White Jesus, Black Jesus, White Supremacy, and Honestly Teaching Our Kids About Our History

The Joy of Living and Learning – Conversations With Phyllis

Is white Jesus a function of white supremacy?

If background checks were performed on police officers for white supremacy connections, would the majority of police shootings of unarmed black men stop?

Do we want to knowingly or inadvertently support the platform of white supremacy?

Do we want to unknowingly instill in our children a sense of inferiority to anyone?

How did Jesus get so white and why?

What are the negative effects on children who are constantly seeing the image of Jesus as white?

What can Black people do to lessen the effects of white supremacy?

In this episode, Phyllis Tucker-Saunders and her guests discuss these questions and more. Today, Phyllis is joined by four esteemed guests:

* Dr. Doris Griffin, Delaware Adolescent Program Inc. and Harvest Christian Fellowship.

* Dr. Alice Ogden Bellis, Howard University School of Divinity.

* Reverend LeAnn Hodges, Oaklands Presbyterian Church.

* J. Jioni Palmer, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Discussed in this episode:

* How Phyllis and some of her guests—and undoubtedly many Christians around the world—grew up seeing pictures of Jesus as a white man.

* The following quote by Steven O. Roberts: “Basically, if you believe that a white man rules the heavens, you are more likely to believe that white men should rule on Earth,” Roberts is an assistant professor of psychology in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. For more info, read the following article by Melissa De Witte for the Stanford News Service: https://news.stanford.edu/2020/01/31/consequences-perceiving-god-white-man.

* Thinking of Jesus as Black and thinking of the people in the Bible as people of African descent. Seeing God in yourself. Looking in the mirror and seeing the divine.

* Pastor Hodges talks about an idea first expressed by Rev. René August, a South African woman who fought apartheid. Pastor Hodges paraphrases Rev. August as saying that Jesus came to decolonize Rome, and the Western church inturn colonized the message of Jesus.

* Any time that we “other” anyone and say that they are not a reflection of God's good and beautiful image that is embedded in all creation—that’s when we contribute to that which holds us captive.
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Connect with Phyllis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phyllis-tucker-saunders-16867123.

Phyllis’s 2015 book, “Our Life Together: The Tucker Family of Newark,” is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gwjT0B.

Phyllis’s 2020 book, “African American Heroes In the Face of Domestic Terrorism”: https://amzn.to/3eQfLWX.

May peace and joy reign supreme in your life today and every day!

This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.successwithstories.com.