Black Pastor Receives Racist Letter for Calling Out Denial of Systemic Racism

The Southern Baptists are Southern Baptisting again.

• After years of legal back and forth, an appeals court has ruled 2-1 that the annual Nativity scene displayed at the Jackson County Courthouse in Indiana is constitutional, with Obama nominee Judge David F. Hamilton dissenting. The ruling essentially came down to “they’ve done it this way for a long time, so it’s fine.”

• A reporter from Catholic network EWTN asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki what President Biden would do to reach out to “pro-life” Americans. I wish Psaki would’ve gone with my response.

  Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta

  Trump's incompetence led to hundreds of thousands of COVID deaths. He pushed for the death penalty. He was still hailed by the anti-abortion crowd. Biden is trying to get everyone vaccinated and give them financial help. There's your "pro-life" outreach right there.

  

  Acyn Torabi @Acyn

  “Is the President going to make any effort to reach out to pro-life Americans” https://t.co/iVTKf9s0wv

• After Pastor Dwight McKissic, a Black pastor, announced he was going to make a break from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention — and maybe the Southern Baptist Convention entirely — for openly rejecting “Critical Race Theory,” he received this contemptuous letter from racist church member John V. Rutledge.

  Kyle J. Howard @KyleJamesHoward

  An email my friend @pastordmack received recently after announcing his departure from the SBTC. Behold.

  

  No, this was not written in 1950, it’s dated January 25, 2021. McKissic didn’t need validation for his decision to leave an oppressive system— but to anyone who doubts systemic racism exists today, this letter should drive the point home.

• One of the most disturbing reports of child sex abuse to date has just come out of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany. The report, which was supposed to remain confidential until it leaked via a lawsuit, involves 175 foster children, mostly boys, under the age of 14 who were “rented” out by nuns to businessmen and clergy for the purpose of rape.

• If E.W. Jackson is going to Heaven, it’s great news that the rest of us will be going somewhere else.

  Right Wing Watch @RightWingWatch

  Right-wing pastor E.W. Jackson used his daily Bible study livestream this morning to declare that there are no gay or transgender people in Heaven and to attack Rachel Levine as "a freak."

  

• Finally, this is how a president can be religious without proselytizing:

  Sarah M. Levin @SarahMLevin

  .@FLOTUS: "I don't want to proselytize. My religion, for me, is a safe place...Other people may meditate. For me, prayer gives me hope, and it centers me." Excellent example of how public officials can express their faith without alienating nonbelievers.

  

  people.comIn First White House Interview, Joe & Jill Biden Talk Marriage, Family, Prayer — and the Challenges AheadThe new president and first lady open up about their initial days after returning to Washington, D.C., and starting the nation’s next chapter: “We have problems, but we also have enormous opportunities”