Subversive Witness: Scripture's Call to Leverage Privilege

by Dominique DuBois Gilliard

We won’t find genuine freedom without developing the courage and fortitude to soberly confront sin, access its deadly impact, and return to right(eous) relationship with God and neighbor. Followers of Christ must realize that we cannot crucify what we cannot name. When the church sidesteps naming sin or uses adulterated allegories and metaphors to make sin more palatable, our response to sin will always be insufficient. As Pastor Richard A. Villodas Jr., lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, explained in his response to Louie Giglio’s comments, we empower sin to establish a foothold within the body when we do not forthrightly name and renounce it. Villodas wrote, “I’m consistently reminded of the deep challenge many have in using a phrase like white supremacy/ privilege.”23 Referring to Voldemort, the chief antagonist in the Harry Potter books, whose name characters feared to speak out loud, Villodas concluded, Many people would rather refer to white supremacy/white privilege as “You know What” or “That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named.” But if you can’t name it, you’re still under its power. . . . The purpose of using terms like “white supremacy” is not to demonize others. It’s to accurately name the history and the continual residue of that history in our day. I know these terms are difficult to speak for some, but unless we face them head-on, we will tip-toe around an issue that requires a powerful exorcism.24