In God We Trust: Race and Prejudice

In our series on current events and social issues we look at racism and racial prejudice.

And though the simple answer is that God is against it and so should the Christian be, it is a complex and far reaching issue.

Here is what racism is really about, where it comes from, and how to be aware of it.

God Bless

Johnny

(The Outline is included here below the video.)

 

Outline

1-18-20

Genesis 1:26-27 (kjv)  and god said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So god created man in his own image, in the image of god created he him; male and female created he them.

How many people bear the image of god? How many races? How many genders? All.

1 john 2:2 (kjv)  and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

How many people, races, genders did Jesus die for? All.

Mark 12:29-31 (kjv)  and Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, hear, O Israel; the lord our god is one lord:  and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Commanded to love your neighbor, no matter how they are different from you.

So the short answer: racism and prejudice are sins for which Christ had to die.

Racism is one kind of prejudice

Easy to do because the difference is easy to spot: skin color.

Prejudice is humanity wide

Bible examples: Jews/gentiles; romans/Jews; Samaritans; early church Jewish widows from Judea/Greek-speaking Jews

Examples of world-wide grounds and acts of prejudice: racial; religious; geographical; social; economic; sports teams; Nazis; caste system; monarchies; gender; ancestry; political preference…

We are all as humans naturally prejudiced

The built-in need to feel superior.

At a personal level, and culturally

Culture: customs, dress, society, traditions, religion, foods, language …

Culture is: the “personality and lifestyle” of a group of people.

Culture is found from family unit, community, church, up to nation

You joined this specific church not just because of its doctrine but for its culture. You fit in.

We don’t understand another culture w/o experiencing it.

We can be different. God loves variety.

But we’re not “superior”

Beware of sinful pride where we view others as less valuable than ourselves.

In heaven the scene of worship from every tribe, language, people, and nation. In other words, from every “culture”

There is only one culture in heaven. One family. One god. One lord.

Revelation 5:9 (kjv) and they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to god by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;