Wading Into the Identity Topic
I am white.
I am male.
I am heterosexual.
I am middle-class.
I am Christian.
I voted for Bush, and I voted for Obama.
These traits are identifiers, some outside of my control. Yet, none of them speak to my true identity. My true identity is found in Christ, as a child of God.
I am a child of God.
I am forgiven.
I am an image-bearer of the King.
I am an ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven.
The topic of identity can be stress inducing. Just the idea of writing about identity issues can trigger an emotional response. In a desire to be a non-anxious presence, I wade into this conversation slowly and intentionally. The thesis of my position has already been stated, I am a child of God, but where do some of the other positions fall short?
Wading into the discussion about race and identity is not new for me. I have three black children whom I adopted from Ethiopia twelve years ago. The topic of identity and identity synthesis comes up at the dinner table often. My children aren’t Black Americans, they are Ethiopian-American. However, they aren’t truly African as they grew up in an American household. They don’t speak Amharic, or Ebonics, they speak English. Which group do they belong to? In his book on The Identity Trap, Mounk asks who gets to decide who is a part of which group?[1]
Yascha Mounk is a moderate voice, calling out to the silent majority to join him in the struggle against the loud minority voices. He is not oblivious to the challenges different groups have faced but he does argue for a more centrist approach forward as he states, “It is possible to recognize these injustices and fight against them without subscribing to the identity synthesis.”[2] He highlights how the extreme positions found on both the woke Left and the MAGA Right actually are a trap, one that becomes harder and harder to escape.
Two authors are highlighted throughout his book as proponents of identity synthesis. They ultimately lean away from a common humanity as it, “Amounts to an erasure of the injustices facing oppressed groups.”[3] One of those authors and speakers, Robin DiAngelo, insists that whites are too fragile to enter the racial conversation.[4] The other, Ibram X. Kendi retells a vivid and long history of racism throughout American history.[5] Yet, while his book highlights the struggle of Blacks, he neglects to validate the struggle of those who have worked hard towards equality. Kendi’s book neglects the role of Christianity. He neglects the preaching of MLK or his mentor, Howard Thurman.
The trap, Mounk speaks of, is getting stuck into the belief that there is no shared truth, “I have ‘my truth’ – one that you have no right to question or critique on the basis of supposedly objective facts, especially if you do not belong to the same marginalized identity group.”[6] Proponents of identity synthesis have ultimately argued truth is personal and experiential. As a follower of Jesus, I believe this is heresy. Our truth is found in Jesus Christ. He is shared among all those who might receive him and look to him.
As a father of black children, I have seen and experienced racism. I have stood face to face with Nazi sympathizers as they spoke poorly of my children. I have seen and stood against the racist systemic structures that work against my children. I have also moved my family into an African village where some of us were the only white people many people had ever seen. I have seen overt racism through the eyes of all my children. Yet, one thing remains true, we cannot fall into the trap of only being defined by these characteristics that we may or may not be able to change.[7]
This world is a divided place, but there will come a time when people of all languages, tribes, and nations stand before the throne of God.[8] When Jesus walked this earth, he dined with the rich and the poor. He crossed ethnic barriers and talked with the Samaritan woman. She (Female, Samaritan, Prostitute) was of a more marginalized group than Jesus (Male, Jew, Carpenter). Yet Jesus could understand her need. He knew her oppression was not primarily caused by the male patriarchy, or the Roman occupation. Her oppression was a lack of understanding her true identity as a child of God.[9]
It is good to fight for justice. It is good to call out structural racism. It is good to celebrate our ethnic differences. Mounk’s warning about the identity trap is well received yet ultimately it falls a bit short. Let me end with the words of Esau McCaulley, a modern black theologian, “Hungering for justice is a hungering for the kingdom of God.”[10]
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[1] Yascha Mounk, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time (New York NY: Penguin Press, 2023), 148.
[2] Mounk, 11.
[3] Mounk, 183.
[4] Robin Diangelo, White Fragility (Boston: Beacon Press, 2018), 50.
[5] Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (New York: Nation Books, 2016).
[6] Mounk, 72.
[7] Mounk, 285.
[8] Revelation 5:7.
[9] John 4.
[10] Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black (Downer’s Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2020), 67.
About the Author
Adam Cheney
I grew up in California, spent five years living along the beautiful coast of Kenya and now find myself working with refugees in the snow crusted tundra of Minnesota. My wife and I have seven children, four of whom have been adopted. I spend my time drinking lots of coffee, working in my garden, and baking sourdough bread.12 responses to “Wading Into the Identity Topic”
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Adam, you’re not wading in, you’re up to your neck in this. Haha. I have appreciated your perspective as a US citizen who has served in Africa. You carry a very unique perspective. I also admire how you and your wife have adopted and welcomed people into your family. You are living out what you believe. I love that about you, brother!
I know from our interactions, you have learned to deeply value and love the cultural heritage of the people you serve. How do you seek to value the identity of people as “children of God” yet at the same time value and honour their cultural heritage?
Graham,
Thanks for the kind words. One lesson I learned overseas was that American theologians and Christians did not have all the right answers. I know, I know, we really like to pretend that we do. Often the churches I have been in have thought that our church was the only “right” church in the whole town. If only everybody could see that we had the “right” theology. Once I learned to get over my own ethnocentrism and realize that Christians throughout history and throughout the world have so much to teach us I began to realize that it will not likely be until we are all together before the throne (Rev. 7) and in that atmosphere we will all likely be able to see the complete gospel, in all of it’s different flavors and expressions. That will be a beautiful thing.
Adam, thank you for sharing your thoughtful reflections on identity and the intricacies surrounding it. Your perspective, especially as a parent, offers valuable insights into the complexities of race and belonging. I appreciate your emphasis on finding true identity in Christ and the reminder that our shared truth is rooted in Him.
Your experiences with racism and your commitment to justice resonate deeply, and Esau McCaulley’s words about justice as a hungering for the kingdom of God add a profound layer to the discussion.
I’m curious about your thoughts on navigating identity synthesis in a world where differing voices often polarise discussions. How do you believe we can effectively combat racism and promote justice while also maintaining a sense of unity and shared humanity?
Glyn,
If I knew the answer to that question I’d have a dozen book contracts and a frequent figure in the media. I do think that one thing is helpful though and it is to take a more complex and global, historical perspective. None of these problems are new. This is not to say I am happy with the injustice oppression. Nor am I saying we should ignore it. In our modern world, we have grown accustomed to immediate gratification. If I want something, I can drive to the store and get it. Or I can ship it and get it that same day (not in Minnesota!) That consumer mentality of instant gratification has carried over into bigger and much more complex topics such as identity. We can’t solve historical and global problems in one day. But, we can shift our perspective and our momentum towards solving them.
Hi Adam,
Thank you for your post. How do you navigate the tension between celebrating ethnic differences and avoiding the trap of being solely defined by those characteristics?
Shela,
Thanks for the question. I think that if we have our identity first and foremost in Christ then the rest can fall into place. There is beauty in culture and cultural differences. These are things to celebrate. The issue comes when we celebrate our own culture to the point of ethnocentrism and can’t see the perspectives of others.
Adam,
You hit the nail on the head! “The topic of identity can be stress inducing.”
So, how does a child of God make this issue less stressful? How do you share your voice in a heated and potentially divisive conversation and not lose your own self?
I think it’s a brave thing you and your partner have done by adopting children of a completely different skin color and culture than yourselves. What is one thing you would like to say to your children (or maybe you already have) that would help them know they are precious children of God?
Nancy,
I am not sure what I have said that has been the “right” thing to my children. But, what I have said is simply, let’s have the conversation. Let’s be willing to dialogue about our identity and the challenges that they have faced.
Adam, this is a beautiful post. Thank you. You did an excellent job describing Mounk’s moderate voice and highlights from the book. I interpreted Mounk in similar ways. I am in agreement with Graham, “you are living out what you believe.” The Lord has given you a unique and very purposeful responsibility in raising both biological and adopted children. What do these “identity” dinner table conversations look like in your family? I am curious to know what questions or comments surface most frequently concerning identity.
Elysse,
Our dinner time conversations can go anywhere. I am reminded of when we lived in Kenya and were moving back to the US. We had a dinnertime conversation about cuss-words. Many of them our kids had never heard, but they were about to enter public schools in America and they needed a lesson or two. We went over each and every cuss word with them. Often the conversation about identity is not pertaining to race, (though there have been times) but rather is pertaining to being adopted or not. The idea of being wanted or not. Having a birth mom that died versus one that is still sitting at the table eating with us. In these conversations we try to encourage each of them that they were wanted and though adoption is never plan A, it is not outside of God’s control that they were put into our family. Ultimately, they belong.
Adam, thanks for walking the talk of loving your neighbors. You minister to others simply by who you are and the family you and Heather have created. It’s beautiful. As the mother of an American Indian child, I too, know what it feels like to have people make racist remarks to your baby.
For me, it becomes an easy trap that my emotional self wants to sling hateful remarks right back at them, but I don’t. It’s not productive nor is it the way Jesus role-modeled. Still, the counter-anger is part of our humanity.
How are you and Heather teaching your kiddos about racism and how to let it roll off their shoulders without internalizing it?
Also, what might this look like as they age (teen years) and become more aware of the labels that kids place on each other?
Jennifer,
We have certainly hit the teen years. We have 5 teens in the house and a 7 year old pre-teen. Recently there was a racial incident at the school my kids go to. Though it did not involve my kids, there are only about half a dozen non-white kids so it hit home. I heard about it before the kids came home from school. I addressed it with them as soon as they got home and let them know I took it seriously. I was involved in a meeting with the principal and parents the next day and made my voice known. I let my kids know that I was speaking up and not going to sit quietly. I think this is important.
Regarding how to let it roll… My kids have learned that some of our extended family might be a bit racist at times towards others in the community. This has started to seep into the understanding of our kids but they also see the love and support given to them. This doesn’t excuse the older ethnocentric attitude but it is never helpful to simply write everyone off as a racist. Aren’t we all a work in process? Might this work also partially be generational?