The Making of A Great America Made in the Image of TRUMP

This is an excerpt from the chapter entitled "Is Condoning Racism a Moral Failure?"

“Racial and ethnic hostility is the foremost social problem facing our world today…

Racism—in the world and in the church—is one of the greatest barriers to world evangelization.

Racial and ethnic hatred is a sin, and we need to label it as such. Jesus told his disciples to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39); and in reply to the question “Who is my neighbor?” he responded with a pointed parable about a good Samaritan, a member of a despised race (Luke 10:25-37).

Racism is a sin precisely because it keeps us from obeying God’s command to love our neighbor, and because it has its roots in pride and arrogance. Christians who harbor racism in their attitudes or actions are not following their Lord at this point, for Christ came to bring reconciliation—reconciliation between us and God, and reconciliation between each other. He came to accept us as we are, whoever we are, “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9)…

Our consciences should be stirred to repentance by how far we have fallen short of what God asks us to be as his agents of reconciliation.” (Graham, 2018)

Billy Graham 1993

... What if racism, espousing racism, tolerating racism, endorsing people who support racism, was considered a moral failure? In MGA Vol I, I spent a great deal of time discussing whether racism and division were sins. I referred to Satan’s sin of sowing division in Heaven as likely the second sin in Heaven after pride. Racism is a form of hatred or the absence of love. The Bible specifically commands us not to hate our brother or neighbor in 1 John 4:20: If a man says, “I love God,” and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? Luke 6:27-33 conveys a similar theme:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you… If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.”

Luke 6:27-28, 32-33 

If you have ever read the Bible account of Miriam and Aaron speaking out against Moses, you know that the Lord heard it and was angry. God struck Miriam with leprosy and commanded that she be shut out of the camp for seven days. Num 12:13-14. But did you know that Miriam’s impetus for speaking out against Moses was based on the race of Moses’ wife? I addressed this in MGA Vol I:

“Num 12:1-2 (NKJV)

‘Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, ‘Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?’ And the LORD heard it.’”

In this passage, it may seem that Aaron and Miriam are divided over the issue of whether Moses is the only person that hears from God. Later in the passage, God does make it clear that He speaks to Moses more frequently and intimately as His chosen leader. However, the first verse reveals that Aaron and Miriam are upset that Moses had an Ethiopian, black wife.

Aaron and Miriam are not upset because Moses’ wife, Zipporah, worshipped other gods. They were all of the same faith. Zipporah was the daughter of Jethro, “the priest of Midian” (Exo 3:1). (Edwards, 1989) We know that she agreed to follow Hebrew customs as she circumcised Moses’ son (Exo 4:25). Her father mentored Moses in the customs of the Hebrew faith.

Though Aaron and Miriam’s words disguise the issue as one of authority, the real issue was race. Satan was using the issue of race to try to divide the future leaders of the Hebrew nation. God did not have an issue with the race of Moses’ wife. He made no mention of it when He spoke to the three of them about her in Num 12:5-9 or in Exo 2:21 when Jethro gave her to be Moses’ wife.” (Thompson, Vol I)