Christians should see racism for what it is: sin. It is an assault on the fundamental dignity of men and women who are created by God. Racism is not always about skin color or ethnicity. We dehumanize a person who is in a coma by calling them a “vegetable”.
So what is behind hatred, discrimination and racism? “We are,” says John Stonestreet. He quotes G.K. Chesterton who responded in the following way to a newspaper editorial asking what’s wrong with the world: “Dear Sir, In response to your question what’s wrong with the world, I am. Yours Truly, G.K. Chesterton.”
“Out of the heart,” says Jesus, “come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19) and discrimination.
Christians have incredible opportunity, writes Stonestreet, to contrast evil with good. Secular humanism always dehumanizes people by “reducing them down to their sexual inclinations, or color, or socioeconomic status or looks, or some other arbitrary category. Secularism simply does not possess the worldviews resources to confront person-to-person discrimination in all of its forms. But Christianity does.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News of dignity for all people. Christians can explain that there is only one race: the human race. We are different skin tones and cultures, but all are lovingly created by God for His purpose. This stands in vivid contrast to the teachings of secular humanism. “The Church needs to be at the front of the conversation,” writes Stonestreet. I agree. Jesus restored relationships and showed how to treat people like brothers. Only Christianity sees the value of each human being because no one but Jesus Christ makes people so valuable.
Jesus saw all people as treasures in a field. He paid the price of His life for each and every one of them (Matthew 13:44). With that understanding, we can see all people–of all colors and in every circumstance–as our neighbors. We can love them as we love ourselves.
With appreciation to John Stonestreet,
Breakpoint, 5-7-14
Ezerwoman's Blog 
Bizarre Values Are Not Human Rights
Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Citizenship, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Identity, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged " homosexuality, discrimination, family, human rights, marriage, Robert R. Reilly, sodomy, tolerance, U.S. foreign policy on January 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »
LGBT activists here in the U.S. push hard for cultural acceptance of sodomy in schools, courts, churches, and the military. We are labeled “intolerant” if we speak God’s Word that calls the act of homosexuality a sin. We are labeled “homophobic” or even “hostile” if we voice concern for children, family, and the survival of a thriving society.
U.S. Embassies across the world—in Pakistan, Kenya, Laos, and Prague—have been instructed by the Obama Administration to legitimize sodomy and promote same-sex marriage. U.S. foreign policy seeks to change the laws of other countries, but there is resistance from nations where homosexual acts are illegal.
Reilly explains, “When the acting ambassador in El Salvador, Mari Carmen Aponte, wrote an op-ed in a major Salvadoran newspaper, La Prensa Grafica, implying that the disapproval of homosexual behavior is animated by ‘brutal hostility’ and ‘aggression’ by ‘those who promote hatred,’ a group of pro-family associations fought back. On July 6, 2011, they wrote:
As for me? I stand with the pro-family groups of El Salvador. I pray that I will fear, love, and trust God so that I might love my neighbor without accepting evil as good. Does this mean that I will be called to discriminate? Isn’t discrimination bad? No. As Reilly brilliantly writes, “The ability to discriminate is, of course, essential to the ability to choose correctly.”
It is not too late to choose correctly. Bizarre values are not “human rights.” Inspired by my neighbors in El Salvador, I will persevere for marriage and family.
Making Gay Okay by Robert R. Reilly,
p. 203, 214
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