What does the Bible say about racism, prejudice, and discrimination?"

I'm posting this light on the Zimmerman/Martin event.

The first thing to understand in this discussion is that there is only one race—the human race. Caucasians, Africans, Asians, Indians, Arabs, and Jews are not different races. Rather, they are different ethnicities of the human race. All human beings have the same physical characteristics (with minor variations, of course). More importantly, all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups.

God does not show partiality or favoritism (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9), and neither should we. James 2:4 describes those who discriminate as “judges with evil thoughts.” Instead, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (James 2:. In the Old Testament, God divided humanity into two “racial” groups: Jews and Gentiles. God’s intent was for the Jews to be a kingdom of priests, ministering to the Gentile nations. Instead, for the most part, the Jews became proud of their status and despised the Gentiles. Jesus Christ put an end to this, destroying the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14). All forms of racism, prejudice, and discrimination are affronts to the work of Christ on the cross.

Jesus commands us to love one another as He loves us (John 13:34). If God is impartial and loves us with impartiality, then we need to love others with that same high standard. Jesus teaches in Matthew 25 that whatever we do to the least of His brothers, we do to Him. If we treat a person with contempt, we are mistreating a person created in God’s image; we are hurting somebody whom God loves and for whom Jesus died.

Racism, in varying forms and to various degrees, has been a plague on humanity for thousands of years. Brothers and sisters of all ethnicities, this should not be. Victims of racism, prejudice, and discrimination need to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Racists may not deserve your forgiveness, but we deserved God’s forgiveness far less. Those who practice racism, prejudice, and discrimination need to repent. “Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13). May Galatians 3:28 be completely realized, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Recommended Resource: Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian by John Piper.

http://www.gotquestions.org/racism-Bible.html

umm I agree with 99.5% of that (pretty good as long as it is)

the neither slave nor free, and the neither male nor female is where I have disagreement.

There "SHOULD" be neither slave nor free, but sadly slavery is alive and well in many forms in the world today.

As for male and female Genesis 2:5 tells how man was made, and later Genesis 2:21&22 tells how woman was made (differently) each with differing responsibilities (various references through out the bible that I am too tired to look up, however please search duties of Husband, then look at Genesis 18:6 and Proverbs 31:13-27 ) While the Husband is to comfort and provide for the wife, the duties of the wife differ greatly. So there is a huge difference between male and female, and I prefer to honor those differences rather than mask them.

The scripture that is referenced in the article is Gal 3:28 where Paul is trying to show that in God's eyes we are all the same. I don't think Paul meant that there were no differences, but that those differences don't matter to God, he loves us all the same.

ahh then we agree entirely, my misunderstanding

I understand why he has left a church, I pray he has not turned his back on God because of a small minded individual. Perhaps that person should look into his lineage a bit deeper than just grandparents. My family was here before this country was settled, in fact we were here before the 13 original colonies, and learned how to live off the land from the natives, and mingled freely with the native inhabitants. A forgotten bit of history is a group called the long hunters

I've never heard of long hunters either Keith, care to share a bit more?

It's a shame that we see things like this in places that are suppose to be the house of God. So far we've been blessed. Having a bi-racial son we're very careful about allowing people with ignorant prejudices be around him.

Long hunters were the group the military would hire as scouts. Active time period approximately 1500 into the late 1700's or early 1800's. Descendants became known as mountain men, and plainsmen.

. Findley was looking for an overland route to Kentucky and needed a skilled woodsman to guide him. In 1769 Boone, Findley and five men traveled along wilderness trails and through the Cumberland gap in the Appalachian mountains into Kentucky. They found a "hunter's paradise" filled with buffalo, deer, wild turkey and meadows ideal for farming. Boone vowed to return with his family one day.

This is when it is said that my family came to Ky. Of the five men two were brothers, and my ancestors. Both brothers settled in different areas of Ky.

The best know "long hunter" is:

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95nov/boone.html