Race relations and Christianity

Racism is a form of prejudice that has effected society for many

years. It has been written in the bible where the Egyptians kept the

Jews as slaves. There were clashes between Romans, Greeks, Egyptians

and other races after the Romans conquered the Greeks and took over

Alexandria. There are more recent examples of racial discrimination

that have occurred during this century such as the Holocaust where

Hitler attempted to commit genocide by murdering millions of Jews in

death camps like Auswitz. The Steven Lawrence case has haunted our

headlines for approximately five years; the African- American male who

was murdered in 1998 by three Caucasian males in Texas, they belonged

to a white supremacist group.

Racism is when one person or a group of people dislike or even hates

another group of people because of their race, creed, skin colour or

nationality, and because of this they may believe they are superior.

It is also when a person is prejudged and discriminated against

because of their colour or nationality.

People may believe that racism only occurs between different

nationalities and races, however it can occur within the same

nationality and race. One very good example of this is what is

occurring in Kosovo at this moment in time, where "ethnic cleansing"

is occurring. There are other examples of this that may not seem so

bad such as English people discriminating against the French and

calling them "froggies" or an African person thinking themselves

superior to an Afro-Caribbean person because "they are the sons of

slaves."

There are different explanations and reasons as to why racism exists

the main reason is probably fear of new things, fear of different

things and fear of progress. Some people may have racist attitudes

because that was how they were raised or they may have had a bad

experience in the past. Certain groups such as the New Aryan race (a

white supremacist group) believe that all other races are inferior to

them.

Genesis 1 has no specific references to racism or any other forms of

prejudice. God gave man control over plants, fish, birds and domestic

and wild animals but he did not give people power over other people.

In Genesis 2 God let Adam name the animals, naming things can be a way

of labelling them, which can be negative, and a starting point for

prejudice of any sort. In Leviticus 19:33-37 God says you shouldn't

ill treat foreigners you should treat them with respect.

Christianity on a whole teaches that people should not judge other

people or label them until they take a long hard look at themselves

because God will judge you in the same way (Matthew 7:3)

"Why do you look at the speck of dust in your brothers eye and

pay no attention to the log in your eye"

Christianity also teaches to be kind-hearted, considerate and to treat

others, as you would like to be treated (one of the Ten Commandments).

Christianity also tells us that people should not be superior to

others (Genesis 1) and that every one should be treated with parity

because we are all equal in the eyes of god (Acts 10 Peters speech and

Matthew 25 the final Judgement).

St Paul taught "There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles slave

and free men and women: You are one in union with Christ."

There are many Christians who have led the fight against racism people

such as Martin Luther King who campaigned against segregation, or

Trevor Huddleston, an Anglican priest who, spoke against the apartheid

laws of South Africa.

The apartheid laws classified people according to their racial groups

and determined where members of each group could work, live and the

education they could receive. These laws restricted social contact
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between the different ethnic groups, authorised segregated public

facilities and denied non-whites representation in National

Parliament. There were many that opposed these laws and they were

considered communists.

Desmond Tutu was born on the 7^th of October 1931 and became a priest

at the age of 25. In 1978 after having worked in England, South Africa

and Lesotho Desmond Tutu was appointed General Secretary of the South

African Council of Churches and was the first black man to hold that

post. He believed the Apartheid laws were totally unchristian and
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