Racism is not mentioned in the Bible. Yet, we call it sin. What makes it sinful? Dr. King is quoted about a day when his children will be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It is quoted as both an unrealized ideal and a criticism of any affirmative action attempts. Is there a double-bind when discussing racism? Not if you actually know what we are discussing.
What Is Racism?
The MLK quote is perhaps a way of defining racism. When people assume the color of a person’s skin determines the content of their character and their potential as human beings, we can safely say the assumption is racist. If people of color are more scrutinized while a white person is not, then the racism involved is white supremacy.
What Makes It Sinful?
The Biblical prophets understood the problem of unequal justice. Justice ideally is blind to the person’s status. But the righteous were sold for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals and the poor were trampled into the ground. (Amos 2:6-7) The Northern Kingdom Israel would be judged like all other kingdoms would be judged. They would be judged for injustice.
Racism is sinful because it is a justification of injustice. A person may judge another person’s character and abilities based solely on race. A system designed by such people would have that bias built into it. Structural (or systemic) racism is evident when outcomes for one race or subset of human beings usually end up losing in the system. Aggregate incomes, incarceration rates, and educational opportunities demonstrate the inherent racism of a system.
Systemic Racism Hidden
Structural racism is largely hidden to the winners of the system by design. Most of the winners see view the system as “simply life.” To them, it is how things are. Reality. Complaints about unfairness are met with statements about how life is unfair. People defend injustice with such slipperiness.
The world, the flesh, and the Devil are the temptations we all face. Structural evils call the participants into lives of injustice and fear. One can even make a case for original sin in such a context. But the problem is that becomes a way of avoiding taking on structural racism.
Methods of Correction
How do we change things? We simply disobey the rules that support the structures. It is an easy answer. But is it a workable solution? The hiddenness of the evil is what makes it difficult to ascertain obnoxious rules that appear reasonable.
Churches tend to obey the evil and support it by being blind to it. Congregations participate in the evil and give up the freedom to follow the Way of Christ. The devil’s biggest trick is not to claim he does not exist. No. As we have witnessed, the devil must convince us his ways are Christian. That trick is difficult to overcome. The only way to defeat it is to define our goal.
The goal is to create a new structure that gives material and legal equality. How we do that requires real discernment. Those of us who already feel like outsiders while still on the inside must consider what we fear to lose. What could we lose? The system gives the privileged a lot. As a straight white male, I benefit most from a system that makes it hard for me to make ends meet. I think about this. And I fear losing the grace I get from getting credit easier than many of my neighbors. I fight myself every day about this problem. But, I am willing more and more to lose it. I consider it progress.
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