Questions From The Pew - WOS

On this episode, we continue our conversation with by Dr. Malcolm Foley, whose doctoral research focused on the various ways African Americans in the 19th to 20th century were forced to respond to the multiple forms racism took in American society.

In our conversation, we ask: How can the response of African American Protestants in the past help us understand the American Church today? Can there be a balance between the harsh realities of the past and the idealization of history? How can we avoid despair in our pursuit of justice? How can today’s church leaders carry on the work that started before them? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

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In the face of injustice, neutrality can sometimes seem like a sensible response. Capitulation makes one morally culpable while resistance can bring about consequences for those who challenge the status quo. And so, neutrality, however long it remains a seemingly viable option, is chosen as a means of avoiding the stain of immorality while avoiding the risk of endangering oneself. Those who are the recipients of injustice do not have the luxury of such a choice. For them, the only choices are to capitulate or to resist.

In our discussion of the American Church and its response to racism, we cannot forget those who were directly affected by racism. Those who were the targets. African Americans in the 19th to 20th century were forced to respond in various ways to the multiple forms racism took in American society, and the ways in which they responded can help us understand how the American Church has gotten to the place it is in today. On this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Malcolm Foley, whose doctoral research focused specifically on this topic. His expertise not only as a scholar, but also as a pastor, tackles this heavy topic from both an academic and practical standpoint.

In our conversation, we ask: How can the response of African American Protestants in the past help us understand the American Church today? Can there be a balance between the harsh realities of the past and the idealization of history? How can we avoid despair in our pursuit of justice? How can today’s church leaders carry on the work that started before them? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/questionsfromthepew

In the initial visit with a new doctor, a question that is frequently asked is about the patient’s family history. The doctor asks, “Do you have any family history of X, Y, or Z?” Even if the patient can’t remember every detail of the family’s medical history, the doctor records them in the patient’s file anyway. All of this is to help the doctor better understand the patient and his or her medical condition. The current treatment begins with a look back. This is a helpful metaphor to use for diagnosing the state of American Christianity.

The American Church has had a long and often dark history when it comes to its involvement with issues of race. From slave owners' use of the Bible to keep human beings in subjugation to the more modern denominational divisions along racial lines, American Christianity would not look like what it does today without its past, both good and bad. And as much as the American church has improved in many ways on the darkness of its past, there is still work to be done to better understand today’s American Church and consider ways forward. Part of that work is taking an honest look at the past. In this series, we try to do that.

In this episode, we ask: How did the American church interact with racial issues throughout its history? How has that shaped the way the American Church looks today? We’ll be exploring these questions in various ways throughout this series, starting with this episode. All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

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We’ve have decided to change things up slightly and end the season here, just a little bit earlier than we originally planned. That’s because the conversations that we were planning for the last series of season five ended up being much longer and more involved than we thought they would be. So instead of having to shorten the series or the important conversations in it, we’ve decided to save it all for the next season. We hope the roughly weekly format we tried this season was helpful to keep the conversation going. We’re looking forward to picking up again soon for the next one. Until then, take care and keep asking questions!

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

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In the initial visit with a new doctor, a question that is frequently asked is about the patient’s family history. The doctor asks, “Do you have any family history of X, Y, or Z?” Even if the patient can’t remember every detail of the family’s medical history, the doctor records them in the patient’s file anyway. All of this is to help the doctor better understand the patient and his or her medical condition. The current treatment begins with a look back. This is a helpful metaphor to use for diagnosing the state of American Christianity.

The American Church has had a long and often dark history when it comes to its involvement with issues of race. From slave owners' use of the Bible to keep human beings in subjugation to the more modern denominational divisions along racial lines, American Christianity would not look like what it does today without its past, both good and bad. And as much as the American church has improved in many ways on the darkness of its past, there is still work to be done to better understand today’s American Church and consider ways forward. Part of that work is taking an honest look at the past. In this series, we try to do that.

In this episode, we ask: How did the American church interact with racial issues throughout its history? How has that shaped the way the American Church looks today? We’ll be exploring these questions in various ways throughout this series, starting with this episode. All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/questionsfromthepew

In this episode, we’re finish the conversation we began with Ruth Nathaniel last week and we ask: Are there blind spots when we engage in a deep relationship with someone from another cultural or ethnic background? What are the beauties of being in intercultural or interethnic relationships? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/questionsfromthepew

We’ve said it before on the podcast: America grows more and more diverse every year. And there’s U.S. Census Bureau data to support that. The Diversity Index measures the probability that two randomly chosen people come from different racial or ethnic groups. Between 2010 and 2020, the United States as a whole went from a 54.9% chance to 61.1%. Particularly in major urban areas, the likelihood of your coming into contact with someone from another cultural or ethnic background is higher today than it was even ten years ago. 

But the growth in diversity isn’t always accompanied by a corresponding growth in how to engage in intercultural or interethnic relationships well. Even if people are from the U.S. as opposed to having migrated from another country, the gaps between cultures and ethnicities can be wide. Family cohesion is more engrained in some cultures than others that value independence. Honesty – even brutal honesty – is expected in some cultures while politeness – sometimes to a fault – is assumed in others. All of these are gaps. And often, these gaps are unseen or unacknowledged, causing difficulties in these kinds of relationships and those connected to them.

In this two episode conversation, we’re joined by Ruth Nathaniel and we ask: Are there blind spots when we engage in a deep relationship with someone from another cultural or ethnic background? What are the beauties of being in intercultural or interethnic relationships? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

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It is often understood that as times change, so does technology. And so we find new ways of doing old things. For example, communication is not new, but with today’s technology we have countless ways of doing it. Few letters are being mailed today, but hundreds of emails are sent in a single day. Shopping has shifted from a physical experience of entering a storefront to scrolling on a webpage and clicking items into a virtual cart. And even then, some online stores pride themselves on a personal experience, trying to get back to the human interaction that was so characteristic of the shopping experience in the past.

But what about ancient institutions like the church? Many churches were already live streaming their services online even before the pandemic. But when lockdowns happened, all of that went into overdrive. Churches that already had an online option were prepared, and other smaller churches had to think creatively about how to minister to their congregations online. But all of this did not come without its growing pains. Questions, doubts, and concerns about the viability of online church were brought to the forefront of ecclesial conversations.

In this episode, we ask: What do we do about “virtual church”? Where does the church go from here? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

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The pandemic changed everything. That should go without saying. The whole nation shifted. But moving beyond the macro-changes, there were also changes in smaller pockets of American society. We’ve already talked a bit about how businesses and schools had to transition overnight to remote work and remote learning. Other organizations had to change and continue to change. The political sphere was as volatile as ever, perhaps even more volatile, with political leaders and influencers from both sides throwing accusations at the other. And those who associate with a particular side were very much taking part of it all.

But what about pockets of American society that are thought to be a beacon of hope and guidance in times of upheaval? Religious institutions seem to occupy that space in some shape or another even in our modern age. And for a country that has had such a far-reaching connection to Christianity, the question of how the American church carried itself during the pandemic is an important one.

In this episode, we ask: How did the American church respond? How did the American church’s cultural influence change?

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The pandemic changed a lot about the way we think about human existence, whether it further entrenched people in their previously held beliefs or opened them up to new ways of thinking about how humans exist and flourish in the world. We had to ask ourselves what aspects of human life are absolutely essential for our own wellbeing, and what could we acceptably relinquish for the short-term.

The idea of community is one of those things that was re-examined in light of the pandemic. Everyone seemed to pivot as best as they could to some sort of remote interaction, some with more success than others. In some cases, people welcomed it. Employees enjoyed the ability to stay and work from home instead of commuting to the office. But as things began opening up and people made their way back into the office, there often seemed to be less cohesion in the workplace. Schools went to remote instruction, but quickly saw that the learning experience was not the same without the face to face interaction between teachers and students. And those are just two examples. As we head out of the pandemic season and reshape society and culture, community is an element of human existence that cannot be overlooked.

In this episode, we ask: Has our understanding of community shifted? What does it look like to have a healthy and vibrant community post-pandemic? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.

Leave us a short voice message or text message at (312) 725-2995.

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/questionsfromthepew