Reconstructing the Gospel

Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion

By: Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Narrated by: Lloyd James

"I am a man torn in two. And the gospel I inherited is divided."

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove grew up in the Bible Belt in the American South as a faithful church-going Christian. But he gradually came to realize that the gospel his Christianity proclaimed was not good news for everybody. The same Christianity that sang, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound" also perpetuated racial injustice and white supremacy in the name of Jesus. His Christianity, he discovered, was the religion of the slaveholder.

Just as Reconstruction after the Civil War worked to repair a desperately broken society, our compromised Christianity requires a spiritual reconstruction that undoes the injustices of the past. Wilson-Hartgrove traces his journey from the religion of the slaveholder to the Christianity of Christ. Reconstructing the gospel requires facing the pain of the past and present, from racial blindness to systemic abuses of power. Grappling seriously with troubling history and theology, Wilson-Hartgrove recovers the subversiveness of the gospel that sustained the church through centuries of slavery and oppression, from the civil rights era to the Black Lives Matter movement and beyond.

When the gospel is reconstructed, freedom rings both for individuals and for society as a whole. Discover how Jesus continues to save us from ourselves and each other, to repair the breach and heal our land.

©2018 Mission Audio (P)2018 Mission Audio

Awesome

This book gave me so much needed insight into the mindset of the " White Evangelicals". I am truly grateful for the author's ability to describe their perspective and to clarify the misinterpretations of the bible that they rely on to justify their positions. Great job.

Take a listen, white Evangelicals!

An informative, localized, passionate piece written towards white Evangelicals. I wouldn't consider myself Evangelical, it's just good to be aware of some of the rhetoric out there, and ways of framing our past and present. Definitely worth a listen!

Beautiful

I have been looking for like minded people. This book and the Red Letter Christian community have fed my soul like no other. Thank you for writing this book in these trying times.

Essence of Truth

A must read to better understand how we connect to God and each other. Gives road map to perception of self and how to grow.

Excellent

This very small book really touches the heart, and helps people from different experiences to better understand the experiences of others, and find our common ground and common humanity.

Great insight!

Great in formation about modern day Christianity. As Christians we are not void of prejudice in our lives. Especially since it has existed throughout the building of America and all through ancient history. We must learn to humble ourselves and understand the struggles of others. We must ask Jesus to open our eyes to the truth and to see others the way he sees them. I like that the author realized that he had to sit among those who did not look like him and listen to them. That's how you truly understand someone. All too often we make assumptions based on false teachings and propaganda. Jesus went out to the Jews and the Gentiles. He equalized everyone by preaching that only God is good and we are all in need of forgiveness and repentance.

Disappointing.

I was expecting more unpacking of why Institutional/Westernized Christianity is "Slave holders Religion", and I didn't find that here.

What I found was a ringing endorsement for the ideology of "love overcomes hate". That if Whites and African Descendants got to know each other, and share time together white supremacy will be defeated. To be fair, the author did share how he and others are challenging white supremacy in other ways. Yet, what I have found is whites tend to challenge the system yet neglect to challenge the people who are in control of the system, which is other whites.

Overall I would recommend this book, if you are someone beginning to see the evil of white supremacy, yet if you are someone looking for more depth and understanding on how things were put in place, look elsewhere.

Listen!

When we take The Time to Truly listen with a heart open to be challenged and changed God is near. Thank you for writing this book!

A Must Read For ALL

No matter where you stand on matters of race and religion this book is incredibly important for furthering our knowledge and understanding of Christianity. Specifically in the United States. And I cannot encourage Christian specifically to read this book and more specifically my fellow white Brothers and sisters. For the sake of reconciliation and the sake of the gospel itself, read this book and probably more than once As it is packed full of nuggets of history and wisdom that you will definitely want to fully absorbed so it can be taught through you.

Hard to fully wrap my head around the premise

I also listened to Revolution of Values by the same author, and some of the material was very similar. Much as I personally agree with the point made in both books, I do not agree that everything except his particular brand of Christianity is “slave holder religion”. Yes, it is wrong to pretend that the freedom we are given in Christ is just a personal salve for the soul, with zero impact on our social conscience. But it sounds, at times, like he thinks we don’t need personal salvation at all.