
Although the racism of the past has largely gone away, there is still much out there.
The difference between now and then is that now it is much more subtle, because it is socially unacceptable. That does not mean it is not there.
I see it all of the time. I live in the South, btw. Overhearing jokes in the locker area, overhearing conversations at fast food restaurants, conversations among colleagues--it is still there.
Case in point (one that can be verified): during the Senate race in Tennessee in 2006, the Republican party literature took a picture of the Democratic candidate, Harold Ford, and significantly darkened it up (Ford is black).
Now why would they do that? Because
people do not ever judge another by their skin color? Because prejudice is dead?
The only reason why Bob Jones University changed its racist policies in the late 1990's was because of pressure after Bush campaigned there.
The late 1990's. Gee, and black churchgoers are supposed to feel no problem about worshiping their God with people like that.
Prejudice, one might say, is part and parcel of the Christian religion, and has been practically from the very beginning. Against Jews, against women, against people of color, against gays, Protestants against Catholics, and Catholics murdering Protestants. And most of this was done by people of European descent. Not that it is individually our fault today, btw; and some black church leaders have expressed anti-gay and anti-Semitic views, unfortunately.
Nevertheless, I can see why black churchgoers would take a few elements from Christianity but change so much of them that they are hard to recognize. Who would want to be a part of a tradition like that?