Conversations about racism are as important as they are hard for American Christians. Yet the conversation often gets so ugly, even among the faithful who claim unity in Jesus. Why is that the case? Why does it matter? Can things get better, or are we permanently divided? In this honest and hopeful book, pastor Isaac Adams doesn't just show you how to have the race conversation, he begins it for you. By offering a fictional, racially charged tragedy in order to understand varying perspectives and responses, he examines what is at stake if we ignore this conversation, and why there's just as much at stake in how we have that discussion, especially across color lines--that is, with people of another ethnicity. This unique approach offers insight into how to listen to one another well and seek unity in Christ. Looking to God's Word, Christians can find wisdom to speak gracefully and truthfully about racism for the glory of God, the good of their neighbors, and the building up of the church. Some feel that the time for talking is over, and that we've heard all this before. But given how polarized American society is becoming--its churches not exempt--fresh attention on the dysfunctional communication between ethnicities is more than warranted. Adams offers an invitation to faithfully combat the racism so many of us say we hate and maintain the unity so many of us say we want. Together we can learn to speak in such a way that we show a divided world a different world. Talking About Race points to the starting line, not the finish line, when it comes to following Jesus amid race relations. It’s high time to begin running.

2011 Winner of the Book Awards Contest in the Discipline of Theology Presented by Alpha Sigma Nu The apostle Paul wrote that "All of you are one in Christ Jesus." Given Paul’s vision of God’s kingdom defined by the breakdown of all distinctions and relationships of domination—no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—how do we make sense of ethnic particularity within the church’s theological formulations? Racism and God-Talk explores the biblical and religious dimensions of North American racism while highlighting examples of resistance within the Christian religious tradition. Social historians have seldom analyzed the problematic of race from a primarily theological perspective. This volume undertakes a critical examination of explicitly theological and confessional perspectives for understanding and transforming North American racism. Rosario Rodriguez offers insights from Latino/a theology for broader scholarly and social discussions concerning racism, borders, and immigration. The first to analyze race and racism from a Latino/a theological perspective, the volume makes use of a broadened conceptualization of "mestizaje," or mutual cultural exchange, to challenge the church to recognize the effects of racial and ethnic particularity in all theological construction.

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

2011 Winner of the Book Awards Contest in the Discipline of Theology Presented by Alpha Sigma Nu The apostle Paul wrote that "All of you are one in Christ Jesus." Given Paul’s vision of God’s kingdom defined by the breakdown of all distinctions and relationships of domination—no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—how do we make sense of ethnic particularity within the church’s theological formulations? Racism and God-Talk explores the biblical and religious dimensions of North American racism while highlighting examples of resistance within the Christian religious tradition. Social historians have seldom analyzed the problematic of race from a primarily theological perspective. This volume undertakes a critical examination of explicitly theological and confessional perspectives for understanding and transforming North American racism. Rosario Rodriguez offers insights from Latino/a theology for broader scholarly and social discussions concerning racism, borders, and immigration. The first to analyze race and racism from a Latino/a theological perspective, the volume makes use of a broadened conceptualization of "mestizaje," or mutual cultural exchange, to challenge the church to recognize the effects of racial and ethnic particularity in all theological construction.

An unflinching look at the failure to achieve an equitable society with faith-based approaches to a meaningful racial reconciliation. While the dream of post-racial America remains unfulfilled and the current turmoil (George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, to name a few), this examination of racism is more relevant and consequential than ever. Living into God’s Dream combines frontline personal stories with theoretical and theological reflections. It aims to forge new and truthful conversations on race and doesn’t shy away from difficult discussions, such as reasons for the failure of past efforts to achieve genuine racial reconciliation and the necessity to honor rage and grief in the process of moving to forgiveness and racial healing. This collection of nine essays is honest, pragmatic, and courageous in its real-world view of racism and how people of faith and conscience can work together to “dismantle racism.” Review questions at the end of the book, appropriate for individual or group study, can engender deeper discussions and reflections.

Winner of the 2022 ECPA Christian Book Award for Faith & Culture How do we effectively confront racial injustice? We need to move beyond talking about racism and start equipping ourselves to fight against it. In this follow-up to the New York Times Bestseller the Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby offers an array of actionable items to confront racism. How to Fight Racism introduces a simple framework—the A.R.C. Of Racial Justice—that teaches readers to consistently interrogate their own actions and maintain a consistent posture of anti-racist behavior. The A.R.C. Of Racial Justice is a clear model for how to think about race in productive ways: Awareness: educate yourself by studying history, exploring your personal narrative, and grasping what God says about the dignity of the human person. Relationships: understand the spiritual dimension of race relations and how authentic connections make reconciliation real and motivate you to act. Commitment: consistently fight systemic racism and work for racial justice by orienting your life to it. Tisby offers practical tools for following this model and suggests that by applying these principles, we can help dismantle a social hierarchy long stratified by skin color. He encourages rejection passivity and active participation in the struggle for human dignity. There is hope for transforming our nation and the world, and you can be part of the solution.

In light of the heart-breaking ethnic division rending America today, A House Without Walls seeks to foster multi-ethnic harmony in evangelical congregations by bringing Biblical clarity to current racial and ethnic conversations. It uses Scripture to answer some pressing questions of our day like, “Are all people inherently racist?” “Does the gospel include racial justice?” “Does the Bible advocate for white repentance?” A House Without Walls attempts to realign discussions about race under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, focusing on Biblical understanding and applications. It also includes extra-Biblical research explaining the language and logic of current conversations about race, within an aim towards confidence in engaging the prevalent cultural discourse on race. The hopeful outcome of this work is listing unity among believers from diverse ethnic groups facilitated by this Scriptural study.