Essay donated by Kathy LaPan
How we all came to be,
or why racism is pointless
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Webmaster's note:
Followers of Creation
science generally believe that God created Adam out of mud and Eve out of
Adam's rib less than 10,000 years ago. God also created all of the species of
animals at about the same time.
Followers of naturalistic
evolution believe that all species of animal and plant live that are present
on the earth, or were present in the past, evolved from a single one-celled
animal. This happened as a result of purely natural forces without any input
from a creator God or Gods. Most evolutionists believe that modern apes and
humans share a common ancestor; that is, that humans did not evolve directly
from an ape. They have been trying to explain this to creationists for over a
century without much luck.
Kathy Lapan believes in one version of
theistic evolution: that all animals evolved from a
single one-celled animal, but that God controlled the process. At some point,
human beings of the species homo sapiens evolved from a species of ape called
Australopithecines.
How we all came to be, or why
racism is pointless
The fact is that all - every single individual -
human life on this planet descended from Australopithecines. They were
apes, not black people as many people believe, and common theory suggests they
were light brown with a lot of fur. White people did not descend from
black people, nor did Asian people or any other race of people. All people
descended from apes. Australopithecines originally developed from even
older species of apes in what we now call Northern Africa. However, this was
before the continents were in the places they are now, and during massive
climate differences, so it was neither hot nor dry there. Eventually
evolution (directed by God) created different kinds of humanoids - it wasn't a
straight line, and current theories suggest that many of those “off-shoots”
interbred into our gene pool to create who we are now. Some of those
humanoids moved away and developed adaptations to their new environments, such
as scoop shaped teeth and smaller eyelids (Asian-type features), very dark skin
and tightly curled hair with slightly curved thigh bones (black people), light
skin and a tendency towards greater height and musculature (white
Europeans)...you get the idea.
No one knows if Adam and Eve were humans as we are
today, or if they were a type of humanoid, or if they were Australopithecines.
All we know is God created them, and their creation lead to us.
In reality, there are only three "types" of people, and then combinations of the
three - Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid. There are not "Africans and
whites and Arabs and ..." whatever. The variations of human beings are much more
akin to breeds of dogs than anything. Although you may have a Dalmatian, a
boxer, a Chihuahua, and a mixed breed mutt, no one would deny all of those are
still dogs. They can interbreed and create viable, fertile offspring (a key test
of genetic closeness). Looking at them, you can see vast differences – the
Chihuahua barely comes up to the knees of the Dalmatian, whose spots are vastly
different from the brown coat of the boxer – but you can also see the
similarities. The same is true of humans.
We’re all the exact same critter running around on the same planet. So why
did God make us all look so different?
Through the centuries, people (mostly white
European males who were seeking a way to justify the subjugation and cruelties
inflicted on conquered people) have offered theories. Many revolve around the
“mark” God put on Cain after the murder of Abel. The theory goes that God made
Cain dark-skinned so that he would stand out, and thus be protected:
"And Cain
said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast
driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be
hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to
pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him,
Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And
the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him." (Genesis
4:13-15; King James Version)
How this justified murdering and enslaving the
very people they claimed bore the protecting mark of Cain is inexplicable, but
the truth is the Bible never describes Cain’s mark, and certainly does not say
that this mark was dark skin.
My belief, and the belief shared by many
Christians, is that God had a number of reasons for our diversity. For one, our
differences were adaptations to our environments – he made each type of person
perfectly suited to where he chose for them to live, just as he does now with
our interior traits. We are each made to be where we are, and are each given the
tools we need to be there, whether those tools be dark skin that doesn’t burn in
the sun or great skills in communication to share God’s word.
Secondly, our physical differences challenge us to
look past the external and speak to the soul of each person, which is one of the
key points of Christ’s message. Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan is a key
text against racism, because who suffered more racist hatred at the hands of the
Jews than the Samaritans? Yet Jesus chose one of these people to illustrate one
of the most difficult directives in the entire Bible – love your neighbor as you
love yourself, even if your neighbor isn’t someone you’d normally choose to
associate with:
"But he,
willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus
answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell
among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed,
leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when
he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other
side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he
saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds,
pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an
inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two
pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and
whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now
of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the
thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go,
and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:29-36, KJV)
Now reread that parable, but replace the man in
the story with a member of the Klu Klux Klan, and replace the Samaritan with a
black man. Or make the man a white vigilante border guard and the Samaritan a
Mexican immigrant. This story retains its power over the centuries since Jesus
told it because it speaks directly to our (secret or not so secret) hearts where
we hide our racism and hatred.
Very few people openly hate. Most of us speak of
equality, but in our hearts we know we feel some people are “different”. It is
not wrong to recognize differences, but how many times have you found yourself
secretly harboring prejudices? Such as, “If you move to this country, you should
be forced to speak English or get sent back”. Or “She only got that promotion
because she’s ______ and they have to hire a certain number of those people”.
How many times have to seen hatred in action and not spoken up? Have you noticed
the store clerk watching the black couple to make sure they don’t shoplift? Have
you witnessed someone harassing an Arabic person without intervening? Have you
heard another parent saying the Asian girl only made honor roll because “those
people” are always pushing their children harder?
Prejudice and racism come from the
Devil, and it is our challenge as Christians to
combat hatred with love and acceptance. We are all the same creatures of the
Lord, and it is up to us to choose to live in this unity and love every day.
Copyright © 1998 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last updated: 2008-NOV-23
Author:
Cathy LaPan
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