WORLD IN VIEW
In The Church
The Church - One Man In Christ!
Jesus was a revolutionary, the civil rights activist of His time. He advocated one community, one bond in Christ where
there is no slave, nor free, no Jew, nor Gentile. This was revolutionary for people living in the Roman Empire that was
one of the most racist regimes in history. If you were not Roman your life had no value, and if you were not a Jew but
a Samaritan, you were considered to be a dog. Society was extremely stratified and people had all sorts of prejudices
against each other, some that not only ostracised you from popular society but some that could cost you your life. Jesus
was hated for his bold and revolutionary teaching that He actually practiced. He notably ‘hung out’ with the hated tax
collectors, a former prostitute, common fishermen etc. He was heavily criticised by the religious establishment, but left
a clear trail for His disciples to follow. Do we still have this problem today? Certainly, we hear of race riots and crimes
in the news, and we say, “My goodness this is 2016, are there people still so ignorant?” Shockingly, there are, and they
might be sitting beside you in church.
Debunking Racism
“The sciences, on their part, contribute to dispelling much
of the false evidence used to justify racist behavior or
to delay necessary changes. According to a declaration
prepared at UNESCO on June 8, 1951, by a group of
prominent scientists: ‘Experts generally recognize that all
human persons living today belong to the same species,
homo sapiens, and that they descended from one same
stock.’”
What is desperately needed is a revelation on race and a
revolution from the pulpit.
The Roman Catholic Church has taken the lead on this
and has issued a paper: THE CHURCH AND RACISM:
TOWARD A MORE FRATERNAL SOCIETY, Pontifical
Commission Justice and Peace: 1988.
“The effort to overcome racism does in fact seem to have
become an imperative which is broadly anchored in
human consciences. The 1965 U.N. Convention expressed
this conviction forcefully: “Any doctrine of superiority
based on the difference between races is scientifically false,
morally condemnable and socially unjust and dangerous...”
“The Church’s doctrine affirms it with no less vigor all
racist theories are contrary to Christian faith and love. And
yet, in sharp contrast to this growing awareness of human
dignity, racism still exists and continually reappears
in different forms. It is a wound in humanity’s side that
mysteriously remains open. Everyone, therefore, must
make efforts to heal it with great firmness and patience.”[1]
Racist Behaviour Throughout History
The most outrageous episode of racism recorded in
human history is the 350 year record of the Trans Atlantic
Slave Trade of West Africans to the plantation colonies
of The Americas by european slave traders. This was
justified by misusing and misinterpreting the Bible.
“For example, the interpretation that some
fundamentalists gave to the curse made by Noah on
his son, Ham - condemned, in his grandson Canaan,
to be his brothers’ slave-is well known (cf. Gen 9:24-
27). They misunderstood the meaning and scope of
the sacred text, which referred to a certain historical
situation: the difficult relations between the Canaanites
and the people of Israel. They wanted to see in Ham
or Canaan the ancestor of the African peoples, whom
they had subjugated and, consequently, they considered
them marked by God with an indelible inferiority which
destined them to serve whites forever.”[2]
[1 - 6], [8] Roger Cardinal Etchegaray, Jorge Mejia. 1988. THE CHURCH AND RACISM. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/pcjpraci.htm.
[Accessed 09 March 16].
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April - June 2016