A Rhythm of Hate
Anthony Costello on a Prayer for Hatred & the Final Solution
In a recently published collection of devotional prayers, A Rhythm of Prayer (Convergent Books, 2021), composed mainly by progressive Christian women, there appears a prayer by psychologist and "public theologian" Chanequa Walker-Barnes that calls out to God for help in becoming more hateful toward white people. Walker-Barnes's prayer, like many postmodern expressions of personal sentiment, has stirred controversy. But what makes her prayer different from other controversial expressive acts (for example, Lil Nas X's song "Montero") is that this one, titled "Prayer of a Weary Black Woman," is apparently directed to the God of the Bible, whom Walker-Barnes asks to place hatred inside her. Her prayer begins:
Dear God,
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Anthony Costello holds a BA in German from the University of Notre Dame, and two master’s degrees from the Talbot School of Theology/Biola University (MA Christian Apologetics, MA Theology). An Evangelical, he also served five and a half years in the U.S. Army, with one deployment to Afghanistan. He is the founder and president of the Kirkwood Center for Theology & Ethics (kirkwoodcenter.org).
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on culture from the online archives
29.3—May/June 2016
Our Choice Is Obedience or Jesus as Anti-Christ by Anthony Esolen
34.1—January/February 2021
Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher by Hans Boersma
30.6—Nov/Dec 2017
Christ, Individualism & the Meaning of Cultural Diversity by Anthony Esolen
more from the online archives
23.5—September/October 2010
The Loss of a Christian Understanding of Virginity Is Pure Tragedy by Eleanor Bourg Donlon
31.4—July/August 2018
on the Brevity & Theology of Her Recorded Words by Judith Anderson
29.1—Jan/Feb 2016
on Marriage, Moral Corruption & the Christian Duty of Witness by Regis Nicoll
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
Support Touchstone
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
