Racism

Steve Latham
[Steve is Pastor of Westbourne Park Baptist Church]

“I hate my black skin” a woman cried. I was teaching a session about the biblical
position on race and racism [see my notes below].

The outburst rocked the careful, quiet, studied, atmosphere. Her tears opened up
the group to engage with deep issues of self-worth and identity in a still racist
society. Out meeting went deeper than it ever has before.

She had internalised the negative images of black people – women especially –
prevalent in our culture, thereby inflicting intense psychic pain on herself.

When we also talked about every nation, tribe, people & language standing
before the throne [Rev. 7.9], another black woman asked if we would still keep
our race and skin colour in our resurrection bodies – she did not seem to relish
this prospect.

As a white man, it was hard for me to apply God’s grace in this situation, as it
was my own society’s ideological constructions which had caused this emotional
anguish.

So another black sister spoke articulately about the value of all people, not in
some bland way smoothing away difference, but highlighting, privileging our
differences as part of God’s creative and deliberate intention. Black as beauty.
Cush arising in God’s new creation.

Fascinating, because earlier that day we’d been in a discussion where a pastor
insisted our cultural-racial differences were less important eternally than our faith-
identity in Christ.

I knew what he meant. But it’s easy for us, privileged whites, to assume everyone
will be equal, in a condition of undifferentiated sameness. When our identity is
squashed, however, it matters that we affirm ourselves.

John the Seer asserts we will all, in our racial-ethnic-cultural, national-tribal-

peopled-linguistic, difference-and-particularity, stand before the throne together.

WESTBOURNE PARK BIBLE SCHOOL

4.11.10 - RACE

One Race
There is one race, the human race. All created equal in Adam [Gn. 1.27-28]. The
first command was to fill the earth and that meant to move, to travel, across the
earth. Migration is the command of God.

The covenant with Abraham was not meant just for Israel but for all the nations
[Gn. 12.3]. It as the temptation of Israel, like any group, to see themselves as
special and to seek to retain this blessing for themselves.

International Migration
Abraham himself travelled, migrated, to Canaan. Hospitality toward immigrants is
therefore the command of God as well. Especially in view of the inhospitality
shown to them in Egypt. The Torah contains provisions for the ‘sojourner’ or
‘alien’ among them, that they be treated equally in terms of justice [Ex. 22.21],
alongside other disadvantaged groups [Dt. 26.12-13]. And this command became
later the basis of God’s judgment through the prophets [Jer. 7.6; 22.3]

Often, however, each wave of migrants acts hostilely toward the succeeding
wave. Often prejudice arises from fear of the stranger, and preference for our
own people. Fear of perceived threat. Which is natural. But is not gospel.

Outsiders Welcome
There is the tendency to blame, scapegoat, newcomers for all the problems.
Even when we ourselves are recent arrivals. And each country in fact is an
amalgam of successive waves of invasion, settlement, and migration: e.g. UK.
Here we need to ask what these passages imply for the treatment of refugees
and asylum seekers in UK as well.

Through the history of Israel, there are some example, however, of gentiles who
put their trust in the God of Israel: Ruth [Rth. 1.4], Naaman [2 KGs. 5]. These are
exceptions, but a tokens pointing to God’s original purpose.

Prophetic Evangelism
Israel was to be an evangelist, missionary nation, taking the good news to the
nations [Isa. 49.6]. Jonah is an example of when nationalist exclusivism takes
over. He did want to go to Nineveh because he did not want them to be saved
[Jon. 4.1-3]. But God even wanted to save an enemy nation – Assyria. This book
is a challenge to any reluctance to go to different ethnic groups in mission.

But the prophetic impulse was still that one day the covenant would be offered to
gentiles as well [Isa. 40.5]. Amos is taken up Jesus own brother James: the
prophecy is fulfilled when the gentiles begin coming to faith [Am. 9.12; Acs.
15.13-18].

Inclusive Church
The trajectory of God’s purposes is an ever-widening arc of inclusion in the
covenant. Jesus Nazareth Manifesto explicitly challenges the Jews to include
gentiles in the jubilee [Lk. 4.25-27]. It was when some Greeks came to him that
Jesus announced it was time for him to be glorified-crucified [Jn. 12.20-23]. It
was a sign that his purpose was being fulfilled.

What about when the Syro-Phoenician woman challenged Jesus [Mk. 7.24-30]?
Was she opposing his racism and prejudice? Was this a learning moment for
Jesus when he was forced to reconsider his calling? Was it part of Jesus’ self-
development as a fully human, and therefore limited, Jewish man?

Or did he already realise this, in view of the other references? Was he drawing
out the woman to articulate her faith explicitly, and thereby challenging the
disciples? Certainly Jesus primary, initial, ministry was to the Jews, as their
messiah. But this was a question of strategy, stages, towards the eventual
inclusion of gentiles.

Challenging Injustice
The inclusion of gentiles was a key issue for the early church. It took time for
them to work out the implications of Jesus’ message. All was not plain sailing.
Sometimes it is right to kick up a fuss in church, or society, against exclusion. So
the Greek-speaking widows complained actively about their exclusion in food
distribution [Acs. 6.1-7].

This resulted in the election of new leaders from this linguistic-cultural grouping in
the church. One of the key questions for churches wanting to be multi-racial is
whether they include all races in their leadership teams. Too often there are still
black churches with wholly white leaderships. Such congregations may be
racially mixed but they are mot authentically multi-racial.

Often people are told to shut and not voice complaints in church, for the sake of
unity and the gospel reputation. In fact, it is our prophetic duty to speak out, even
on our own behalf, and in this case the result was increased growth – perhaps
because people saw the justice and equality practised in church.

Overcoming Resistance
Peter himself had problems with including gentiles. For him it required a vision
from God [Acs. 10], and a public confrontation with Paul [Gal. 2.11-13]. In the
kingdom, there is not room for discriminatory practices based on race, class or
gender [Gal. 3.28].

Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith is crucial. But it originated in the question of

what basis the gentiles were going to be included in the church, in Israel [Ro.
3.9-31]. Would they have to keep all the laws? The doctrine was worked out in
the heat of missional practice.

Peaceful Atonement
The atonement is not solely, or even primarily, spiritual. The first result of the
cross, for Paul, is the ending of hostility between Jew and gentile. Only
afterwards does he proceed to outline the spiritual reconciliation with God as
well. [Eph. 2.11-22]. The gospel is inextricably social and political in its meaning.
Doctrine always has a socio-political and economic origin as well as application.

The Jewish-gentile divide is of course not completely identifiable with today’s

racial divisions. It is a combination of religious and racial issues. And is founded
on God’s prior election of Israel as the agent of messianic mission. Nevertheless,
there are principles to be gained from this crisis in the early church’s life.

Final Destiny
The unity of all races in God’s kingdom is wider than the Jewish-gentile question.
It is founded on God’s creation purposes for the whole human race to be in
covenant relationship with him. And it is fulfilled in the vision of the final end,
when all tribes, peoples and languages will stand before the lamb [Re. 7.9]. And
the tree of life will have leaves for healing the nations [Re. 22.2].

The church in anticipation of its final goal, should here and now reflect that reality
in the present. A multi-racial church is an eschatological necessity. The multi-
racial church is normative. There is a role for mono-cultural churches. Especially
where they serve and empower disadvantaged communities. But extra-efforts
must be made to work together with other churches to express the full purpose of
God for humanity.

Church Types
I do not think there is any justification for a white church in a multiracial city. That
seems to be merely an entrenchment of separation and prejudice. However, the
need to reach white working class people may require this in some instances in
our secularising culture.

The goal is multi-racial church. Multi-cultural church is another label. But this may
include other groups than those designated by race. Multi-racial includes the
need for justice, across fracture lines in our society. Multi-cultural may simply
refer to various cultures getting along.

Christian Racism
What about where Christian theology is used to defend racism, as in Apartheid
South Africa? Is the curse of Ham a justification for discrimination [Gen. 9.18-
27]? Is the prohibition on mixed marriage about inter-racial marriage [Ezra 10]? Is
God’s sovereignty over national borders a reason for segregation [Acs. 17.26]?

What about slavery? In biblical times it was not chattel slavery as in Atlantic salve
trade. Nevertheless, slavery did exist, and the NT includes recommendations for
how to live under it [Eph. 6.5-9]. This is an important controversial matter for
those in our churches whose ancestors were enslaved, and for people today in
London who are in effect slaves.

Opposing Slavery
Paul is clear that in principle there is no distinction between slave and free in the
fellowship of the church [Gal. 3.18]. The very terms of the gospel are about Christ
redeeming us and granting freedom from slavery [Gal. 4]. He encourages people
to take their freedom when they have an opportunity to do so [1 Co. 7.21]. He
writes to Philemon to welcome Onesimus back not as a slave but as a brother
[Phmn. 15-16].

Here is motivation for the Christian campaign against slavery. Led in UK by

Wilberforce, and in Jamaica by Baptist Deacons like Sam Sharpe. Today
Christians are in the forefront of anti-slavery campaigns.

Anti-semitic Prejudice
Some Christians have fallen victim to anti-semitism. This an ironic reversal of the
prejudice which Jews showed to gentiles in the early church. Israel did largely
reject their own messiah. But not all, because the first disciples and early church
were all Jews. Nevertheless, the nation and its religio-political hierarchy, did
reject Christ. And this did lead to the gospel going to the gentiles –though this
was God’s original plan, and perhaps would have happened more helpfully had
Israel as a whole been missionaries.

But Israel’s rejection should not lead gentiles to in turn denigrate Jews [Ro.
11.11-24]. Their return is possible. According to some of course, this refers to a
spiritual return, rather than a physical return to the land and re-establishment of
the State of Israel. But even so, anti-Zionism [opposition to the Israeli policies
against Palestine] should not be equated with anti-semitism.

God’s people will be comprised of every nation before the end comes [Mt. 24.14].
What are we doing about it now?

QUESTIONS

1. What should our attitude as churches be to asylum-seekers?

2. Are there any ethnic-cultural groups which are excluded from our
churches?
3. Should there be mono-cultural churches?
4. What do we do with Christians who are racists?

POSTSCRIPT
I was shocked and surprised by the incident in our Bible School. So I wrote about
on my blog [http://urbanprophetics.blogspot.com/2010/11/racism.html]. It has
continued to reverberate, resonate, with me since that evening.

I had forgotten how serious racism is. Somehow I had allowed myself to assume
that, because I had been involved actively in the past with anti-racist activity
politically and in church, therefore it was no longer an issue. I am aware that my
notes for the Bible School are hardly the most radical presentation.

We have been fooled by the complexification of ethnicity in the postmodern city -

the ‘ethni-city’ of global migration: asylum-seekers& refugees, business people &
NGOS, domestic & service workers. This has camouflaged the underlying
oppression and exploitation under a glamour of exoticism [‘glamour’ in its original
sense of magic, bewitchment, spellbinding].

Blinded by an ideology of harmonious multiculturalism, this has led us to

superficially celebrate the diversity, but only as a slight cultural ‘good’ - a
temporary stop-over in the city, enjoying restaurants, theatre, music and ‘culture’,
before we move out to the mono-cultural [by which I mean ‘white’] suburbs.

But this transient, superficial, inoculation against ‘difference’ does not encourage
us to confront the deep structural issues of racism. The fault-line of race can too-
easily become covered over by a facile, cheap-grace, apparent ‘unity’.

I had begun the Bible School talk with a story. Just after I started as a youth
worker in East London, I showed to the church a film-strip [in pre-video days!],
which contained interviews with black urban youths, in that post Brixton-Toxteth
riot-uprising period.

Afterwards I was accosted by two of the church leaders, who pinned me against
a wall, and aggressively accused me of calling them racists. That hadn’t been my
original intention, but in view of their reaction perhaps they actually were. The
same exercise could probably be performed in many churches today.

Race is still a category, and racism is still an issue, that the British church needs
to confront: the racism of well-meaning white liberals [like me] and the political-
economic-psychic impact of racism on black people. God’s new creation
liberation of all peoples is still in process and demands our active collaboration.

Workshop Discussion
• Schizophrenic self-hatred characterises the oppressed. What is in the
mind of the oppressed is placed there by the oppressor. It could be child
abuse that causes some self-hatred. In a broken world, how do we reach
into the pain? We need to create space for listening and relationship, that
gives space to speak. For some therefore it will not be ‘good news’ to
 meet their parents in heaven. So we must ask: what is good news? What
are the keys to liberation, hope, purpose, to open the door which we put
ourselves behind?
• Negative or absent role models on TV are significant. So it is important to
have black people on TV. We interpret subliminal messages. It causes a
battle to be ‘me’ because there are not positive images to aspire to. We
can find our identity in Christ. Once we were not a people, but now we are
a people. We can let go of our striving to be different.
• We need a safe separate place for the powerless to share; safe from the
powerful, who want to control, to keep ‘order’ and threaten. All have
prejudice, but racism is different. It is the combination of prejudice with
power. Institutions inflate power.
• In South African separate churches emerged because whites did not want
their servants being in the same service. The 6.30 gospel service in the
UK arose for the same reason, for the servants to go to. Class prejudice
also affects churches. Middle class blacks and whites fellowshipped
together in Apartheid South Africa but not poor whites or blacks.
• About monocultural churches? Some migrants want to be among similar
people. Others want to be mixed. But should we have monocultural white
churches? Or do they reflect racism? Single race churches do require
different gifts in leaders. And some are not gifted to serve in multicultural
churches. So some should stay with white congregations. But the question
in London is bigger and structural. Is the single race white church the sort
of church we should be aiming at?