By Ariel Wright | Reporter
University of Oxford professor Dr. Anthony Reddie discussed Christianity, forgiveness and the potential for transformative change in his lecture Wednesday at the Hurd Welcome Center, utilizing his signature storytelling style to highlight the voices of those often obscured from the dominant narrative.
Reddie, who is a professor of Black theology and the director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture, is in residence at Baylor for three weeks this month. Presenting a new lens through which students and faculty can view the relationship between race and Christianity, his lecture gave a glimpse into what he will present over his few weeks on campus.
“In the lecture, I’m trying to say that we have to get away from who’s trying to win and work out how do we work with and engage with each other?” Reddie said. “Because ultimately, winners and losers don’t make for a good peace.”
Reddie said his focus was not to discredit the experiences of dominant groups but to call for the recognition of the stories of those outside of dominant white culture.
“He did a really good job of sort of connecting the idea of Christianity and justice,” Nashville, Tenn., junior Gabrielle White said. “He said that justice lifts everybody, and he tied it to the imagery of a tide. The idea was if you’re on a dock or something like that and you’re in a sea of boats, the tide will lift everybody. And with that example, he connected the tide to justice and how, as Christians, it’s our duty to adhere to that justice and be beacons of hope and light in times of darkness.”
Reddie’s call for justice is central to his research on Black theology. He said he will be calling on this knowledge during his upcoming visit on Feb. 15 for the Baylor Conference on Racism in the White Church — a conference highlighting the implications, both past and present, of racism in the church.
“One thing that I really took away was Dr. Reddie’s emphasis on exceptionalism and how very large or dominant communities have clung to that idea of exceptionalism,” White said. “I think that he put a lot of things into perspective for me personally, and I think he also offered me avenues for engaging in discussions with people who still want to cling to those ideas.”
Reddie’s recently published book, “Deconstructing Whiteness, Empire and Mission,” further explores this notion of justice while considering the legacy of harm that has been done in the name of Christianity. Throughout the book, he reflects on the relationship between the Christian mission, white supremacy, systemic racism and global capitalism. He said the book emphasizes the significance of respectful discourse about polarizing issues.
“Those who lose or perceive they’ve lost will only be full of so much resentment and anger that they’ll always be plotting to come back and get their revenge,” Reddie said. “So therefore, what we have to find is a way of mutual respect.”
