How to Heal Our Racial Divide: What the Bible Says, and the First Christians Knew, About Racial Reconciliation

Pastor Gray (God, Do You Hear Me?) suggests “the church” needs to lead the way to racial reconciliation in this jejune clarion call. Gray uses personal anecdotes and scripture to argue that “the way to heal our racial divide is to catch the Bible’s vision of a new community—a multiethnic community—formed around King Jesus in mutual love.” The author highlights the unifying message of biblical passages that address ethnic division, noting, for example, that the Samaritan’s generosity toward the wounded Jewish traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan illustrates Jesus’s belief in compassion across ethnicities. Gray envisions a “color-blessed discipleship” that acknowledges systemic racism and responds by “collectively mourn[ing] injustice” and “engag[ing] in difficult conversations.” Gray’s superficial approach to confronting racism by focusing on bonhomie and proselytism (“We must love Jesus”), however, will disappoint Christians looking for concrete ways to combat injustice. Additionally, some of his turns of phrase (“supremacy of Christ,” “gracist”) come across as flippant. While well-intentioned, Gray’s program leaves much to be desired when it comes to actually addressing and correcting racism. Agent: Alexander Field, Bindery Agency. (Apr.)