DISCRIMINATION: This is the denial of equality based on personal characteristics, such as race and colour. Discrimination is usually based on prejudice and stereotypes.
PREJUDICE: This literally means to "prejudge" based on preconceived ideas about others. No law can prevent prejudiced attitudes. However, the law can prohibit discriminatory practices and behaviours flowing from prejudice. Prejudice can be about many different things: religion, race, colour, sex, sexuality language, disability and,
A recent example of racism in today’s modern society is when an employee from a London firm ordered a Jewish worker to dress up as a nazi as a forfeit for being late for work. This person was late for a days work and bosses ordered him to do his forfeit, he then complained to management about this and was then threatened with a demotion from his work. “I can’t believe this company thinks this as a joke, my family was murdered during the war”.
The company was then taken to court and ordered to payout cash for the emotional stress and abuse that the employee received while working for this company.
This is a good example of racism in our society and how it affects us emotionally. We should not emotionally abuse some body for being a different race nor should we bully someone for being a different race or colour, we should be able to communicate with some one of a different race or colour as well as we communicate with someone the same as us
Racist jokes and racial discrimination leave their victims feeling helpless and fearful. Racial discrimination also has a negative impact on worker productivity and economic performance.
The bible teaches us as Christians to respect them like Jesus respected all of us. Jesus treated everyone equally.
(Mark 14. 3) “Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon who suffered from a dreaded skin disease”. This small verse I have extracted from mark shows how Jesus was not afraid of some one who was different from him, this man had a skin disease and he was not afraid to be near him.
If this happened in today’s society people would be afraid to be near him, just because he looked different.
In Mark (7. 24-30.) Jesus met a woman who’s daughter had an evil sprit in her. The woman begged Jesus to help cure his daughter, Jesus answered
“Let us feed the children first, it isn’t right to take the children’s food and take it to the dogs”.
The woman answered, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s leftovers”. Jesus liked the answer she gave, so when the woman returned home her daughter’s evil sprit had gone. This shows that Jesus cares about everyone, even though the girl had an Evil sprit he still cared for her.
Jesus teaches that everyone is your neighbour. For in the bible it says, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself ” Love knows no boundaries or distinctions. The story of the Samaritan’s compassion is a model for everybody. Racial origins were irrelevant in this passage; the test was which one loved his neighbour as himself.
Jesus often taught that God’s kingdom was open to everybody. It did not matter who you were or what colour you were. What mattered was how you responded to Jesus´ invitation to God’s kingdom. Roman Catholics and Christians would apply this teaching to whether a person was black or white. They believe that everyone is equal.
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another”. In this Jesus is telling us, even though someone may look different from you, doesn’t mean you should hate that person.
Acts10: 31. “I now understand… that God has no favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him”.
Acts 11:1-10. One of the examples of prejudice in the early church was when Peter had a dream about the Jewish food laws. This was when the disciples were arguing if non-Jews could be followers of the Jew Jesus Christ. The disciples had assumed that because the gentiles were not following the Jewish food rules they could not be Christians. In his dream Peter realised that this was an unfair prejudice
The church disregards any discrimination made to another person, they also reject any prejudice and discrimination made to somebody because of their race or colour. The Christian church is against prejudice and discrimination in all forms. This is based on the belief that all people are created equally by God and so all people are equal in the sight of God.
Some people have low opinions of people of a different colour, some people are afraid of black people as they think that they have a reputation of being ruff/tuff. This can be very true, but can be very wrong. If that person were to get to know the person of a different colour then they would most probably realise that they have more in common with each other than they would realise.
Evaluation:
From this course work have learnt that it is wrong to discriminate someone because of what the look like, or what race they are.
In conclusion I think that prejudice in any form whether it is racial, gender or colour is wrong. No person in the world should be discriminated against. Jesus has taught us not to treat some one any different because of these things.
We should listen to Jesus and make sure that discrimination becomes a thing of the past. We should like a person because of the personality they have, and not because of what they look like from the outside.