White Christianity and Disney Princess Theology
By: James F. McGrath
How can thinking creatures refuse to think? What is going on in their heads?
I cannot stop trying to understand the fascists. Individually, they are not bad people
Collectively, they are evil .
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
I shared a version of the quote above on Facebook and the response and discussion was fascinating. I realize it is Father's Day, but I will say that I am perfectly comfortable as a male and as a father to talk about how I and how North American white Christianity might be like Disney princesses. It will be no stranger than the fact that, unplanned as far as the coincidence with the holiday is concerned, my Sunday school class will be talking about Mary the mother of Jesus later today. Maybe we can start with "where was Joseph?"
But here I'd like to focus on the discussion the quote prompted. I definitely recommend reading the entirety of the blog post from which the quote is taken . In response to one question on Facebook about the meme, I said that I think the analogy works in the sense that we always tend to identify with the hero rather than the villain when watching Disney movies and when reading the Bible.
One commenter from Romania asked about the quote, and I explained it in this way: The problem is about assuming we are the hero and never the villain in our cherished stories. We assume we are the persecuted church in Revelation not the Roman Empire. It works with Star Wars too: we identify ourselves as Leia not Palpatine.
When he further asked whether it unhelpfully demonized "white Christianity" I wrote this in response:
I am sure that some of the conversation related to the United States is puzzling from the vantage point of Romania. On the other hand, the Southern Baptists, which broke away from the national union of American Baptist Churches because those in the south defended slavery, has had a significant influence in Romania, although not always with Romanians being aware that that denomination's outlook including its doctrine about the Bible were formed precisely to defend slavery and depict abolitionism as an attack on scripture. Either way, I don't think there is an issue here of "demonization" any more than there is an issue of the (much more literal) "demonization" of the Roman Empire in the Book of Revelation. Revelation 18:13 specifically mentions the enrichment of Rome at the expense of others through trade that included slavery as part of that broader imperial economic endeavor. If Rome had said first "fine, we'll get rid of slavery but keep you as second-class separate and unequal inhabitants," then next "fine, we'll let you go to the same schools as Romans but discriminate against you for jobs and housing," and most recently "fine, we'll make you equal in every respect on paper in the eyes of the law as long as you don't complain about the ongoing legacy of all that was done previously, or call us on the fact that our soldiers kill innocent people in your communities much more frequently than they do others," would it be "demonization" if an heir to the author of the Book of Revelation suggested that the Roman Empire still had an unresolved issue that called for repentance and meaningful change?
The issue of racism came up more than once, including when a friend shared the following statement made on Facebook (because he was as appalled as I hope most readers of this blog will be):
In talking about how to respond to something like that, I added to other things that had been said and wrote the following: The response should also focus on how the current poverty in so much of Africa is due to the pillaging of the continent by colonial powers, the same powers that claimed North America and imported slaves as part of that same endeavor of conquest for personal enrichment.
There is more that could be said, but for now let me just end by reiterating my recommendation to read the entirety of Erna Kim Hackett's blog post .
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We know they see Trump as "always right". By extension, perhaps, they see themselves as always right.
Bob:
What's going on in the heads of thinking creatures that refuse to think?
Not much!
'Individually, they are not bad people. Collectively they are evil.'
Took me back years to when a friend said that by themselves, they [members of a particular church] are the finest people you'd meet anywhere. He then asked me, 'what is it about this [particular] church that when they all meet there ... they go crazy.' I laughed then ... and again for this post!
Why do we do read ourselves reliably in the best light? I suspect it's a defensive mechanism.
The apocalypse is an interesting work. Once you get a handle on the basic imagery and ascertain the writer's theological purpose, what one sees is a remarkable work -- a 'kingdom of God' Manifesto -- an alternative vision of the world -- over and against the idolatry/blasphemy/authority/power/wealth/corruption/propaganda/coercion/etc. NOT that was Rome, but that was EMPIRE as it forms in every age, under any name, in any place, at any time, in any political system. In the 1st century, it WAS Rome. Earlier it was Babylon, Tyre, etc., right to the present day ... that being ... us.
I firmly believe that if this reading of the apocalypse were to become known, supporters of this imperial world order would not hesitate to shut down whatever faith community interprets our times and situation from this theological perspective.
The comment from the Unofficial Utah Republicans is telling. Essentially, it seeks to absolve past wrongs by arguing that African Americans are better off than Africans. But this is stated without any reference to intervening history let alone Kapital's continued influence on that continent, the continuous draining of Africa's resources, and current campaigns at recolonizing the African continent.
Moreover, the idea that African Americans owe European Americans money returns to the original rationale for the slave trade -- money, extracted from an unpaid labor force. Perhaps Utah Republicans rue the day that slavery was formally ended in the US.
Thanks for the link to EKH's blog.
Take care!
Thanks for a thoughtful Reply... it's good to see that some people actually read!
I've been mystified by whatever is going on in the heads of the fascist-fellow-travelers: the vast segment of Trump-true-believers who would be horrified if they ever came to truly understand what Trump would really mean for America - may yet come to mean.
I have a cousin in Yuma. He and his wife are "good, nice people" ... ... and they're racists... ... and they're authoritarians. They are fascists, but they don't know it. They go to church every Sunday, when their preacher explains the Bible to them. The preacher does not preach against racism. Because they go to church every Sunday, they consider themselves "good Christians". I don't think it ever occurs to them to ask themselves if they "love their neighbors". Disney-princess theology very much applies.
(There are very few Black people in Yuma, so my cousin's racism is directed at the considerable Spanish-speaking population. He and his wife "know" that people spoke Spanish in the region long before English-speakers arrived, but they somehow still consider the Latinos to be the interlopers. They do not think about the Native American tribes that were exterminated by the Anglos.)
It's not a new idea: "The guards at Auschwitz were probably good fathers to their children."