Tag Archives: race

Critical Race Theory

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Imagine that you are a middle school student participating in a course called “Courageous Conversations About Race.”  Through several weeks of instruction, you are exposed to a variety of new concepts.  For example, as a white American, you are part of an institutionally racist society.  This means you are automatically a racist, that you have “White Privilege,” and that people of color are perpetual victims of this racist society.  These concepts may seem difficult to accept.  But who are you to question them?  Your teachers seem to know what they are talking about.  So you choose to agree.

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Africa and Africans in the Bible

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There are some who attack Christianity as being a “white man’s religion” and they say that the Bible is a “white, European, racist book.”  Such assertions are not only false, they are ridiculous to the point of being absurd.  Those who make such assertions apparently have no true acquaintance with the Scriptures and it’s content.  The Bible is at its core a Hebrew book written from the perspective of Middle Eastern Jews.  Indeed, every book of the Bible was written by a Jew, except for the New Testament books of Luke and Acts.  How can a book that is Jewish and Middle Eastern be considered a European, Anglo or white man’s book?

However, even though the Bible is largely Hebrew in perspective, it is also a multi-cultural book.  It reflects the influence of other cultures—e.g., Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Hellenistic—on the people of Israel.  It also records encounters with individuals and people from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  And this includes individuals and groups from the continent of Africa.  In this writing we will examine some of what the Bible says about Africa and Africans.  But first, let us examine the origin of the people groups of Africa as recorded in the Scriptures. Continue reading →

Race and Racism

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I live in small town only about 10 miles from Charlottesville, VA.  Like everyone else, I was horrified and angered by the events occurring in our community on August 12.  I also was left with a deep concern because there is a growing focus on racial division in this country.  Racism is a hot topic.  And one that needs to be addressed, especially by the Christian community.  With this in mind, I am offering some thoughts on a biblical perspective of the concept of race.  Most of this article was actually posted quite a while back on this site.  However, in light of current events, I feel like it is worth considering again, with a few additions.

 

According to the Scriptural account, there is actually only one human race.  Biblically all humans are part of one family.  We are all descended from Adam and Eve.  This is plainly taught in the Scriptures.  Indeed, Eve’s very name means “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20), thus indicating her as the primal ancestor of all men.  We are also all descended from Noah.  During the Flood, all human beings were destroyed on the earth, leaving only Noah and his family (see Genesis 7:21-23 and 1 Peter 3:20).  This is why the New Testament says that God has made all the peoples of the earth from one blood, one human stock (see Acts 17:26).

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Of One Blood

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Question:  Where did the various human races come from?

Answer:  According to the Scriptural account, there is actually only one human race.  Biblically all humans are part of is one family.  We are all descended from Adam and Eve.  This is plainly taught in the Scriptures.  Indeed, Eve’s very name means “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20), thus indicating her as the primal ancestors of all men.  We are also all descended from Noah.  During the Flood, all human beings were destroyed on the earth, leaving only Noah and his family (see Genesis 7:21-23 and 1 Peter 3:20).  This is why the New Testament says that God has made all the peoples of the earth from one blood, one human stock (see Acts 17:26).

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