Discussions of diversity and racial reconciliation can often be derailed by misunderstanding and confusion over terms. This blog post is my attempt to explain what these terms and concepts mean to me.
A Gospel Issue For Christians, unity in the midst of racial and ethnic diversity is a moral issue and therefore it is a Gospel issue. The Gospel is the Good News of God's redemption of His people and the restoration of the world through the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some summarize it as Creation - Fall - Redemption - Restoration. In light of the Gospel, Jesus calls us to follow him in a life that is holy and full of love for others. The Gospel demands that all Christians live in love and harmony, regardless of ethnic, cultural, or economic differences. You cannot separate right theology (orthodoxy) from right living (orthopraxy).
1 John 4:7-11 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Galatians 2:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?"
Ephesians 2:13-17 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Finding Balance Virtually any truth can be taken so far to the extreme that it's no longer true or relevant. In Romans Chapter 5 Paul talks about how God's grace has triumphed over sin. It would be possible to emphasize that point so much that it excludes living a holy life. Paul addresses this in Romans Chapter 6:1-2 "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Some Christians today downplay issues of race or justice. Others may spend so much time looking for injustice that they never get around to preaching the gospel. We don't have to choose one or the other. We can hold firm to the Gospel as it teaches us to care for the vulnerable and oppressed among us.
Ethnicity: "Classification of groups of people based upon cultural and/or geographic origins." [1]
Culture: "The typical beliefs, behaviors, and customs of a group of people." [1]
Prejudice: "Beliefs and attitudes toward a person based upon that person’s association or group." [1]
Race: As Christians we know that there is in fact only one race of people, the human race created in the image of God. In our sinful desires and greed, humans have created artificial divisions among people and grouped them into different races. Those with power often use race to exploit other people groups for their own economic gain. Mark Vroegop explains race as, "A socially-constructed term in the United States that deconstructed ethnicity into the categories of 'white' and 'colored' in conjunction with a cultural view of the superiority of 'white'."
Racism: "The systemization of racial ideology in language, laws, culture, and thinking, leading to the unkind and unjust treatment of people based upon the belief that they are inferior." [1] Others have defined racism as "prejudice plus power." "According to this definition, two elements are required in order for racism to exist: racial prejudice and social power to codify and enforce this prejudice into an entire society." [2]
White privilege: For centuries, American society has elevated the social class of whiteness and devalued people of color. Because of this white people receive many societal benefits that are not granted to people of color. Our society is structured for white people, by white people. Someone said, "White privilege doesn't mean your life isn't hard. It means that race isn't one of the things making it harder." I especially want to call attention to the massive economic realities of white privilege. For centuries, African-Americans had their economic resources stolen from them in many different ways. White families have been able to accumulate wealth for generations. Black families have not. White parents are often able to distribute wealth down to their children and grandchildren. In contrast, black children often find themselves trying to make ends meet while using their money to care for their parents. The flow of wealth is reversed.
White fragility: A term coined by Dr. Robin DiAngelo. She explains, "This systemic and institutional control allows those of us who are white in North America to live in a social environment that protects and insulates us from race-based stress. We have organized society to reproduce and reinforce our racial interests and perspectives. Further, we are centered in all matters deemed normal, universal, benign, neutral and good. Thus, we move through a wholly racialized world with an unracialized identity. Challenges to this identity become highly stressful and even intolerable. Not often encountering these challenges, [white people] withdraw, defend, cry, argue, minimize, ignore, and in other ways push back to regain our racial position and equilibrium. I term that push back white fragility." [4]
White guilt: A vague sense of guilt felt by some people of the majority culture because of injustices carried out by people who look like them. This is contrary to the Christian view that teaches that each person is guilty for their own sins, not the sins of others. In addition, Romans 8:1 explains that there is no longer any condemnation for Christians. Christians should lament over the sins and injustices of themselves and others. Christians should repent of their own sins, but Christians should never stay in a place of guilt and shame.
Lament: "A lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust. It is the Christian prayer language that vocalizes pain so that life can be lived in obedience to what we believe. A lament enters into pain for the purpose of transforming it with God’s help." [3] Racism has caused some of the greatest pains in our world. In the midst of that pain we can call out to God through lament.
Anti-racist: A person who actively works to dismantle racist structures in society and to confront the racist thoughts and beliefs of individuals. I think that some people have a negative reaction to this term, but from a moral perspective I think anti-racism is a position we should all be striving for. There are many other immoral actions that we are 'anti.' Just like we are anti-stealing, anti-lying, and anti-murder, we should be anti-racist.
Undoing Racism: This is the name of a workshop by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. [5] I like this phrase because it highlights some important points. First, if something needs undoing, that implies that it is still in effect. Racism still exists and acknowledging that is one of the first steps. Secondly, if it means we can choose to undo it. Both in the past and present, people have made the choice to be racist, but we can choose to be anti-racist.
Statement on diversity: I wrote this up for an organization I was a part of. If you find it useful in your context, feel free to adapt it as necessary.
We believe that God created all humans in his image (Genesis 1:27) and that all Christians are united as one in Christ (Galatians 3:28). Racial animosity has existed for millennia, but America has its own sickening history of injustice, specifically against people of color and other minority groups. Two of the most obvious examples are the enslavement of black Africans and the forceful and murderous removal of Native Americans from their home lands. We acknowledge that in many cases, the American church either directly supported these sins or was complicit in them. We further acknowledge that racial injustices still exist in our society, and that past injustices still have deep effects on the structure of our society. We are committed as individuals and as an institution to seek racial reconciliation. We strive to be role models of inclusion and to teach hard truths of history and while pointing people to Christ, whose blood covers all sin and restores unity between God and people. Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,”
[1] Mark Vroegop, Work Together, https://www.yourchurch.com/sermon/work-together/
[2] Wikipedia, Prejudice plus power, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prejudice_plus_power
[3] Mark Vroegop, Breaking News, Broken Heart: Lamenting with Muslims http://markvroegop.com/breaking-news-broken-heart-lamenting-with-muslims/
[4] Dr. Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/white-fragility-why-its-so-hard-to-talk-to-white-people-about-racism-twlm/
[5] https://www.pisab.org/
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