On Race
Once again, race and race relations are in the news with a major incident this last weekend in Charlottesville, VA. Last week I was also privileged to hear from Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990's, as she spoke at the Global Leadership Summit in Chicago. The atrocities in Rwanda between the Hutu tribal people and the Tutsi tribal people prove that "race" problems are not always based on skin color. It is a universal human problem.
Billy Graham, the famous evangelist, has called racism "the greatest sin of the human race." I would entirely agree. Most of the mind-numbing atrocities of the 20th century can be tied back directly to racial prejudice and a sense of racial superiority. Much of that comes out of the evolutionary worldview espoused by Charles Darwin and picked up by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and others.
From a biblical worldview (and I know...you may not agree with me but please listen to me and I will in turn listen to you) there are only two "races." You are either part of Adam's race or you have been redeemed and transformed by belief into Christ's "race" ("But you are a CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9).
There are only two "races" but there are thousands of "people groupings." People self-identify based on language, religion, geography, history, and a host of different things that make "us" us. Most of us, if we went to China, would look around and say these people are all "Chinese." Most are Han (90%) and they speak Mandarin (the most spoken language on the planet). But there are actually 455 people groups in China and an outsider would be hard-pressed to identify them. But they know who they are.
Of the 13,000+ people groupings in the world there is NO SUPERIOR RACE. Evolutionists and evolutionary-leaning philosophers in our world have tried to convince us of this that some races are somehow superior. This has been the root of much evil. Those who believe the "white race" is somehow supreme are highly deceived. All humans are born "in the image of God" and are worthy of both God's love and the love and care of all human beings. There is also no INFERIOR RACE though each people group have their own history of savage behavior and sinful choices. Each one. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) This applies to individuals, societies and groupings of people.
In our human sinfulness and evil condition, we want the rest of the world to "be like us." The problem with that is there are too many OTHERS out there. People need to learn to appreciate the diversity of the human race but also to realize that each people group needs to be redeemed and refined by the power and grace of God. Every one. In fact, each group of people has so much work to do in repairing and redeeming their own past, they don't need to even think about another people group!
Love is the greatest value in the world. The GREAT COMMANDMENT of Jesus to "love one another" should be the goal of each of us individually but also of any community that we are involved in. Learning to appreciate the peoples of the world is much needed. There is so much beauty in the peoples of the world. Taking the time to listen, appreciate, and enjoy the culture and values of other peoples puts to death the hatred and self-deception of our own personal or group "greatness." You're not as great as you think!
Billy Graham, the famous evangelist, has called racism "the greatest sin of the human race." I would entirely agree. Most of the mind-numbing atrocities of the 20th century can be tied back directly to racial prejudice and a sense of racial superiority. Much of that comes out of the evolutionary worldview espoused by Charles Darwin and picked up by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and others.
From a biblical worldview (and I know...you may not agree with me but please listen to me and I will in turn listen to you) there are only two "races." You are either part of Adam's race or you have been redeemed and transformed by belief into Christ's "race" ("But you are a CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9).
There are only two "races" but there are thousands of "people groupings." People self-identify based on language, religion, geography, history, and a host of different things that make "us" us. Most of us, if we went to China, would look around and say these people are all "Chinese." Most are Han (90%) and they speak Mandarin (the most spoken language on the planet). But there are actually 455 people groups in China and an outsider would be hard-pressed to identify them. But they know who they are.
Of the 13,000+ people groupings in the world there is NO SUPERIOR RACE. Evolutionists and evolutionary-leaning philosophers in our world have tried to convince us of this that some races are somehow superior. This has been the root of much evil. Those who believe the "white race" is somehow supreme are highly deceived. All humans are born "in the image of God" and are worthy of both God's love and the love and care of all human beings. There is also no INFERIOR RACE though each people group have their own history of savage behavior and sinful choices. Each one. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) This applies to individuals, societies and groupings of people.
In our human sinfulness and evil condition, we want the rest of the world to "be like us." The problem with that is there are too many OTHERS out there. People need to learn to appreciate the diversity of the human race but also to realize that each people group needs to be redeemed and refined by the power and grace of God. Every one. In fact, each group of people has so much work to do in repairing and redeeming their own past, they don't need to even think about another people group!
Love is the greatest value in the world. The GREAT COMMANDMENT of Jesus to "love one another" should be the goal of each of us individually but also of any community that we are involved in. Learning to appreciate the peoples of the world is much needed. There is so much beauty in the peoples of the world. Taking the time to listen, appreciate, and enjoy the culture and values of other peoples puts to death the hatred and self-deception of our own personal or group "greatness." You're not as great as you think!
Comments
Post a Comment