I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in fifth grade. By that point, my family and I had been part of the Christian education community for about six years. When my parents gave their lives to God after I was born, they decided that my brother and I would attend Christian schools. What they encountered was racism that was astounding to them. Because how can a place that claims to have the love of God NOT show that love to ALL people? One day, my dad sat me down at the table with his Bible and began teaching me how to recognize some of the myths and false narratives that had become intertwined with Christianity.
Daddy said, “Nika, your teacher is probably going to teach you about the curse of Ham. Let me show you what the Bible actually says. Read this passage in Genesis. See that? Ham was never cursed. Black people are not cursed by God. If she teaches you that, I want you to correct her with the Word, okay?” “Yes, Daddy.” Then he continued. “Here’s another thing they may teach you. Your teacher may tell you that different races should not be together. They may use the verse that says, ‘Do not be unequally yoked.’ But they won’t finish the thought. You need to know the whole passage. It says not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. It is not a sin for people of different races to be together. And remember Moses. Moses married a woman from another people, and he was still chosen by God to lead Israel. If your teacher tells you otherwise, make sure you correct her.” “Yes, Daddy.”
And I did. Every single time my teachers taught these false doctrines, I raised my hand and corrected them with the Word. I was just 10 years old. I would continue to do that until I graduated from high school. Some people have wondered why my parents would put my brother and me in situations like that. Was it safe? Was it healthy? I had one teacher who targeted me relentlessly. My classmates from back then still remember some of the awful things she did to me in class. I later learned that other Black students who had been in her classroom experienced hurtful treatment as well.
But what makes this story even more important is that some of what she was teaching was not simply her personal ideology. It existed within a larger historical context. Many Christian schools in America were established or expanded during desegregation as families sought ways to maintain segregated education. In some places, biblical interpretations were used to justify racial separation and to defend the preservation of a racial hierarchy. That is American history. And I didn’t just hear about it. I was taught it. I lived it. I have experienced its legacy in Christian schools and other evangelical spaces for most of my life and those experiences hinder me from being silent about it.
So why am I talking about this now? Isn’t that all in the past? No.
The language may have softened a litte but the message has not changed. The temptation to elevate one people’s story while diminishing everyone else’s has not disappeared. And there are still people willing to use the Bible, history, and the classical tradition to justify it. People have been misusing Scripture and philosophical texts to justify racism and White supremacy for centuries. Twisting the Bible is not new. Twisting the story of the classical tradition is not new. But neither is fighting against it. Neither is speaking the truth. Wherever those liars existed, so did their dissenters. Without dissenters, so much of the liberty we enjoy today would not exist. We would not have the rich Christian and classical traditions we inherited if people who knew the truth of God’s Word and understood the dignity of human beings had remained silent when those traditions were being distorted. When we are silent, we give life to the lies that still haunt our country. Silence will not make the lies disappear. Silence will not heal us. Silence will not free us.
I know speaking against the distortions of Christian Nationalism can be frightening. We fear losing friends. We fear losing business. We fear losing belonging in communities we have valued. And throughout history, some people have even risked their lives for telling the truth. But nothing is more important than truth. And for Christians, nothing is more important than faithfully carrying out the Great Commission: going into the world and making disciples of all nations, teaching people the good news of Jesus Christ. For he died for the WORLD and not one specific “nation.” Jesus did not say, “Go into all the world and make sure you protect Eurocentric narratives.” He did not say, “Go into all the world and make sure everyone knows that your people’s story is the most important story.” When he returns and all we can say for our work on this earth is that we preserved and elevated our own human story over everyone else’s, he will not be happy. That was not what he commanded us to do. He sent His followers into all the world to tell of His love for THE WORLD.
The Gospel belongs to no race. Christianity belongs to no ethnicity. Jesus belongs to no political movement. And again for the people in the back, God does not ask us to center, elevate, or favor our heritage over someone else’s. He allows us to value our heritage. We can love it. We can celebrate it. We can thank God for the people and places we came from. But our heritage does not make us more valuable than anyone else.
It doesn’t matter how many lands your ancestors conquered. It doesn’t matter how many empires they built. And it doesn’t matter how terribly your ancestors were oppressed or how many of them were enslaved. None of those things makes one human being more valuable in the eyes of God than another. I know that second part is hard to swallow if you are Black like me, but it is also true. We were ALL made in His image. And He loved humanity so deeply that He gave His life for us. Teach that to your children. Teach them to recognize when Scripture is being distorted to elevate one group of human beings over another. Teach them the whole story of Christianity. Teach them the whole story of humanity. And wherever God has given you a voice, use it. Because silence cannot drive out a lie. Only the truth is the light that exposes the darkness of Christian Nationalism.
Anika Prather 