You Tube Theology

Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Professor at North Park Theological Seminary, explains concepts such as the "white male gaze" and how his Christian audience acts "instinctively, reflexively" to "preserve that narrative of white supremacy, white primacy." This clip is part of a "racial justice" course offered by World Vision, "May We Be One." The charity touts these online seminars as "a platform where attendees can learn from pastors of color who have been prolific voices in anti-racism efforts." (Source: https://www.worldvision.org/christian-faith-news-stories/3-ways-world-vision-fighting-racial-bias-injustice) Transcript excerpts: "Whose perspective determines the perspective of society? Willie Jennings [of Yale Divinity School] talks about the four quadrants of relationships, a four-part relationship, between the white male, the black male, the white female, and the black female. And that interrelationship between these four often times is determined by the gaze or perspective of the white male. In other words, how the white male views the others determines how the rest of society views the other. So, for example, when the white male gazes upon the black male, how is that black male perceived? The black male is perceived in such a way that the rest of society views the black male in the same way. So, when the white male sees the black male, that black male is a threat." "Narratives are like a good actor in a good TV show or in a movie. So there are good actors who use something called method acting. In method acting, what they do is they embody the character so deeply that they reflexively and improvisationally, impulsively act out of that character. So, for example, if Robert De Niro is playing a mobster in a movie shoot, and you run into him at a Starbucks, don't talk to him, because he's so into that character, he'll respond to you like he's an actual mobster. So that embodied character, getting so deeply into that character that your instinct, your reflex, what you improvise, comes out of that character, that's what narratives do. And so these narratives have been played out over and over again. The unidentified black male. The superiority of white culture over other culture. The demeaning of other cultures and the elevating of this culture. When that narrative gets played out over and over again, we end up embedding that character into our imagination, our value system, our worldview, and we act improvisationally, instinctively, reflectively, reflexively, out of that character. One of the questions we want to grapple with as we go through this material is what are the ways that we act instinctively to preserve that narrative of white superiority, white primacy? What are the ways we act naturally, instinctively, to preserve or act into that narrative of white superiority?" Source video: https://vimeo.com/481505776 Watch the latest Woke Preacher Clips on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WokePreacherTV