Setting the Stage for a Conversation on Race and Justice

Crawford Loritts shares how love is a preamble for why we ought to care about the conversation about race and justice. He explains why love means that we don’t just get to walk away from the conversation and how black people have no choice whether to have it or not. Loritts helps frame the conversation while providing excellent working definitions for a number of challenging, 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, and 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 writes on how we should deal with each other by writing, “Clothe yourself with humility.” How does it apply to our conversations and relationships with people of different ethnicities?