How Jesus Became an Anarchist (and What That Means for Us) with Terry Stokes

Black History Year

PushBlack

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, we’re pulling back the curtain on morality—and asking who it really serves. Author and theologian Terry Stokes joins us to unpack the myths that shape Black moral life. From the myth of sin to the illusion of the state, Terry traces how capitalism, Christianity, and respectability politics have all tried to define what’s right for us—and what happens when we refuse. To learn more, check out Terry’s book, "Jesus and the Abolitionists: How Anarchist Christianity Empowers the People." — This podcast is brought to you by PushBlack, the nation’s largest non-profit Black media company. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com. Most folks do 5 or 10 bucks a month, but truly, anything helps. Thanks for supporting the work.With production support from Leslie Taylor-Grover and Brooke Brown, Black History Year is produced by Cydney Smith, Darren Wallace, and Len Webb, who also edits the show. Lilly Workneh is our Executive Producer and Black History Year's host is Darren Wallace. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:29.8	The question is not whether revolution or liberation can happen without violence. The question
0:36.4	is can individual survival happen without violence. The question is, can individual survival happen without violence?
0:40.3	Question.
0:41.3	What does it mean to have morals during a time when lies, hatred, and disrespect in politics
0:57.6	seem to be the order of the day?
1:02.0	And speaking of the political, what role does morality play in how we view government, economics,
1:07.5	and even race?
1:09.5	I'm Darren from Push Black, and you're listening to Black History to you.
1:20.7	More and more people, including, perhaps surprisingly, many from religious backgrounds,
1:25.4	are boldly exploring radical new ideas.
1:28.9	In the wake of the current political climate, the rise of the Black Liberation Movement,
1:32.7	and the growing threat of ecological catastrophe, a powerful wave of questioning society as
1:37.6	we know it has emerged.
1:39.9	Is our system truly working?
1:42.2	Is capitalism jest? What does it mean to build a moral society?
1:47.0	These questions led today's guest, author, theologian, and minister, Terry Stokes,
1:52.0	down an unexpected path to the political philosophy of anarchism. Now hold on, I know what you're thinking.
	...

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