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In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Justin Holcomb welcome Phillip Holmes to offer his perspective on some of the differences between individual and systemic (or systematic) racism. Holmes connects these elements to biblical categories such as total depravity, and unpacks several examples from his own life. He also shares how these things can manifest as prejudice, bias, discrimination, antagonization, and hatred. The group discusses:

  • Introduction of Phillip Holmes (1:11)
  • Defining individual and institutional racism (1:48)
  • Categories of racism (4:20)
  • Why holding to gradations of racism is unhelpful (6:54)
  • Overt vs. implicit racism (9:13)
  • Racism and the sin of partiality (14:34)
  • A biblical view of systemic racism (21:04)
  • A need for reconstruction (27:46)
  • Being racist without saying the N-word (31:51)
  • Total depravity and systemic racism (37:07)
  • Holmes’s experiences with institutional and personal racism (44:01)

Explore more from TGC on the topics of race and slavery.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. How would you define racism in general? When you think of racism, is it primarily individual actions or corporate?

2. How have you heard systemic or institutional racism defined? How would you define it? Are there any examples you can think of from history or today?

3. What are biblical texts (both Old and New Testament) that shape your view of racism? What doctrinal convictions speak to the scope of racism?

4. How might doctrines such as total depravity help us to understand systemic racism?

5. What hope does the gospel offer to broken systems?

Transcript

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.
To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

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