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Racism – Social, Political, or SPIRITUAL?
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Racism – Social, Political, or SPIRITUAL?
This disregard for imago Dei bearers is why Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who experienced his fair share of racism, defined racism this way: “Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission.”Contempt for Black life is why ship captains treated slaves as mere cargo and not as human beings of inestimable worth; contempt for life is what drove Minneapolis police officer Dereck Chauvin to keep his knee on George Floyd’s neck until he suffocated the life out of him. Racism And The Church: Where Do We Go From Here?; Luke Bobo / July 22, 2021; Commongoodmag.com
Tim Keller writes in The Prodigal God. Believers understand that Jesus has handed the baton to us, so his purpose is our purpose.Yet something is amiss — we have not lived by Jesus’ purpose. The reason? We have not guarded our hearts. We have allowed other narratives, antithetical to Scripture, to creep into and infect our hearts. That explains our failure to do justice (Micah 6:8), to correct oppression (Is 1:17), and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:34-40). This explains our failure to both treat others with dignity and respect and our failure to demand every person be treated with dignity and respect.
“Luke, it is about cardiology, brother.” PCA Pastor Bill told author Luke Bobo, meaning that our hearts need relentless guarding because our hearts direct our life (Pro 4:23). This precious possession, our heart, is the control tower for our affections, and especially our ethics — or lack thereof.
Imago Dei (“image of God”)
A theological term, applied uniquely to humans, which denotes the symbolical relation between God and humanity. The term has its roots in Genesis 1:27, wherein “God created man in his own image. . .” This scriptural passage does not mean that God is in human form, but rather, that humans are in the image of God in their moral, spiritual, and intellectual nature. Thus, humans mirror God’s divinity in their ability to actualize the unique qualities with which they have been endowed, and which make them different than all other creatures: rational structure (see logos), complete centeredness, creative freedom, a possibility for self-actualization, and the ability for self-transcendence. (https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/theogloss/imago-body.html)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [a]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:26-27; NKJV
“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. Genesis 9:6
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3:9
What does it mean that God created man in His own image? God is not human, so it must mean something else. It doesn’t mean that we are God or a god. “Created in the image of God,” signifies that human beings are created with unique, inherent likeness to God, setting us apart from the rest of creation.
Mentally, humanity was created as beings who can reason and choose. Morally, humanity was created in righteousness and perfect innocence, a reflection of God’s holiness. Socially, humanity was created for fellowship. And, nowhere does the bible say that one race is better or higher than another.
God created all mankind in His image. There was no discrimination until after the fall of Adam and Eve. (And, nowhere does the bible say what color their skin was.)
I think that racism boils down to a heart problem. I believe it is one of, if not the most, sinful acts of person against person. Until we are willing to take a deep look at this sin, we will have a very difficult time correcting it.
Let’s talk about it.
P.S. Here is an article that may be worth reading. https://curtthompsonmd.com/shame-and-the-soul-of-racism/
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This discussion was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by
Ben. Reason: editing
commongoodmag.com
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