Racism

Way back when I took physical anthropology, in a circle around the classroom hung a series of photographs of dozens of individuals of all races and mixtures.  Because of their order, no matter where you started in the series, as you followed the photos around the room, you noticed the changes gradually went from African, to Western European, to Asian and back to African in such a way that you realized we’re all just variations of the same race, the human race.

Currently, race has been all over the various media.  It seems to be the topic of most conversations with friends and even strangers.  Here, we’ll look at the question, “Has God given us His view of racism?”

Actually, He has.    In Numbers chapter 12, we see the story of Moses’ siblings angrily arguing with him.  He had taken a Cushite woman as his wife.  Cush was where Ethiopia lies today.  She was a black woman, an African, and it is clear this was the basis of Aaron and Miriam’s anger with Moses (vs. 1).  Moses had married a black woman.

God called Moses, Aaron, and Mariam out and told them He approved of Moses’ mariage:, “He is faithful in all my house.”  Then God turned to Mariam in His anger at her bigotry.  He said, “You don’t like black.  I’ll give you white,”, and turned Mariam white with leprosy.  Moses asked God to heal her, but God said, “I’ll let her think about what she’s done,” and He put her outside the camp for seven days before healing her.  I paraphrased these verses a bit, but you get the idea.  God did not put up with racism then, and He doesn’t do it now.  We are all people for whom Christ died. Racism is condemned directly by God.

In the Mosaic Law, equality among races was commanded.  Leviticus 19:34 states “the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”  So, God wanted all people treated equally in Israel no matter where they came from or what their race was.  Though it’s true God had chosen a people of His own, they were not to treat others as inferiors. 

By the time of Christ, though, the Jewish leaders saw Jews as superior to all other peoples.  The word, “Gentile” does not appear in the Bible until the New Testament.  It was used by Jewish leaders to separate the Jews from non-Jews viewing them as unclean, even evil and untrustworthy. 

Once again, God steps in. Paul tells us in Ephesians that Jesus tore down the wall of hostile separation between the Jews and Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

In church history, the fiercest advocate for the Trinity doctrine at the Nicene Council in 325 a.d. and probably the greatest theologian in the fourth century church was Athanasius, a black man.  He spent his life defending his beliefs.  He was lovingly and respectfully nicknamed “the black dwarf” by many of his contemporaries because of his color and stature, but he achieved the highest recognition in the church at the time, that of bishop of Alexandria.  He held that office for more than 40 years and fought to keep the faith pure.

We know of so few black church fathers because race was irrelevant through most of church history.    Color simply isn’t mentioned.  Many great theologians and church philosophers were African, though.

Why is this Important?

As Christians, we are watched constantly as to how we react to the evil in the world.  If we don’t stand against the evil of racism where we see it, we’re seen as endorsing it.  The Christian role is instead to endorse righteousness and justice.

It has been my policy never to get political on this blog, and I won’t here.  Let me wax a little philosophical, though.  It is a common human trait to impulsively follow what seems like a noble cause without checking thoroughly what sort of baggage comes with the groups surrounding that cause.  The cause may be noble, the groups and their agenda may not be.  The life of a black human being does not matter because he is black but because he is a human being. 

To the Christian, race should be as irrelevant as eye color.  We are all descended from the same two people.  We have very much the same history and purpose in life.  We have the same wishes to provide for and protect our families.  We want a safe place for our children to play and where our wives and daughters can walk safely at night.  We all hurt when someone is killed unjustly.  We are one people.

God loves us all, cherishes us all, provides for us all, and seeks the hearts of us all.  We are all His children, after all.  We are all descended from the same boatload of people.  We should act like it.