Racism: New Testament Bible View May Surprise You!

Lara

Lara

Friend of the Arts
Location
Mid-Atlantic Coast
When posting your discussion comments, please use the New Testament if and when posting scripture references (not from the OT please). Everyone is welcome here no matter what your beliefs. Please show respect, patients, kindness, gentleness and self-control for all beliefs. The purpose of this thread is not to win souls for Christ. That's everyone's personal choice. The purpose is to clarify misconceptions about the Biblical view of Racism (I won't put you on any ignore list for not believing like me and I don't need to have the last word)...

What does the Bible say in the New Testament about Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination?

The first thing to understand is that there is only one race—the human race. Caucasians, Africans, Asians, Latinos, Indians, Arabs, and Jews are not different races. Rather, they are different ethnicities of the human race. All human beings have the same physical characteristics (with minor variations, of course). More importantly, all human beings are equally created in the image and likeness of God. God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups.

God does not show partiality or favoritism (Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9), and neither should we. James 2:4 describes those who discriminate as “judges with evil thoughts.” Instead, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (James 2:8). In the Old Testament, God divided humanity into two “racial” groups: Jews and Gentiles. God’s intent was for the Jews to be a kingdom of priests, ministering to the Gentile nations. Instead, for the most part, the Jews became proud of their status and despised the Gentiles. Jesus Christ put an end to this, destroying the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14). All forms of racism, prejudice, and discrimination are affronts to the work of Christ on the cross.

Jesus commands us to love one another as He loves us (John 13:34). If God is impartial and loves us with impartiality, then we need to love others with that same high standard. Jesus teaches in Matthew 25 that whatever we do to the least of His brothers, we do to Him. If we treat a person with contempt, we are mistreating a person created in God’s image; we are hurting somebody whom God loves and for whom Jesus died.

Racism, in varying forms and to various degrees, has been a plague on humanity for thousands of years. Brothers and sisters of all ethnicities, this should not be. Victims of racism, prejudice, and discrimination need to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Racists may not deserve your forgiveness, but we deserved God’s forgiveness far less. Those who practice racism, prejudice, and discrimination need to repent. “Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13). May Galatians 3:28 be completely realized, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

GotQuestions.org
 

Last edited:
Excellent example Warrigal. Thank you. You made me realize that my intro needed to be fixed. I'm not sure it came across to you this way but I said "Please only post scriptures from the New Testament in your posts". I didn't mean it to sound as though I was omitting discussion. What I meant to say was that discussions were welcome too but IF posting a scripture, stick with the New Testament. I edited it so thank you.

The reason I'm asking for no Old Testament scripture is because the old mosaic law passed away and a New Covenant began when Christ's death and resurrection happened for our salvation in the New Testament.
 

Lara, that is an excellent post, thanks.

Yes, we should be reminded of what God said through Paul when he was in Athens:

"He created all the people of the world from one man, Adam,[SUP][a][/SUP]and scattered the nations across the faceof the earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and when. He determined their boundaries. [SUP]27 [/SUP]“His purpose in all of this is that they should seek after God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from anyone of us. (Acts 17: Living Bible)

Its a reminder that God has placed everyone of us where we are on earth, determined when we would be born, and under what circumstance. The reason for this is that He wanted each one to be subjected to the greatest probability that they would be drawn to Him and find Him. Now, that is awesome! Thank God.
 
Warrigal, I was busier earlier but just came back to read the scripture you posted. I had never looked at that scripture as an example of a man of God (Philip) reaching out across racial barriers or ethnicities...without hesitation, without a second thought. Just out of love for a fellow human being.

It's interesting that Philip had been visited by an angel who told him to go south to a road that ran from Jerusalem to Gaza, in the desert. Philip didn't ask why he was being sent to the middle of nowhere, he just went. It was on that road that Philip ran into the Ethiopian who asked for his help and Philip helped him. It shows that if we just trust and obey God, we too will be a good example of looking past racial and ethnic differences in order to accomplish good things and move forward together with like minds.

Exwisehe...I'm glad you joined us!
 
I Mean no offense, but I've always wondered WHY is God always referred to as a male?

It's always words like He, him, etc. when writing/talking/thinking about God.

Any thoughts?
 
Just an archaic practice, using the male pronoun as a generic. Stands to reason that God actually has no gender, but Earthly beings project their ideas & thoughts on God, like some do by putting words in God's mouth.
 
Falcon said:
I Mean no offense, but I've always wondered WHY is God always referred to as a male? It's always words like He, him, etc. when writing/talking/thinking about God. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
No offense taken, Falcon. You've asked an excellent question. It's a little hard for us to comprehend but but it's doable.

The Bible makes it clear that God is a Spirit (John 4:24) or spiritual being without human characteristics or limitations, but DOES have characteristics of a Personhood like a mind, an intellect, emotions, communicates and has relationships, and has personal actions evidenced in scripture. Humankind was created in God's image but that has nothing to do with physical characteristics. So he is a Person in that sense and we are created in the likeness of his personhood.

He revealed himself to humankind in a male form (Jesus) for a short while in order to relate and be more accessible to humankind.

Sometimes figurative language used in the scripture assigns human characteristics to God (called anthropomorphism) to make it possible for man to understand God better since we are physical beings who struggle outside the physical realm.

The Bible uses male pronouns because it's like we say "Postman" when there are many female postal deliverers. Plus God made it clear in the Bible that the men should be the spiritual leaders in the families and church so it stands to reason God would also take on that pronoun.

I'm only halfway there to explaining this :) so here's a link if you feel the need for more:
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-male-female.html
 
Lara said:
No offense taken, Falcon. You've asked an excellent question. It's a little hard for us to comprehend but but it's doable.

The Bible makes it clear that God is a Spirit (John 4:24) or spiritual being without human characteristics or limitations, but DOES have characteristics of a Personhood like a mind, an intellect, emotions, communicates and has relationships, and has personal actions evidenced in scripture. Humankind was created in God's image but that has nothing to do with physical characteristics. So he is a Person in that sense and we are created in the likeness of his personhood.

He revealed himself to humankind in a male form (Jesus) for a short while in order to relate and be more accessible to humankind.

Sometimes figurative language used in the scripture assigns human characteristics to God (called anthropomorphism) to make it possible for man to understand God better since we are physical beings who struggle outside the physical realm.

The Bible uses male pronouns because it's like we say "Postman" when there are many female postal deliverers. Plus God made it clear in the Bible that the men should be the spiritual leaders in the families and church so it stands to reason God would also take on that pronoun.

I'm only halfway there to explaining this :) so here's a link if you feel the need for more:
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-male-female.html
Click to expand...
This is from your link.

"Animals do not possess a moral capacity and do not possess an immaterial component like humanity does. The image of God is the spiritual component that humanity alone possesses. God created humanity to have a relationship with Him. Humanity is the only creation designed for that purpose."

Do you have a defense for that piece of foulness? It's not in any Bible that I've ever seen.
 
Lara said:
Warrigal, I was busier earlier but just came back to read the scripture you posted. I had never looked at that scripture as an example of a man of God (Philip) reaching out across racial barriers or ethnicities...without hesitation, without a second thought. Just out of love for a fellow human being.

It's interesting that Philip had been visited by an angel who told him to go south to a road that ran from Jerusalem to Gaza, in the desert. Philip didn't ask why he was being sent to the middle of nowhere, he just went. It was on that road that Philip ran into the Ethiopian who asked for his help and Philip helped him. It shows that if we just trust and obey God, we too will be a good example of looking past racial and ethnic differences in order to accomplish good things and move forward together with like minds.

Exwisehe...I'm glad you joined us!
Click to expand...

Normally, when looking at this passage with my SS class we emphasise how Philip ignored the man's physical imperfection i.e. that he was a eunuch. To traditional Jews this would have been a sign that he did not have God's favour. The episode demonstrates the universal acceptance of all people, and by extension, all races.

Unfortunately, during the Middle Ages this principle became lost. Men argued that women were lesser, even sub human creatures and the same thinking was applied to non European races. Only after the Reformation when people could read and understand scripture in their own languages was the balance able to be restored. Pity it took so long for the wrong thinking to subside. In some dark corners it still flourishes.
 
That's what I always believed too. That since God is referred to as the Father, including the Father of Jesus, it only seemed natural to refer to him as being a male, but we know that gender specific is not mentioned in the Bible.

When I was in Vietnam, I would read the Bible as I had time to do so. My favorite verse was James 1:6. I never knew why it was like that, but I really needed to believe in the existence of God. So many times when we would be in deep do-do, I would always say a prayer and I wondered, "Is He listening?" Then, I would refer back to this verse. It kind of became my crutch, if you know what I mean. I really needed to believe.
 
Big Horn said:
This is from your link. "Animals do not possess a moral capacity and do not possess an immaterial component like humanity does. The image of God is the spiritual component that humanity alone possesses. God created humanity to have a relationship with Him. Humanity is the only creation designed for that purpose."

Do you have a defense for that piece of foulness? It's not in any Bible that I've ever seen.
Click to expand...
The author of the link did not say it's in the Bible and did not put it in quotes nor suggest it came from the Bible. It's his explanation of what God's image looks like and what the scripture meant when it said, "God created man in His own image". It's the authors attempt to explain to you what that "image" refers to. He's telling you it does not refer to physical characteristics but rather "emotional, intellectual, communicates and has relationships" that only humans have in totality as he mentioned earlier in the link. I'm an animal lover and see many human qualities like emotions and intelligence but not to the same capacity or level as humans and can't talk (I wish). That's what he's saying.

Thank you Holly and Oldman. Those scriptures are interesting and good to know. I looked your verse up, oldman, and it's now a favorite of mine too. I really liked your story that went with it too.

Warrigal, thank you for adding to the topic in your post#11 about being tolerant of humanity's differences.
 
Equality. Galatians 3:28

"There is neither Jew nor Greek,
slave nor free, male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
 
Lara said:
The author of the link did not say it's in the Bible and did not put it in quotes nor suggest it came from the Bible. It's his explanation of what God's image looks like and what the scripture meant when it said, "God created man in His own image". It's the authors attempt to explain to you what that "image" refers to. He's telling you it does not refer to physical characteristics but rather "emotional, intellectual, communicates and has relationships" that only humans have in totality as he mentioned earlier in the link. I'm an animal lover and see many human qualities like emotions and intelligence but not to the same capacity or level as humans and can't talk (I wish). That's what he's saying.
Click to expand...

WRONG!

The writer is clearly implying that animals do not have immortal souls. The Old Testament makes it clear that the "trinity" is composed of Jehovah, Moloch, and Satan. The New Testament has the joke about the "Good Shepherd." Shepherds raise lambs for slaughter. Your gods raise souls for the same purpose. Think about their joking about Lot while they eat souls as if they're potato chips.

Thankfully, they won't get the animals' souls. Good gods and goddesses will take them to a paradise.
 
Equality Bible verse...Matthew 6:44

God wants us to love everyone equally with God's love....not what they do, not their sin,
not to invite them into your home, but he's saying love them with God's love and pray for them.
Love even the unloveable.

images-2.jpg
 
Matthew 7.1
Judge not , that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7.2
For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

These passages of scripture pretty much answer all of my questions in life.
 
We Christians tend to think that we have the monopoly on forgiveness. I have always viewed Muslims and Jews as living by the principle of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", a very Old Testament idea of justice.

Forgiveness does not come easily, especially when something bad happens to our children. I can well image myself thirsting for revenge should someone commit a heinous crime against one of mine. Forgiveness in these circumstances is very rare but I have seen it. We saw it when the Amish community forgave the man who attacked children in an Amish school, shooting dead five and wounding another five and I first witnessed amazing forgiveness years ago when a Sydney father forgave the men who attacked and brutally killed his lovely daughter, even though he cried for her every day for the rest of his life.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14900930

A recent example over here has demonstrated that forgiveness is not confined to followers of Christ. A 52 year old woman lost control of a SUV and crashed into a wooden classroom, killing two eight year old boys and severely injuring another ten kids. The father of one of the boys, a Muslim, has publically forgiven the woman, completely upending my ideas about forgiveness being confined to Christians.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/sch...s/news-story/b27ec141aa23b323ce4598a8e2072f7c
 

dturner, good verses regarding judging others.

Warrigal, good examples but I've never felt that non-believers or people of other faiths were incapable of forgiving others. I can't help but feel though, that it must be easier for Christians to forgive others because of knowing that God forgives us*. God never offers a promise without a stipulation though for doing our part. I don't mean good works (Titus 3:5). I know that our salvation is a free gift to all, red or yellow, black or white...but it's the choice that is free and the gift is eternal life to all no matter race, gender, age, is free , but we have to choose to believe (Acts 16:31) and admit we are in need of a savior and repent to receive this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

On the other hand, without confession and repentance and belief in the Savior of sins, I don't think we're expected to forgive the other person unless they follow God's rules as well. We are expected to love them and pray for them though. There's a verse where God says "Forgive others AS I have forgiven you". He says "As I have"...as how?... as following His rules of requiring confession with a sincere repentant heart and belief first.

I remember in the news, that monster that kept 3 or 4 young girls locked in his home while he tortured and raped them for years...for most of their youth. One of the mothers said, "I forgive him". I said to myself, "What?...but he never said he was sorry (confess) and would never do it again (repent)". He didn't say he was in need of a Savior (belief in Jesus) to save him from his sins. Nothing. God loves him as He does all of us, but doesn't love his sins and He won't forgive him until the monster does his part (confess, repent, believe)...and then God will forgive him and so should we. Ugh, thankfully we can do that with God's love (aka Agape love).
_________
*IF we believe that He gave his Son to pay our punishment for sins (John 3:16) and we confess via prayer and we repent from the wrong-doings. All of us have wrong-doings (Romans 3:23).
 
Unconditional love requires unconditional forgiveness. This is the ideal but is very hard for any of us to achieve.
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" contains no hint that repentance is a prerequisite for forgiveness.
 
Letting you all know I'm reading with interest. I'm not a bible reader so Ill leave that to the professionals, so to speak.:)
I do believe in forgiveness and I believe true forgiveness can bring true peace.
 
hearlady said:
Letting you all know I'm reading with interest. I'm not a bible reader so Ill leave that to the professionals, so to speak.:)
I do believe in forgiveness and I believe true forgiveness can bring true peace.
Click to expand...
The one who forgives does indeed find peace. The hardest thing to do sometimes is to forgive ourselves.
This is when we need to experience God's grace
 
Warrigal said:
Unconditional love requires unconditional forgiveness. This is the ideal but is very hard for any of us to achieve.
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" contains no hint that repentance is a prerequisite for forgiveness.
Click to expand...
What about Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, and Acts 17:30 and 1 John 1:9? But, it's true that we are unconditionally forgiven of our sins the moment when we change our minds and turn from rejection of God to faith in God.

But then we do continue to sin after turning to God and becoming believers, daily, as we all do (due to our sin nature). We don't need to ask forgiveness again since we were forgiven already but God wants us to acknowledge our wrongdoing, be sorry, and thank him for His forgiveness. "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me...Restore unto me the joy of my salvation" (Psalm 51:10-11).

So forgiveness is infinite, a free gift for believers. Acknowledging our wrong-doings and actively trying to improve shows obedience to God...but not required for salvation since our wrong-doings were paid for on the cross by Christ.
 

Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top