Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination, 2019

Appendix C of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation is titled “Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination.” This topic didn’t flow directly into the themes of OtherWise Christian in terms of dealing with gender–which is why the content is relegated to an appendix. However, these themes are critical adjacent issues in terms of talking about colonization, empire, white supremacy, and Christian supremacy–which is why I included them.

The content for Appendix C references (and quotes) the opening panel of the “Christianity and White Supremacy: Heresy and Hope” conference (#XWS19) at Princeton University. The opening panel (“The Tradition is a Problem“) and the closing panel (“The Tradition is an Answer“) were recorded and are still available from Princeton University’s media resource.

Yesterday, I posted about “white bullshit” as a technical term introduced by Dr Andrew Wymer at this #XWC19 event. Watch for another post expanding on the topic and pointing to more of Wymer’s work.

In Appendix C, I also cite (now presidential candidate) Mark Charles talking about the Doctrine of Discovery and Christendom, the Rev Dr Yolanda Pierce identifying the nature of tradition and its component parts, and the Rev Dr Eric Barreto talking about the power of the colonial imagination. The opening panel was facilitated by the Rev Dr Shively Smith and also included the Rev Dr Josiah Young. While I did not cite them in my appendix, I highly recommend the entire 2 hour opening plenary session for your consideration. It is juicy and full of insight from all of these scholars!

Watch: The Tradition is a Problem

The closing panel (“The Tradition is an Answer“) is also worthwhile, as panelists talked about Christian tradition as a form of resistance.

Watch for additional blog entries expanding on these themes and the contributions of these scholars. Meanwhile, a hearty thank you to the Princeton University Office of Religious Life for putting on such a vital offering to the community. In particular, thanks to Dean Alison Boden, Associate Dean Theresa S. Thames, and ORL coordinator Rosed Serrano for their work.