Are You a Racist?

Here is an issue that has permeated our society. Everyone has an opinion and most everyone would freely admit that they are not racist. I am here to say that I may be one. Already I have enflamed tensions inside you! Preconceived ideas about who I am and what I believe are swirling in your head! Why is this word so divisive and where did it come from? I have heard preachers in churches that I love and respect talk about what the Bible has to say about racism usually involving the Good Samaritan story and the overarching principle of the Lord’s grace and love being available through the blood of the cross for all mankind. I will contend that none of this has anything to do with the term racism. As a matter of fact the Bible says nothing at all about racism nor does any other religion under the sun. Now I know you think I am completely ignorant and crazy, but hang on and let me explain. Let’s unpack the whole modern conception of the term by evaluating where the term came from. It may surprise people to realize that the term does not exist in the English language until 1936. The description of what was done by the Nazi Regime is where it came from. It is important to remember what was the bedrock of Hitler’s horrible regime? It was socialism (more on that later because this new “ism” of racism is directly related to it). Hitler did not start off as a tyrant, quite the contrary he was someone the German people thought would bring hope. He built German infrastructure, created Volkswagen, paved roads, promised free health care and a new economic recovery for an impoverished German people. In order to have power he needed someone to blame for all of Germany’s problems and that fell on the Jews (or the wealthy). Thus the term racist was born. Socialism became a dictatorship and the worst mass killing of a single race of people in modern history was about to unfold. Since part of Hitler’s devious nature was to have a “master race” the term was easily coined.

Now that we have a little background let’s dig further into this discussion by defining the term with two modern definitions of the term. Here are two from Webster’s and the World English dictionary.

racism or racialism (ˈreɪsɪzəm, ˈreɪʃəˌlɪzəm)


— n

1.
the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others

2.
abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief


racialism or racialism



Noun

1.

A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

2.

A policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.

3.

Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

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Let’s break down the definition and see where we stand on this issue. Now let’s remember that the term has not existed for most of human history and even a third of the way through the twentieth century. This is particularly relevant while we are evaluating the terms perceived far- reaching moral implications. Both definitions allude to a belief in differences culturally in different races. Now this part of the definition is where people get tripped up that are conservative. Now personally I do believe different people have different gifts from the Lord and there are differences in what we desire to achieve and culture and family play a role in that. No I do not believe that the desires that some have are based upon societal expectations I do believe people are different in certain areas. I believe that we use the various gifts in different ways for the glory of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I would like to use the Bible to discuss the topics of talents, gifts, people groups, sin and its consequences, and relate these things to the modern day term of racism. Let us start with talents and gifts. First off we have the parable of the talents in the New Testament (Although a “talent” referred to a sum of money back then.), however the scripture in Matthew chapter 25 gives us a picture of how the Lord alone decides who gets what and how much. Here is Mathew 25: 24-28 saying…

Then the man who had received one talent came ‘Master’ he said I knew you were a hard man harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not gathered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you. His master replied “you wicked and lazy servant!” So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent form him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more and he will have an abundance.

The end of the parable states that he took from the one who had only one talent and gave to the good and faithful servant who had ten. (Not exactly what socialists had in mind?) Now this does not refer to races of people it does illustrate the point that the Lord gives based upon abilities and gifts that the Lord has ordained. The other important part of this parable is the statement that the master harvests where he has not sown. This illustrates the point that the Lord has reserved the right to allocate resources as he sees fit even giving to those that are already in abundance. Another point is that it clearly defines that even the fields that you work are His before they are yours. Here is a brief point about socialism there are two things that make the scripture incompatible with socialists or progressives: First, is that the Lord reserves the right to give abundantly to the wealthy if He sees fit. Second, the results of your labor are the Lords before they are even ours. Therefore by taking wealth or land from some, and keeping it, or giving to those socialists deem worthy they are attempting to replace God’s will with their own. Progressives always believe that they know better than anyone how to create a successful society. This scripture also illustrates the principles of eternity and the desire for the Lord to give HIS abundance to HIS children. (This parable refers to the kingdom of heaven but clearly has some wisdom for how the Lord operates here on earth.) Therefore we can conclude that there are various degrees of material resources given by our Lord based upon His will as well as the abilities He gave us. I am not making this point to say that resources are based upon race. The point I am trying to make is that regardless of how unfair it appears on the surface the Bible is clear that He is in charge and sovereign over everything and therefore it is not the job of man to decide who gets what and the recognition of that fact does not make you a bigot. I want to go to I Corinthians chapter 12: 18-23

But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand,”I don’t need you!” One the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker is indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.

This scripture is referring to the total body of Christians and since it is my view that the Lord wishes to save all mankind this is a proper illustration on how He would will His people to act. Again this is not based upon race, but is an illustration of how the Lord ordains the abilities that we can bring to the table in regards to fellowship with all believers and therefore has a direct correlation on what job or jobs we are to do for Him. The first scripture dealt with resources that are monetary. This is dealing with ability such as leadership, prophecy, teaching, and mercy; basically all of the gifts of the spirit. I know this is referring to the church but, it is keeping with my point that people are differing in abilities which will manifest itself in earthly results. Remember the Lord does not differentiate between gifts; it is man and his wickedness that deems leadership above service. Our lack of understanding of the eternal does not make God somehow unfair. The second scripture deals with people’s results or achievements here on earth and I am continuing to say that race does not play a factor so it seems as if this is not relevant to our discussion but it is. I would like to briefly go back and break down the modern definition of racism and its ramifications. You will find that if you acknowledge differences in abilities from one person to another and assign those differences as hereditary or spiritually originated you are branded a racist. The reason for this is the second part of the above mentioned definition which again states “Usually involving the idea that one’s race is superior and has the right to rule over others.” Listen to what is being said here. The first part is declaring that the belief in these cultural differences can manifest themselves in results is racist because it USUALLY involves one’s race believing they have the right to rule. Now to every fair minded person the second part of the definition discussing one’s superiority over another is the part that is morally offensive to our Lord. Notice how the first part of the definition tries to prove the second part. As if the way of thinking that I have displayed, is dangerous because it can lead to an attitude of superiority. It would be great (for the progressive) if the definition could have said that the first part always leads to the second part, but if does not always end in oppression. It is clear that part one does not have a constant correlation to the result alluded to; therefore the definition is theoretical at best and irrational at worst if taken to the levels that we now see today. This is clearly an attempt to state that what I think in regards to where resources and abilities come from will result in my attempt to persecute others if I am able. Clearly this has happened, but I will contend that sin and a life apart from Jesus Christ opens the door for these sinful usurpation of people’s natural rights not merely the acknowledgement that I believe my point to be true. More on this later but I want to get back to the scripture. Paul, in the book of I Corinthians, has eloquently stated that in the body of Christ the equality of ourselves in our human condition of sin will keep us from exalting ourselves above another brother because of earthly blessings. The least shall be first and exalted on high. There is gratitude to be a part of the family of God no matter where you are placed.

Let’s turn to the issue of people groups and see whether abilities, sins, or blessings are given or taken away in a generational or multi generational way. That’s a different way of saying that the sins or blessings of the father will fall on the son. We can know through the example of the Israelites in the book of Numbers 14:18-23

The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished: he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now. The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked, Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers.

First of all, what a glorious picture of salvation, grace, mercy and the consequences of sin. (I would love to unpack all of that, but I can do that another time.) We do see that the people of the Israelite race were dealt with collectively in regards to the promises of God that dealt with the people of God. One whole generation including Moses was to die off before that race could enter into the Promised Land given by God. Do not misunderstand me here this has nothing to do with how many out of that generation will see the kingdom of heaven that was and is an individual and personal decision between the Lord and the individual. This passage clearly indicates a multi-generational approach to the consequences of sin as well as the blessings of God in regards to the things of God here on earth, again none of this dictates whether an individual chooses to receive Jesus Christ as his/her personal savior that is a personal matter. I want to pause right here and dive into sin real quick. This is really where you can see the term racism running afoul of the scripture. We all here statistics about crime in certain neighborhoods that are predominantly a certain color. The progressive will immediately talk about the reasons for this is social or socioeconomic. They will claim that the system of government we have has aided and abetted the crime in an area. They will talk about more education and more access to services that could help the poor and on and on. Now it is possible that some of these things could be improved, but what if you believe that these areas are not the root cause of the problems in that community. You might get away with discussing the need for spiritual outlets or an increase in job training, but what if your explanation went deeper then that. What if you began to discuss the fatherless rate being exponentially higher in that community, and then stated that generations of this epidemic have caused this and made it known that this particular group of people had a larger problem in that area than your particular group of people. You would immediately get called a racist or being stereotypical, close minded or maybe even a hate monger. Even if your information is accurate your hypothesis on what the problem is would be invalid, why? Simply stated the word sin cannot exist in the discussion. This is the real reason that the definition of the term is worded as it is. Because any mention of particular sin that does in fact have very real multi-generational consequences is viewed as a racist statement and therefore invalid. The reason is that it violates their definition of the term, because it states that there are sins that were brought in by previous generations and if unchecked will have the exact same results in that family or community. Remember they don’t believe in cultural distinctives, which do mirror sin. That is why you cannot point out sin. I will attest that since we are sheep who have all gone astray we will act exactly like we are shown to do unless the Lord teaches us another way. This principle will manifest itself generation after generation in a family, race of people or culture good or bad.

Based on what we can gleam from the Bible we can deduce three important points relevant to our discussion. Number one, contrary to modern progressive views there is an almighty omnipotent creator and he does have something to say about the talents and gifts that people have. Number two, we can see that the Lord takes sin very seriously and punishes accordingly. Number three, consequences to sin can have an effect that is directly linked to race and/or family lineage. My point is that the Lord does not comment on “racism”, but he does comment on his sole sovereignty in regards to wealth, spiritual gifts, sin, people groups and consequences for sin. The point of all of these scripture references is to point out that the modern day liberal will tell you that your belief in why and how people receive gifts and talents is based upon an elitist and racist position. What they are really saying is that if you believe that our creator endows us with certain gifts and they are tied to ancestry in some ways or you understand that sin does attack whole races of people then you are morally wrong and a racist. They presuppose the assumption that since some have used this attitude to oppress others therefore the belief in some hereditary links to results means you do have an attitude of superiority. They will make you believe that you cannot have one without the other. This is not only wrong but not congruent with the scripture.

Another reason the definition of “racism” is not compatible with scripture is it does not deal with the issue of sin and people groups (which I alluded to in the last paragraph). A lot of our modern definitions, especially this topic of racism, completely ignore sin and its consequences. This is a major reason for why liberals and socialists can justify their positions because they can ignore Biblical truths. We have seen through scripture that sin is real and has far reaching implications for whole groups of people. I could give more Scripture on this issue but you can do that on your own time suffice to say there is insurmountable Biblical evidence to support the idea that the Lord gives and takes away from families, races and nations based upon His will and the sin or righteousness of that group of people.

So we have established three things. One, that racism is a modern term. Two, what that modern definition is. And three, what the Bible has to say about a portion of the definition. So what does all this mean? In my view it is almost a self evident truth that races and people groups are different from one another not only in customs, but in abilities as well. We have been taught that this viewpoint amounts to a morally flawed statement. I will contend that this is morally offensive and wrong only to the progressive. There is no moral statement of superiority or any hint of adding or subtracting from the equality of man under heaven in relation to God in that statement. It is a statement based upon simple observations of the people you meet and sizing that up with a common sense approach to the history of that people group as well as your own. Where did such a benign statement become something that is as morally wrong as the violation of the Ten Commandments? The simple answer is that those who are progressive have created the term, the definition for the term and how you are to use it. Therefore they have created a new set of moral maxims in regards to the topic of racism and have demanded that we tow the line. As usual people do not want to discuss the topic of sin. Christians and conservatives alike know that holding malice in your heart towards another human being for any reason at all is SIN not “racism”. The progressive has to create this new morality and dismantle the old one because they cannot achieve power without racism. This goes back to the old Soviet system and Karl Marx who used these same set of rules with different terms. There was not the term racism, but classism was then created. People were divided into two groups of haves and have-nots (proletariat and the bourgeoisie). Just like today, the rules of what was acceptable to believe and speak about were set in place. Not dissimilar to a new and twisted doctrine of a new faith. Lastly, both movements must use the new morality that they have created to replace the set of precepts that we have always held to such as the Constitution and the Ten Commandments. Socialism, liberty and Christianity cannot coexist because socialism in its infancy always imitates the other two before eliminating them when it is all grown up until a totalitarian regime. This is why it is so easy to find moral flaws in socialism because all of their morality is in opposition to the Bible’s set of precepts. Once you realize the truth about the history of progressives and the Bible and incorporate that into how you see the world they cannot deceive you anymore. Moreover, you prove them wrong by not espousing venomous hate towards people groups. Just the antithesis happens. Your wisdom of others gifts and your joy in the Lord allows you to honor the “diversity” and revel in it as Christ ordained. It amazes me that liberals have hi-jacked the term “diversity” yet in there very definition of racism they concede that there is not significant difference in abilities between people groups that we can admire. Diversity cannot exist in order for socialism to progress anyway. If people believe in the sovereign Lord and grow grateful for our gifts, we then embrace our brothers in Christ that can do things that we can’t, and rejoice for their abilities. Then the idea that we need a government to make things equal is unnecessary. Equality of results becomes unwanted because we know that these things do not square up with the character of our Lord. Moreover we see that freedom from sin and tyranny may require risk (in regards to monetary security) the reward is worth it. An example of this principle in scripture comes from Paul who in Philippians wrote;

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Paul had a peace that surpasses all understanding. Therefore, the idea of equality of results and status would have robbed him of the tremendous journey that the Lord brought him through. Do you really believe Paul would have traded his life in the Lord for comfort from the Roman government? The answer is a resounding, no! (Remember that was an option for Paul because he was a Roman citizen.) To conclude let’s break this down into two categories the new morality and the Christian morality. The new morality does not allow for differences in abilities endowed by a creator. Christian morality does. The new morality creates right and wrong based upon social morals and whether you adhere to them. Christian morality bases moral maxims on the law of the Old Testament, and the grace of the New Testament. (Actually the whole Bible is a picture of grace, but that is another topic.) The new morality says that if we make sure everyone from every ethnic group has exactly the same results then we will all achieve peace and happiness. The Christian morality says that peace that surpasses all understanding comes from the Lord (paraphrase from Philippians).To sum up the new morality bases everything on what we can create the Christian morality bases everything on what the Lord can bestow upon us, beginning with the forgiveness of sins.

To conclude this is not an anti-capitalist agenda either. To the contrary capitalism allows for all of these things to be worked out by the Lord without the impediment of government intrusion. Ultimately, the only way that we can have freedom from sin including the sin of hatred and elitism towards others is through the saving grace of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. This same freedom from sin can exist in a nation in the form of freedom from tyranny, but we must throw off these “new” moral precepts of socialism and cloth ourselves in the righteousness of the living Word of God. The morality of a nation will not happen without a change of the heart of each individual. I hope this has brought you closer to the Lord, Jesus Christ and gave you a fresh perspective in the issues of the day. Read your Bible people, it is relevant no matter what progressives say! I know this may have been hard to follow and I am not sure I discussed it clearly enough. I wanted you, the reader, to take time to think about some of these new “isms” and decide for yourself if they make sense. The things I have written are not set in stone fair minded men can disagree but let’s stop letting the left wing progressives just scream expletives at us as citizens and we just except it. Lastly, although the term racism was discussed in this writing I hope you the reader understand that I was using that example, because it is the most frequently used tool by progressives. It is imperative that you understand that this is not about hatred or bigotry it is about progressives telling all of us how we are supposed to think and that they know what is best for our lives even as far as morality is concerned. Do not be fooled any longer especially if you are a member of a minority group, because you are being used to achieve power for those that wish to enslave us all under the auspices of a benevolent fatherly government. Ultimately, my goal is to cause others to test all of these new ideas and see if they pass the logic test. If you do, you will find that these “new” ideas are not so new and although the terminology is different we have seen this before. We have seen how it starts (health care, roads, promises of economic recovery, etc.), and we see how it ends (Anyone remember World War II?). Ecclesiastes tells us that there is nothing new under the sun, and yes the Bible is right about that too!