Over the past several months, like many Americans, I have been watching the political protests that have been taking place throughout the country. They have left me with mixed impressions. I am encouraged that so many people who, in the past have been relatively politically inactive, are letting their voices be heard – and I think there are some good things to hear. But I have to say that I am disheartened by the racially-charged remarks and images that have been a part of the discourse.
I have been particularly surprised by people claiming various degrees of affiliation with Jesus who at the least have been racially insensitive and at the most have been overtly bigoted. This is, quite honestly, unacceptable from a Christian perspective. As a Christian leader, I feel responsible to speak to this issue.
The Scriptures are clear that God only created one race – the human race. People of every color and ethnicity trace their lineage back to Adam and Eve; frankly, even to Noah and Mrs. Noah. We are all equally made in God’s image. We are all loved by God.
Many groups throughout the years have claimed to be followers of Jesus and maintained openly racist views. Some continue to do this today. These groups have largely claimed two passages in the Old Testament as support for their views.
The first is found in Genesis in the story of the tower of Babel and the second is the prohibition of ancient Israelites against marrying non-Israelites in Deuteronomy. Read in context, neither of these passages provide any justification for the mistreatment of others based on their ethnicity. Having noted that, what causes racism? How did we get here? I see four major causes.
- Tribalism – We see our own group of people as better than others and pits ourselves against the world.
- Isolation – We don’t have relationships with people different than us.
- Ignorance – We allow stereotypes and myths to live on and be passed on to our children.
- Transference – We transfer blame for our problems to others.
Once we understand how we got to where we are, the next logical question is ‘Where do we go from here?’
- Do our homework – Be educated on Christian positions on race.
- Walk across the room – Build friendships with people from different cultures and ethnicities.
- Search our hearts – Ask God to forgive our prejudices and to heal our wounds.
- Speak out - Choose not to be silent, but to speak the truth in love when we encounter racism.
I am interested to hear your perspective on this. What do you think?
Kathy D. posted on September 23, 2009
I’m afraid it’s probably true for more people than you think as my husband struggles with being a racist. Then I make matters worse because I don’t even speak my own feelings about his comments only because it’s easier not to get into an argument. Once he even admitted “I don’t want to hate, I just can’t help myself” and he blames it on how he was raised but I don’t buy it because I was raised the same way. Occasionally I have a negative thought about someone of another race and I ask God to please take it from me and I never ever speak it outloud. I would be embarrassed if anyone knew what I was thinking. Mostly it’s because I work as a waitress and some races are notorious for being cheap tippers, but I treat everyone the same anyway. I give the best service I’m capable of to all my customers and I have alot of prayerful moments at work. So many of them are so far from God and they think money or status makes them better than others and I always look for opportunities to share my faith but too many times I stay silent. Anyway, that’s where I’m at and I would love to hear a message on this issue.