The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality for Racial Reconciliation

by Michael Battle

Two of the most vocal activists on racial issues in the church seek nothing less than a conversion of American Christianity. They directly challenge the churches to resume leadership in overcoming and redressing America's legacy of racial segregation. Campolo and Battle expose the realities of racial division in the churches and then lift up a vision of a church without racism. To achieve reconciliation within and among the denominations, they argue, both the black and the white church need to acknowledge and overcome substantial problems in their traditions. The authors provide a blueprint for how racially reconciled churches can encourage activism in the cities, church involvement in politics, and responsible use of the Bible, ultimately helping to transform American society itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian Non Fiction

159 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many good elements in this book, and it is worth engagement. However, the messages were not communicated in any focused manner. There seemed to be a call to readers to do political and sociological justice acts in their power, yet later the Holy Spirit was finally raised as necessary. The authors lifted the importance of spirituality as a core but then sometimes ignored the need for spirituality and, worse, seemed to advocate for spiritualities that are sub- or anti-Christian. They complain about things whites can do nothing about because it is history, then they complain about blacks being lazy in some cases. It is all over the place. A more effective book would have a tighter focus.

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has an underlying good message although Campolo almost seems to contradict himself with his call to holiness in the second half but his seeming compromise on other issues in the first half, e.g., African Traditional Religion and the mix with Christianity. It reminds me of words in the Old Testament stating that various tribes served God but they served other gods also. There is a definite political slant in the book, which is disconcerting as one would hope there would be validations for viewpoints referencing scripture rather than references to political figures or philosophy.
Over all, the authors present a confusing message, almost bashing today's white people for historical facts that we cannot change but then railing against blacks. The reader is left feeling as though the authors are unsure of their views on the reasons or proposed solutions for dealing with racism. It is a complex issue and too many other related issues are touched upon so that the reader is left feeling confused and wondering what exactly the authors are proposing.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall pretty good, but Campolo's political agenda keeps coming out in ways that I believe hurt the overall message of the book.