In this episode of As In Heaven, Crawford Loritts shares how love is a preamble for why we ought to care about the race and justice conversation. Love means we don’t just get to walk away from the conversation. Loritts also helps frame the conversation by providing working definitions for a number of challenging and technical terms. The hosts and Crawford Loritts discuss:
- Introductions and the basics (1:51)
- Why we do cultural exegesis (4:53)
- Comprehend, commend, and critique (7:36)
- Defining “race” (11:05)
- Biblical distinctions within definitions regarding race (13:14)
- Biological fiction, sociological reality (16:01)
- The problem with being “colorblind” (18:36)
- The sin of partiality (23:01)
- Breaking down partiality (26:35)
- Omission and commission (32:29)
- The subtleness and seductiveness of sin (36:14)
- Justice (40:04)
- White privilege (45:58)
- White fragility (51:18)
- Framing our cultural moment (54:44)
Questions to discuss with your family and community:
1. Why are each of the three components of good cultural exegesis necessary (comprehend, commend, critique)? Why is it important for Christians to do cultural exegesis? What happens when cultural exegesis involves only critique but little to no comprehension or commendation?
2. What does the Bible say about racism, and how did racism manifest itself in the early church?
3. What sin is at the heart of racism?
4. What practical ways do the Scriptures offer to kill racism at the heart level?
5. What is the biblical definition of justice, and how does it apply to our cultural moment?
6. Peter explains how we should deal with each other by writing, “Clothe yourself with humility.” How does this command apply to our conversations and relationships with people of different ethnicities?
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