We appreciate all the feedback and questions we’ve gotten over the last few weeks in our Race Conciliation series. Since there may be many people with the same questions, we’ve gathered some themed responses.
Why are we calling these “Race Conciliation” FAQ?
We use the first word, “Race,” in the singular sense because the idea of separate “races” within the human family came out of 18th & 19th century Western pseudo-scientific thought. As such, it is a social construct that fails to acknowledge the biblical view that we are all one human race.
We use the second word, “Conciliation,” in place of the term “racial reconciliation.” This is because (at least since the Tower of Babel) there has never been a time in history when all of the various human ethnicities have been harmoniously related to each other. So, we are not seeking “RE-conciliation” to a former “conciliated” state, but rather a first-time “conciliation.”
Click the question theme to read more detailed questions, and our response:
- What is “Systemic Racism”?
- Is America Still Racist Today?
- What Does Racism Have to Do With Me?
- Who Am I Supposed to Believe?
- Why Are We Only Focused on White People?
- Aren’t We Just Causing More Division by Talking About Racism?
- Don’t You Think if George Floyd Wasn’t Breaking the Law, He’d Still be Alive?
- For Anabaptists, Isn’t Talking About Unjust Laws Engaging in Politics?
- Why Don’t You Denounce the Violence of Rioting and Looting, Too?
- Why Are We Focused on Changing Laws Instead of Changing Hearts?
In addition reading the answers to these FAQs, we encourage you to check out this list of resources concerning Racism & Reconciliation.
You didn’t address Candice Owens abs her thoughts….
Greg you never shy away from the contrary – trying to grow
Hi Lynne,
We talk a bit more about what voices we are listening to in this post.
Emily from the Communications Team
Not much more that I think I could or should add to this; as a black woman watching the aftermath was almost as traumatic as the actual event. I could remind everyone that we have as a nation been here before and the causality has remained pretty much the same. It doesn’t help matters that poverty continues to be a problem not to mention the added grief brought on by a global pandemic and watching employment rates plummet to record levels. Rev. King called it (rioting) “the voice of the unheard” and I saw that quote circulate many times on social media in the wake of the violent nights. We have developed what I would call a serious ‘underclass’ within our society who all bear the markers of ongoing systemic bias/racism, disparate health and wealth outcomes borne of a system that refuses to make poverty itself a national health crisis. Not to mention the educational achievement gap that I might add is the worst in the nation. What we saw/are seeing is the unfortunate bi-product of that underclass doing what it can to exhibit a level of power and relevance against the backdrop of a society that would rather forget they even exist. But they DO exist and unless we deal with the root causes these are the scenes that will continue to play out. I am wholly in agreement with the depiction of the media and how it has and continues to use race in a way that makes us all continue to pathologize such ‘behavior’ through a racist lens. I don’t believe Christians are called to look upon fellow citizens this way; I have struggled with those I view as the ‘enemy’ who have offered opposing and/or what I felt were inflammatory views over not only the circumstances of the death but the aftermath. As much as I may want to ‘place blame’ and be forever vigilant about holding those ‘responsible’ I have to remember that Christ does not call us to be vengeful or divisive but to try with our weapons of peace and love and charity to bring all the major stakeholders together so that we can end the nights of terror and destruction that are our EVERYDAY LIVES within a racist system; whether there is a major event that sends us down the path to be polarized and critical or not. Might I add: I STILL STRUGGLE! 😉