Stephen J. Matlock's Blog, page 33

Why Honor Dr. King?

Reposted from 2010,  2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.  I wrote this as a quick email in response to some scurrilous nonsense forwarded to me, nonsense written by a white Christian eager to point out to me that Dr. King was a flawed man, too flawed to be honored and acknowledged. N.B. 2016. I’ve ...

It’s Time for Black Americans to Forgive White People. Or Is It?

I run this community discussion (moderated) about white racism in America and the white American church, using the book “Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism” (Dr. Drew G. I. Hart, 2016). We’re in the eighth chapter, and a question came up, offered by one of the participants. (For relevancy but not… Read More »

The Non-Whiteness of Jesus

I got to thinking the other day about how we see Jesus and Jesus’ teachings expressed in the lives of his followers. And I began thinking about how hard it is to reconcile our Christian behavior with our Christ. Traditionally, orthodox Christianity means a religion centered around the Christ of the New Testament, where what… Read More »

I Don’t Feel Angry So I Can’t Be Racist

I run a community discussion open to all the residents in our area. I get a lot of people who come through, some only once or twice, and the biggest issue by far is being “called” a racist, because people (rightly, IMO) feel that being racist is bad. I never do call them racist. I… Read More »

So, This Is How It Happened

In which I relate the many interlocking steps leading to my aligning myself with all I once thought was opposed to God, flag, and country. In the past eight years I have made many changes, from the friends I hang around with, the method of church participation I act in, and the attention I pay… Read More »

Cost-Free American Evangelical Discipleship

American Evangelicals who went for Trump by a margin of >80% are in a quandary. Either they find a way to accommodate themselves to a man who is thoroughly odious and as unChristlike as you could be (but not so much that he didn’t get Evangelical  vote), or you must accommodate yourself to the fact… Read More »

The Indelible Stain

I will tell you a story… Back in high school we had “hall monitors” (but we were a garden campus, so they were on sidewalks). One of them was a German lady in her 50s. I got to know her a bit, She told me she was raised in Germany in the 30s and 40s,… Read More »

We Wake Up, That’s What We Do

Well, that was unexpected. To my fellow progressives and Democrats and even socialists – there’s no getting around this. We have been rejected in what we proposed for a vision for America, and in the next few years we will see profound changes we might also profoundly dislike. Where do we go from here? We… Read More »

“Moonlight”– the Rough Draft

When I watch a movie or attend a play or listen to music or read a book, I am usually present as the observer who analyzes my experience, always starting from “me” to say to myself “The author/creator is saying this and I either agree or disagree.” I remove myself one step from being in… Read More »

How a Straight White Christian Male Should Vote

White Christian man, and I voted today. Neither candidate would harm me if elected. My taxes will either stay the same or go down. I will always have a voice in society. But my friends—women, gays, people of color, immigrants, Muslims—world be incredibly harmed by the actions and policies of one candidate but not the… Read More »