Racism and the American Church

Bible verses in blue

Jesus' words in red

Some of the following may be offensive to both black and white - please read to the end before making a judgment.  

How did those who called themselves Christians justify slavery?  After losing over a half million people in the Civil War - how could racism continue - even worse in many ways? Why does it continue today?

How did it Start?

For the first 100 years, the colonists here in America were almost all English. So, to understand what happened here we need to understand what was happening in England, and to understand what was happening in England we need to go back quite a few years.

Jesus did not come to establish a religion - he came to establish his Church - and the two are very different.

For the first couple hundred years after his death and resurrection, Jesus' church was made up of people from all backgrounds and from all areas - who had put their faith in him.

    "So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  Galatians 3:26-28 

There was one church - Jesus' church - in many different places: Jerusalem, Rome, Asia, Philippi, Ephesus, etc. And Jesus' followers were to be marked by love - love toward God, love toward their neighbors and love toward the church.

Jesus' and his church were initially rejected by the Roman Empire - with its many gods - but then Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and in the year 313 played an influential role in what is called the Edict of Milan, which allowed for Christianity in the Roman Empire. Then in 325 Constantine organized The Council of Nicaea which brought together Christian leaders from across the Roman Empire and produced The Nicene Creed - a statement of belief for mainstream Christianity. This statement is used to this day.

Unfortunately, over time the religious system that came out of the Roman Empire became very much like the Jewish religious system of Jesus' day. Many of those in the higher levels of leadership were rich, influential and corrupt, while many at the local level were middle income or poor - but loved God.

To many religious leaders of his day, Jesus had some very strong words:

    "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come here on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling you the truth, why don't you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

John 8:42-47

Religious leaders who were supposed to be learning about God and teaching people about God - were instead under Satan's control.

It was very similar in Europe as America started. Much of the leadership of the Roman church was corrupt, as well as many political leaders and kings and queens.

While there were others, 2 major deceptions came out of Europe which were used to deceive colonists into thinking that whites were superior to blacks. A third major deception was added in Civil war times. 

America's Declaration of Independence says in its opening line:

    "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,"

The majority of the 56 men who signed that document - even those who opposed slavery - did not believe that line applied to blacks. "All men" - meant English, French, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, etc. Blacks were not considered equal - even by most who opposed slavery.

Men like Thomas Jefferson, who on the one hand said blacks should be free, but on the other said they should be resettled elsewhere. In other words - it was OK blacks were free - he just didn't want them living in his neighborhood.

Attitudes like that persisted all the way to the 1968 passing of the Fair Housing Act, though they continue to persist in certain areas.

Two religious teachings that came out of England during colonization helped foster this false belief about blacks, and a third was added during Civil War times - which continued these attitudes past the Civil War and even up to the present time among some. 

We will list them and then discuss them:

    1) The false, supposedly Biblical teaching that came out of the dark ages - 'the Curse of Ham' - which said that African blacks were cursed by God and destined to be slaves. 

    2) The Calvinist teaching which came out of the Reformation that taught that God doesn't choose everyone, and Jesus didn't die for everyone.

Taken together they became lethal for the black man and woman:

    Blacks were cursed by God and destined to be slaves, God didn't choose them - and Jesus didn't die for them.

Many Colonists were taught variations of this from an early age, and this continued in many circles to Civil War times.

And so, all the way to the famous Dred Scott decision in 1847 - a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Roger Taney, writing for the majority said that blacks were of "an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race" and that blacks "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." 

    3) Then in 1859, just a year and a half before the Civil War started, Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" was published. His next work - "The Descent of Man," which argued that man evolved from apes and there were "savages' and 'civilized races" was published not long after in 1871. And much of what was gained in the Civil War was lost. 

Of course, Charles Darwin claimed to not be racist - as did his followers - but his work gave whites supposed scientific evidence that they were superior to blacks:

    If man descended from apes, and apes have dark skin, then the logical conclusion was that blacks are closer to apes than whites.

Now we have a type of evil trifecta used against blacks: 

    Blacks were cursed by God and destined to be slaves; God didn't choose blacks, and Jesus didn't die for them; blacks as a race are scientifically closer to apes than whites.

    In "Origin" Darwin wrote that some races, or "species of men," were more favored or more highly evolved than others. In "Descent of Man," Darwin wrote on page 521:

    "At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes, as Professor Schaffhausen has remarked, will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state, as we may hope, even the Caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla."

What does the Bible teach? What did Jesus teach? Are blacks under a curse? Did Jesus die for all? Are blacks descended from apes and closer to apes than whites?

In 1559 in England under Queen Elizabeth I, the Elizabethan Religious Settlement was adopted, an attempt to end Catholic/Protestant turmoil. It took from both Catholic and Protestant (mainly Calvinist) beliefs - some which ultimately helped lead to racism in both the Church of England and America. The following are two of those which when combined became lethal: 

1) The 'Curse of Ham' - Blacks are under God's curse

The Roman Catholic Church during the Dark Ages attempted to exercise complete control over the Scriptures. The Scriptures were in Latin - which the common man couldn't read even if he saw it - and any attempt to bring the Scriptures directly to the people resulted in persecution or death. This allowed the church to use false teaching to exercise control over rulers and the people. And sell favors to whom it chose to.

The wicked false teaching regarding blacks in Africa called the "Curse of Ham" came out of this:

    "The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

    Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japeth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders, then they walked in backward and covered their father's naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. 

    When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." He also said, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth's territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth."  Genesis 9:18-27

    Whatever it was that Ham did made Noah very angry. But there is nothing to suggest this was anything more than an angry outburst.

    The next chapter, Genesis chapter 10, is known as the Table of Nations and lists the people groups that came from these 3 brothers. Over time these clashed but there is nothing to show that Ham's descendants were slaves any more than the others. For example: The Israelites (Shem) were slaves to Egypt (Ham) for a time. The Israelites (Shem) then conquered the Canaanites (Ham). The Babylonians (Ham) conquered the Israelites (Shem) only to subsequently be conquered by the Persians (Japheth).

     There is no pattern in history - and Noah's angry curse cannot be used to justify enslaving anyone. Interestingly, this bible passage teaches we are all descendants of Noah - black, white, yellow, red, etc.

    The ruling class and elite, wealthy Europeans (descendants of Japheth and not the 'cursed' Ham) were constantly looking for cheap labor (just as we in America do today in China - using slaves to assemble gym shoes, smart phones, etc.). America offered these wealthy businesspeople an incredible new opportunity - but where would the labor come from? The demand couldn't be met using American Indians, and so white indentured servants were used - but this also wasn't enough to satisfy demand. So conveniently, black Africans (descendants of Ham) became the next go to - with twisted Biblical support from some in the church in Europe. But instead of going willingly - like white indentured servants - Africans were ripped from their homes and families. And treated by many like animals.

And blind religious leaders - just like those in Jesus' day - gave support.

Many of those enslaved blacks are in heaven today - and many of the whites who enslaved them are not.

2) Calvinism - Jesus didn't die for everybody

Calvinism came out of the Protestant Reformation, though many would say it originated way before that, and taught then (as it teaches today) that God only chooses some, and that Jesus only died for some. God only chooses and Jesus only died for a special elect class. This was very well received by many in the European ruling and royalty class - who already thought they were superior. Calvinism taught them that they were part of God's special elect class. And of course, blacks weren't.

Combine these two - the 'Curse of Ham' and Calvinism and you get:

Blacks are under a curse - destined to be slaves; God didn't choose blacks - and Jesus didn't die for them.

A perfect source of labor - like animals only better. And slave traders brought millions and millions to America.

White elites were part of the chosen class - superior to others. As were the Royals. Jesus chose them and died for them - they were special. Blacks were not.

Did Jesus really only die for some?

The Bible teaches God wants all people to be saved, and he made a way for that to happen:

1) God reveals himself to everyone:

    "Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that man is without excuse." Romans 1:20

The Bible doesn't argue with the atheist - it simply says that to look at nature and the universe and not believe in God is foolish.

    "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God" Psalm 14:1

2) God the Father leads everyone who will listen to Jesus:

    "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: "They will all be taught by God."  Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me."  Jesus - John 6:44-45

    In our natural state we are blind and unable to come to Jesus - all of us. So, God leads us - if we will just listen to God

    Some are open to God's leading from the time they are children - and they don't remember a time they didn't believe in Jesus. For others it happens when they are older - for some it even happens on their death bed - just like the thief on the cross.

    Jesus said above, "They will all be taught by God." Not some - all. God tries to reach everyone, and is patient in trying to do so, but he doesn't force anyone.

    "God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  II Peter 3:9

 3) God sent Jesus to die for everyone:

    "Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only our sins but also for the sins of the whole world."  I John 2:2

    "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."  John 6:40

    "The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"  John 1:29

    "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

Calvinism teaches there is an elect class and Jesus only died for them.

Black man, black woman - Jesus loves you and he proved it by dying for you. It doesn't matter your position in life, how much you know or don't know, or what you have done or haven't done in your past. Those who told your ancestors that Jesus didn't die for them were not telling the truth. And anyone who today says Jesus didn't die for you is not telling the truth. 

Jesus died for you, but you must receive him.

    "Jesus was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to his own but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."  John 1:11-13 

The Bible says: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13

Jesus is the name of the Lord!

    "God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Philippians 2:9-11

The combination: Blacks are under God's curse and destined to be slaves; and blacks are not chosen by God and Jesus didn't die for their sins - was taught to many of America's founders from childhood. On one hand they seemed to write things only Christians could write, but on the other, many held racist attitudes. 

You would think that losing over a half million people in the Civil War would teach us a lesson, but something else came along.

3) Darwin's Evolution 

Evolutionary teaching now permeates America:

Consider Education and Law:

Harvard was America's first institution of higher education, established in 1636. Harvard's original motto was:

        "Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae" - Truth for Christ and the Church

Harvard's original 'rules and precepts' said this:

    "Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (Jn 17:3) and therefore lay Christ at the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning,"

Other schools expressed similar things at their founding. Princeton - founded in 1746, over 100 years later - had this in its founding statement:

    "Cursed is all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ."

    In 1869, just 10 years after Darwin's "Origin of Species," and not even 5 years after the Civil War, Darwinian evolutionist Charles Eliot became the new president of Harvard. The very next year Eliot appointed Christopher Columbus Langdell as head of the Harvard Law School. Langdell agreed with Eliot that Darwin's evolution was true, and Langdell believed the principals of evolution should be perpetuated throughout every area of academia.

    Up until this time law schools had primarily used "Commentaries on the Law in England" by William Blackstone (1723-1780) in teaching law to students.

    Blackstone said this:

    "as man depends on his Maker for everything, it is necessary that he should, in all points, conform to his Maker's will. This will of his Maker is called the law of nature . . . dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding all over the globe, in all countries, and all the time: no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid derive all their force, and all their authority . . . from the original."

    Blackstone believed the Bible revealed God's will and should be the foundation of law.

    2500 of Blackstone's commentaries were sold in America prior to the Revolutionary War. This is how you learned as a lawyer in early America. The Bible was the foundation of law. 

    Then about a hundred years later, Christopher Columbus Langdell introduced the case study method - Blackstone was pretty much thrown out and the new case study method came in. This continues today. Langdell said this in the preface to "Cases on Contracts" in 1879:

    "Law, considered as a science, consists of certain principals or doctrines . . . Each of these doctrines has arrived at its present state by slow degrees; in other words, it is a growth, extending in many cases through centuries. This growth is to be traced to the main through a series of cases . . ."

    In other words - the Law evolves. Just like evolution. What did this lead to? One of Langdell's colleagues, John Chapman Gray said:

    "The law is a living thing, with a continuous history, sloughing off the old, taking on the new."

No longer was a law good if it conformed with God's law. Man did not need God and the Bible. The State now determines what is right and wrong. The things the Bible says are wrong - are no longer wrong. This was a major turning point in America.

    The law in America started teaching evolution, and our schools started teaching evolution. And what does evolution teach our children? That they evolved from apes - they were not created by God. And racism has taken hold of that since just after the Civil War: if we evolved from apes and apes have dark skin - then the logical conclusion is that blacks are closer to apes than whites. God did not create blacks and whites equal -they evolved. As Darwin had said - there are "civilized races" and "savages."

    John Dewey, considered by many to be one of the main architects of modern education said this in a September 1933 article entitled "Soul Searching" in Teachers Magazine:

    " . . . faith in the prayer-hearing God is an unproved and outdated faith. There is no God and there is no soul. Hense, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes."

    We are not created by God; we are simply advanced animals and can be treated as such.

    Using the same justifications Margaret Sanger and her allies systematically tried to control the black race by eliminating black babies through sterilization and then abortion through The American Birth Control League - which later became Planned Parenthood. They called their population control strategy the "Negro Project."

Information above re/education and law came from 'The Truth Project,' lesson 10 - The American Experiment, by Dr. Del Tackett

What does the Bible teach?

1) The 'Curse of Ham'

    "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

    This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." John 3:16-19

According to Jesus, the issue is not which of Noah's sons you trace your ancestry to - but whether or not you have put your faith in him. If we haven't put our faith in Jesus, we stand condemned - no matter who we are related to.

2) Did Jesus die for you?

    As mentioned earlier - "Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."  I John 2:2

    Yes - Jesus died for your sins. But that doesn't make you his child:

    "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."  John 1:9-13 

    You must receive him - you must believe in him.

    Jesus was asked, "What must we do to do the works God requires?

    Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." John 6:28-29 

3) Did you evolve from apes?

    "At the beginning of creation God made them male and female." Jesus Mark 10:6

    (For additional info on evolution, see the evolution tab on this website)

    According to Jesus you were created by God. Who do you think knows more about creation - Jesus, or Darwin or one of Darwin's followers?

Final Thought

European elites and royalty and then many Americans embraced teachings that supported their thinking that they were better than some others.

The Bible teaches there is only one who is better: 

    "Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.

    I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

    Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song, saying:

    "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

    Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. In a loud voice they were saying:

    "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

    Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

    "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, FOR EVER AND EVER!"

    The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshipped."  The Apostle John - Revelation, chapter 5

Jesus is better - we are not.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

P.S. It may take a little searching - but there are a lot of really good churches out there now. Filled with people who love Jesus and are trying hard to love their neighbors and love Jesus' church. You need to be part of one.