Scripture teaches that there is only one race–the human race. Furthermore, Biblical teaching condemns racism and, when consistently applied, results in the abolition of chattel slavery. Consequently, I do not appreciate the renewed push, especially on the left, for making everything about race. Critical race theory is both contrary to Scripture and (unsurprisingly) does not reflect reality, reflecting in many ways a worldview that is contrary to what God has revealed in His Word.
Furthermore, since when surveys ask me about my “race,” I am going to be judged by the color of my skin and not the content of my character, I know that if I answer the way the survey wants me to I will give the “wrong” answer. Since my skin is on the lighter side of the spectrum of human pigmentation, making less melanin than some others whose ancestors came from warmer regions, I am supposed to answer “white,” and then feel guilty for the oppressive role that my ancestors played in human slavery in the USA (even though they weren’t even here, but immigrated to the USA after slavery was already abolished, on one side of the family fleeing the slavery of communism). As someone who is “white,” I am oppressing Barak Obama, Kamala Harris, Michael Jordan, and other incredibly powerful, wealthy, and influential people who are “black.” If I answer “white,” I will be discriminated against in the name of “equity.” My area will get less federal and state funds. It will just be worse for my community and for me as a person, and I will be contributing to dividing my nation over race, when the amount of melanin made by one’s skin is one of the least important features of a person.
I have consequently decided to answer surveys on race in one of two ways. When a survey asks about “race,” I will use the “other” checkbox and say:
1.) “Human.” I am part of the human race.
or, alternatively,
2.) “American.” That would seem to be as legitimate a choice as Nigerian, Norwegian, Japanese, Cuban, etc.
The only exception for me would be on a medical form where it could actually make a real difference, as people who are descended from Japheth are more likely to get some diseases, and less likely to get others, than descendants of Ham (and the same goes for the descendants of Shem). If the question actually serves a legitimate purpose, I can answer it the way they want me to. But if the form is simply to promote “equity” by punishing some groups to favor others based on the color of their skin, I am going to answer “human” or “American.”
Furthermore, since a man can really be a woman now, men can get pregnant, many children in public “schools” are identifying not only as the other gender but even as “furries” or other animals, it should be no difficulty for me to identify as whatever I want for race. If men and women are not determined by biology, my race could be Mutant Ninja Turtle, or I could be a pigeon.
So there is certainly no reason I cannot truthfully answer “human” or “American” on the “race” question.
I would also encourage you to think about the divisive and racist race questions that come up in many settings. Think about whether we would be better off if a very high percentage of the population started answering “human” to these questions and started believing what the Bible says about race and racism.
–TDR
I’ve been answering that question, “Adam’s race” for a long time now, simply because that is the most accurate answer (biologically speaking 🙂 ).
I now answer “marathon” or if I am feeling lazy and don’t want to run that far, “10K”.
“Human” is probably more appropriate but will just be ignored, and I feel it is perhaps more effective to laugh at the question.
Dear Bro Mat,
I like that answer. It is accurate. And, unlike critical race theory, it gives us a real reason why we should feel guilty, while also giving us a real reason to find the solution to that guilt in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Good point, Bro Gleason.
By the way, happy Indigenous People’s Day! Columbus was terrible! I am going to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day and show my superiority to those awful Europeans by scalping someone, enslaving someone else, and offering a human sacrifice, while running around practically naked, and in this way showing the great superiority of native cultures.
I almost forgot–someone to tomahawk as well. (We are against guns, they are bad.)
I don’t have a problem acknowledging where I come from in that sense, but it’s not something I focus my time on because it’s just one more variable in a very complicated world. I think what you believe says more about you, and I’m not an uber-collectivist who thinks every racial group owes things to other groups. That’s sort of the way certain kinds of marxists want to think, as their dialectic involves class warfare — one of the classes they can frequently target for the so-called “class struggle” is race. All individuals are subsumed into the collective, and if you are in collective A then suddenly you owe something to collective B (or to every person in collective B) because of something from before you were born. That’s nonsense, it has nothing to do with me.
At the same time, I am also against all these attempts trying to erase history because that only makes it faster to overwrite with a new narrative, one that isn’t even true. I can’t deny where we came from. Anything that reminds us of where we came from isn’t offensive to me. The picture is usually painted of a world just as imperfect as it is today. I also believe there is something to be said for God’s word in 1 Timothy 5:8. Or what Paul said in Romans 9:1-5. I don’t think it’s evil or partiality to show special favor to my family. God commanded each person in the Ten Commandments to honor their own father and mother. That’s not harmful discrimination is it? I sure didn’t think it was. Your background is therefore supposed to inform certain things about you and certain priorities in your life. Just not what the marxists say.