Christian author and historian Jemar Tisby says racism is an emotionally draining spiritual battle. But it’s one the church must be willing to fight.
On the “Charisma News” podcast, Tisby tells host Taylor Berglund that the majority of the church has unfortunately been complicit in the gross sin of racism throughout the history of the United States. But it’s time to reverse this trend.
“Our memories are quite selective,” Tisby says. “We choose to remember and forget or highlight or de-emphasize portions of history very selectively. … We often look at folks like Martin Luther King Jr., William Wilberforce, John Newton and others who did somehow make a stand against racism. And we hold those people up as representatives of all Christians, when in reality, throughout most of history, they were the exception, not the rule.”
Tisby says even many respected preachers—from Jonathan Edwards to Billy Graham—promoted racism at times, whether overtly or passively.
“So even as we seek to build awareness, we’re confronting people who don’t want to confront the past, who don’t want to admit how bad it was and that we still live with the legacy of slavery, of segregation, of outright discrimination against people of color,” he says. “And that impedes the process. So what can we do? Be one of the people who sits with the hard facts of history. Let it marinate. Let it wound you.”
But the healing process doesn’t end there. Listen to the podcast as Tisby explains what the church must do to truly repent from the sin of racism.
