The Color of Compromise, from author Jemar Tisby, is both enlightening and compelling, telling a history we either ignore or just don't know. And a call for urgent action by all Christians today in response. Citing religious sociologist Michael Emerson’s view that Trump’s election was “the single most harmful event to the whole movement of reconciliation [in evangelical churches] in at least the past 30 years,” Tisby argues that white evangelicals bear responsibility for the racial polarization that ensued when they cast their ballots for Trump—regardless of their reasons for doing so. Realizing the hypocrisy of white Christians, and the seeming impossibility of securing their freedom, they began staging insurrections. Converted blacks could not help but note the hypocrisy in white Christian principles and practices. A survey of the ways Christians of the past have reinforced theories of racial superiority and inferiority provides motivation for a series of bold actions believers must take to forge a future of equity and justice. Most of these steps—listening to Christians of another race, learning about history and theology, and using personal wealth to help individuals in need—are so obviously biblical that it’s hard to imagine how any Christian could object to them. The Color of Compromise The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism (Book) : Tisby, Jemar : A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller! He cites how discriminatory government orders further marginalized blacks. While he marched in the streets with his supporters, Graham assumed a laissez-faire stance. While believing in blacks’ spiritual equality with whites, white Southern evangelicals rejected the idea that their equality as brothers and sisters in Christ should lead to any change in the slave laws, the racial balance of power in society, or even race relations in the church. If Tisby and other Christians point out ways in which the president’s actions or rhetoric have hurt racial minorities, white Christians shouldn’t hesitate to join their brothers and sisters in condemning these sins and advocating for justice—even if they voted for President Trump. “In the United States, power runs along color lines, and white people have the most influence,” Tisby states (6). Order our The Color of Compromise Study Guide, teaching or studying The Color of Compromise. After the Civil War, white Southern Christians defended segregation (including segregation of churches) with some of the same biblical passages they had used to defend slavery. It is a call from a place of love and desire to fight for a more racially unified church that no longer compromises what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality. Attempting to escape the oppressive southern climate, many blacks flocked to Midwestern, western, and northeastern cities. Northern Christians said Jesus' teachings proved slavery immoral. He cites Black Lives Matter as a source of contemporary division in the American Christian church, arguing that little has changed. Tisby acknowledges these counter-examples, but he presents 200 pages of historical evidence to show that, contrary to what many white evangelicals may think, it was the anti-racists, not the racists, who were the exceptions in white evangelical history. However, it’s not a flawless book. But Tisby also makes a more controversial claim: He argues that white conservative politics and white evangelical theology are currently exacerbating the racial divide. This Study Guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Color of Compromise. He holds that his faith inspires his profound investment in issues of social justice. The Color of Compromise takes listeners on a historical journey: from America's early colonial days through slavery and the Civil War, covering the tragedy of Jim Crow laws and the victories of the Civil Rights era, to today's Black Lives Matter movement. Home › Racism › SHOW: The Color of Compromise. The Color of Compromise The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism (Book) : Tisby, Jemar : Churches remain racially segregated and are largely ineffective in addressing complex racial challenges. 2:1–8), we’ve been given the grace to resist these sinful inclinations and seek reconciliation, even at the cost of personal discomfort or our own perceived interests. In Chapter 4, "Institutionalizing Race in the Antebellum Era," Tisby describes the increasing frustrations of enslaved Africans. Reformed Christians who believe in the “third use of the law” have insisted for five centuries that Christians need to hear the law of God to grow in sanctification. The Color of Compromise reveals the chilling connection between the church and racism throughout American history. The Color of Compromise is not a call to shame or a platform to blame white evangelical Christians. The Color of Compromise Study Guide, used together with The Color of Compromise Video Study, unpacks the content of the video study for an in-depth diagnosis of a racially divided American church, suggesting ways to foster a more equitable and … The Color of Compromise is not a call to shame or a platform to blame white evangelical Christians. Trump's election three years after the organization's formation, seemed to reverse many of its efforts. The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Publisher's Summary. In Chapter 3, "Understanding Liberty in the Age of Revolution and Revival," Tisby examines the pre- and post-Revolutionary War period in America. The Color of Compromise The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism (Book) : Tisby, Jemar : Churches remain racially segregated and are largely ineffective in addressing complex racial challenges. How should white evangelicals react to this indictment? In Chapter 10, "Reconsidering Racial Reconciliation in the Age of Black Lives Matter," Tisby describes inception and foundation of the Black Lives Matter movement and organization. The Color of Compromise The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism (Book) : Tisby, Jemar : An acclaimed, timely narrative of how people of faith have historically--up to the present day--worked against racial justice. Through an overview of 400 years of American church history, Tisby—who has graduate training in both American history and Reformed Christian theology and is president of The Witness, a black Christian collective—demonstrates that white American Protestants in both the North and South repeatedly used their theology and church institutions to perpetuate racial power imbalances in the name of Christ. The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby is a historical survey that examines the interconnectedness between American history and the American Christian church by exploring its complicity in maintaining racism throughout the centuries. Tisby claims that the black exodus from white churches in the last two years is principally a reaction to white evangelicals’ support for Donald Trump, so any attempt at racial reconciliation in the church must address white evangelicals’ political choices. Northern and southern states began to divide over different Biblical interpretations. But the First and Second Great Awakenings also created Southern evangelicalism, which almost immediately distanced itself from antislavery activism. Though chattel slavery had effectively ended, Jim Crow laws created a new social order which consigned emancipated blacks to a new form of bondage. The Color of Compromise reveals that in the 17th century, Anglicans in Virginia produced a law to ensure that slaves couldn’t be emancipated by baptism. Racial reconciliation, Tisby argues, won’t occur without confession of sin and repentance from white Christians—a repentance that some Reformed churches have already started to model, but which hasn’t yet occurred en masse. The book is primarily meant to be a historical survey of the American church’s complicity, both actively and passively, in racism towards ethnic minorities. They actively sought the conversion of blacks to Christianity, yet used these paternalist principles to disempower blacks and demand their submission to white masters. SUMMARY: Author Jemar Tisby traces the intertwining of race, the church and politics from the 1400’s into the 21st century in his 12-part study series with episodes ranging from 5 … “They fail to recognize how rarely believers made public and persistent commitments to racial equality against the culture of their churches and denominations. Rather, the book is difficult to read because of its subject matter, namely, white Christian complicity with racism throughout American history. Meanwhile, the church continued defending these practices as moral, seemingly constructing theological stances to support their egregious behaviors. Get The Color of Compromise from Amazon.com. He identifies himself as a Christian believer, and a lover of the church. Jemar Tisby. Finally, Tisby claims that Christians who insist they can simply preach the gospel without talking about systemic racism are complicit in racial injustice. Some evangelical organizations have already issued confessions of past complicity with racism. From Jonathan Edwards’s slaveholding to Billy Graham’s support for President Richard Nixon’s racially charged policy of “law and order,” participation in racial oppression has tainted the legacies of many of the most gifted preachers and theologians in the white evangelical church, Tisby argues. Please make sure all fields are filled out. In the 20th century, Christianity Today cautiously endorsed some civil-rights legislation, but sharply criticized Martin Luther King Jr. for his tactic of civil disobedience. In The Color of Compromise Video Study, Jemar Tisby takes us back to the root of this injustice in the American church, highlighting the cultural and institutional tables we have to flip in order to bring about progress between black and white people. But that is not all the book does. The Color of Compromise: A Review A Sharper Historical Picture. In Chapter 5, "Defending Slavery at the Onset of the Civil War," Tisby argues that the Civil War conflict did not merely occur on the battlefields; it occurred in the Bible and the church as well. help you understand the book. Jemar Tisby’s description of the horrific event serves as a good imagery for racism. The Color of Compromise Study Guide, used together with The Color of Compromise Video Study, unpacks the content of the video study for an in-depth diagnosis of a racially divided American church, suggesting ways to foster a more equitable and inclusive environment among God's people. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. Is this correct? What about Billy Graham’s insistence on racially integrated crusades even in the early 1950s, when segregation was the law in the South, and his invitation to Martin Luther King Jr. to lead a prayer at his 1957 New York City crusade? Jumping ahead to the victories means skipping the hard but necessary work of examining what went wrong with race and the church” (10–11). 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