Evangelical author explains how to escape the racism that 'infiltrates' white churches in America

Best-selling Christian author Philip Yancey discussed Evangelical support for Donald Trump in a recent interview with CNN's John Blake.

"There’s been a lot of debate in recent years about the rise of White Christian nationalism and White evangelicals’ steadfast support for former President Trump. But few people are better equipped than Yancey to explain how racism infiltrates White churches and how one can escape it," Blake wrote. "Yancey went from being a self-described 'born and bred racist' to becoming one of the most popular authors and speakers in contemporary America. His books have sold an estimated 17 million copies and been translated into 50 languages."

Yancey is the author of a new memoir titled, Where the Light Fell where he discusses his evolution from racism.

"I was a reader," Yancey said. "And when I read Black Like Me (A 1961 nonfiction book about a White man who darkened his skin and traveled through the segregated South), that was a turning point, because it just didn’t make sense. Here’s the exact same person who artificially changed the color of his skin, and at one point he’s treated like a gentleman and has access to anywhere he wants to go. And then suddenly he’s treated like a dirty animal and people spit on him. He has to step off the sidewalk. He can’t use the restroom. Can’t get a drink of water. He’s the exact same person. It was a moral splinter that would stick inside my head and bother me."

Yancey talked about how racism gives people something to look down upon.

"It’s at the core of racism. I’ve been to 87 countries now. And I found that kind of instinct all over," Yancey said. "And one group starts killing the other group because they’re a little bit different. And there’s something about that fear of the other that we’ve got to overcome. And as a Christian, this fear just stands out to me. Jesus talked about the Good Samaritan, not the Good Jew."

He discussed the politicization of Evangelicals.

"People only want to judge evangelicals by politics. Growing up, we weren’t political. Fundamentalists would never aspire to political office. And now the word 'evangelical' almost implies right-wing politics to most people. And that’s really dangerous," he warned. "Nowadays, if you ask people who check evangelical in a box in a poll, a lot of them can’t even name two of the four Gospels. It’s become a label that to them means, I don’t like abortion. I don’t like the way the country is going to transgender or gay people, so I must be an evangelical. It used to be a theological category. It’s not now. It’s become a slogan for “I don’t like some things going on in my country and I’m kind of angry about them.” And Trump brilliantly tapped into that anger. But I think it’s more subtle than just assuming that all evangelicals or the vast majority voted for Trump. The serious evangelicals, of the type that I was trained in and worked around, did not vote for Trump."

Read the full interview.

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