You Are All One - 4/3/17
Human beings like to draw boundaries; be it national boundaries, class boundaries, or ethnic boundaries, humanity has been dividing itself up for millenia. As a result we have put ourselves through rough times with nationalistic wars, poverty, and systematic racism.
This has been a common theme through most of human history, and I would go so far as to say it's a part of our human nature to engineer certain wrongs such as these. However, we (as humans) also recognize these as shortcomings on our part, and we find in ourselves a desire to see these wrongs corrected. Humanity is decidedly unique in this aspect from other living creatures. After all, no cow or horse ever sat down to have a discussion on the ethical impacts of eating grass. The animals do not think of the moral implications of their actions, they simply do them as a necessity for their survival. Humans, however, do think of these things, which sets us apart from being mere animals.
If then we can recognize certain actions we take as wrong, certainly that means we can then identify certain actions as being right. A knowledge of good leads to a knowledge of evil, and vice versa. In the Garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit contained the knowledge of both good and evil. Too often, though, we simply state the evil and condemn those who practice it, without identifying the good action that should be taken in contrast.
To look at one instance, I would take racism. I would state an antecedent caveat to my statements, I do not intend to belittle the genuine complaints of anyone, and if anything I write seems to do just that, I promise that is not the true meaning of my words.
For centuries, European powers took people from Africa and shipped them to their colonies in the New World to be slaves and work their plantations, and the United States took equal share in this sin when she was born in 1776. The institution of slavery as a whole would survive well into the 1800s and 1900s for some countries. After the American Civil War of 1861-1865, a deep resentment of newly freed slaves persisted for many years leading to the passage of multiple laws to restrict their rights and freedoms. Hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan saw their "divine" purpose as continuing the superiority of the white man. This hatred was not localized to one geographical area, but people of African descent saw persecution wherever they went.
Continuing, this hatred of African-Americans persisted for many years, and the KKK still exists even to this day. However, since the late 1950s and 1960s, there has been a vocal cry against this systematic racism; and in the 1960s the federal government tore down the barriers that states had erected to oppress black people.
At this point I want to make another caveat; I am not trying to push a particular political agenda.
Today, the majority of people decry racism as an abomination; or, to put it another way, the majority of people recognize racism as evil. From the logic followed earlier, we must now be able to find the good that contrasts this evil. This good action was written down for our benefit, long before Europe became an international power or America fought a war to end slavery.
Paul writes in this letter to the church in Galatia,
This has been a common theme through most of human history, and I would go so far as to say it's a part of our human nature to engineer certain wrongs such as these. However, we (as humans) also recognize these as shortcomings on our part, and we find in ourselves a desire to see these wrongs corrected. Humanity is decidedly unique in this aspect from other living creatures. After all, no cow or horse ever sat down to have a discussion on the ethical impacts of eating grass. The animals do not think of the moral implications of their actions, they simply do them as a necessity for their survival. Humans, however, do think of these things, which sets us apart from being mere animals.
If then we can recognize certain actions we take as wrong, certainly that means we can then identify certain actions as being right. A knowledge of good leads to a knowledge of evil, and vice versa. In the Garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit contained the knowledge of both good and evil. Too often, though, we simply state the evil and condemn those who practice it, without identifying the good action that should be taken in contrast.
To look at one instance, I would take racism. I would state an antecedent caveat to my statements, I do not intend to belittle the genuine complaints of anyone, and if anything I write seems to do just that, I promise that is not the true meaning of my words.
For centuries, European powers took people from Africa and shipped them to their colonies in the New World to be slaves and work their plantations, and the United States took equal share in this sin when she was born in 1776. The institution of slavery as a whole would survive well into the 1800s and 1900s for some countries. After the American Civil War of 1861-1865, a deep resentment of newly freed slaves persisted for many years leading to the passage of multiple laws to restrict their rights and freedoms. Hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan saw their "divine" purpose as continuing the superiority of the white man. This hatred was not localized to one geographical area, but people of African descent saw persecution wherever they went.
Continuing, this hatred of African-Americans persisted for many years, and the KKK still exists even to this day. However, since the late 1950s and 1960s, there has been a vocal cry against this systematic racism; and in the 1960s the federal government tore down the barriers that states had erected to oppress black people.
At this point I want to make another caveat; I am not trying to push a particular political agenda.
Today, the majority of people decry racism as an abomination; or, to put it another way, the majority of people recognize racism as evil. From the logic followed earlier, we must now be able to find the good that contrasts this evil. This good action was written down for our benefit, long before Europe became an international power or America fought a war to end slavery.
Paul writes in this letter to the church in Galatia,
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
-- Galatians 3:27-29
More than just a statement of fact, Paul's words here give us a guide for the way we should view other people. While race is not mentioned here ("Jew" and "Greek" refer to nationalities and religious identities), the idea that denounces racism is present. Under the banner of Christ, all men and women are equal in the sight of God, regardless of nationality, class, or race. If then all men are equal in God's sight, no one individual or group of people can claim to be better than another.
If we want race to stop being a factor, we have to start eliminating it as a factor in our own minds. A Christ-centered mindset views people as human beings, not black people or white people or asian people or hispanic people or middle eastern people, Christ views them only as people. To adopt this mindset means that certain practices must be put to death. The use of racial slurs and racial jokes must be put out of our mind. They have no place in a mentality that aspires to be Christ-like.
Moreover, we can apply this line of thought to other areas as well. When we recognize an evil, in addition to condemning it we must address it by determining the right thing to do. All it takes is for one person to stand up, and through one person the wrong can be pushed out in favor of the right.
If we want race to stop being a factor, we have to start eliminating it as a factor in our own minds. A Christ-centered mindset views people as human beings, not black people or white people or asian people or hispanic people or middle eastern people, Christ views them only as people. To adopt this mindset means that certain practices must be put to death. The use of racial slurs and racial jokes must be put out of our mind. They have no place in a mentality that aspires to be Christ-like.
Moreover, we can apply this line of thought to other areas as well. When we recognize an evil, in addition to condemning it we must address it by determining the right thing to do. All it takes is for one person to stand up, and through one person the wrong can be pushed out in favor of the right.
-Jacob