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A Christian Response to Racism

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Page 1: A Christian Response to Racism
Page 2: A Christian Response to Racism

For  that  some  should  rule  and  others  be  ruled  is  a  thing  not  only  necessary,  but  expedient;  from  the  hour  of  their  birth,  some  are  marked  out  for  subjection,  others  for  rule...      Aristotle,  Politics    ...nature  herself  intimates  that  it  is  just  for  the  better  to  have  more  than  the  worse,  the  more  powerful  than  the  weaker;  and  in  many  ways  she  shows,  among  men  as  well  as  among  animals,  and  indeed  among  whole  cities  and  races,  that  justice  consists  in  the  superior  ruling  over  and  having  more  than  the  inferior.      Plato,  Gorgias  

Page 3: A Christian Response to Racism

The  prime  cause,  then,  of  slavery  is  sin,  which  brings  man  under  the  dominion  of  his  fellow  -­‐-­‐  that  which  does  not  happen  save  by  the  judgment  of  God,  with  whom  is  no  unrighteousness,  and  who  knows  how  to  award  fit  punishments  to  every  variety  of  offence.    St  Augustine,  The  City  of  God,  19:15    for  men  of  outstanding  intelligence  naturally  take  command,  while  those  who  are  less  intelligent  but  of  more  robust  physique,  seem  intended  by  nature  to  act  as  servants;      Thomas  Aquinas,  Summa  Contra  Gentiles    

Page 4: A Christian Response to Racism
Page 5: A Christian Response to Racism
Page 6: A Christian Response to Racism
Page 7: A Christian Response to Racism

God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein,  seeing  that  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands;  Neither  is  worshipped  with  men's  hands,  as  though  he  needed  any  thing,  seeing  He  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things;  And  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth      Apostle  Paul  -­‐  New  Testament  

Page 8: A Christian Response to Racism

So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created  He  him;  male  and  female  created  He  them.  [Genesis]      

Page 9: A Christian Response to Racism

Miscegenation:  “Miscegenation  comes  from  the  Latin  miscere,  "to  mix"  and  genus,  "kind".  The  word  was  coined  in  the  U.S.  in  1863,  and  the  etymology  of  the  word  is  tied  up  with  political  conflicts  during  the  American  Civil  War  over  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  over  the  racial  segregation  of  African-­‐Americans.  The  reference  to  genus  was  made  to  emphasize  the  supposedly  distinct  biological  differences  between  whites  and  non-­‐whites,  though  all  humans  belong  to  the  same  genus,  Homo,  and  the  same  species,  Homo  sapiens.”  

Page 10: A Christian Response to Racism

It  is  fitting,  therefore,  that  we  take  this  occasion  to  proclaim  to  the  world  the  essential  principles  of  the  faith  by  which  we  live,  and  to  declare  our  aims  to  all  peoples.  The  American  people  stand  firm  in  the  faith  which  has  inspired  this  Nation  from  the  beginning.  We  believe  that  all  men  have  a  right  to  equal  justice  under  law  and  equal  opportunity  to  share  in  the  common  good.  We  believe  that  all  men  have  the  right  to  freedom  of  thought  and  expression.  We  believe  that  all  men  are  created  equal  because  they  are  created  in  the  image  of  God.  

Page 11: A Christian Response to Racism

I  have  a  dream  that  my  four  little  children  will  one  day  live  in  a  nation  where  they  will  not  be  judged  by  the  color  of  their  skin,  but  by  the  content  of  their  character.    Martin  Luther  King,  Jr.      

Page 12: A Christian Response to Racism
Page 13: A Christian Response to Racism

Racial  prejudice  is  sin.  The  Biblical  doctrines  of  creation  and  redemption  stress  the  equality  of  all  men  in  the  sight  of  God.  ...  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  preach  the  whole  counsel  of  God  [and]  rebuke  racial  prejudice    -­‐  Carl  Henry      One  of  the  greatest  blots  on  the  history  of  American  churches  is  the  toleration  of  the  prejudicial  treatment  of  minority  races  ....  [rhetorical  question]  'Would  you  want  your  daughter  to  marry  one  of  them  [context  'a  Negro']?  'In  a  word,  Yes!  Better  that  my  daughter  would  marry  a  believing  Negro  than  a  bigoted  White’  -­‐  John  Warwick  Montgomery      

Page 14: A Christian Response to Racism

¡  Racism  has  been  an  issue  since  antiquity  ¡  Rooted  in  concept  of  “superior”and  “inferior”  ¡  All  created  in  God’s  image  ...  Descended  “from  one  blood”  

¡  Jesus:  “Blessed  are  the  peacemakers”  ¡ We  must  be  champions  of  understanding  that  all  are  equal