One book that won't be banned

[Aldebaran]

A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal, was edited by Sarah Bessey and published in February and is available at major sellers such as Target, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The passage in the book by Chanequa Walker-Barnes, "Prayer of a Weary Black Woman," seeks spiritual guidance to stop "caring" about white people who inevitably perpetuate racism.

"Dear God, Please help me to hate white people," Walker-Barnes writes. "Or at least to want to hate them. At least, I want to stop caring about them, individually and collectively. I want to stop caring about their misguided, racist souls, to stop believing that they can be better, that they can stop being racist."
"My prayer is that you would help me to hate the other white people—you know, the nice ones," Walker-Barnes writes. "The Fox News–loving, Trump-supporting voters who 'don't see color' but who make thinly veiled racist comments about 'those people.' The people who are happy to have me over for dinner but alert the neighborhood watch anytime an unrecognized person of color passes their house."

She adds: "Lord, if you can't make me hate them, at least spare me from their perennial gaslighting, whitemansplaining, and white woman tears."

Bessey added the prayer was a "faithful, honest lament, modelled on Scripture" with a "Biblically-based call" for loving neighbors, "as Jesus said."
"Help me hate white people": Entry in bestselling prayer book stokes controversy

 

[Tanj]

Well, here's the first thread on this topic started last week

"Dear God, help me hate white people" - Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, Seminary Professor at Mercer Unv

On a side note, given the thread title, what books have been banned recently? Noting that publishers deciding to no longer publish a book is not banning.

 

[atpollard]

Errr ... ummm ... ok.

 

[CuriousPagan]

Um...not Christian, but isn't praying to God to help you hate a race the opposite of what Jesus said?

 

[Jay Sea]

Are we Honkies really white deep down. After all we all came out of Africa.
In Love
Jay Sea

 

[Landon Caeli]

Um...not Christian, but isn't praying to God to help you hate a race the opposite of what Jesus said?

Yup. The saddest part is that some Christians are actually defending it... They're calling it "poetic".

 

[Landon Caeli]

Are we Honkies really white deep down. After all we all came out of Africa.
In Love
Jay Sea

Huh..?

 

[Paulomycin]

1st question: Why is she praying to God to help her hate?

2nd question: Why is she having such a difficult time even wanting to hate?

3rd question: Doesn't this mean she believes in a non-existent "white race" that got us all into this mess to begin with?

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

What's more amazing than the prayers contained within this book is the reaction it provokes amongst the left and right. The Right I think sort of expects this rhetoric. They will shrug, they will laugh at it but there won't be any sort of mass movement to get Amazon or whomever to stop distributing the book.

The left either approves of the message and considers it a righteous prayer of indignation against the oppressor class or they are too embarrassed by it to even offer a tepid criticism.

Theologically asking God for the power to hate more is problematic. More problematic than just asking God to straight up kill your enemies, which we have examples of in the bible. It shows a complete lack of grace, a complete lack self-denial. It straight up ignores what Saint Paul said about all being one in Christ, Greek or Jew.

 

[Chrystal-J]

Maybe she's praying to a "god", not God. Wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Arcangl86]

You're right. It's an inappropriate way to pray to God. It doesn't even pray for the babies of the enemies of the person praying to have their skulls bashed in.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

It sounds kind of tongue-in-cheek to me.

 

[Heavenhome]

Maybe she's praying to a "god", not God. Wouldn't be surprised.

I agree, she is warped and deluded and doesn't know the one true God, if this is what she is doing.
Sorry for sounding harsh but its true.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Yup. The saddest part is that some Christians are actually defending it... They're calling it "poetic".

I think most Christians pretend not to hate people of different color. Black , White or what ever. But most do. We tolerate people .

 

[Landon Caeli]

I think most Christians pretend not to hate people of different color. Black , White or what ever. But most do. We tolerate people .

I'm opposed to violence. And praying to God, asking him to help people hate entire races, is an abomination.

 

[Petros2015]

The left either approves of the message and considers it a righteous prayer of indignation against the oppressor class or they are too embarrassed by it to even offer a tepid criticism.

Theologically asking God for the power to hate more is problematic. More problematic than just asking God to straight up kill your enemies, which we have examples of in the bible. It shows a complete lack of grace, a complete lack self-denial. It straight up ignores what Saint Paul said about all being one in Christ, Greek or Jew.

It does not belong in a book of prayer
About the only thing good I can say about it is that at least she is asking for help.
Since she is asking for help, there must be something holding her back
(which she does not recognize as God)
(which I think is God)
And it's unlikely God would be interested in helping her in that direction.
As has been said, all prayers are answered
And sometimes the answer is NO.
Unfortunately, "Knock and the door will be opened"
Applies to more than just 1 door.

Unless this was taken out of context and just above it
says 'how not to pray'
I think she has the wrong address.

I hope that was a sufficiently un-tepid criticism. I completely agree with your theological assessment.

 

[Arcangl86]

This is a real question. Why is this bad? There is stuff in scripture that isn't too dissimilar, and she has even said that wrote this on the style of the imprecatory psalms. And if you dig into it, she is asking for the ability to hate white people, because loving them even when they are racist is painful. She's asking for a way for the pain to be relieved. But at the end she gives it all up to God.

 

[Landon Caeli]

This is a real question. Why is this bad? There is stuff in scripture that isn't too dissimilar, and she has even said that wrote this on the style of the imprecatory psalms. And if you dig into it, she is asking for the ability to hate white people, because loving them even when they are racist is painful. She's asking for a way for the pain to be relieved. But at the end she gives it all up to God.

Imagine praying to God for the ability to hate your husband or wife... Is that aligned with love in any way.

...Imagine praying to God to help you hate your mother or child.

 

[Arcangl86]

Imagine praying to God for the ability to hate your husband or wife... Is that aligned with love in any way.

...Imagine praying to God to help you hate your mother or child.

Imagine praying to God to bash in the skulls of babies because they are of a different race. Imagine praying for your enemies to be stricken blind and then killed.

Oh wait, you don't have to. It's in the Bible.

Imagine praying that a political opponent's days be few. I know plenty did in 2008, including several well known pastors.

Would I pray this way? No. But I don't think it's the reason for the huge outrage I'm seeing, because there is stuff just as bad in our scriptures. And fundamentally, asking to be able to hate somebody is still better then asking for them to be stricken dead.

 

[98cwitr]

Let's also not ignore that she is a Seminary professor at an accredited Georgia University.