Gender, Race, Etc Or Creed: I Don't Care What You Look Like...

Creed:

"A creed, confession, symbol, or statement of faith is a statement of the shared beliefs of a religious community. Creeds are not intended to be comprehensive, but to be a summary of core beliefs. The term "creed" can also refer to a person's political or social beliefs, or is sometimes used to mean religious affiliation."

Etymology[edit] See also: Credo

"The word derives from the Latin credo, which means "I believe" (because the Latin translation of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed both begin with this word) so a creed may also be called a credo. A creed is sometimes referred to as a symbol signifying a "token" by which persons of like beliefs might recognize each other.[4]"


I do know that racism exists. Believe me. I believe and in fact know first hand that prejudice exists. And to be perfectly honest I have actually experienced more prejudice from "my people" than from other ethnic groups, because I have lived my life according judging by content of character versus skin color. (Mind you not by a lot. I have not suffered too terribly in life at all.) I believe this is because of God's grace and the fact that I was raised to work hard and respect people. So, I have generally received that respect in kind. Most (and I say most because I usually don't like to make "allness" statements) of the conservatives or Tea Partiers or whoever, I know vote their conscience and their values. And most of those values are birthed from a biblical worldview.


Race is a very tricky deal. And I think that in large part, like with other 3rd rail issues both sides would do well to actually talk to each other... But it appears in our current society where most of the voices would probably consider and indentify themselves as progressive or liberal that to even discuss some of these issues is racist, sexist etc. My favorite talk show host is Dennis Prager . (This link is for his website, specifically for one of his articles on racism) He came up with this acronym. SIXHRB: sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, homophobic, racist, bigoted. Put any of these in the mix and you stop all discussion. Are there people out there with SIXHRB-ian views? Of course! But I truly believe much inportant discussion and debate is eliminated because once you are ACCUSED of any of the above the all bets are off and you lose. Not "convicted" but accused. For many, the fact that I could easily be called an "arch conservative" or "right winger" makes me "self loathing" as a black man. (Personally, I have ALWAYS considered myself a moderate. One of my main philosophies of life is this. BALANCE IS EVERYTHING.) Or a traitor to my color. I seriously do not care about color, gender etc. Mine or anyone else's.

I vote the way I try to live. I measure positions, people, ideas, and what not in this manner: Do the ideas or positions measure up to biblical standards as I understand them? Do the people act with integrity and goodness towards me and others, as far as I know? Do the ideas work in the real world? Are the ideas the best thing for our society as a whole? (Not just me and my needs, not just any particular group. But society as a whole.) Back in the day, I often debated internally about which of two of my talk show hosts that I listened would make a better godparent for my kids or a better political official. One was a straight, black male Libertarian. The other was a gay, Jewish male (I believe) Republican. (Please forgive me for not having a female Democrat in the mix.) Based on what I knew of them from their broadcasts, I would have chosen or voted for the gay Republican. Because in a relatively close race, his values won on over the other candidate.


Life is complex, but at the end of the day, try to know what you believe and why you believe it and seek the truth of every matter that is presented before you. I don't vote for anyone based on their skin color or what their opponents say about them. I let their own record and their own words define them. Heck, they're politicians. That could be hard enough to parse through...


“From all this we may learn that there are two races of men in this world, but only these two — the “race” of the decent man and the “race” of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society. No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people.”― Victor Frankel


To draw from the Prager well again, we don't need to reach agreement, just clarity. Or to paraphrase myself, I don't care if you dislike me as long as you dislike the real me.

Matthew 12:25 NIV

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Different context? Yes, but Jesus' words and this principle seem pretty clear. Let's figure out what we can agree on and work from there...

With that knowledge, maybe the decent can join together on the things we have in common and passionately yet politely discuss the rest. I believe we can do this if we try hard enough. Regardless of our different creeds etc. True tolerance doesn't mean everybody will think and feel and act the same way about everything. It just means, to quote the Rev. Rodney King...you know.

I LOVE YOU ALL!