How do you define a certain 'community' such as we suggest in secular society as African American? Likewise, how do we define churches into Hispanic or African American churches? Is the message of the Gospel tainted with racial and cultural separations to the degree we have lost the fundamental concept of 'loving one another' without a racial identification tag?" Dr. Angelo O. Dart asks.
"Who Shall Separate Us? Uniting The Segregated Church" (published by WestBow Press) explores the divisions within the church that reflect the separation of races and cultures in the United States as a whole. For the purposes of this study, Dart identifies those dynamics as racism, bias, discrimination, and prejudice. It is possible, therefore, that the underlying dynamic processes noted could impact the development of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors between cultures in society.
"We are divided as a nation. There is no argument about this. Policies, programs, and politics will not encourage intrinsic change in the hearts of people," Dart says. "People must look inward to understand what makes them form a perception about a certain race in a certain way. If they look inward and find nothing, they should look to the Gospel and find life."
The publication of "Who Shall Separate Us? Uniting The Segregated Church" aims to remind readers that it is possible to love unconditionally without apology, policy, or political connectedness. The simple process of loving one another for who or what they are erases the borders.
