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Tom wrote: Robert wrote: "Here is a thought... "racism" does not actually exist... "prejudice" DOES.

As Christians, we must begin with an accurate starting point. Racism cannot exist (in truth) because there is ONLY ONE ra..."
Exactly.

Jonathan wrote: I disagree. To deny that racism exists is to be ahistorical and ignore the longstanding mistreatment of many American citizens because of their race by public policies and institutions. Prejudice refers to a preconceived opinion about someone or some group that is not based on reason. When that is applied on a larger scale institutionally towards certain groups be it racial, sex, sexual orientation or religious groups, you get the isms (racism, sexism..ect). While the modern concept of race is new, it is a reality. To ignore that is to ignore reality and for the Christian community to ignore it and push a colorblind narrative is to be dishonest and ignore the pain experiences by many brothers and sisters in Christian. Talking about these issues can be divisive if it isn't done in a healthy way and it often is divisive, but there is much toxic division in ignoring it and pretending it does not exist.

The Bible certainly testifies to the truth that all humans share a common ancestry (and a common Creator), and to God's design to unite all of His people as one eternal family. Nothing in the Bible, however, denies that there are ethnic differences within the overarching unity of the human race, and various Biblical writers explicitly mention them (for instance, Rev. 7:9, Acts 17:26). These differences are rightly viewed from the perspective of the common saving purpose of God (which should be ours, too), but there's no claim that they don't actually exist. Differences are both cultural and in many cases physical; and physical differences are genetically transmitted according to predictable laws of inheritance that are scientifically validated and objectively real. Even though the term "race," was coined in the 18th-century, the underlying reality the term was invented to describe has always existed. IMO, we should view it as a creative diversity in which God takes pleasure, not some kind of horrible embarrassment that should be denied and explained away.

As Robert noted, prejudice does exist. Where prejudice is based on race, though (and it very often is), I believe it's perfectly legitimate to refer it as racism. That doesn't suggest that race is a legitimate grounds for prejudice; it just recognizes the fact that some misguided people imagine that it is. And while all prejudices are held by individuals (and need to be changed at the individual level), some are much more widespread than just a matter of a few small groups. And some prejudices are widely encouraged.

Tom wrote: Jonathan wrote: "I disagree. To deny that racism exists is to be ahistorical and ignore the longstanding mistreatment of many American citizens because of their race by public policies and institutions. Prejudice r..."
I don't think Robert is ignoring the issue, just properly defining the issue. Prejudice is the core issue. How it is expressed is peripheral. Prejudice is carved into our DNA. Expressing it through racism or sexism is symptomatic just as angina or chest pain is symptomatic of underlying coronary artery disease. Do we wish to discuss the cause of this disease, or the symptoms? Treating symptoms without addressing root cause is a fruitless endeavor

Lynne wrote: Yes, we are all one race. Yes, Jesus is the answer. Yes, racism's root cause is prejudice.

However, racism is a word used to describe a particular kind of prejudice. To argue that we should simply dismiss the term is, I believe, not helpful, as many people will see it as dismissing the issue, and will not pause to listen to our explanation about why we are not using it. It is, in effect, semantics. The term 'racism' is a perfectly valid one to use if one's desire is to be understood, and I believe ignoring it in favour of other terms results in unnecessary division.

If Christians are serious about dealing with racism, then we should not be pausing to quibble about the use of the term. We should just sit down and try and address the issue.

Tom wrote: Robert wrote: "Sorry, to address the issue of "racism" is to deny the Word of God and embrace evolution.

Evolution is the world's answer for the existence of various races.

So, if we are addressing the wrong pr..."

Sorry, but the word evolution doesn't disturb me. Evolution merely being the mechanism of creation. The act of creation was something far more fundamental and difficult (impossible?) to understand which set all in motion. Denying science is denying the magnificence and complexity of God's creation.

Robert wrote: "I leave you with the challenge... where does "racism" exist according to the BIBLE? ...."Racism appears to be a word of recent origin , with no citations currently known that would suggest the word was in use prior to the early 20th century."

Most members of this group, myself included, have run into this same fallacious argument (from non-Christians as well as professing Christians) in relation to abortion, homosexual orientations, smoking, pornography, the environment, euthanasia, assisted suicide, marijuana or other modern drugs, or essentially any other contemporary term or concept which doesn't have a specific linguistic equivalent in biblical Hebrew or Greek. (And, of course, we mustn't forget arson, which probably does have a Hebrew and Greek equivalent, but doesn't happen to be specifically prohibited anywhere in either Testament.) If the Bible doesn't use a given modern word or phrase, we're told, it "says nothing about" the subject, and so offers us no relevant guidance --except to imply that it's a matter of indifference.

The reason why this is fallacious is because the Bible does lay down very clear basic ethical teachings and principles which serve as touchstones (or, as Amos might say, a plumb line) for how we conduct ourselves, how we relate to God and how we treat other humans. The love commands and the Golden Rule, for instance, preclude unfair and prejudicial treatment of others no matter what excuse happens to be advanced for it. Direct Biblical commands to seek justice apply in any setting where justice is denied, for any reason. And the examples of God's concern and compassion for non-Israelites, and of how Jesus and the Apostles treated non-Jews, and the positive commands for inclusion in the fellowship of the church regardless of ethnicity, govern us even in cases where the ethnicity involved doesn't happen to be, say, Samaritans, or people from Nineveh. The Bible was given to us in a particular time and place, but God gave it to us in such a way as to render it a reliable and relevant rule for our spiritual and moral guidance in EVERY time and place that has been or will be until Christ returns, including cultural situations where the technology, language and practices may not outwardly much resemble those of Biblical times.

Banner wrote: It seems to me that we are having trouble getting past the meaning of the word(s) Race / racism to get to the crux of the matter. Which is the excellent article Jonathan posted.

I just pulled up my dictionary app and it gave one of the meaning of the word "Race" as "a family, tribe, people or nation belonging to the same stock."
Also, "a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits or characteristics".

We can certainly agree that we have seen or at least that we know of prejudices against people of different "characteristics".

The same app states that the word racism was first used in 1933 so this is a relative new word, but the sin has been with us a long time.

Think about how Gal 3:28 might apply here "neither Jew nor Greek".

I agree that we all came from Adam/Eve, but I disagree that there is only one race. Christians are born into the world's race and adopted into God's when we are saved. We are as different as night and day in the way we think, act and perceive our surroundings. Our problems with prejudice occur when we start acting and thinking like the race that belongs to this world instead of God's. I know that this is not what you meant by the original question but I think we all need to remember that if we let our disagreements temp us to act like we are a member of the world's race then satan gains a foothold into our lives. Most people haven't been taught that the only race they belong is God's and that is leaving the church doors wide open for satan.

Well said, Rita!

The reason that people want to "deal with" made up maladies is because satan is succeeding in leading us away from God. When something so volatile as racism is brought up, nearly every person allows emotions to flare up and christians forget to seek God. Everybody else is so angry that they won't listen to anything anyone says, this keeps them from hearing the Word of God. The only one happy is satan.

As Rita reminds us, God sees the basic division of the human race as being into two spiritual races, that of the "first Adam" and the "last Adam" (the Lord Jesus Christ), as the Apostle Paul explains in I Corinthians 15: 45-49; see also Romans 5: 12-19. In God's eyes, ALL those in Christ, regardless of earthly divisions, are one people, truly born again from out of the fallen human race of Adam, and thinking and acting in a new and godly way. And He wants us to recognize this reality the same way that He does.

As far as physical races are concerned, James Strong, in his classic A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament, defines ethnos (from which we get our words "ethnicity" and ethnic") as "race." The New Testament writers use ethnos 162 times, almost always referring to physical groupings of people. The King James Version translators usually render it as "nation(s)," "people(s)" or most often "Gentiles," (since the N.T. writers are usually speaking of non-Jewish peoples/nations).

More could be said about the subject, and I could address some of Robert's comments more directly. But since Robert isn't part of our group any more, I'm thinking that what's already been said probably deals with the subject sufficiently. So I don't plan to post on this thread any further, unless anyone else in the group still wants to explore the subject more.

Note: Robert's ten earlier posts on this thread have not been "censored." They were deleted just now at his own request (made by personal message).