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The Consequence of Our Ideas: A Liberating Response to Respectability Religion
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| Rev. Dr. Noel P. Simms |
The Consequence of Our Ideas: A Liberating Response to Respectability Religion
By Rev. Dr. Noel P. Simms
“Stop blaming white cops for killing Black kids. Instead, teach your Black children to be obedient toward authority.”
— Phillip Anthony Mitchell
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| Rising Pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchell |
For many of us deeply affected by the history of racialized trauma, this statement does more than offend—it reopens an old wound and reinforces a dangerous theological idea. While it may come from a place of concern, its message aligns with a long-standing narrative that has historically protected power and punished the oppressed.
Obedience to What—and for Whom?
Too often, the call to "be obedient to authority" is rooted in fear, not freedom. It places the burden of survival on the Black child, not on the system that targets them. It tells our children that their dignity is conditional, dependent on their ability to navigate a world built to erase them.
This sentiment echoes a troubling theological legacy: the gospel was twisted to sanctify empire, silence protest, and render the suffering invisible.
Whiteness as Religion
As theologian Dr. Andrew L. Whitehead explains, whiteness has not only shaped theology—it has become theology. Whiteness has functioned as a religion with its moral codes, saints, sacred narratives, and eschatology. From the Doctrine of Discovery to Manifest Destiny, violence against Indigenous, Black, and Brown people was justified through religious language.
White Jesus imagery, colonial liturgies, and respectability preaching all served to reinforce a system where whiteness was divine and ... In this light, asking Black children to "be obedient to authority" becomes a theological act of submission to empire, not a form of spiritual growth.
