The story of America is not a struggle b/w liberal & conservative visions of common life; it’s the story of a plantation economy struggling against everyday people for power & control.
Every successful effort to expand democracy—from abolition to women’s suffrage to labor & civil rights—has been driven by a moral movement among everyday people.
The plantation economy resisted moral movements by investing in #slaveholderreligion. Preachers who defend anti-democratic policies are well-funded by the corporate elites & those who remain quietly apolitical are rewarded.
To call resistance to this #slaveholderreligion ‘liberal’ or left-wing faith to dismiss the fact that we are trying to conserve the only tradition that offers any hope of a democratic future in this land.
This is the core of what @RevDrBarber & I have been teaching in our Mobile Course in Public Theology this semester. I’m grateful that there are thousands of faith leaders across America who see this clearly.
It’s also central tenant of the #PoorPeoplesCampaign’s call for a moral revival. If like me you’re a Christian—liberal or conservative in disposition—this is the on-going work of #ReconstructingtheGospel. amazon.com/gp/aw/d/083084…
Here’s a 25min documentary of this story you can watch w/ your family, small group, book club or Sunday School class: cbsnews.com/amp/video/race…
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