Note: Our preacher, Alan Hitchen has returned from Malawi, Africa. However, since he is sick, below is an article written by our webmaster, Jeff Cox.
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Background. On August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, a rally staged by white supremacist groups turned ugly in clashes with counter-demonstrators. It eventually turned deadly when a speeding car ramming into a group of counter-protestors, killing one and injuring at least 19 others.
Roughly one year earlier in Charlotte, North Carolina, an initially peaceful protest over a black man shot by a white police officer turned ugly with attacks on police vehicles, vandalism, and looting. It eventually turned deadly with one fatality and multiple injuries.
Modern America continues to experience race-related hatred, demonstrations, and violence. What can we learn from God's Word, the Bible, about these kinds of events and the racism that fuels them?
Roughly one year earlier in Charlotte, North Carolina, an initially peaceful protest over a black man shot by a white police officer turned ugly with attacks on police vehicles, vandalism, and looting. It eventually turned deadly with one fatality and multiple injuries.
Modern America continues to experience race-related hatred, demonstrations, and violence. What can we learn from God's Word, the Bible, about these kinds of events and the racism that fuels them?
One Creator, One Blood. According to Gen. 1:26-27, God "created man in His own image". We are all descended from Noah and his family according to Gen. 9. Paul preached God “… has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." (Acts 17:29) Spiritually, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28)
While evolution in general and Social Darwinism in particular might be used to promote racial inequality, the Bible would promote racial equality. And while some people would drive the Bible out of public view, even our Declaration of Independence boldly acknowledges, "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
The Golden Rule Plus. Jesus declared very succinctly, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matt. 7:12). As Paul says in Rom. 13:9-10, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Throughout time, people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. have acknowledged the universal appeal of what we call the "Golden Rule".
Love Your Enemy. Perhaps even more challenging than the Golden Rule is what Jesus demands in Matt. 5: "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Conclusion. What a different country we would find ourselves living in if everyone embodied basic Bible morality!
While evolution in general and Social Darwinism in particular might be used to promote racial inequality, the Bible would promote racial equality. And while some people would drive the Bible out of public view, even our Declaration of Independence boldly acknowledges, "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
The Golden Rule Plus. Jesus declared very succinctly, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matt. 7:12). As Paul says in Rom. 13:9-10, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Throughout time, people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. have acknowledged the universal appeal of what we call the "Golden Rule".
Love Your Enemy. Perhaps even more challenging than the Golden Rule is what Jesus demands in Matt. 5: "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Conclusion. What a different country we would find ourselves living in if everyone embodied basic Bible morality!