In part three of our interview with Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr. he discusses:
1) Hip Hop Culture and “Ghetto Nihilism”
“Between ’65 and ’85 you had the exit of the ‘achievers‘ from the ‘hood. And as a result the culture of the ‘hood melted down. What you have left were those who couldn’t get out. The under class and the criminals. Those two value systems merged into one and produced what I call ‘ghetto nihilism’”.
2) Achievers and the “Nehemiah Mentality”
“The achievers have got to not just drive away in their BMWs. But the achievers have got to have a ‘Nehemiah mentality’. That is they might be doing well but they have to go back to the ‘hood, and help build the walls and the gates, and help the folks come to terms with their own internal problems.”
3) Christian Hip Hop and Reformed Theology
“[Christian rappers] recognize that Reformed theology has the robustness that they are looking for, but Reformed theology does not have the scope that they need right now. That’s where we come in. We have to do some theology and feed these guys to give them some new forms within the Reformed faith.”
4) The Rise of the Prosperity ‘Gospel’ in Black Communities
“Along comes prospertity gospel and, with all of its flaws, it is still cognitive…But it’s bad theology. It’s similar to the success of a gambling casino. The house always wins. Enough people walk out hitting the jackpot that people still keep coming.”
5) The Three Biggest Threats in the African American Church
If you look at the AFAM church today the three greatest threats are:
1) The Cultural Crisis–”I have a bone to pick with the Reformed community in that we have been sitting on this good stuff and in too many cases we’ve been hoarding it.”
2) The Rise of Radical Islam–”I go to the mosque and I talk to all these young men who are basically disgruntled Baptists.”
3) The Prosperity Gospel–“We don’t do discipleship. We don’t disciple people from foolishness to wisdom.”
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