GOD IS NOT A WHITE MAN

Published by: Hodder & Stoughton Price: £16.99

Endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as ‘a profound gift to a Church that has much work to do’ this book is an important contribution to the race and gender justice movement.

McDonald’s book explores what it means to be a black Christian woman in the UK at a time when black women are silently exiting church, unable to tolerate casual racism, colonial narratives and a lack of urgency on issues of racial justice.

As the head of public engagement at Christian Aid, McDonald says the roots of her work lay in ‘a real sense of disappointment with white evangelicalism and its lack of resistance to the racism and misogyny of Donald Trump and the racist undertones of the Brexit campaign, which gave me a sense of rage. It sent me on a journey - going deeper than I had planned to, into some dark places – places that recognised the role of the Christian faith over the centuries in perpetuating ideas of white supremacy.’

The aim of the book is, she says, ‘to provoke the Church and the wider world out of white supremacy and into much-needed change on racial justice.’

Do not engage with this book expecting it to be an easy read or a one-sided argument. This carefully-researched work (McDonald is a Cambridge graduate) is an important contribution to understanding the need for racial justice and to show how and why it exists, even in a subtle form in the 21st century western Christian church. The book raises fundamental questions about long-held perceptions and, whilst in development before the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter campaign, is essential reading for any Christian seeking to fully engage with the need to embrace racial justice and challenge the stereotype of either a white Jesus or white God.

The inherent message is perhaps best summed up by the words of McDonald near the end of the book: ‘These changes are urgent and important, and they are not easy. In order to create a place of homecoming for Black Christians, white-led churches need to change and Christians need to be willing to feel the pain of their discomfort. We are going to need white men to play their part in dethroning the white man’s God.’

This book does not offer a solution, but is a stepping stone on the journey to greater understanding – and justice.