1. A thread for white Christian “progressives”

So listen, let me go ahead and peel the bandaid off and then let’s see if we can deal with the wound underneath.

I view you all as just as unsafe as white fundamentalists & just as bent on a pursuit to colonize as them as well.

2. I live in a world in between white Christian Fundamentalism & white Christian Liberalism/Progressivism; I’m a black historical theologian whose heart is connected to the historical black church tradition. In my world, theological conservatism is married to social progressivism

3. Uh oh, I’ve already triggered some folks, but I’ll move on. I often see you all claim to want to be allies to the black community while at the same time you insist that black Christians conform to your expression of faith just like the fundamentalist circles many of you left.

4. I’ve experienced this numerous times. White progressives acting all supportive and j friendly but as soon as I don’t embrace their view of egalitarianism (white baptized feminism); they begin getting verbally & spiritually abusive. Same goes w/ a host of other beliefs.

5. On social media, they will straight trash theological conservatism while claiming to be allies to black community as if the black church (which is overwhelmingly theologically conservative) hasn’t been foundational to black holistic perseverance & racial equality.

6. I understand dislike & even hatred many have for white fundamentalism & conformity it often seeks to force people into, but when you make absolute statements about your own new found theological perspective as if any who disagree are anti-Christ; you’ve become what you hate.

7. Now let me be clear in something, when I said “all” I was clearly speaking in hyperbolic language to drive home a point about the way trauma works. Many of you have spiritual trauma that has led you to write off any & all forms of white conservatism. Trauma does that...

8. As a means of self-protection, the traumatized brain will establish defense mechanisms to prevent further trauma. So, you wrote off anyone who may have even a fragrance of what wounded you. Likewise, consider racial trauma & the traumatic impact of ideological colonization.

9. The same way many of you have responded to white fundamentalism by putting up a wall around anything with its fragrance; many racially & spiritually traumatized black & POC folks have put up walls against any fragrance of ideological colonization; hence my “all”.

10. Many of you bounced from white theological conservatism to white theological progressivism or liberalism without once looking at the black church tradition which is a persecuted church that is both theologically conservative and in many ways socially “progressive”.

11. The way you take shots at theological conservative isn’t with a sniper rifle aimed at the tradition that hurt you; it’s with a buckshot that hits all & you claim to be allies with the black community while you tear down the black church cuz it doesn’t conform to your standard

12. Full transparency, I’m thankful for the white progressive causal friends I have, but I do keep them at a distance. A large part of that is due to my own trauma defense mechanisms cuz often many of you have proved you loved me to the degree I was willing to conform to you.

13. If I didn’t love y’all I wouldn’t say anything. I’d just keep quiet & keep side-eyeing (). But truth is, I believe many of you want to be better than the toxic traditions you left & you don’t want to treat others as you were treated, but you are. Tryna be real wit y’all.

14. If you REALLY wanna be an ally with black community, you have some hurts you have to work out. You can’t buckshot theological conservatism (which includes black church) & expect black Christians connected to the black church to be okay with that. We’ll see colonization 2.0