Top photo: Meeting of the KKK, Oregon Historical Society, 1920s. Bottom photo: January 6th Insurrection, Getty Images, 2021.

By Bishop Van Gayton, TDBI Senior Fellow

“The church too must face its historic obligation in this crisis. In the final analysis the problem of race is not a political but moral issue.”

“The broad universalism standing at the center of the gospel makes segregation morally unjustifiable. Racial segregation is a blatant denial of the unity which we have in Christ.”

“There are several specific things that the church can do. First, it should try to get to the ideational roots of race hate, something that the law cannot accomplish.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Stride Toward Freedom

 To take up the charge of Dr. King’s prophetic words, we must try to “get at the ideational roots of race hate,” two (of many) of which have their deep holds in America to this very day are The Enlightenment and the doctrine of Election.

The root of “The Enlightenment” was called the age of reasoning in Europe. White Europeans came to North America with an understanding that they were intellectually superior and therefore entitled to position themselves over enslaved Africans and native Indigenous people. Whites also harbored beliefs in their aesthetic superiority and thought themselves to be more attractive than all other races: Whites reflect purity, beauty, and perfection. Blacks reflect ugliness, ignorance, and evil.

The second root is called the Doctrine of Election by John Calvin. Calvin’s doctrine was taken to mean that Europeans were the elect of God, and all other people were the non-elect. Double predestination believes God elects some to salvation and the rest are elected to damnation. Such heresy continues to manifest itself in the perception and treatment of Black people.

The roots of America’s racial crisis are many, and they are as deep as its founding. Europeans brought with them a heretical belief, Whites are superior and Blacks are inferior, and they planted it with every step they took in the New World. These are the roots of our crisis, but they can be removed. America’s survival depends on the church, the only institution with a Gospel that can destroy at least two of the evil roots of racism in our time.

About Bishop Van Gayton:

Bishop Van Gayton has over 40 years of experience as a professor, pastor, and conference speaker, teaching and training students and leaders all over the world.  With a desire to educate and be educated, Dr. Gayton holds a number of Master and Doctorate degrees in Theology, most recently receiving a Doctor of Ministry from Reformed Theological Seminary.  He has taught subjects such as ‘Philosophy of Religion at Jamestown Community College’ and, ‘The African American Religious Experience’ at the University at Buffalo.

Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer: Interview with Bishop Van Gayton

In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with TDBI Senior Fellow, Bishop Van Gayton, about the significance of his Pentecostal tradition and how God’s calling has manifested in his life.