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Tom Nettles is the Reformed evangelical norm, not Charles Spurgeon in 2020. One of the dark secrets of American Calvinism, is that its entire US history has been on the side of theologically & anthropologically advancing white supremacy over blacks... https://baptistnews.com/article/baptist-calvinists-defend-slavery-of-southern-seminary-founders/#.X2DCpy3MzGI
It was this way during slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, desegregation, white flight in the 1970s, 80s, & 90s, locking arms with the GOP stigmatizing black inner-city residents & then using that to justify "mission," & so on. American Calvinism did not end slavery nor Jim Crow.
The shame this brings must be overwhelming to those who consider Reformed Evangelicalism the standard of how the gospel should be defined & those who believe their tribe is absolutely right. That is, "we get the gospel right." "If are right, how were "they" (not us) so wrong?"
The black church's entire history, since its inception, has been fighting against the racism & white supremacy of Calvinists from the Puritans, to Particular Baptists, to Presbyterians, and so on. As such, Nettles recent article is no surprise. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0820405701/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i9
The cleanse themselves of the shame of this American fact, 2020 Reformed evangelicals, when this history is raised, immediately leap to the following: (1) focussing on abolitionists, (2) squeezing a gnat through a straw to find the outlier black Calvinist in those circles, . . .
(3) Hoisting up Charles Spurgeon's anti-slavery content as some kind of deletion of the fact that UK/USA Calvinism has primarily supported the theological anthropology of white supremacy over blacks. It seems exaggerated & romanticized in its bringing about of *real* change.
Spurgeon's anti-slavery views lost him support of Southern Baptists. The same Southern Baptist perspective at the time is represented in Tom Nettles' 2020 article. Don't hear what I'm not saying: Spurgeon was a great preacher in the Baptist tradition & was faithful to it!
Kudos to him! In that sense, it's appropriate to celebrate him for those reasons but to raise him as proof that UK/USA Calvinism has not emphasized white supremacy, fails. The exception proves the rule. It also opens the door for the conflation of abolition with anti-racism.
Here's the question, from a black church perspective: what difference did Spurgeon's teaching make in rooting out *racism* in the 19th-century? Both UK & American abolitionists were extremely racist & I can't find the evidence of the effects of his preaching on English racism.
I'm interested in this, because of what I consider a romanticized & exaggerated view of his influence on English racism. I plan to contact black British scholars to explain their perspective on Spurgeon's racial impact because I don't see, historically, how racism was reduced.
In the US, instead of addressing the white nationalism that is rampant in 2020 Reformed evangelical culture, as an extension of the reading their own tradition, they have chosen the "whataboutism" approach to fight against BLM, critical race theory, intersectionality, etc.
Instead of embracing the epistemic humility that says, "huh, maybe there's something wrong with our tribe theologically because it historically fails to prevent Christian racism, we'll deflect by claiming others are the problem." If Spurgeon were the norm, there'd be no Nettles.
If Spurgeon were the norm, there'd be no discussions warning about the "threat" of "social justice warriors," "cultural Marxism," "critical race theory," etc. Instead, there would be an emphasis on white nationalism, submitting to black church leaders for direction, etc. . .
If Spurgeon were the norm, the emphasis would be "what happen to our forefathers during Jim Crow; to Billy Graham, Okenga, Criswell, etc. & why were they such failures on issues of race in the 1960s and 1970s?" And so on. Their version of the gospel doesn't end Christian racism.
If Spurgeon were the norm Picket, Lecrae, Mason, Tisby, etc., would not have walked away. No, the spirit of rejecting Spurgeon is the norm. Nettles is the local church norm. The Facebook norm. The blog norm. The Twitter norm. This why Thabiti has wasted many years of his life.
Thabiti Anyabwile has to say this in 2020 because Spurgeon is the outlier exception, not the rule. Not the norm. Why is he having to address this in 2020? https://twitter.com/ThabitiAnyabwil/status/1304850794689290241?s=20
So please, Dear White Reformed Evangelical in a church tradition rooted in the Southern history, or Puritan race history, as we say in black community, "Take care of home first." Spurgeon will unsuccessfully assuage the shame of your history until you root out white nationalism.
I've seen leaders use Spurgeon to address 2020 issues, as if Spurgeon carries some sort of authority, say, like the Catholic Magisterium. White Calvinists didn't care about Spurgeon on race then & many won't care now in a context where authority rests in local church tribalism.
Spurgeon fandom on race will fail until they can figure out why their version of Calvinism does not prevent racist attitudes, Nettle's writing nonsense about slavery, etc. Here's the evasive (cowardly) response: "they had a blind spot in applying the true gospel." #TakeCareOfHome
