From its earliest days, the Christian Church has had to carve out its theology in the face of adversarial and hostile socio-political systems. During the first four centuries, the major challenge for the Church was to affirm its belief in the Lordship of Christ in the midst of an environment where it was believed that Caesar was the final and supreme authority. The Church's affirmation that "Jesus is Lord" was considered both a threat and an act of sedition. The Church was persecuted by a system that had tolerance for a wide diversity of religious expressions, but that nevertheless had no tolerance for any affirmation that the authority of the Emperor was a secondary and subordinate authority. In other words, the theology of the Church was carved out while the Church was, for lack of a better term, "on the run."
In the modern day U.S.A. the Church is faced with the challenge of carving out its theology in a white-supremacist nation-state known as a colleague of mine would call it "Slavetown, U.S.A." Many well-meaning and well-intentioned Caucasian would take offense with both the idea that the U.S.A. is referred to as a "white supremacist nation-state," and also with the nomenclature "Slavetown, U.S.A." This essay is not intended to overlook many of the positive things that we have in our country. Nor is it intended to disrespect or offend any justice-loving or peace-loving Caucasian person. This essay is designed to draw attention to certain realities that exist in our country, and that in some way, overshadow the positive things that we do have in the U.S.A.
Let me begin by saying that contrary to the notion that this nation was founded on "Christian principles," the historical reality is that it was not. History would bring out the reality that this nation was founded on the triple pillar of genocide, slavery, and land-grabbing. And I would add, that contrary to what many people believe, our country's supposed "greatness" is nothing more and nothing less than an empire built on the backs and the exploitation of not only the slaves, but also the working class in the U.S.A. and also the exploitation of the so-called "Third World Countries.," especially Latin America. Neither can we overlook the fact that this white supremacy is extended into the Middle East, where our Palestinian sisters and brothers have been uprooted from their homeland due to an imposed immoral and illegal occupation by a state-terrorist government supported by the U.S.A.
There are many in our country, I'm sure that would take offense and even be incensed when confronted by these realities. They would even get into a strong denial mode. But to deny this reality, one would have to be either naive at best or totally dishonest at worst. And may I add, that there are many who suffer from arthritis of the cerebellum and cannot think straight regarding the realities of this issue.
Why do I refer to our nation as a "white supremacist nation-state?" Those who are totally familiar with American history will know that the socio-economic and political structures and policies were primarily designed to favor Caucasian people. Some may want to argue that non-Caucasians (African-Americans, Hispanics, etc.) have benefited from this system. And others may want to argue that the limited benefits that so-called "people of color" make them "well-off" in comparison to non-Caucasians in other parts of the world. While I would not argue that point, the reality is that the primary beneficiaries of the "good of the land," as well as political power have been Caucasians who have dominated this country for many centuries after eliminating the original inhabitants of the land, and relegating their offspring to living in reservations.
No honest person can deny that the system (including so-called "law enforcement") has been established to maintain non-Caucasians in a position of secondary and even tertiary status. The mere fact that non-Caucasians make up the greatest number of incarcerated persons (African-Americans 60%, Hispanics 30%, others 10%) points to this reality. And the mere fact that non-Caucasians (especially African-Americans and Hispanics) have been "the last to be hired and the first to be fired," relative to employment, is a witness of how our country is ruled and run by the preponderance of Caucasian people in power.
Why do I refer to the U.S.A as "Slavetown, U.S.A?" I'm sure there are many who take offense at this, especially those who argue that slavery is an institution that no longer exists in the U.S.A. And while that may be true, the reality is that all U.S.A. citizens (African-American and Hispanics to a much greater degree) are enslaved by an economic system (capitalism) which is designed to benefit the few at the expense of the many. The majority of people in the working class work for the minority who benefit from their labor and are paid "chicken feed" in comparison to the value of the labor that they produce. Black and Hispanic people as a whole are caught up "working for the man night and day," giving their blood, sweat, and tears, and not reaping the fruit of their labor in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts.
We can, furthermore, take into consideration, our Latin-American sisters and brothers who migrate to the U.S.A. from countries that were once their own, and stolen under Spanish colonization and American neo-colonization, in order to survive with dignity. They are forced to migrate because of our country's foreign economic policies. Many people in the U.S.A are not even aware of how our nation has exploited the living hell of our Latin American countries by having their private corporations "set up shop," in these countries, causing uprooting and forced migration. And just like the white slave masters who believed that their black slaves should be "grateful" that they had food on the table and a roof over their heads, the leaders of the U.S.A, and even many citizens who are not aware of what is going on, believe that our undocumented sisters and brothers who come here should be "grateful."
Now we are coming into 2017 when a President-elect who obviously shares the white-supremacist mentality, and is naming people with white-supremacist background, will govern the U.S.A. for the next four
He has openly declared war on non-Caucasians, and like Hitler in Germany with the Jewish people, on Muslims. There are many in the U.S.A. who believe in the concept of "give the man a chance." It takes a great deal of blindness and naivete not to see what we are headed for, and what is going "down the pike."
Meanwhile, "back at the ranch," the Church of Jesus Christ in Slavetown, U.S.A. is faced with the challenge to have a theology that will define its call and guide its mission in such an environment. Like in Hitler's Germany, we need a Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who will be a protagonist of resistance. Like in South Africa, we need an Archbishop Desmond Tutu who will say "hell no" to the apartheid system which is being constructed under the new incoming leadership. Like in El Salvador, we need an Archbishop Oscar Romero who will ask the U.S.A government to stop financing injustice with military weapons. We need a Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright who will say "God damn America," as long as she remains entrenched in its embedded institutional, structural, and systemic racism.
En fin, we, as Christians need a theology which will address both the present and the coming realities. We need a theology which will guide us in the struggle against racial and all other forms of social injustice. We need a theology that will move us away from rhetorical noise and into concrete action that will not only identify and unmask the demonic forces, but also exorcise them, and continue to work for the creation of just social structures.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona
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