Created Equal

“But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)”

Racism against Blacks was originally codified in our Constitution, specifying that slaves counted as 3/5 of a person.  The Founding Fathers knew this compromise would result in a reckoning at some future point.  It cost over 800,000 lives and nearly ended the “American Experiment”.  

Racism by Christians started with interpreting Noah’s Flood to be a worldwide event.  If Noah and the other seven people on the Ark were truly all that was left of humanity some six thousand years ago, it follows that Noah’s son Ham and his offspring were cursed to be slaves.  Ham is thought to be the father of all African nations and ordained by God to be slaves to the descendants of Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:25-27).  If all the world was repopulated by those three families, some of them must have become the fathers of the African nations.  Even so, assuming that all Africans were predestined by God to be slaves is a leap in logic and clearly immoral.  It seems more logical to interpret that as it is written: Ham’s offspring were slaves to his brothers’ offspring at that time, in that place.  

The Torah makes it clear that children are not punished for their parents’ sins.  Exodus 20:5 does read, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me”.  Note the lack of repentance.  Often a father’s sin, such as alcoholism or abuse, is copied or inherited by his children, unless we purposefully choose otherwise.  Deuteronomy 24:16 “Fathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.”

The Confederate States refused to allow slavery to die out peacefully and instead chose open rebellion to preserve Slavery.  On losing the war, they took advantage of the nation’s weariness after surrendering at Appomattox Courthouse.  With the tacit support of Andrew Johnson, evil organizations like the KKK committed thousands of murders, while perpetuating the lies that the Civil War had been about States Rights, not Slavery.  The US instituted Jim Crow laws, segregated Blacks for over a century, committing mass murders and lynchings, while erecting statues to traitorous leaders like Rob Lee and Jeff Davis.  Northerners, especially the “liberal elite” in the big cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia, to this day, fight tooth and nail against desegregation, leaving inner city schools and ghettos to fall into disrepair and then cry over the plight of the Blacks, occasionally throwing a little money at the problem and instituting federal holidays to honor long-dead Black martyrs, leaving the real work of reconciliation, justice and equality before the Law, as an untreated open wound.  

Unfortunately for every minister who preached that the Bible taught that Blacks were ordained by God to be slaves because of the Great Flood, there is no evidence of any kind that the Flood extended beyond the Middle East.  The Biblical word for “earth” used in Genesis can mean “planet” or “land”.  Since either interpretation is acceptable, for millennia, “planet” has been assumed to be correct.  The whole premise is based on a falsehood.  

But even if Noah’s Flood had killed every person on the planet who was not in the Ark, slavery in the US was a despicable evil, exponentially worse because it was supported from the pulpits of churches across the nation.  As I previously wrote about in this space, the Unforgivable Sin is using God’s Authority to hurt others.  A minister of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, should absolutely know better. 

Some of my friends, especially Christian friends, contend that there is no longer any institutional racism.  It is important to note that Jim Crow and other racist laws have been repealed.  However, it is also true that police often target Blacks for suspicious driving of a nice car, that realtors and insurance agents have red-lined neighborhoods, that all-white juries are much more likely to convict a Black defendant than a jury with one Black member (where the chances revert to normal) and on and on.  

To me, understanding that the best parts of the United States are aspirational is comforting.  All Men Are Created Equal.  Let’s try to make that happen.  The Constitution is quite clear that there must be a separation of Church and State.  Let’s make that happen too.  From a political perspective, this is to protect the rights of all who live here.  From a Biblical perspective, God has given us Free Will.  Being a “nation of priests” did not help the Israelites find Jesus or even be moral.  And being a “Christian Nation” will result in a nation of “older brothers”, rule-followers who love to tell others where they’ve gone wrong.  

What we need is to become a nation of Christians.  Unfortunately, that requires the hard work of loving each and every person, one at a time, meeting them where they are and gently and kindly trying to show them the love of Jesus Christ.  And it means looking to the log in our own eye, not assuming that we have it all figured out.  

The Israelites became one nation while they were slaves in Egypt.  Before that, every generation saw each son become his own nation.  Many of those nations became enemies of the Israelites.  But in Egypt, the twelve sons of Jacob became one nation.  In the US, we have the opposite opportunity.  Every nation in the world lives within our borders.  It is up to us to figure out how to love one another.  And because people are often so unlovable, it is important to remember to love God with all our heart, soul and mind.