Author: StephenJ Matlock

Sihouette of man walking toward light

Shadows on the Wall

CRT is about systems, not individuals. Systems are developed as shortcuts for lengthy processes so that we don’t spend all our time trying to figure out how to hand multiple situations and not have disparate outcomes.

Brass key sitting on fallen leaves

Hard Questions, Hard Answers

Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, which is simply you can’t follow Jesus if you have more important things than Jesus.

Real but Imaginary Threats

Much ink will be spilled in the next few months or even years about the topic of Critical Race Theory (CRT), both by those who think they support it and those who think they oppose it

The Fear of Transparency

The myth of white success also develops the myth of white innocence. All the successes were due to white efforts that others seemed unable to copy; all the events of terror and destruction were minimalized and forgotten. And white innocence was preserved & confirmed for a people who could gladly declare their devotion to America as the land of “liberty and justice for all.”

A white man in a hat smiles at a white woman who smiles back.

REVIEW: Good White Racist?

As your friend, I need to tell you
something about myself that I also see in you, and it’s something that’s
bringing harm to people.

American flag, backlighted so that a white cross appears on the blue canton with white stars

The Devil Is a Christian Nationalist

There is no divine right for Christians to control the government. There is no place in the Constitution for Christians to be given charge of the government to rule as “Christians.”

Gruff bearded white cowboy wearing a white hat

REVIEW: Jesus and John Wayne

Du Mez answers the question “What happened to white Evangelicals between Clinton and Trump?” with provocative, well-researched data to show the inevitability of the election results in 2016—and 2020.

Maybe the Tree Is Bad

If policing is such a difficult skill that it results in the killing of Black civilians again and again then perhaps the problem is not the civilians.

This Do

There is nothing that white American Christians have or want as human beings that our Black brothers and sisters do not want.

On the Public Death of a Suspect

I am watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, taking place right now, to determine his culpability and guilt in the public death of George Floyd some ten months ago.

REVIEW: How to Fight Racism

Working to bring our fellow human beings up to their full dignity as people who are endowed with full human, civil rights is a good thing for all of us,

When Church Becomes the State

Sometimes we think that by making our country an explicitly religious one, we will solve our problems. But the results are always worse.

Mug of coffee on a square of burlap. A journal and pencil lay next to it. There are coffee beans scattered around the cup and on top of the journal.

The Confidence of Ignorance

It’s really sad when white guys don’t get it. There’s a sui generis difference between the experience of Black Americans … More

REVIEW: Just Mercy

I got this book for Christmas, and it sat on my pile of “To Read” books because there were a … More