ii) Christianity teaches that everyone is equal in the eyes of God and it would be wrong to make anyone feel inferior or suffer because of any difference between them. It is quoted in the Bible; “And if a stranger should live in your country, you must do him no wrong. The stranger who lives with you shall be as the home born among you, and shall love him like yourself.” [Lev.19: 33-34]. Another quote to support this is, “there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jew… Christ is all, Christ is in all” [Colossians 3:11]. It is also quoted “Respect for the humanity we share with each and every neighbour is the only basis for a peaceful and good society. Any attack on the dignity and human rights of any racial or religious group damages all of us”. “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.” [Deuteronomy 24:14] This indicates that the people in power of a certain country should provide new arrivals with love and opportunity because once we were all aliens and slaves in Egypt. Also Jesus based his teachings about other people on love; ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another’ [John 13:34]. Another quote is, “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”[Genesis 1:26-27].
In addition it is quoted in the bible “If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbour as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” [James 2:8-9]. These quotes gave me the impression that as children of God we should show love to each other just as Jesus loved all of us by sacrificing himself to save all of us from our sins otherwise it would be considered lawbreaking.
Bishops are also very passionate about racism and one of them said, "No one is born a racist. Racism is caught, learnt, taught, imitated and then practised. We must be converted into a Church which celebrates diversity, where our identities are not black, brown or white but are in the redeemed humanity in Christ". This indicates that all racist people have been raised to have prejudices against other races and everyone should become a Church which commemorates the diversity within ethnic backgrounds, where the colour of our skin is not relevant.
b) Throughout the issue of racism there have been people who put their beliefs into action such as the Quakers and Trevor Huddleston. Even though Trevor Huddleston grew up not being exposed to racism he still decided to help South Africa and fought the apartheid system because he believed in love for your fellow man. He done this by organising boycotts and the most effective boycott was in sports; teams outside of South Africa refused to play the teams inside South Africa and slowly South Africa became isolated from other countries. The most famous person for putting their beliefs into action was Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King, Jr was born 15th January 1929 and was assassinated 4th April 1968, he was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. King was a Baptist minister, one of the few leadership roles available to black men at the time. He became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
Another way a Christian might put their beliefs into action besides praying and offering support is to protest using non-violence. This teaching could have influenced this form of action, “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 5:39]. I believe this because for the protest to not have any violence this implies that the opposition would use violence. Also while protesting if the protesters are attacked they should show the attackers love and how determined they are for their cause. In addition most Christians could put their beliefs into action by praying, joining organisations, donating money to the right causes or even participate in the “Rice Festival” and the “Rock in Park”. To conclude this question
c) I think violence is not an appropriate response to racism, the reason for this is that violence can have no positive outcome. It would also show that people will sink to the oppressor’s level. A quote that supports this is “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 5:39]. This meant that we should not respond to violence with violence. Martin Luther King’s campaign involved the use of non-violence and he still made a large impact on the lives of many through pacifism. Desmond Tutu is another example of someone who responded to racism using pacifism. He was an Anglican Archbishop in South Africa. He condemned apartheid as “one of the most vicious systems since Nazism”. He said that the day that he was proved wrong would be the day that he would burn his Bible. In South Africa, apartheid was condemned by the World Council of Churches and the South African Council of Council of Churches declared it as “a false teaching which perverts Christian truth”. Even though Desmond Tutu is generally a peaceful man, the situation with President Mugabe in Zimbabwe has caused Desmond Tutu to believe that violence would appropriate to tackle this problem because he believes that the situation has got out of hand and needs requires immediate action.
In conclusion my view on this matter is that racism is one of the worst sins a person could commit because not treating people equally goes against Christianity, especially the commandment “Thou shall not murder” and also teaches us that the best thing to do in this situation is to show “agape” (the love of God or Christ for mankind). Finally, Jesus taught Christians that “those who live by the sword would die by the sword” and “you reap what you sow”. This means, if a person uses violence to solve their problems their demise will be the result of their violent methods to solve problems.
