Are There Different Races?

 

What are the true differences between each of us? Where did the idea of there being different races come from? Does mankind and apes have a common ancestor? Has death always been here? Why do people "hyphenated identities" when describing themselves? Were the first humans from Africa? How did mankind spread out over the earth? In what way does all this affect the Gospel message? Key verses: Genesis 1:24-27, Genesis 1:31, Genesis 2:8, Genesis 3:20, Genesis 11:7-8, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, and Galatians 3:28 Resources: Racism https://answersingenesis.org/racism/ From One Man https://96tolife.blogspot.com/2018/09/from-one-man.html

From One Man

"For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." 1 Corinthians 12:13

A couple at church was having a conversation about race. As they were talking, I put my forearm next to the wife's forearm to show how there was pretty much no difference in skin color between us. Her husband added his forearm to the mix and there was no real discernable difference between all three. But, here is the kicker. The husband is White, his wife is Asian and I am Black or African-American. Unless you were aware of our features and only saw our collective forearms, you would not have any idea of any "racial" differences. And that is the point. There is no difference because there are no different "races" in the world. There is only one race; the human race. Granted, there are different skin colors, features and, cultures depending on the people in question, but they are still humans. However, in the context of different "races," the only ones who focus on race are those, in my opinion, who stand to gain from it. Who are the ones who say they want unity and a "colorblind" society, but who view everything through the prism of skin color as well as other differences like gender, sexual preference, etc., want all the differences to be acknowledged in some way, yet cry foul when those differences are pointed out? I will let you figure out the answer. The idea of different races is both unscientific and unbiblical. According to Answers in Genesis, "When the Human Genome Project published a draft of their findings in 2000, the New York Times reported that “the researchers had unanimously declared there is only one race—the human race."” "He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation ... (Acts 17:26)" The Bible says that all mankind came from one man. That man is Adam. One of the things that people who read the scriptures notice, but often avoid studying because of the tedious nature of doing so, are all the lineages described in the Bible. For example, look at how the first book of the gospels, Matthew, opens up. "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king (Matthew 1:1-6)." While we may get mesmerized by all the unpronounceable names and reading begot multiple times, the point is to show you how people throughout history are linked together. It is a biblical version of a family tree.  Nobody knows, and the Bible doesn't seem to care about the skin color of all these people. That is because they are all related by the simple fact that they are all descendants of Adam. That is a lot different than the origins of different "races" that is believed today.

According to Wikipedia, "The mid-20th-century racial classification by American anthropologist Carleton S. Coon, divided humanity into five races: Caucasoid (White) race. Negroid (Black) race. Capoid (Bushmen/Hottentots) race. Mongoloid (Oriental/ Amerindian) race. Australoid (Australian Aborigine and Papuan) race." In my opinion, this is all a lie from the devil. It is this type of thinking that has led to much of the racism that our world still deals with today. We have accepted the lie that there are different races and then try to live our lives within the context of that lie. It only leads to the divisiveness and chaos we see daily because everybody thinks that they are different from one another and the powers that be just use it to play us against each other. Nothing gets solved and we are left in a constant state of angst, frustration, anger, fear, you name it. But, when we look at this from a biblical perspective, that we are all one race, God's brilliance shines through. The Bible says that "just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12)." The one man that sin and death entered into the world through was Adam. That is why Jesus is called last Adam. Scripture points out that, "“The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45)." Without being able to link Adam to the entire world and Jesus to Adam, then God's entire plan of salvation crumbles. Otherwise, would we have to have a Jesus for the White race, one for the Black race, a third for the Capoid race, a fourth the Mongoloid race and a fifth for the Australoid race? Would we have to have five gospels, five Bible's, etc? Do you see the chaos that ensues when we get away from the truth? We have been so deceived by the idea of different "races" that we don't even know we have been lied to in the first place. Whether it is how we identify ourselves, our political views, filling out applications or areas of life too numerous to mention, race permeates it all. And it is all a lie. However, because we are all part of one race, the human race, we are all able to respond to one gospel message and put faith in one Jesus. That is why the Bible reminds us that when we come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, God no longer sees those things that separate us like race, but only the one thing that unites us all; our faith. The moment we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside of us and we become one body; the body of Christ. The body of Christ is made up of every "race," gender and nationality. So much so, that those things are no longer taken into account by God. In Christ, there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free and dare I say it, there is no White, Black, Capoid, Mongoloid or Australoid. The only identity we have is as children of God (John 1:12) because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. God doesn't see your skin color. Therefore, we shouldn't either.

The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party

When you think about racial equality and civil rights, which political party comes to mind? The Republicans? Or, the Democrats?

Most people would probably say the Democrats. But this answer is incorrect.

Since its founding in 1829, the Democratic Party has fought against every major civil rights initiative, and has a long history of discrimination.

The Democratic Party defended slavery, started the Civil War, opposed Reconstruction, founded the Ku Klux Klan, imposed segregation, perpetrated lynchings, and fought against the civil rights acts of the 1950s and 1960s.

In contrast, the Republican Party was founded in 1854 as an anti-slavery party. Its mission was to stop the spread of slavery into the new western territories with the aim of abolishing it entirely. This effort, however, was dealt a major blow by the Supreme Court. In the 1857 case Dred Scott v. Sandford, the court ruled that slaves aren’t citizens; they’re property. The seven justices who voted in favor of slavery? All Democrats. The two justices who dissented? Both Republicans.

The slavery question was, of course, ultimately resolved by a bloody civil war. The commander-in-chief during that war was the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln – the man who freed the slaves.

Six days after the Confederate army surrendered, John Wilkes Booth, a Democrat, assassinated President Lincoln. Lincoln’s vice president, a Democrat named Andrew Johnson, assumed the presidency. But Johnson adamantly opposed Lincoln’s plan to integrate the newly freed slaves into the South’s economic and social order.

Johnson and the Democratic Party were unified in their opposition to the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery; the 14th Amendment, which gave blacks citizenship; and the 15th Amendment, which gave blacks the vote. All three passed only because of universal Republican support.

During the era of Reconstruction, federal troops stationed in the south helped secure rights for the newly freed slaves. Hundreds of black men were elected to southern state legislatures as Republicans, and 22 black Republicans served in the US Congress by 1900. The Democrats did not elect a black man to Congress until 1935.

But after Reconstruction ended, when the federal troops went home, Democrats roared back into power in the South. They quickly reestablished white supremacy across the region with measures like black codes – laws that restricted the ability of blacks to own property and run businesses. And they imposed poll taxes and literacy tests, used to subvert the black citizen’s right to vote.

And how was all of this enforced? By terror -- much of it instigated by the Ku Klux Klan, founded by a Democrat, Nathan Bedford Forrest.

As historian Eric Foner - himself a Democrat - notes:

“In effect, the Klan was a military force serving the interests of the Democratic Party.”

President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, shared many views with the Klan. He re-segregated many federal agencies, and even screened the first movie ever played at the White House - the racist film “The Birth of a Nation,” originally entitled “The Clansman.”

A few decades later, the only serious congressional opposition to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 came from Democrats.

Eighty percent of Republicans in Congress supported the bill. Less than 70 percent of Democrats did. Democratic senators filibustered the bill for 75 days, until Republicans mustered the few extra votes needed to break the logjam.

And when all of their efforts to enslave blacks, keep them enslaved, and then keep them from voting had failed, the Democrats came up with a new strategy: If black people are going to vote, they might as well vote for Democrats. As President Lyndon Johnson was purported to have said about the Civil Rights Act, “I’ll have them n*****s voting Democrat for two hundred years.”

So now, the Democratic Party prospers on the votes of the very people it has spent much of its history oppressing.

Democrats falsely claim that the Republican Party is the villain, when in reality it’s the failed policies of the Democratic Party that have kept blacks down. Massive government welfare has decimated the black family. Opposition to school choice has kept them trapped in failing schools.  Politically correct policing has left black neighborhoods defenseless against violent crime.

So, when you think about racial equality and civil rights, which political party should come to mind?

I’m Carol Swain, professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University, for Prager University.

The Burden of Responsibility

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." James 1:22-24

There is a video going around of an answer rapper T.I. gave to a question asked by talk show host, Trevor Noah, of the Daily Show. Many people feel that the rapper's response was "excellent," including the host. Here is what was said: Trevor Noah: "[There are] people who say, 'I hear you guys saying you want justice. I hear all the hip-hop stars and fans say, 'This is not right.' But then in hip-hop people are talking about guns. People are talking about shooting. People are saying things like, 'F--- the police!' They are like, 'How is this helping the dialogue?' As a hip-hop artist how do you reply to that?" T.I.: "Well, first of all, I think that people need to take into consideration that hip-hop, traditionally, has always been a reflection of the environment the artist had to endure before he made it to where he was. So, if you want to change the content of the music, change the environment of the artist and he won't have such negative things to say." The audience applauded T.I.'s answer and Trevor Noah complimented him for giving an "eloquent" response to the question. While I can see why people enjoyed the answer given, my problem is that Trevor Noah did not follow up with at least one more question; "Who's responsibility is it to change the environment these artists live in and make music about?" Is it the responsibility of the police? Is it the responsibility of the Government? No! While the actions of the police certainly play a role and the Government has played a large role in this, in my opinion it is the responsibility of the people who live in these environments to change them. The easiest, and almost natural, thing to do when faced with a problem is to blame someone else for it. Just look at the Bible. During the Fall of Man, when God confronted Adam and Eve about their sin, what was first thing they did? Eve blamed the serpent for her transgression. Adam blamed both Eve and God. In actuality, it was their fault for being deceived into eating the forbidden fruit because they didn't believe God. But, it is hard to look at ourselves and ask, "What role have I played in this problem?" For the Black community, it is way past time for us to look at ourselves and how we are at fault for the environments many of us live in that lead to all of these problems that rappers like T.I. and other entertainers and artists talk about.

A lot of the recent conversation about race relations stems from the tragic stories of Blacks dying at the hands of the police. However, when you remove the emotion, sound bites and viral videos from the conversation, what do the statistics say? An analysis of the Washington Post’s Police Shooting Database and of Federal Crime Statistics reveals that fully 12 percent of all whites and Hispanics who die of homicide are killed by cops. By contrast, only four percent of black homicide victims are killed by cops. According to the most recent study by the Department of Justice, although blacks were only about 15 percent of the population in the 75 largest counties in the US, they were charged with 62 percent of all robberies, 57 percent of murders and 45 percent of assaults. In New York City, blacks commit over three-quarters of all shootings, though they are only 23 percent of the city’s population. Whites, by contrast, commit under two percent of all shootings in the city, though they are 34 percent of the population. New York’s crime disparities are repeated in virtually every racially diverse city in America. The real problem facing inner-city black communities today is not the police but criminals. In 2014, over 6,000 blacks were murdered, more than all white and Hispanic homicide victims combined. Who is killing them? Not the police, and not white civilians, but other blacks. In fact, a police officer is eighteen and a half times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer. If the police ended all use of lethal force tomorrow, it would have a negligible impact on the black death-by-homicide rate. In Chicago, through just the first six-and-a-half months of 2016, over 2,300 people were shot. That’s a shooting an hour during some weekends. The vast majority of the victims were black. During this same period, the Chicago police shot 12 people, all armed and dangerous. That’s one half of one percent of all shootings. Police officers are backing off of proactive policing in black neighborhoods thanks to the false narrative that police officers are infected with homicidal bias. As a result, violent crime is going up in cities with large black populations. Homicides in 2015 rose anywhere from 54 percent in Washington DC to 90 percent in Cleveland. Overall, in the nation’s 56 largest cities, homicides in 2015 rose 17 percent, a nearly unprecedented one-year spike.

But, what is causing all of this criminal and murderous behavior? I say it is the destruction of the Black family. It was President Barack Obama who said, "We all know the statistics. That children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.” The Journal of Research on Adolescence confirms that even after controlling for varying levels of household income, kids in father-absent homes are more likely to end up in jail. And kids who never had a father in the house are the most likely to wind up behind bars. In 1960, 5 percent of America's children entered the world without a mother and father married to each other. By 1980 it was 18 percent, by 2000 it had risen to 33 percent, and fifteen years later, the number reached 41 percent. For blacks, even during slavery when marriage for slaves was illegal, black children were more likely than today to be raised by both their mother and father. Economist Walter Williams has written that, according to census data, from 1890 to 1940, a black child was more likely to grow up with married parents than a white child. For blacks, out-of-wedlock births have gone from 25 percent in 1965 to 73 percent in 2015. For whites, from less than 5 percent to over 25 percent. And for Hispanics, out-of-wedlock births have risen to 53 percent. What happened to fathers? The answer is found in a basic law of economics: If you subsidize undesirable behavior you will get more undesirable behavior. In 1949, the nation’s poverty rate was 34 percent. By 1965, it was cut in half, to 17 percent -- all before President Lyndon Johnson’s so-called War on Poverty. But after that war began in 1965, poverty began to flat line. From 1965 until now, the government has spent over $20 trillion to fight poverty. The poverty rate has remained unchanged, but the relationship between poor men and women has changed – dramatically. That’s because our generous welfare system allows women, in effect, to marry the government. And this makes it all too easy for men to abandon their traditional moral and financial responsibilities. Psychologists call such dependency "learned helplessness." And let us not forget that while Blacks are only 13% of the population, they make up 28% of the abortions. Depending on what numbers you look at there are anywhere from 1,300 to over 1,800 Black children aborted daily!

It is sad to think that in 2016 Black families were stronger 50 to over 100 years ago then they are today. You can't solely place the blame on the legacy of slavery or institutionalized racism. You have to place the blame primarily on Blacks. We have replaced faith in God with dependence on the Government and our families, specifically our children, are the victims. Even worse, we cannot depend on the local church as much to be the moral backbone of the communities. Sound, biblical, teaching has been replaced with the false gospel of selfish indulgence and the pursuit of worldly gain. And people have been robbed of their time, treasure, talent, hope and, in some cases, belief in God because of it. In an era of slogans like, "Black Lives Matter," "Blue Lives Matter" or "All Lives Matter," the question must be asked, "Does Truth Matter?" It would seem that the answer is, "No," because what a person believes is more important than the truth. And when the cost of believing the truth is too high, the comfort of living in a lie is more appealing. Until people are willing to believe the truth and take personal responsibility for their own lives and families, these terrible numbers will only go higher and more fingers of blame will be pointed in the wrong direction and the problems will only continue to get worse. As a friend and teacher of mine once said, "You can't have international peace without peace in your country. You can't have peace in your country without having peace in your city. You can't have peace in your city without peace in your neighborhood. You can't have peace in your neighborhood without without peace in your home. And you can't have peace in your home without peace with your God." Change starts by looking at the man in the mirror and taking personal responsibility.

 [Special thanks to Prager University, Larry Elder and Heather MacDonald]

Donald Sterling

“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:18-19).” We all have witnessed the firestorm that has erupted in the wake of the racist comments made by Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA. He is on the verge of losing everything! What if somebody produced a secretly recorded audio tape of me? Let’s say that in that audio tape I was heard saying things like, “You can only trust a White person as far as you can throw them” or “The only good White person is a dead one.” How about if a Black person asked me my thoughts on them dating a White person and I said, “I wouldn’t like it.” Let us say that you were my child, you married a White person and heard me say, “I wish they’d married somebody Black.” What would you think of me, especially given how much I talk about Jesus Christ and God’s grace? I would probably spend the rest of my life trying to rebuild my reputation, trying to repair broken relationships, asking for forgiveness from those hurt by my words, trying to reconcile my faith with my actions, possibly losing my job, my friends and wondering how I could continue to be a witness for Jesus Christ given the “black eye” I just put on the Christian faith. Now, I have never said any of these things, but all these comments are true and have been made by Black people about Whites. These people are not bad people, but if I was to out those people it could change their lives. But, it seems that society only focuses on racist comments made towards Blacks by Whites. But, if we are honest, we all have said things in private about other races that we would not want to become public knowledge. But, what it shows is how dark our hearts truly are inside. We know it when we see it in others, as is the case with Sterling’s comments, but we struggle to admit our own similar failings. We all like to think that we are “good” people and love to play the “victim” so as to look “innocent.” But, in truth, we are often just as guilty as those whose sins are publicly displayed. 

Therefore, when comments like those of Sterling are made public, we should take a moment and analyze our own hearts and minds. We love to misuse Matthew 7:1-2, where it reads, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” We like to use it as some sort of proof that we should never judge anybody. However, what Jesus is saying is that we should be judge ourselves by the same standards we are using to judge others. Therefore, while we can collectively “judge” Donald Sterling for his comments, let us not forget that we too struggle with an unclean heart that produces our own evil thoughts and actions. The Bible says that we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” It is not just the Donald Sterling’s of the world that have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, it is all of us. That is why our only hope is faith in Jesus Christ. As tough as it may be, people like Donald Sterling need our prayers that they will come to the point where they realize their need for salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus died for Donald Sterling just like He died for you and me. Therefore, next time you want to pile on somebody for their sin, remember that Jesus Christ took your sins away by dying on the cross for you. You have been shown mercy by God for your sins. Perhaps, it is time to show others mercy for their sins.