Homophobic preacher Louie Giglioâa noted advocate of conversion therapyâtouched off a firestorm on social media for referring to slavery as a âblessing,â and for trying to rebrand the term âwhite privilegeâ as âwhite blessing.â
While holding talk show-like conversation with Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy and rapper Lecrae, Giglio likened slavery to Jesusâ crucifixion, calling it both a blessing and a curse.
âI feel like on the inside of the church weâre fighting this historical context you talk about,â Giglio said. âIn other words, we love the blessing of the cross but we donât love to sit in it and realize this is what Godâs asking me to do, to die to myself, and live for him, whatever context thatâs going to look like for me. But I want to flip that upside down because I think the other side of it is true with our nationâs history. We understand the curse that was slavery, white people do, and we say âthat was bad,â but we miss the blessing of slavery that it actually built up the framework for the world that white people live in and lived in.â
Pastor Louie Giglio, rapper Lecrae and Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy "had an honest conversation about race and the Church" on June 14.
Here's an example of why words and their meanings matter.
"White Privilege" vs. "White Blessings" pic.twitter.com/VkSP6RP0t1
â Nicola A. Menzie (@namenzie) June 16, 2020
âAnd so a lot of people call this âwhite privilegeâ and when you say those two words itâs like a fuse goes off for a lot of white people because they donât want somebody telling them to check their privilege,â Giglio went on. âI know that you and I both have struggled in these days with âhey if the phrase is the trip up, letâs get over the phrase and letâs get down to the heart, letâs get down to what then do you want to call it,â and I think maybe a great thing for me is to call it âwhite blessing.â That Iâm living in the blessing of the curse that happened generationally that allowed me to grow up in Atlanta.â
White privilege is wanting to rebrand something as white blessing because white fragility makes white people not want to hear about white privilege. Yeah, the concept is supposed to make you uncomfortable because the reality is uncomfortable.
â BethEBanana? (@hithisisbanana) June 16, 2020
Perhaps it goes without saying that social media exploded over his remarks. âWhite privilege is wanting to rebrand something as white blessing because white fragility makes white people not want to hear about white privilege,â noted Twitter user BethEBanana. âYeah, the concept is supposed to make you uncomfortable because the reality is uncomfortable.â
Words definitely matter. What white people enjoyed at the expense of Black lives, what they stole through murder rape,mayhem and all acts of depravity, was not a blessing. Blessings come from God. He sounds ridiculous. Heâs an example of white audacity!
â Adrienne Lloyd (@alloydesq) June 16, 2020
âWords definitely matter,â said Twitter user Adrienne Lloyd. âWhat white people enjoyed at the expense of Black lives, what they stole through murder rape, mayhem and all acts of depravity, was not a blessing. Blessings come from God. He sounds ridiculous. Heâs an example of white audacity!â
@spulliam not seeking to refer to slavery as blessing-but that we are privileged because of the curse of slavery. In calling it a privilege/benefit/blessingâ word choice wasnât great. Trying to help us see society is built on the dehumanization of others. My apology, I failed.
â Louie Giglio (@louiegiglio) June 16, 2020
Realizing his tone-deafness, Giglio tried to walk back his remarks. âNot seeking to refer to slavery as blessing-but that we are privileged because of the curse of slavery,â he rambled via tweet. âIn calling it a privilege/benefit/blessingâ word choice wasnât great. Trying to help us see society is built on the dehumanization of others. My apology, I failed.â
This isnât the first time Giglioâs âchoice of wordsâ has landed him in trouble. He previously wanted to offer a prayer at Barack Obamaâs inauguration, but had to decline after sermons bashing LGBTQ people surfaced in the public. Heâs also endorsed conversion therapy and encouraged Christians to fight back against the âhomosexual lifestyle.â
taylor94
Itâs time to address Evavgelical Privilege. Mega churches taking in millions of dollars, paying no taxes. Having a flock of foolish people, blindly following hate filled direction. All rewarded with tax deductible donations to further fuel their hate filled agenda.
msfrost
SOP. for all Con Artists!
twomen4u
How can that man call himself a pastor? I am a retired SBC pastor and he needs to get down on his knees and ask for God’s forgiveness. Apparently he is not following Christ’s example. He loved anyone and everyone. If you do not believe that just look at the occupations of the men who were his chosen people.
Thad
Yes, America is blessed by the presence of black people. The institution called slavery that brought so many to America? Not a blessing.
Black Lives Matter.
enlightenone
A useless tool for the dumpster – not the recycle bin!
Consider This
ALL lives matter, even gay lives đ
joeboyle49
YES ALL LIVES MATTER EVEN GAY AND TRANS-GENDERED L;IVES MATTER!
radiooutmike
Uhmm. Yeah.
You’ll notice it’s never a person of color who says slavery was a blessing for black people. Only white, male trolls preferably with God on their side who do so.
Black men are getting lynched. Black transgender women are being killed. But hey, black people have a burden just like Christ did? Just reading about this douche bag make me want to spit.