Religious Leaders Demand ‘White Churches’ Pay Reparations

Religious leaders in Boston have demanded ‘white churches’ give millions of dollars in reparations to the city’s black community for its historical role in the slave trade.

Activist clergy also called on Boston’s ‘white churches’ to back their push for the City of Boston itself to pay $15 billion in reparations. Yes, you read that correctly – $15 BILLION.

The demands were issued by the Boston People’s Reparations Commission at the Resurrection Lutheran Church.

In 2022, the City of Boston created a Task Force on Reparations which was given the mandate to write a report on how the city could hand out reparations to black residents. Just a year later in December of 2023, Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu hosted a ‘no white’s allowed’ holiday party for ‘Elected of Color’, a blatantly discriminatory gathering which was equally praised and condemned throughout Boston.

These tidbits make this story all the more interesting and can serve us with indications as to what the City of Boston may be willing to do with regards to obliging the demands of these radicals.

Reverend Kevin Peterson was one of the speakers at the event who stated:

“We call sincerely and with a heart filled with faith and Christian love for our white churches to join us and not be silent around this issue of racism and slavery and commit to reparations.”

“We point to them in Christian love to publicly atone for the sins of slavery and we ask them to publicly commit to a process of reparations. Where they will extend their great wealth – tens of millions of dollars among some of those churches – into the black community.”

Peterson said a letter signed by 16 clergymen was sent to churches the group wanted to participate in giving reparations. The letter detailed ways the reparations could be paid, including in cash or by creating affordable housing or “financial and economic institutions in Black Boston.”

The churches named in the letter were King’s Chapel, Arlington Street Church, Trinity Church, and Old South Church.

The issue of reparations experienced heightened popularity in the United States after the destructive Marxist group called Black Lives Matter ravaged America’s cities, inciting violence which was deemed “peaceful” by politicians and was even justified by others.

One man who refused to go along with the crowd is the UK’s Father Calvin Robinson who took a principled stand against the Marxist ideology, as well as spoke out against reparations being paid.

In a Substack article Robinson authored, he stated:

“The argument for reparations never makes much sense. There seems to be a fundamental flaw that no one has addressed: Who would pay whom?
We know there is no such thing as government money. There is only taxpayers’ money. Demanding the government donate money to a particular demographic is, in fact, demanding they redistribute our money to people based on their skin color. The premise is undeniably racist.”

Reverend John Gibbons, from Arlington Street Church which was named in the letter stated that the event that churches had begun researching their history and discussing reparations, however, this wasn’t enough.

Gibbons said:

“Somehow we need to move with some urgency toward action and so part of what we’re doing is to prod and encourage white churches to go beyond what they have done thus far.”

Another of the churches listed in the letter also published a report on its historical ties to slavery. Reverend John Edgerton of Old South Church stated:

“Old South is committed to learning the truth about our history and making repair — the God who loves justice demands nothing less.”

Father Robinson addresses the issue of reparations brilliantly:

“What would happen, in reality, would be poor black people paying money to rich black people unless the reparations were means tested. Even then, what are the qualifying criteria for receiving reparations? How black does one have to be? Should we prove our lineage? I’m mixed-race; should my white mother give my black father a cash payout? Of course not. How do we know our ancestors were slaves and not slave traders themselves? And that goes the other way around, too – the average white Brit at the time of the transatlantic slave trade was below the working class, practically living a life of serfdom; slavery was an industry of a small elite, therefore why should the average Brit carry any guilt?

This obsession with the transatlantic slave trade is unproductive. What about every other form of slavery? History is rife with the evil of slavery.”

I have several questions regarding these statements by these ministers but the two I will leave it with for today are: A. Are these churches using slaves today? And B. Are they abusing anyone for their economic benefit as slaves were used for in the past? If not, then justice has been achieved throughout the decades of abandonment of this practice, as well as through the condemnation of it!

Those seeking to establish a separation between churches based upon racial demographics either have no understanding of the Scripture which states that salvation was brought for all people and those in Christ are a part of ONE body or they stand opposed to God’s Word and are intentionally seeking to tear apart Christ’s body.

This may sound harsh but it’s the truth.

In addition to this, the Bible clearly talks about believers being grafted into one vine and how we are all a part of one body comprising different parts but each serving a unique and valuable function. By the shed blood of Jesus, we were all brought together into one family.

Notice the theme here: oneness.

Those trying to separate the body of Christ based upon the existence of differing levels of pigment in our skin or even based upon the sins of ancestors are discriminating against his brother.

Where in the Bible does God condone this? He doesn’t.

Whilst there are indeed consequences and negative ramifications that may sometimes affect us due to the sins of those in our families, we are not our parents nor our siblings.

As it says in Deuteronomy 24:16:

“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers.”

We could write a research paper’s worth of material outlining how reparations aren’t in line with the Biblical worldview but do we need to when the Scripture above is so simple?

The fact of the matter is – anyone who accepts Christ becomes a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come!

“16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Thank you for your support.

If you appreciate the work we do to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, please consider giving a gift to help us continue this work. Maranatha!