Thursday, November 5, 1998
Racism can’t exist under strict Christian doctrine
ETHNICITY: Misguided, unsupported followers to blame for
injustices
By Robert Chao-Romero
Whereas Alex Ko (Oct. 20) views Jesus Christ as "the first
masochistic performance artist," I view Him as the only way to true
racial reconciliation.
The viewpoints offered by Daniel Inlender (Oct. 14), Alicia Roca
(Oct. 15) and Julianne Sohn (Oct. 21) highlight racial and ethnic
division as an expected and familiar reality, both at UCLA and in
the larger national community.
Proposed remedies to this ethnic strife are ubiquitous; however,
all have fallen flat on their faces. Some people have promoted
affirmative action. Others advocate mandatory diversity training
"workshops". Still others have pushed through ballot measures such
as Propositions 187, 209, and (most recently) 227, as their
solutions to the race problem.
Regardless of the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of these
approaches, I must applaud them for attempting to address the
racial tensions which divide our country. Yet somehow, our society
is more racially separated than ever.
In true, Biblical Christianity, race and ethnicity do not
matter. Indeed, both class and gender are also transcended.
"Do not lie one to another, since you have put off the old man
with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in
knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all"
(Colossians 3:9-11; New King James Version).
From a Biblical Christian perspective, we are all made in the
image of God. We are all descendants of one man and one woman. This
same Creator who made us all in His image wants us all to be in an
intimate personal relationship with Him first, and then with each
other. From this standpoint, we can not be in healthy, intimate
relationships with each other until we have established a proper
relationship with God. Only after we have entered into a personal
relationship with God that we are able to effectively discard the
selfish nature which drives racism and ethnocentricity.
As a student of history, I am well aware of the racist acts of
many who have claimed to be "Christian". As a student of Latin
American and Asian American history, I am most familiar with the
racist acts of many Euro-Americans and Euro-Latin Americans who
have asserted a Christian identity.
Spanish colonial society centered upon a racial pigmentocracy in
which African slaves and colonized indigenous peoples occupied the
bottom tiers of the racial hierarchy, providing the cheap labor
necessary for the Spanish economy. After slavery was abolished in
Latin America, Chinese and Filipino "coolies" provided a major
source of labor in places like Cuba and Peru.
Even today, Latin American society remains, for all practical
purposes, structured around this racial hierarchy, elevating those
of European ancestry and scorning those of indigenous, African and
even Asian descent.
Racism has also colored the thoughts and actions of many
throughout United States history who have called themselves
"Christian."
As my background is in Asian American history, I will give some
illustrations related to the Asian American experience. From the
mid-1850s to the 1960s (and some would say to this day), Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Filipino and other Asian immigrants were vilified
by notions of the "yellow peril". Asians were viewed by many
Americans as threats to the Anglo-American political and
socio-economic hegemony. Many Asian emigrants were attacked, and
even killed, in uprisings in mines and railroads, and many were
forced out of towns by urban riots.
Chinese immigrants were scape-goated by white labor unions
(which viewed them as a threat to job security) and by politicians
(who jumped on the anti-Chinese bandwagon to get reelected). In
addition, Asians were the targets of discriminatory state and
federal legislation which barred their immigration and which
prevented Asians living in the United States from naturalization as
U.S. citizens.
Sadly, many (if not all) of the perpetrators of such racist
acts, both in Latin America and in the United States, probably
identified themselves as "Christian". I will not begin to defend
their bigoted behavior. Rather, I will hold up their actions to the
light of Scripture. To the Christian, this light "is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to
the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12;
New King James Version). In so doing, I hope to give the reader,
whether the reader is Christian or non-Christian, the opportunity
to evaluate their actions in light of Biblical standards.
For this purpose I will direct the reader to a few words of the
Apostle John: "If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother
he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has
seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this
commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his
brother also" (John 4:20-21; New King James Version).
And so, in light of this Biblical admonishment, were the
perpetrators of racist actions, whether in the United States or
Latin America or elsewhere, really Christians despite the fact that
they identified themselves as such? Can a person be both a racist
and a Christian?
In true Christianity, all distinctions of race and ethnicity
disappear at the foot of the Cross.
Comments, feedback, problems?
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