prejudice

Was Jesus racist towards the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7? video discussion

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The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 15 in this Year B is Mark 7.24-37, which includes the episode of Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman that often brings readers up short, containing as it does what appears to be a rather shocking insult. It has become very popular to read this as a story about … Continue Reading

The Church of England’s Historic Links to the Transatlantic Slave Trade

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Robert Tombs and Lawrence Goldman write: The Church Commissioners have pledged £100 million over nine years in reparation for what are claimed to be their eighteenth-century predecessors’ involvement in and large financial gains from slavery and the slave trade. They argue that the Church, through Queen Anne’s Bounty (a corporation created by statute in 1703-4 for ‘the … Continue Reading

Did the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7 teach Jesus not to be racist?

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The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 14 in Year B is Mark 7.24-37, which includes the episode of Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman that often brings readers up short, containing as it does what appears to be a rather shocking insult. Jesus is seeking to withdraw from public attention, needing some time for rest … Continue Reading

Is there ‘systemic racism’ in Britain? Two views (ii)

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In the second of two articles, David Shepherd responds to Will Jones’ argument in the previous post: For many people in the UK, any doubts about the existence of systemic racism were dispelled when, in 1999, after a two-year public inquiry, the highly respected retired High Court judge, Sir William MacPherson, published his eponymous report concerning the … Continue Reading

Is there ‘systemic racism’ in Britain? Two views (i)

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In the first of two articles, Will Jones writes: Systemic racism, according to those who campaign against it, is the disadvantage experienced by ethnic minorities on account of the bias, conscious and subconscious, that some people, particularly from the ethnic majority, have in respect of them. Even though racial discrimination in most contexts is unlawful, it … Continue Reading