America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America

by Jim Wallis Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

Overview

America's problem with race has deep roots, with the country's foundation tied to the near extermination of one race of people and the enslavement of another. Racism is truly our nation's original sin.



"It's time we right this unacceptable wrong," says bestselling author and leading Christian activist Jim Wallis. Fifty years ago, Wallis was driven away from his faith by a white church that considered dealing with racism to be taboo. His participation in the civil rights movement brought him back when he discovered a faith that commands racial justice. Yet as recent tragedies confirm, we continue to suffer from the legacy of racism. The old patterns of white privilege are colliding with the changing demographics of a diverse nation. The church has been slow to respond, and Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour of the week.



In America's Original Sin, Wallis offers a prophetic and deeply personal call to action in overcoming the racism so ingrained in American society. He speaks candidly to Christians-particularly white Christians-urging them to cross a new bridge toward racial justice and healing.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A thought-provoking plea to white evangelicals and white Christians in general." ---Library Journal

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"A thought-provoking plea to white evangelicals and white Christians in general." —Library Journal

Library Journal

12/01/2015
Author and Sojourners founder Wallis (God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It) employs a particularly evangelical take on the doctrine of original sin. None of us start with a clean slate; we are damaged by the past. Within this theological perspective, Wallis works to convince his fellow evangelicals that, in this sense, racism is America's original sin, further arguing that racism has been with this country before it was a nation, and that its effects are so pervasive and entrenched that even "race neutral" or "color-blind" policies can only serve to preserve the grievous fault. The author continues with a similarly evangelical remedy—repentance, insisting that the concept is not simply a matter of being sorrowful for past wrongs but a turning about that actively works toward being reconciled with one another. However, a secular translation that evangelicals can use across sectarian lines is less apparent. The balance of the book looks at the range of steps to effect that reconciliation. Wallis may be a bit too quick in outlining particular penances since he seems to offer no dialog with those of good will who disagree. VERDICT A thought-provoking plea to white evangelicals and white Christians in general.—James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170657438
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,224,628

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