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Can Progressive District Attorneys Save America’s Soul?
Many are influenced by religion without being aware of it
Ta-Nehisi Coates became a nationally known figure after writing the reasons why America needs to atone for the original sin of slavery by paying reparations to black Americans. But in My Heroes Your Stamps, an essay Coates wrote for The Atlantic, he discussed the pushback he received for admitting he never heard of Augustine of Hippo.
Augustine of Hippo, also known as Saint Augustine, is considered the most influential theologian in Christian history. More importantly, Saint Augustine is best known for developing the Christian doctrine of original sin. That means there was a time Coates chastised America for its original sin of slavery, but he didn’t know the origin of the doctrine.
Of course, one doesn’t need to know the history of original sin to use it as an analogy, but it proves that many thinkers are heavily influenced by Christian doctrines without being aware of it.
John McWhorter’s new book Woke Racism: How a New Religion has betrayed Black America compares aspects of today’s progressive movement to aspects of Christianity. America’s original sin of slavery has morphed into systemic racism. White people are born with the stain of unearned privilege, and they need to…