– J. Herbert Nelson

… The Church of Jesus Christ has participated in gender and race domination and exclusion throughout history. Therefore, we must view the biblical record and our interpretation as to who is in and out with both theology and history in mind. Theology presses our faith perspectives to higher and better hopes. But history reminds us of our frailty in accepting God’s expectation for an inclusive Christian community based on love for all humanity. We must examine how our interpretations of scripture have led to the acceptance of some and the alienation of others. We need to study who gains from exclusion. We need to ask who desires power and who is genuinely seeking righteousness. We need to trace the ways that questions of sin hide questions of power…

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