Nigel Biggar author of Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, stepped out on a ledge when writing his controversial book on British Colonialism. In the context of 2023, he took a risk and he also struggled greatly to have the book published. I believe in the value of varied perspectives. Learning from each other and seeking to understand different perspectives, can make us more well-rounded and I believe also develop more empathy. Biggar’s perspective is thought-provoking, well-studied, and brings to the forefront the minority side of the conversation in the midst of polarization.<\/p>\n
Flawed Humans<\/strong><\/p>\n Biggar notes that his perspective and his foundational beliefs are rooted in Christianity. He talked in his YouTube interview with John Anderson about how at the root of things is that he knows he is flawed and it is from knowing that he can see the flaws in others with more understanding. This made me think of the scripture about a seck in our eye and our rush to judgment not being warranted.<\/p>\n \u00a03 <\/sup>\u201cWhy do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother\u2019s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?<\/span><\/span> 4. <\/sup><\/span><\/span>How can you say to your brother, \u2018Let me take the speck out of your eye,\u2019 when all the time there is a plank in your <\/span><\/span>own eye?<\/span><\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck<\/span><\/span>\u00a0from your brother\u2019s eye.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Matthew 7:3-5 New International Version<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This idea that we are flawed and that this realization should soften our judgment on others can be valuable, as so often those on polarized sides of an issue can begin to treat the other side just as they were complaining they were treated. This cycle continues to dive a wedge and lead to deeper misunderstandings of each other. This can become a slippery downward spiral.<\/p>\n So then where does accountability fit in the mix of this?<\/p>\n Accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n From this idea of understanding, forgiveness, and grace in the midst of our flaws, the line of accountability can become blurred. In his book about Colonialism, I feel like Biggar is walking this fine line and at times errors on the side of privilege when he is speaking. Colonialism certainly is rooted in stripping differences from groups. This fact means that there is a level of accountability that needs to exist that intentions can’t explain away. Biggar seems to want to give explanations, or even excuses, for Colonialism that takes away accountability based on intention. This too is a slippery slope that can get society into trouble, perhaps even the trouble we have found ourselves in today.<\/p>\n Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n Colonialism did harm, those who set out in the name of colonialism may not have had an intent to do harm, however, \u00a0their views and their actions stripped culture and people groups from our world, in the name of safety, progress, or many other things. The ideas that Biggar presented regarding colonialism, racism, Christianity, power, and control, had me full of anxiety. Excuse me, I am flawed, but that does not mean I will set out to change you and expect forgiveness, it means I will set out humbly seeking to learn, this is the difference needed when considering intent and accountability.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nigel Biggar author of Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, stepped out on a ledge when writing his controversial book on British Colonialism. In the context of 2023, he took a risk and he also struggled greatly to have the book published. I believe in the value of varied perspectives. Learning from each other and seeking to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3136],"class_list":["post-36822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bigger-dlgp01","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36822"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36824,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36822\/revisions\/36824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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