Joel McDurmon, Ph.D., has worked for over a decade as a public theologian. He has authored and edited over twenty books, including The Problem of Slavery in Christian America and Restoring America One County at a Time. Joel lives near Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and five children.
The McDurmon archive is an archive of older and previously published works from Dr. McDurmon. His more recent published works are found below.
Americans have recently been introduced to a new legal phrase “qualified immunity” in the wake of the string of police murders, abuses, and subsequent protests and riots. Many returned not only furrowed brows at the phrase, but some level of surprise that it means police are usually not held accountable for violating the law, including many clear abuses. For the first time in a long time, a phrase and troublesome policy generally only discussed in minority corners has been vaulted into mainstream discourse, with several people now calling to end it. The problem is, this demon is legion. It has many tentacles stretching into every sphere of government, the criminal justice system, and much of life. “Ending” it will require radical changes across the board or else we will see some kind of piecemeal, lip-service fix which does little to nothing.
Quarantine is within the realm of civil law, and in the rare cases it is necessary, it can be applied to fullest extents necessary, including postponing religious services.
In a recent hot-take, libertarian pundit Larry Elder decries what he sees as liberal bias in Black History Month (BHM). He says, “Despite years of Black History Februarys, many know little to nothing about the vast role played by Arab and Muslim slavers in the African slave trade.” He asks, “Why Don’t They Teach About the Arab-Muslim Slave Trade in Africa?”
“Stop Lying About Our Boys!” the article said. It is a now-common refrain we hear as we conservatives react against the perceived attacks on masculinity. But from what I have seen, I have come often to question the honesty of crying “man-hater” every time a Gillette ad or other source says there is a problem with male behavior we should attend to. Didn’t the Bible already tell us this would be the case?
I apologize for coming along a tad late on this post. Sometimes these days I feel like those people at the back of the parade who scoop up behind the horses. Problem is, when it comes to Douglas Wilson on the Southern slavery issue, we’re all much later than we think, and we need far more than a scoop.
Despite continued denials and whitewashings by some today, one of the most upsetting aspects of American slavery was the tremendous support it found in churches and pulpits. Most churches, ministers, and conservative Christians in the South either actively or passively supported the system and rarely did anything to curtail its widespread abuses, even when those abuses sometimes surfaced among members of their own congregations. It is important that we acknowledge these truths as a baseline going forward.
Many people have pushed back or openly ridiculed my view that biblical Christians ought to take back the phrase “social justice.” It has even occasioned some extravagant claims. In addition to other epithets, it is now sometimes heard that I have become leftist, or some other similar claim. Let me show you how misguided that really is, and indeed what a powerful ally is on my side in this practice.
I had a difficult time listening through much of it, despite several points of agreement. While I am grateful for a lot of what he says, and that he had an opportunity to share the Gospel clearly with the unbeliever Ben Shapiro, there are several grave concerns with his perspectives. Many people will think that the fact that he shared the Gospel here will outweigh the rest. It does not.
Conservatives can hardly take a break from hammering Bernie or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the wide-eyed, clueless new posterchild of Socialism, but we overlook the greatest Socialist heist in our own back yards. It is bigger, nearer, more real, and it is every bit our own fault—and we are every bit as clueless as the Bronxite butt of our own jokes.
The most concerning point of divergence is that the 7MD version does what critics of traditional dominion theology have falsely accused us of doing the whole time: planning to grab the reins of influence through whatever means necessary, usurp the seats of political power, and impose a so-called “theocracy” upon society from the top down with a “whether you like it or not, it’s for your own good” mentality.
By now many people in the Reformed and “theonomic” or “reconstructionist” community are becoming aware that a professing member of our broader worldview is in fact the former police officer involved in a high-profile shooting of an innocent woman. As of at least 2014, he was also a member of Redeemer Church..
I encourage all young men and women to liberate yourself from any would-be thought leader, gluttoned on their delusions of grandeur and sense of self-importance at the center of some imagined reformation, who would hold you back from investigating the full truth of such matters as racism, the Lost Cause myth, women's rights, equality, a career, and any other disapproved education in which you may be interested. Rebel against their self-professed authority on such matters. Tell them to take a hike, you'll follow what you want to read beyond your primary studies.