A Black Pastor's Thoughts on Racism

 

Dear Friends,

This post was originally published a year ago. With all that has gone on in our Nation since then, I wanted us to read it again. Miles G. McPherson is the pastor of our Nation’s 19th largest megachurch with 20,000 people. The Rock Church in San Diego is known throughout our Nation for demonstrating the love of God through service in their community. It's his voice we need to hear -- not mine.

As a Pastor I can preach (and have) that we are all one race – the human race – and equal in all respects. I’ve written several AMEN Corners on this but my life experiences will be different than those with a darker skin color. These days we are deluged with too many articles from White elites who are leading a “woke” revolution and using a voice of authority to explain to us what it’s like to be an African-American in our country. But when we Whites take a dominant position and become the self-appointed ones to explain Black anguish, that’s the very definition of “white supremacy.” As a White man, I can’t write with any authenticity about the Black experience. I was deeply affected when I saw the George Floyd video but my anger and my response is different than an African-American’s. I don’t know what they’re thinking.. feeling.. sensing... I don’t know their fears and hurts. I can only listen and learn.. 

George Floyd's death: White power and the third option

by Miles G. McPherson

I grew up in a diverse family. One of my grandmothers was White, another was Black and Chinese, and both of my grandfathers were Black. Three of my four grandparents hailed from Jamaica, and eventually immigrated to America. I was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, where diversity was the norm in my home, but not in my neighborhood or at my school. My neighborhood was 95% black, and the neighborhood I attended school in was 100% white. Growing up in both environments forced me to learn how to operate in two racially-distinct worlds. Daily, I experienced racism. 

I was regularly called the ‘N’ word and targeted by racial jokes and comments as I made my way to and from school each day. On more than one occasion, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it home alive. And, to make things even worse, I experienced racial rejection in my own neighborhood as well, for not being “black enough.” 

I grew up in the culture of the sixties and early seventies, which was a racially volatile time in America. One of the most poignant lessons I learned early on, was that “white was right,” and that “black and brown” should “stand down.” This lesson embodied the very essence of “White Power,” and disobeying it resulted in incarceration or death for people who looked like me. In essence, “White Power” meant that at any given time, a White person could tell me what to do, take what I had, and determine the outcome of my life. This is what I felt, no matter how true it really was. And people of color, like me, I knew, were powerless to stop it. As much as White Power impacted me, it was worse for those who were darker than me and even worse for those who were darker-skinned and poor.

Because my grandmother was white, I have light skin, causing white people to see more of themselves in me than in darker-skinned black people. That commonality, I was told, lessened their fear. But it didn’t change the fact that I was still just another ‘N’ word to some, causing me to experience a sense of powerlessness that plagued me into adulthood. Racism becomes even more dangerous when it is combined with this type of power. Though racism is something that anyone can experience regardless of their skin color, racism from White people is uniquely powerful, because it embodies the ability to express hatred in violent and demeaning ways, and get away with it. People of color are painfully aware of this fact, while most white people have no idea how great an impact their privilege has on the lives of their brothers and sisters of color. 

Being called the “N” word is not just a derogatory term. Yes, it says to its target, “you are less than me,” but it also conveys the message, “Don’t forget that you have no power over me or your situation. I control you. I can wrong you, even kill you and get away with it, and you will have no power to change that.” This message is what causes people of color to feel powerless in witnessing the murders of black men and women like Ahmaud Arbrey, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor. And it is exacerbated a thousand-fold by the sense that they have no way of ever changing it. 

The cop kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, even after George was dead, was ultimately an expression of power. To make things worse, while the cop was killing George, he had his hand in his pocket. His casual but lethal exercise of power was embodied in his very posture, as a reminder to all of us “N’s” that he was in charge, and that the rest of us could do nothing about it. The bottom line is that Whites have more power than Black people in America. And racial discrimination will not be eliminated until White power is used to end it. Blacks can scream until their faces turn purple, but unless White power is leveraged for their benefit, things will stay the same.

It would help tremendously if White people spoke out against abuses of power more consistently, and loudly. But their collective silence on this issue is deafening, and constitutes a form of withholding help from their brothers and sister in need. The best analogy I can equate it to is watching someone else drown, and having a life preserver, but choosing not to throw it in. As Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” 

I have been sharing with my White friends that their silence tells communities of color, “We affirm our power, and we don’t want to  jeopardize it.” It also signals a message that Whites reserve their power for White priorities, and that the lives and welfare of Black people is not one of them. By staying silent, they add fuel to the fire of an “us vs. them” culture, which causes everyone to feel like a “sell out” for speaking up for the “other” side. 

It is culture, not God, who tells that being pro-black means being anti-white, or being pro-white is being anti-black. And it’s a lie. God commands us to be pro-people, pro-justice, and pro-love. That’s why I wrote a book called The Third Option, urging readers to reject the trap of “us vs. them” thinking, by choosing to honor our similarities as precious and beloved children of God, instead of focusing on the differences in the color of our skin.

Everyone who says they care about these issues, always asks me what they can do to help, and I’m moved by their desire to take action. But rather than reinvent the wheel on how to change policy and culture, I’d rather focus on offering ideas regarding who we should work to become. 

Become an honoring person: Convert every dishonoring label into an honoring one. Whatever label you give someone will be the filter through which your thoughts and expectations are shaped about them – for better or worse. Changing their labels in your heart leads to honoring and unifying beliefs about them, even when you may not understand their words or actions. 

Become honest with yourself: Admit that you see color and be honest with yourself about the burdens that come with being a person of color in America. Ask yourself how it would feel if your relatives or people who looked like you were being killed and justice was denied because of their skin tone. Ask yourself whether you value a Black life the same as a White life, and whether you truly believe that Black people are made in the same image of God as Whites.

Become a humble learner: As I wrote in my book, The Third Option, a blind spot is being unaware of something that you don’t even know you think or believe. EVERYONE has blind spots, especially when it comes to race. And the only way to overcome them is by learning the truth about ourselves and others. Engage in conversations, and do so from a position of humility. Don’t assume the position of a teacher who has all of the answers. Put yourself in the shoes of another, and ask if what you believe about them is fair or true. You’ll be amazed at how simple awareness and an honest conversation can help you resolve your racial blind spots. 

Become vocal! Use your words, your platform, and your power to say something. Express your remorse for what’s happening to the Black community. State your belief that all people are created equal and made in the image of God. Affirm your commitment to standing against injustice. Being vocal will result in three outcomes: first, you will encourage the discouraged (1 Thessalonians 5:11); second, you will challenge others to stand for justice (Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8); and third, you will be blessed for “defending the defenseless” (Psalm 82:3).

__________________________________________________

Miles McPherson is the Senior Pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego. He is also a motivational speaker and author. McPherson's latest book “The Third Option” speaks out about the pervasive racial divisions in today’s culture and argues that we must learn to see people not by the color of their skin, but as God sees them—humans created in the image of God.

Reprinted with Permission from The Christian Post

What's Your Atmosphere?

 Dear Friends,

Walt Disney was a genius at creating an emotional environment in animated features. Using a palette of color, light, music and sound effects, he painted atmospheres for each scene that transformed “cartoons” into an art form. Disney was a master storyteller who knew that atmosphere can evoke emotions even better than words. Think of 101 Dalmatians – the original 1961 animated feature. Pongo and Perdita fall in love, get married and have a litter of fifteen Dalmatian puppies. Villainess Cruella De Vil (get it? her name is cruel devil) sends her henchmen to kidnap the puppies because she is going to make a fur coat out of them. In scenes with Pongo and Perdita and the puppies, the background colors are restful shades of brown and blues. Both mom and dad Dalmatians speak in gentle, caring tones. Soft, restful orchestral music fills the background and the sound effect of a crackling fire in the fireplace completes the atmosphere. It’s a place of quiet, warmth and love. It’s safe and inviting and we emotionally connect to this very human-like family of cute and cuddly dogs. 

Suddenly the scene changes. Cruella De Vil is frantically berating her henchmen. “YOU FOOLS!” she shrieks. Her huge mink coat swings wildly about her and her green, foul-smelling cigarette smoke follows her like an evil cloud. Background colors in scenes with Cruella De Vil are sharp and discordant with strong reds and purples or they are oppressive and nightmarish swirls of black and grey grunge. Her voice is shrill, strident and loud. Harsh, screeching music fills the background. Sound effects of cars skidding and doors slamming penetrate her scenes. Your pulse rate and respirations have noticeably increased. You are now feeling tense and on-edge.

As you watch 101 Dalmatians, your emotional response to the atmospheric sounds and images is being manipulated by Walt Disney, the master mood-maker. Pongo, Perdita and the puppies bring into each scene an atmosphere of love, warmth and caring. Cruella De Vil brings an on-screen atmosphere of danger, and the tension we feel from the rising adrenaline in our bodies is our normal and natural systemic response to peril. We are responding emotionally just as Walt knew we would !

When you walk into a room, what’s the atmosphere that you bring with you? What are the feelings you evoke in people when you enter a room? We’ve all known people who can set your teeth on edge just by walking into a room. They may not say a word but you feel their anger, tension and unhappiness. The atmosphere changes. When they come into the room notice the expressions on the faces of others. People feel the negative atmosphere and their physical reaction is often an automatic defensive response. Eyes narrow and people look down or away. Words are strained. There’s an under-current of tension that arrived with the person and that will leave with the person. Sometimes you’re not aware of the atmospheric changes in the room until the person has left and you feel a sense of relief. 

We thank God for all the people that we know who bring a smile to faces just by walking into the room. People are happy to see them. We are relaxed and comfortable in their presence. You just want to hug them. They have brought with them an atmosphere of God’s grace, peace and harmony that seems to linger in the room long after they’ve gone. 

The atmosphere that you and I bring into a room is not created by music, colors and sound effects. It’s created by our attitude. If you need to change your “atmosphere,” you don’t need the advice of Walt Disney. You need the advice from Paul: 

“Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” Romans 12:9-18 NLT

When we are living the Christian life and following Jesus, we are living in His presence. Then when we walk into a room, we bring His presence with us and “in His presence there is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11 And, that’s the atmosphere that is welcomed by all. Amen?

Aging Against Our Will..!

Dear Friends,

My birthday this week reminds me that we really only have two options with the whole aging thing. We can age gracefully and be grateful to God that He has given us another year in this our temporary earthly home or we can be dragged against our will, kicking and screaming into another year like my old friend David. (not his real name)

It was in the early seventies that I went to work as an administrator for a Hollywood law firm and became friends with David who was one of the partners. He was a successful thirty- nine year old attorney whose father had been the Hollywood director/producer of one of the top television shows in the ‘50s-‘60s. David had inherited the family wealth. He was a quiet, withdrawn and unassuming bespectacled man with ordinary features and a bald spot that his Yarmulke neatly covered during Jewish holy days. He dressed in custom-tailored silk suits and refused to own a shirt unless it had french cuffs and his initials monogrammed above the pocket. He lived a quiet bachelor’s life in a hillside house with two cats as his only companions.  

Within a week after David turned forty, he took his gold American Express card to Millers Outpost on Hollywood Blvd and, among the twenty year old shoppers, bought enough new outfits to open a small store of his own. From that moment on, he came to work at our conservative law office dressed in the style of the seventies: bell-bottom pants, handmade leather belts and sandals, billowing paisley shirts, corduroy vests and a gold chain with a peace symbol. He resented having to wear a suit on court dates.

He stopped going to the opera and listening to classical music and started coming into work late after being out all night at Beverly Hills clubs. We snickered when he traded in his wire-rimmed glasses for contacts and his Lincoln Continental for a burgundy Dino 246 Ferrari. We laughed when he let his remaining hair grow long and started wearing a leather Greek fisherman’s cap to cover his bald spot. We stopped laughing when he started to regularly date one of our twenty-three year old clients who had just become the Playboy Playmate of the Year. 

I had no feelings of envy for his new “mod” lifestyle and was filled with concern for my friend. I saw a conservative forty year attorney frantically trying to erase fifteen years from his life by disguising himself as a "mod." Every waking moment seemed to be further spent grasping in the darkness for his elusive fantasy of youth and the stress predictably began to show in his work. David had always been obsessed about perfection and details but now it seemed as if I was too often scrambling to help him with his cases and keep him focused.

A well-kept secret from his partner, a criminal defense attorney, was David’s use of marijuana and cocaine. Like a deprived child discovering the delights of chocolate ice cream for the first time, David excitedly told me that cocaine had made him really happy for the first time in his life and he was sorry that he had spent so many years without it. 

David’s social life became increasingly more frantic along with his deeper involvement with recreational drugs. At Christmas time, David gave extremely expensive one pound packages of high-grade marijuana to all of his friends, and his feelings were hurt when I gave mine back. He invited me to his numerous parties and I politely refused. There was a fifteen year age difference between the two of us, but the ever-widening difference in our matureness had eroded our friendship.

David’s incredible mid-life folly left such a strong impression on me that I often remember him around my own birthdays. Back a few decades ago when I turned forty, I thought about my former friend and decided to do nothing foolish about becoming “middle-aged.” I just wanted to wait and see what would happen. What happened was that today I need five pairs of eye glasses to keep me from stumbling through life. I wrenched my back the other day simply by cleaning one of the cat’s litter boxes and I can now accurately predict the arrival of a cold front by the degree of arthritic aching in my finger joints. I’ve noticed that health issues are now at the forefront of my mind and I embarrassed a loved one at a coffee shop. The waitress came to our table with a pot in hand. “Regular?” she asked. I replied, “Yes and thank you so much for asking! I’ve increased fruit and fiber in my diet and it’s been very helpful.” 

As I thought about David this past weekend, I wondered if he had ever traded back the “John Lennon” Greek fisherman’s cap for the Yarmulke and allowed himself to mature gracefully. For only then can we enjoy life and welcome the peaceful happiness that comes not from the frantic reliving of our yesterdays but from the celebration of our todays.

I have a button that says, “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly.” I may as well just go ahead and put it on since I’m never gonna be any younger than I am right now...

Critical Race Theory and the Bible

The man on the left is named John. The man on the right is named John. These two guys became good friends and as close as brothers this year. John and I both have laughed at how much alike we are in our beliefs, values, personalities and in even our obsessions and perfectionistic behaviors that most certainly drive our loved ones nuts. Among what we share in common, most importantly, is that we both fervently love the Lord our God with all our heart and we try hard to love our neighbor as ourselves. What’s so interesting about our similarities as we’ve matured in the Lord and become the men He’s destined us to be is that our life experiences are so completely different. One of us was born and raised in Virginia and is just a few generations from family members who were slaves. The other one of us was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles. But based not on our past experiences, but on our current similarities, I call John my “doppelgänger” meaning a person who is a near clone of another. By strict definition, a “doppelgänger” means that the other looks like you do and if you look closely at the above photo you’ll see that there’s a difference between the two of us in our physical appearance. And there’s the problem... 

Because elite liberals who make the decisions about what our American culture needs to believe, tell us that the man on the right, because of his skin color, is the “oppressor” of the man on the left who is the “oppressed.” If you live in California, that concept will be taught to your children or grandchildren if they attend public schools. In order to appear “woke,” companies across America are rushing to send employees to training seminars on this philosophy and if you attend a liberal mainline church, that may be preached from the pulpit. It’s called “Critical Race Theory.”

CRITICAL RACE THEORY (CRT) tells me that any similarities between these two men are insignificant and trivial because John with the darker colored skin tone will always be the victim of John with the lighter colored skin. CRT also tells me that because I believe and preach the Word of God that John and I are equal, that’s “hate speech” and absolute proof that I’m a white supremacist. CRT tells me that there is nothing equal about John and me. The Bible tells me that we are equal in every way. The Law of Non-Contradiction tells us that Critical Race Theory and the Word of God cannot both be correct. Only one can be true.

CRT teaches that America is a fundamentally flawed and racist country and all our institutions are inherently systemically racist. That includes the Christian church because its doctrine was determined by white European males and therefore the church is rooted in systemic racism. All schools are rooted in white supremacy. The goal of CRT is to liberate the oppressed by removing power from Whites in order to dismantle structural racism. The tool used is Social Justice activism that replaces Biblical equality with Marxist equity meaning that Whites must now be intentionally discriminated against in order to transfer their power and privilege to non-Whites.

CRT does help us to think about
the complexities of racism,

acknowledge our Country’s part in it

and perhaps our own

more personal sins of racism. 

But what is dividing and creating tension, anger and hatred in our Country today is the fundamentally divisive CRT teaching that there are only two groups in society, the oppressors and the oppressed. Those born White have an embedded White Privilege that is all pervasive and permanent and, as such, all Whites are racists. 

What is most disturbing about CRT is that we are regressing back to the earlier days of racial segregation in our Nation’s history by being taught to hate one another according to our skin coloring. Because of the shameful era of slavery in our Nation, it might be considered normal and natural for Blacks who are  descendant from slaves, to hate white supremacists and racists. And today, CRT tells us all that everyone who is born white, is a racist – it doesn’t matter what you believe, say or how you act, if your skin color is “white,” you’re a racist. If, however, you are born with a skin color other than white, you are not a racist. According to CRT, a Black person cannot be a racist no matter how much he or she hates White people. There are some on both the right and the left who are fearful that as hate increases, America is on the verge of another race war. 

Do you see CRT as being

unifying or divisive

for our Country today?

Hand-in-hand with Critical Race Theory is the concept of INTERSECTIONALITY (IS) that was introduced in 1989 as a tool for determining your personal level as oppressor or oppressed. For example, I am number one at the top of the “oppressor category” because I am White, male, Christian, heterosexual, able-bodied and a native born American. According to CRT, if you’re in the oppressed category, it’s understandable and even permissible for you to hate, attack and “cancel” me for who I am because I am your oppressor. Who are the oppressed? If you are Black, you may be a billionaire and CEO of a large corporation but you are the “oppressed.” If you are a Black woman you are even more oppressed. If you are Black, transgender and disabled, you are the most oppressed of all.

But when we divide people into these two categories by skin color alone, does it make sense to us that a White single mom in a minimum wage job and struggling to feed her two children is the oppressor of a male Black billionaire CEO because her skin color is “white” and his is “black”? It does makes sense when we remember that the goal of CRT is to convince all Whites of their systemic racism and to compel them to surrender their “power and privilege” to those oppressed in order to achieve the desired equity.

CRT is rooted in the teachings of atheists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who were anti-Semitic racists and who saw the family and Christianity as impediments to their socialist ideology. Both CRT and our Bible recognize that our world is broken by the evils of racism and injustice but CRT teaches a very different version of humanity, sin and redemption than what the Word of God teaches. CRT makes it clear that I am responsible for every sin that every White person has ever committed against a person of color. The Bible makes it clear that God holds each individual responsible only for his or her own sins. Ezekiel 18:1-4; Ezekiel 18:30

Intersectionality is based upon an atheistic world-view that disbelieves and ignores what God and His Word tells us about the human race – that we are all created in God’s image Genesis 1:27 and we are all of One Blood. CRT and IS are incompatible with the Bible and with Christian beliefs, values and doctrine. Our Bible tells us that we must no longer conform to this world Romans 12:2 and yet that’s exactly what some church denominations have chosen to do. The liberal church denominations that are adopting CRT and IS as co-existent with Christianity do so through their Social Justice worldview but our authority for how to live our lives must come from God alone through His Word alone and not from atheistic Marxist ideology. The good news of the Gospel is that we are all equal and we are called to love God and love others. How can the church overcome the growing influence of CRT? By turning to the Word of God and the science of DNA.

Look again at the above photo and you’d be forgiven for thinking, “Thank God I’m nothing like those two old geezers in the photo!” but according to God’s design and creation of you, you’re more like John and me than you’d think! According to the science of DNA, those of us in the human species are 99.9% genetically similar. (The percentage of 99.5 in last week’s Amen Corner was incorrect) Let’s look at my biological sister and me to see how that plays out. Because of that one tenth of a percent difference, she’s female and I’m a male. I have hazel eyes and hers are a grayish blue. Our facial features are very different. When she was young, people said she looked like actress Farrah Fawcett and people said I looked like a young Orson Welles. My sister and I are grateful to God that it wasn’t the other way around, but aside from the obvious differences, my sister and I are 99.9% the same. The way God created you, you’re 99.9% similar to both the John on the right and the John on the left.

"..He gives to all life, breath and all things.

And He has made from one blood

every nation of men to dwell

on all the face of the earth.."

Acts 17:25-26

For many centuries God’s children have hated each other and treated others horribly and shamefully  because of that one tenth of one percent difference in their DNA that resulted in a dark colored (Black) or light colored (White) skin tone. What unifies us as one people group – the way God created us – is to understand how similar we are to each other – that’s why the church needs to teach the truth of God’s Creation, that we are One Race. One Blood. 

If you have ever made assumptions about another person, based upon that one tenth of one percent difference in their DNA, because the color tone of their skin was darker or lighter than yours, you need to repent and receive God’s forgiveness. The next thing we all need to do as believers is to speak up when we see injustice and hatred. Churches have too often gone down one of two opposite paths. Churches that focus on Social Justice to the degree that they have replaced the Word of God with liberal socialist messages or churches with pastors and priests who have stayed silent to avoid conflict and confrontation.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rebuked Christians for their silence during the racial injustice of the 50's and 60's. From his jail cell in Birmingham Alabama, King wrote, “I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.”

As the body of Christ, we must collectively no longer remain silent. We need to speak up for the Word of God and speak against increasingly popular atheist teachings that will divide and could possibly irreparably harm our Country. Yes we do have a shameful history of racism in America, but we have a God who redeems and restores.

A church cannot change the past,

but we can change the future.

Let’s pray that it does.

♰ ♰ ♰

The Father of White Supremacy

Dear Friends,

Charles Darwin is lauded as one of the greatest investigative scientists of his day and is considered to be one of the most influential men of all time. His 1859 book On the Origin of Species presented his theories on evolution that were quickly accepted as “science.” Darwin then wrote The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex in which he examined how humans evolved from apes.  Darwin was a celebrity in the field of science and that book also was considered to be scientific fact. Darwin is known as the “Father of Evolution.” You may want to think of him as the “Father of White Supremacy.”

Charles Darwin begins The Descent of Man by theorizing that the laws governing the evolution of man must coincide with the “laws” governing the evolution of the “lower animals.” He writes that “at some future period..the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate the savage races throughout the world.” Darwin was convinced that the white “civilized races” would exterminate the less evolved and more “ape-like” Negroes. He believed that the Negro and Aboriginal Australians (using Darwin's terms) were closer in appearance to the gorilla, (p.521) and the Negro was a “sub-species” somewhere in the evolutionary lineage between the Caucasian and the ape. In addition to these “scientific” race theories, Darwin also wrote that “The average of mental power in man must be above that of woman and man has ultimately become superior to woman.”

Darwin’s closest student, biologist Thomas Huxley, helped to expand Darwin’s theories by writing, “It may be quite true that some Negroes are better than some white men; but no rational man, cognizant of the facts, believes that the average Negro is the equal, still less the superior, of the white man.” Huxley advanced Darwin’s theory that the Negro had mental faculties closer to the ape than to the more evolved superior Caucasian. He wrote, “..the highest places in the hierarchy of civilization will assuredly not be within the reach of our dusky cousins.” As Darwin’s student and a fellow scientist, Huxley’s expansion of Darwin’s ideas were also recognized as “scientific facts.”

According to the “brilliant” scientists, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution “proved” that some groups of humans are superior to other groups. That’s the dogma and sin of White Supremacy that became “science” 150 years ago when God’s Creation was explained by atheist scientists instead of by theologians. The Descent of Man is still used by White Supremacists today because.. it’s their “science.” But Darwin’s racist “science” is not the Word of God.

There is one human race that God created. He created male and female in His image. Genesis 1:27 All of humanity was created from Adam and Eve and as we bear their image, we bear the image of our Heavenly Father. 1 Cor 15:45-49 In God’s Kingdom there is no distinction between people groups. Romans 10:12-13 In Christ, even the minor distinctions between us as individuals fade away. Gal 3:27-29 

The Bible does refer to people groups who have different shades of skin and hair color but it was not until the 1700's that society assigned race labels to people according to their skin color. The Bible refers to different families, tribes, nations and the languages they speak, but God sees all people as one people that the Bible calls “man” (in this context used as a generic term for both sexes.)

Our DNA shows that God created all humans to be 99.5% alike and the .5% difference is caused by natural genetic variation. Society likes to use skin color as the separator of “races,” but the skin color of European Caucasians range from pale white to a very dark brown. Darwin’s conclusions about skin color being a marker of how far we’ve evolved from apes are nonsense. 

The bottom line is that there is only one race – the human race. God gives life and breath to all and He has made “from one blood” every person who has ever dwelled on this earth. Acts 17:25-26 The sin of racial hatred didn’t start with Darwin but his evil theory of white “superiority” over other “races” needs to end. Some churches need to teach the reality of God’s creation. It’s one blood. One race.

In the news last week, Dylaan Roof appealed his death conviction for murdering nine people during a Bible study at the Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. When we first heard about those horrific murders in 2015, we were stunned to hear his ELCA Lutheran pastor describe Roof as a committed Christian who was a member of the church and who regularly attended youth camps and worship services. 

White supremacy is vehemently denounced by Christian believers and yet, Roof had been taught to hate African Americans believing Darwin's "science" that they were of a race inferior to his. Did he not know that the blood he shed that day was the exact same that runs through his own veins? That he was killing his brothers and sisters in the Lord? Roof’s church denomination has responded to racism in the church with a zealous focus on political activism but today’s Critical Race Theory doesn’t unite people groups, it divides them. Churches need to teach the Word of God. There is one blood. One race. Period.  to be continued...