The Myth of Equality

Short Review: This is is a book well worth reading. It opens with an excellent summary of history and review of the issues that have perpetuated and encouraged racism and inequality in the US. Then it moves to theology and diagnoses the problem as an overly individualistic understanding of our faith and a rejection of justice in this world as an important feature to our faith. He ends with a discussion of privilege and practical steps of how we can help resolve relationship, minimize our own racist actions and empower those around us that are too often ignored.

But, and I think it is a pretty big but, I am not sure that the book will be understood by many. Wytsma I think is theologically right here. But many that currently reject issues of race and inequality as important will reject his theology as outside of their bounds of Christianity and therefore reject his history, sociology and prescriptions because they reject his theology.

I do not know what we do with that. It is overly simplified to be a ‘liberal' issue. Wytsma's quoting of James Cone and his discussion of justice as essential to the gospel, while good and theologically right in my mind, means that he will be dismissed as ‘focused on identity politics' or ‘marxist analysis'.

That being said, ‘liberals' are not necessarily better at race issues. So even if this is a book that only impacts the left side of the evangelical world, it will still be important.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/myth-of-equality/