I am not a Racist Because...

black people come to my church. While this is miles ahead of some congregations, it is not proof that one is not a racist. I have been amazed, even in the last couple of years, at pastors who have stated their discomfort with the idea of black people attending their churches. I had one pastor in particular admit that his church would not accept black members. He expressed that someone would need to start a separate church for the blacks of his community, and if they did he would support it, but did not want them coming to his congregation. I sincerely pray that he and his congregation repents of its racism.

It seems absurd to me that a bible believing Christian could sympathize with this kind of racist sentiment, much less accept it. Racism is a blatant denial of the Genesis account of creation. Modern racism is inherently rooted in Darwinian Evolution. Racism and Christianity are mutually exclusive. The scriptures clearly teach: we all have the same ancestral parents (Gen 3:20), the same blood (Acts 17:26) and the same kind of flesh (1 Cor 15:39). I will expound further on this idea in later posts.

I am wearied with hearing Apostolics making excuses for racism. As Apostolics we should have been past this a long time ago. Instead of following culture on this issue, we should be leading the way and changing culture. Historically the fight against slavery in North America was founded and fueled by Christianity. At some point the church silently withdrew from the battle. This will be picked up in a later blog as well.

Seeing that I digressed, let me continue my original point. Claiming you are not a racist because black people attend your church proves nothing. That would be like saying Lincoln's or King's America was not racist because black people lived in America. Or like the plantation owner denying that he is a racist because he has black people living and working on his plantation. Or like the modern NAACP claiming they are not racist because they have white members.

You see, it is not the presence of black people in your world/nation/culture/church that determines whether or not you are a racist, it is the equality of treatment once they are present that is the determining factor. I could begin a list of "you might be a racist if" criteria here, but I choose not to. I simply wanted to make the point that just because you have black people in your church does not mean you are not a racist.

I will make one brief observation here. If you use the N-Word in reference to black members, and especially to their faces as I have see done many times, you are a racist in need of repentance. This offensive word has been used from Apostolic pulpits by men who claim not to be racist. My question is, what definition of racist are you using? And what exactly would one have to do or say to be considered a racist?