Who speaks for the black community?

[ken_sylvania]

I wish you could dial back on the vehemence, Josh. Is it really necessary to keep on beating this horse?

If joshgood keeps making new threads every few days on his hobby horse topic, yes, sometimes I will respond. He has shown no interest in having a private dialogue, and instead prefers to litigate this in public, complete with a new poll where we're supposed to tick boxes stating how racist we are. It just never ends.

I think it's appropriate to speak out against this, although I have considered that the best debate tactic would be to just let joshgood keep posting, not bother responding to him, and letting him irritate virtually everyone else reading this forum.

Suit yourself.

[Bootstrap]

What I am saying is you can not simply listen to the message you agree with and claim others are not listening because they do not agree any more than I can make that claim of you.

Of course not.

But I am saying that when 90+ percent of all blacks agree about something, that means something. And when we see things that they overwhelmingly believe, we should assume there's a good reason for that. And many of these are good brothers and sisters in Christ.

If you want to know which beliefs those are, that's what polls are for.

If one were to poll only the portion of the the black population who have dedicated their lives to Christ, would the results be significantly different from polls of the black population as a whole?

Here's one starting point:

Six-in-ten black adults (62%) say it is important for houses of worship to address “political topics such as immigration and race relations” – including 23% who say covering these topics is “essential.” By contrast, 36% of white Americans say it is important for sermons to deal with these topics, and only 8% say it is essential. Four-in-ten white Americans (42%) say these themes should not be discussed in sermons. Hispanics are more divided on this issue than black or white Americans are; about half (53%) say it is important for sermons to cover political issues.

I first became aware of these things doing prison ministry in a group run by the black churches here. The black Christians I talk to about these issues in my church and my family and at work seem to think these are real issues.

You ask if this is different for black Christians versus blacks as a whole. Turns out, both white and black Christians have attitudes that align more with their skin color than with our shared faith.

Within racial groups, there are only small differences across religious traditions on these questions. Roughly equal shares of white evangelical Protestants (39%), white Protestants who are not born-again or evangelical (35%) and white Catholics (40%) say it is important for sermons to talk about political topics such as immigration and race relations. Among black Protestants, 62% say it is important f0r sermons to cover these topics, an opinion shared by seven-in-ten (71%) black Americans of other faiths. And although most religiously unaffiliated Americans (those who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular) do not regularly attend church services, the views of unaffiliated white adults (32%) roughly align with those of affiliated white adults on this question, and the views of unaffiliated black adults (61%) are similar to those of affiliated black adults.

[Bootstrap]

Barna just did a new survey on this, here is a Christianity Today article on the topic. Not separated by race, but relevant.

Nearly all US pastors (94%) agree that “the church has a responsibility to denounce racism,” and most (62%) say their church has made a statement on the unrest stemming from the May 25 death of George Floyd, according to a Barna Church Pulse Poll released today.

The poll, conducted over the past week, also found that 76 percent of pastors say the church should support peaceful protests occurring in response to Floyd’s killing.

More research is needed to be sure Christians’ attitude toward racism is changing, said David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group. “But there are a couple of indications that pastors are as open as they’ve ever been” to addressing racial discrimination.

Nearly two-thirds of pastors say they have spoken out to address the moment, and about the same “strongly agree” that it’s important for church leadership to publicly show support for people of color. Many churches, denominations, and ministries released statements on Floyd’s death, along with resources on racial reconciliation.

[Joy]

Boot, it's interesting that you bring up racism in prison. I've been fairly close to a number of black Christians and non-Christians behind bars, and while some have been abused, I don't recall it ever being put down to white privilege. But I definitely have known of black racism and mistreatment. The first to mention it was a black believer who kept a diary for a year and asked me to make copies of it and send it to him when he was released. He could have been removed from Ad. Seg. while still incarcerated, but chose to stay put because he had a ministry among the gang members. But he spoke of black control and abuse in the prisons. A white non-Christian lifer in your state is very vocal about the same kind of racism that he encounters from prison to prison.

[Valerie]

Boot, it's interesting that you bring up racism in prison. I've been fairly close to a number of black Christians and non-Christians behind bars, and while some have been abused, I don't recall it ever being put down to white privilege. But I definitely have known of black racism and mistreatment. The first to mention it was a black believer who kept a diary for a year and asked me to make copies of it and send it to him when he was released. He could have been removed from Ad. Seg. while still incarcerated, but chose to stay put because he had a ministry among the gang members. But he spoke of black control and abuse in the prisons. A white non-Christian lifer in your state is very vocal about the same kind of racism that he encounters from prison to prison.

I was hoping to hear from you about all this- one who is a missionary in Africa, taught in predominantly black schools if I remember right? and who has served in prison ministry a LONG time- I thought your experience, wisdom & insight would be well appreciated in these topics.

We have a dear sister in the Lord, Sharon, who is black & was born in 1948 and she grew up during some difficult times but she never complains about her life growing up- in fact- she gets upset with 'her people' all the time. We sit with her every week in Church & have coffee & fellowship awhile after Church. She was definitely vehemently opposed to President Obama and is a staunch supporter of President Trump so she does not let her color dictate her politics- but truly she would that we would share the Gospel, reach people for Christ, and grow up and behave ourselves as people.

[Robert]

Let Dr. Voddie Bauham speak for me.

[video][/video]

[joshuabgood]

I agree with Dr. Bauchaum. Race is merely a social construct...just like tribalism or favoritism.

[appleman2006]

I agree with Dr. Bauchaum. Race is merely a social construct...just like tribalism or favoritism.

I am glad there is a least one thing he says that you agree with.

[appleman2006]

I am sure you would agree with me Bootstrap that just because a majority of any particular people group believe something even as it relates to themselves does not prove that it is true.
For example the vast majority of Asians would believe that faith in some eastern religion is best for them. That in no way means it is true. I am not sure why a majority saying anything means much especially when it is the popular opinion.
I am much more interested in the message itself? Does it align with other truth as I know it. What is the overall attitude of the one speaking? Is there a mob spirit present that is controlling people's opinions? That and many other questions are all ones I would ask ahead of whether an opinion is held by a majority.

[ohio jones]

Who will be left to speak for the black community? Now even Aunt Jemima is being silenced.