I love stumbling into Twitter land mines.
Not because I’m an Enneagram 8 (I’m not) or because I enjoy confrontation (I really don’t). But because it gives me insight into what really motivates people.
Earlier this week, I kicked the Hornet’s Nest of Twitter Theobros by attacking the OG of US White Evangelicalism - Jonathan Edwards.
Note what I wasn’t saying: I wasn’t saying we “cancel” Edwards. I wasn’t saying Edwards couldn’t have been a Christian. I wasn’t even saying that I disagreed with Edwards’ views on the Trinity.
I was simply saying that his understanding of a loving, Triune God simply couldn’t have been that good given that he was an unrepentant slaveholder. After all, the Bible does teach us that, “If anyone says, ‘I love God’, yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God who he has not seen.” (1 John 4: 20 CSB).
I was simply saying (in subsequent tweets) that I’d much rather learn from faithful brothers & sisters on the margins of society who loved God AND loved neighbour by not oppressing their neighbours. I was simply saying that there were other theologians in church history who are better teachers (like Athanasius, a Black Egyptian early church father who has written some of the most beautiful articulations of the Trinity) because they didn’t own slaves or abuse their neighbours. I was simply saying that we can still engage with Edwards while recognizing that his lived theology on slaveholding tainted his written theology on everything else. Quite straightforward, right?
Except, many of the responses were brutal and ranged from - “You’re a sinner too” to “Edwards was a man of his times” to “This is cancel culture” to “But David sinned too”.
I won’t spend much time on why these are all bad arguments but here’s a quick summary:
“You’re a sinner too!” - Yes, and I try to live in constant confession and repentance of my sins. My wife, my Pastor and my therapist (among others) keep me accountable.
“Edwards was a man of his times” - Not really. There were plenty of Christians during Edwards’ times (like John Wesley) and before (like the early church) who opposed slavery. Not to mention - the Black folks (including Christians) who didn’t want to be enslaved. Why do we decenter these Black voices while centering the voices of their oppressors (like Edwards)? Besides, Moral Relativism is a really bad way to do Christian ethics because the Triune God is the eternal standard for goodness and he never changes in his goodness - yesterday, today and forever.
Also, one of my favourite white Scottish-British-Canadian Pastor brothers, Rev. Dr. David Harvey makes a terrific point here:
“This is cancel culture” - I never said we should cancel Edwards but let’s be clear about something: anti-racist advocates aren’t the ones who disqualify Edwards as a teacher because I’m pretty sure Edwards managed to do that all by and to himself.
But David sinned too” - Yes. And he repented and paid the consequences of his sins.
Here’s the thing though: I wasn’t really bothered by these folks. I’m used to far right American trolls telling me at least every other week to “go back to where you came from” (America? Surely, they don’t mean that!) and “be thankful that your ancestors were colonized and civilized”. I’ve developed a pretty thick skin against these folks.
What I wasn’t prepared for though were theologians and academics I deeply respect like Dr. Michael Bird (he says I can call him ‘Birdo’), Dr. John Dickson (who Birdo says I can call ‘Dicko’ but I feel deeply uncomfortable with the notion of that) and Dr. John Fea who each jumped into my mentions and argued I was guilty of everything from “presentism” to “a lack of humility for not recognizing that we could have equal sins” to “wokeism”.
I pushed back that the evidence of anti-slavery Christians before and during Edwards’ lifetime rules out ‘presentism’. I also pushed back on the assertion that I could have sins “equal to slavery” because slavery isn’t “just another sin”; it’s one of the most evil forms of abuse. I know this because of the work I get to do which has allowed me to directly meet dozens of survivors of modern slavery firsthand, learn from their experiences and be entrusted to share their stories regularly. Furthermore, I also found it deeply disturbing that an academic of Dr. Fea’s good reputation would choose to dismiss me as “woke” instead of engaging with my arguments.
What I picked up from all three of these white (2 Australian + 1 American) brothers though was a undergirded fear of being canceled someday in the future - something that I’m told by white brothers that many of them today fear because of the rapidly changing world we live in.
While I have great respect for each of these men, I felt like their public responses were pretty revealing. Clearly, I’d touched a nerve - an impulse to rush to Edwards’ defense that’s deeply rooted in white American evangelicalism and everything it touches around the world.
I can see how many of my white American or white American adjacent brothers probably feel like I’m throwing stones at their beloved great-grandpa. And it probably doesn’t help that I’m doing this as an outsider - an Indian-born, Canada-residing brown evangelical. But I know firsthand from being at a US conservative evangelical seminary how white male centered western evangelical theological circles can be. All the more reason for someone like me to gently challenge the assumptions of my white evangelical brothers every now and then.
I realize that many of you who subscribe to this newsletter fit the bill of “white evangelical but here to be challenged by this wacky brown evangelical who looks like one of The Chosen characters”.
Thank you for bearing with me - truly. And thank you for stepping into the uncomfortable space of wanting to be challenged in our deep-rooted assumptions. I’ve benefitted so much from learning from my white brothers & sisters that it’s only fair that I also provide edifying content back. This newsletter is a way to do exactly just that.
So thank you for being incarnational like Jesus - embracing the discomfort, stepping into the unknown to share space with someone like me and to try to learn from my perspectives and life experiences. I am trying to do this everyday myself as a man by laying my male privilege aside to learn from my sisters - both white and non-white. Friends, this is where we find Jesus - by drawing closer to the injustices of this earth; and by putting ourselves in the incarnationally humble position of learning from each other.
What Am I Up To This Week?
In addition to a few virtual meetings with Canadian church leaders across the country, I also get to guest preach at my church’s sister church in Guelph, ON - Champion Life Centre Guelph. Our church is a multiethnic, majority Filipino church community with church plants all across Canada and the world. They also generously partner with IJM’s work in the Philippines combatting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children. If you’re interested in learning more about our work and making a year end gift, here’s the story of a little boy we recently helped rescue, Aaron. It’s heavy but again, there’s incarnational beauty in drawing closer to stories of injustice and suffering.
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This is what I struggle with regarding many of my family members who I love: a lack of curiosity and humility. There's so much fear about our "heroes" being besmirched that it's just easier to lash out at anyone who questions whether it is time to move on from celebrating their voices. As you said, there are others we could look at with similar or even better theology who were not tainted by their relationships with a system that is still harming our society today. When we know better, we do better.
I am troubled that the point of my interaction with you was lost. Mine was a very specific criticism of your wording: there was no fear, no attempt to defend Edwards, and no charge of presentism. To lump me in with other such criticisms is unfortunate.