Theological appeals to total human sinfulness can justify preserving white supremacist honors

Evidence

In light of the burdens of history, some schools hasten to remove names, announce plans, and declare moral superiority. That is not what I intend to do, nor do I believe that to be what the Southern Baptist Convention or our Board of Trustees would have us to do. We do not evaluate our Christian forebears from a position of our own moral innocence. Christians know that there is no such innocence. But we must judge, even as we will be judged, by the unchanging Word of God and the deposit of biblical truth. Consistent with our theology and the demands of truth, we will not attempt to rewrite the past, nor can we unwrite the past. Instead, we will write the truth as best we can know it. We will tell the story in full, and not hide. By God’s grace, we will hold without compromise to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 182

Categorization

• XREF: A variant of the moral-equivalence / ‘we are all sinners’ deflection arguably present across the book; also parallels general strategies in racial-justice literature where dominant groups appeal to shared fallibility to avoid accountability. — connects to: White churches morally legitimized and protected white supremacy through state power — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 125; White theology’s main power was constricting whites’ moral vision rather than active opposition — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 218; Sanctifying harmful means as worthy removes guilt and even elicits pride (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Sanctifying harmful means as worthy removes guilt and even elicits pride #expands (0.82)
• White theology’s main power was constricting whites’ moral vision rather than active opposition #expands (0.80) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 218
• White Christians must abandon claims of racial and theological innocence to confront their past #responds-to (0.75) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 233