In the past there have been such quotes from people such as Martin Luther.
“Women should remain at home, sit still, keep house and bring up the children…If a woman grows weary and at last dies from childbearing, it matters not let her die from bearing, she is there to do it.”
Martin Luther 1483-1546
This obviously shows that the views on women have changed over the time, seeing as this was 500 years ago; the discriminations against women have lessened. However even in biblical times women were viewed as inferior. Paul, one of Christ’s own disciples, said women are inferior to men because man was created first and the woman was created out of a rib taken from the man and the only way women can save themselves is by having children. Such opinions have disappeared over the last under century and women can now do the same things as men in modern society.
Jesus, who lived in a strong patriarchal society, considered men of equal importance to men. They played a big part in his life and it was rumoured a few of his disciples may have been women. It is also said that Christ first made himself known as the messiah to women; he said they were fit for more than domesticity and he first appeared to women after he rose from the dead after his crucifixion. This tells Christians that they should treat women with respect to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
Another debate about sexism is the fact the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church refuse women to ordain. If the roles of men and women are to be equal, then why can’t women become priests in these two churches? Some Christians would respond to this by saying God has different intentions for the roles of men and women, and this is just a reflection of women not being allowed to ordain.
In cases where Christians are discriminated, they are always encouraged to forgive. In the case of Peter and Linda Biehl, where there daughter was murdered in South Africa due to her presence in a strong black community. They managed to forgive and there are many teachings for this such as the Lord’s Prayer:
“Forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
This tells Christians that, in order to be forgiven by God they must reconcile with the people who have sinned against them. This can obviously be extremely hard in certain cases, such as this case with the loss of a daughter, but Christians should aim to do this because Jesus reconciled with his own killers who crucified him and so they must follow in his footsteps.
AO2 How Followers of Christianity May Put These Teachings into Practice
Christians who believe that everyone is equal and it is wrong to be prejudiced and discriminate, they can put their beliefs into action. For example they might join an organisation that campaigns for equality, they could make ethnic members of the community feel welcome and show them they approve of their presence in their community, they could take part in a peaceful demonstration against racism and sexism, they can bring up their children to accept other people and not to make judgements about other people before they know the facts e.t.c…
There are many cases where Christians have put their beliefs into action such as Martin Luther King who fought in for racial equality in the USA. He was bought up by a clergyman and so was well educated about the bible. He was disgusted by the treatment him, his family and other black people were treated even after the slave trade had ended. He felt he had to do something to stop this, but he felt the right thing to do was not to use violence as he did not want to sink to the level of the Ku Klux Klan, who attacked black people, but to practise through the message of the Gospels and base his campaign around this:
“You have heard that it was said “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Matthew 5:38-39
Through his message of the Gospels he gradually worked his way up campaigning for racial equality. He held huge speeches in front of large crowds and demonstrations against racial discrimination. Even though he was threatened with the death of his family, and his home was constantly attacked, he still went on fighting for racial equality in a non-violent, Christian way.
Another fight for racial equality was the case of Trevor Huddlestone. He was sent to South Africa by his church to help in Sophia town, one of the poorest communities in the country. There he saw the policy of apartheid become legal in 1948 which meant black people had no right in the social and political parts of society. He felt that fighting against injustice, such as the apartheid system, was an important part of being a Christian. So he organised boycotts against South Africa, which meant, for example, national sport teams refused to play against South Africa, bands refused to play in South Africa, people refused to buy South African products e.t.c…Trevor Huddlestone became one of the leading figures in what became known as the anti-apartheid movement.
Another thing to consider is reconciliation, in cases such as Amy Biehl’s parents, where they lost their daughter Amy due to a racist attack. They managed to forgive with their daughters murderers. Although this must have been hard they managed to forgive because of their strong faith in Christianity, and their belief in following in Christ’s footsteps.
Christians may also take into consideration the teachings on poverty and wealth, and put these into action to make people more equal, so no one is wealthier than another.
“Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him your wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.”
Deuteronomy 24: 14-15
This tells Christians to not give a person lower wages on the basis that they are poorer. The poor person is probably needier than a wealthier worker because the wealthier worker may already have more money. Giving the poor person lower wages is discrimination on the basis that they may not be such a good worker, or their looks are shabby compared to the wealthier worker who makes a good job of their work. Of course the wealthy person should also be paid but Christians would say the poorer man should not be paid a penny less. This can be based on the letter of James, which teaches people they should not show favouritism towards members of the church due to their wealth.
“Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
"Listen my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised who love him?”
James 2: 2-5
This tells Christians not to judge people on their appearance and not to give special treatment to those who are wealthy because they wear fine clothes and expensive jewellery, but to treat the poor equally as they will inherit the kingdom God promised.
Modern churches encourage equality, however in the past they didn’t always show equal concern for people of different races. Some church leaders were in fact slave traders or radical supporters of colonialism. Some denominations of the church such as the Quakers (the religious Society of Friends) refused to have anyone involved in the slave trade or slave owners as members of their church.
The fact that God created all humans in his own image means all denominations of Christianity oppose racial prejudice, and discourage deliberate racial discrimination. Churches try to make their services more welcoming to people of ethnic backgrounds and encourage people of various different races to become more represented in their ministry; however black people are still underrepresented in churches. It was concluded, from a debate held by the Church of England that Christians should acknowledge the contributions made by Christians in Africa, missionary work is still acceptable but this role should change into more a partnership with the African Christians.
This still shows that Christians should help people less wealthy than they are, such as Christians in Africa, as well as forming partnerships with them because they are members of the same religion as them, so they should form bonds with the Africans to show they are not prejudice in anyway towards them because they are from an ethnic background.
AO3 “Everyone is equal and must be treated exactly the same.”
For most people I agree with this, especially for people of different races and gender, but I don’t think such people as criminals deserve to be treated equally to other people who are legitimate, honest and have not hurt anybody else in their whole life. If a person has murdered, then I think this person deserves not a lot of respect. I think by showing the murderer more respect, we can welcome more people who are less wealthy and from different backgrounds into our society. I have no personal beliefs in God but I believe a person who has committed such a terrible crime should not enter a heaven like world if there is an after-life, but I believe a hard working, honest person who has not wronged in their life should get the comfort of being accepted into the kingdom of God, if such a thing exists.
However a Christian would say that even the murderer is equal and deserves as much respect as anyone else does. This is because they believe Jesus reconciled with his own killers, showing that everyone can be reconciled, and so therefore everyone is equal and even a murderer can be granted access into the kingdom of heaven.
I strongly disagree with this because I don’t believe everyone deserves reconciliation as some thins can never truly be forgiven. In the case of Peter and Linda Biehl I think they were wrong to reconcile with their daughters killers, because it doesn’t shame the people who have wronged and taken away life from other people, but simply tells them everything will be fine, which in my opinion is not right because such a person who has committed such an offence doesn’t deserve the respect. I don’t understand how such an evil person can be the same as an ordinary person and then granted access into heaven, I think the wealth that the criminal may have had, being this a privilege, should be taken away and the money given to the poor people, which in turn, is what the bible will say when people are judged before God and sent to either heaven or hell, the poorer people ending up in heaven after they have suffered in this life, and the people who have committed crimes end up in hell as they have lavished in this life but are illegitimate and have sinned.
However I am not prejudicing each and every single criminal, because I realise some criminals are generally sorry, in their conscience, and realise what they did was wrong so therefore they should be treated with respect, reconciled with and taken into heaven to stand by God and follow Jesus. Although it has to be said, a monster such as Adolf Hitler, who discriminated against whole races of people and never admitted they were wrong in doing so, or suicide bombers who kill themselves at the same time as mass murdering innocent people around them because they believe they will be accepted into paradise in the after life do not admit they are wrong and therefore should not be reconciled.
Of course Christians believe in reconciliation so they would have to forgive, but it is debateable whether they should reconcile with Hitler or Saddam Hussein for genocides, because they were such large forces of evil, they may even think they were the work of the devil as they were so evil and therefore are not worthy of reconciliation and being treated equally with respect. A good example of this is the priest who could not reconcile with her daughters killers, the 7/7 bombers, so she had to give up being a priest. She may think she can reconcile but then she may decide the killers are not worth respect, therefore she can’t truly reconcile.
I strongly believe everyone, apart from people who have wronged or “sinned”, are equal. No matter how wealthy or poor, from whatever background, whatever gender people are, everybody should be treated equally and with respect. I think immigrants from other lands should be welcomed because they can bring so many ideas with them and help this country. I think we should form a partnership, like the one the Church of England have tried to achieve, with places like Africa, so we can help one another to share ideas and put across experience. I believe everyone should have equal opportunities in life and should not be discriminated due to their skin colour, religion or gender.
I can understand why some people may think some people are not worthy of such respect and equal opportunities. People who aren’t Christians, possibly atheists such as me, may blame such atrocities like the London bombings on Muslims, and therefore may develop a whole prejudice against the Muslim race, and then they may think they don’t deserve the same respect as the other people. Or they may think immigrants don’t deserve to be welcomed into this country and treated with respect because they have travelled here illegally.
A Christian would argue against this quoting the parable of the Good Samaritan teaching Christians that all people are each others neighbours and therefore deserve equal treatment. They can also quote Leviticus 19: 33-34 where Leviticus tells the Jews to treat an alien as a native born of their land because the Jews were once aliens themselves, in Egypt.
I realise I have made a prejudice against people who have wronged in their life, and realise this may be wrong in some peoples eyes because they feel everyone deserves to be treated equally with respect, as I also do, as long as they have shown respect to other people throughout their life, and if they haven’t, they have realised their wrongdoing because I think it takes extra courage and faith to admit to something so terrible like murder, more courage than committing the murder itself, so they deserve to be treated equally and I will respect them.
