Is emphasizing race really the best way to defeat racism?

Social media is really frustrating right now. On one side you have racists. On the other side you have racists. In the murky middle ground you have racists trying to convince everyone that they're not racists. Behind it all you have the racists in the media with their inordinate preoccupation with fomenting racial tension.

Racism, historically speaking, was the belief in separate human races as a result of the evolutionary process. Eventually this developed into the idea that certain races were superior or inferior to others, which, in turn, became a justification for mistreating members of other "races," climaxing in atrocities like the Holocaust.

The Bible, however, rejects the concept of race, instead using terms like tribes, peoples, nations, and tongues (languages) to distinguish between different people groups. The Biblical answer to the problem of racism, then, is to understand that all mankind is part of the one human race, united by our common ancestors and the image of God. Science, of course, has long since confirmed that there is only one human race.

Enter 2020. We're told that racism is the great evil of our day and that we need to stop perpetuating the systemic racism that pervades our land, but then this concept of race continues to dominate the thought processes of those calling for social justice. Instead of minimizing race, we emphasize it. We're seeking progress and peace, but we're still operating, at least functionally, upon this incorrect principle that different races exist. Even as we call for peace between the races, we're missing the point entirely. We're blind to the fact that the concept of race is inherently flawed.

My question, then, is, "Is emphasizing race really the best way to defeat racism?"

This nation, along with just about every other nation in history of the world, has a history of ethnic discord. I think every sane person would admit that. Slavery was evil. Segregation laws were evil. The spirit of white supremacy, which lingers yet in some places, is evil. These evils should be acknowledged and rejected, but is the answer to our racial issues really to continue thinking along the same racial lines?

Is affirmative action, where people receive preferential treatment because of the color of their skin, really the answer to racism?

Are financial reparations for blacks the cure for racism?

Is white guilt really the answer to racism?

Is fixating on race really the answer to racism?

Can the answer to racism really be anything that perpetuates this unbiblical, unscientific concept of race?

I don't know. Maybe I'm just a white guy who is out of my depth. Like everyone else I'm just frustrated and searching for answers.

What I do know is that I was taught that all men, women, and children were made in the image of God and deserve respect, regardless of the color of their skin, country of origin, or social class. I was taught that humans are one people, regardless of the cultural and ethnic distinctions that exist in this world. I was taught to love my neighbor as myself and to treat all people as I would want to be treated.

That is the Biblical answer to racism. That is the solution that we really need.

Don't misunderstand me. I think that there are institutional changes that need to be made. I am convinced that police violence is an institutional problem that affects all members of our society, blacks included. Law enforcement policies and perspectives need to be reevaluated and radically altered, but no matter what political or civil changes are made, racism will endure. Racism is a philosophical and spiritual disease, which means that the cure must ultimately be philosophical and spiritual.

I know that some of you may be thinking that I am simply a white guy unaware of my white privilege. Black people, you will say, don't have the luxury of forgetting about race. Well, there is definitely some truth to that, but that doesn't change the fact that any solution to racism that presumes this outdated concept of race will be counterproductive. Perpetuating this me vs you, black vs white mindset is bound to make racism worse. We have to find a way to transcend this faulty notion of race if we even hope to see harmony in our land.

Defining yourself by the color of your skin, which is an inherently-unreliable metric, is not the way to overcome racism.

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