No Partiality : The Idolatry of Race and the New Humanity [Paperback]

Douglas R. Sharp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2002

This book is about how we make sense of race and racism. Oh, I'm not using "make sense" to mean "make something understandable, reasonable, lucid or sane," and I'm certainly not using it to mean "justify." . . . Rather I'm using the phrase in its literal meaning: how we manufacture ideas and practices on the basis of the stimulation of our senses. Race and racism are not only concepts that have been made by human beings, but they are also the principal way we in the United States have made sense of ourselves and others.In this way Douglas Sharp sets the stage for his analysis of how our language of race has evolved and how it has built a world of racism. He moves then to theoretical constructions of race, including its psychological, sociopolitical and socioeconomic dimensions. Race, Sharp argues, is a social and mythical construct--an idol. In his culminating chapter Sharp carefully weaves together the themes he has developed into a model for building a theology of racial reconciliation for a new humanity.Douglas Sharp is frank about writing as a European American primarily for other European Americans. Yet this book contributes much to the dialogue between various ethnic groups. Written from a Christian worldview, this book is for all who want to both understand the dynamics of racism and take greater responsibility in dismantling it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830826696
• ISBN-13: 978-0830826698
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,264,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A word for the author..., May 26, 2002

By 

Douglas R. Sharp (Willow Springs, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Partiality : The Idolatry of Race and the New Humanity (Paperback)

As the author of No Partiality, I want to express how deeply offended I am at the comments written by "A Reader" in the review on this page entitled "Blacks Need to Read This Book." Since it has the potential to be extremely misleading about the book, that review must be countered by my own comment in response.

I could not disagree more with the sentiments expressed by the reviewer, and I have great difficulty believing he/she actually read the book. I simply cannot imagine how anything I wrote in the book could be thought to support the views expressed in that review. There is certainly nothing in the book to suggest that African Americans "are the most racist people of all." Quite to the contrary, it is not possible to read the book and draw that conclusion from my arguments. But it is possible to bring that existent belief to a reading of the book, and be unpersuaded by the book's arguments because of an inability or unwillingness to think otherwise. Indeed, there is a section in the book that discusses just this phenomenon.

I argue in the book that race and racism are the historical and social constructions of a dominant sociocultural group, and as such they structure and maintain the position and advantage of this group in relation to other people groups. The analysis in the book serves to focus attention on how this everyday world of race and racism is structured and maintained. This analysis moves toward a discussion of the framework for reconciliation as suggested by both sociocultural analysis and the impulses in the Christian tradition. Thus the book is a contribution to the development of a theology of racial reconciliation, one that will warrant and encourage the anti-racism initiatives of Christian communities.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Response to a Readers Review, April 18, 2004

By 

"linnykate" (St. Paul) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Partiality : The Idolatry of Race and the New Humanity (Paperback)

I am incredibly offended at the last posters review. This is no place to espouse such uninformed racist attitudes. I am white and I have met many white people who I would say are racist. People from both sides of the spectrum need this book. To label this book as for "them" as the last reviewer did, is ridiculous and makes it obvious that he or she is one person who truly needs to take what this book is about to heart. I apologize to anyone from any of the groups this person targeted and I hope that this post can offer you at least a little bit of encouragement.