One Sunday I stood in the church vestibule greeting congregants as they exited. One man complimented me on the sermon and then asked this somewhat unusual question: “How long do you think it took to prepare that?”
“Fifty years,” I told him. That was my age at the time.
The best messages have to steep for a while, and clearly the message of America’s Original Sin has been steeping for quite some time. In fact, a few months ago, Jim Wallis told me that this was the book he’s always wanted to write. I believe he’s been writing it all his life. It’s only now, in the fullness of time, that we’re getting to read it.
This book lays bare the facts about white America’s moral responsibility for this country’s racial dysfunction. These facts are not really in dispute but are nevertheless largely ignored by white Christians. Not any more. Jim Wallis doesn’t just present the facts; he confronts us with them.
America’s Original Sin is not just a reminder of our jaded history or our hypocritical present. It is more than the sum of its sobering statistics. It calls into question the very benignity of whiteness. It reminds us of our biblical commitments. It calls us to repentance.
The repentance to which Jim Wallis points, however, is not simply a cathartic spiritual experience. He’s not just talking about committing to change but about making changes—changes in our relationships, changes in our churches, changes in our politics. And the book is chock full of practical prescriptions as to what that change should look like.
Perhaps the best thing about this book, however, is just how very personal it is. Reading this book feels a lot like having a conversation with Jim Wallis, right down to the de rigueur references to Little League. After a lifetime of listening to and living with minority concerns, Jim offers us the benefit of an experience that few of us will ever have. If we take it to heart, we can change the racial landscape of America.
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Excellent! Must READ! Jim Wallis sharing his vision of ridding our society of racism and creating a better future for all.
I really enjoyed Jim Wallis's new book. Racism is a blight on our society and is as old as America, itself. In the book, Jim tries to have us see how racism creates repetitive patterns and systems that often spark adversity and tragedies, both on a personal level and a national level. He asks us us to peer inside ourselves and understand how pride, hate, and resentment, affect our daily actions and words. He boldly asks us to to walk together into a new future. Jim offers a superb analysis of how racism has shaped and formed itself within our society throughout American history. Jim Wallis has always been arguing for economic and racial justice, throughout the past few decades. Wallis defined the United States’ original sin as: “Well, the original sin is…this nation was founded by the near genocide of one people and the kidnapping of another people to build this nation.” He now offers a new path to understanding and conquering racism, in our country. It was a great read about our principles and virtues, I highly recommend it! Hope it helps:)
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Top reviews from other countries
- BuchanansReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2016
Insightful and challenging, well written.
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase - SelchieReviewed in Canada on March 9, 2016
Refreshing Views on Christian Values and Ways to Combat Racism
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
