Are Fundamentalists Anti-black?




		Are Fundamentalists Anti-black? By Don Boys, Ph.D. © 2000 Cornerstone Communications Fundamentalist Christians, of all races, are the greatest people in the world; however, we are not always right. (Now, that admission will amaze some people and anger others, but it still remains a fact.) One of our big failures is to address the black issue. Most of us evade it, hoping maybe it will go away. But it doesn't go away. Bob Jones University has been in the news lately because they did not permit interracial dating. They admitted that there was no Bible verse to support that position. It was more of a philosophical position than a theological position. Since it was not a biblical injunction, they recently changed that school rule and now permit interracial dating.(with written parental permission) What has been overlooked is that there was no hatred or mistreatment of anyone, and the rule applied to white people as well as those "of color." Critical, foaming-at-the-mouth liberals have criticized Bob Jones, but have not been critical of others who have similar views such as when Al Gore spoke to an all-male Jewish group. He did not "disassociate" himself from their sexist views. Wonder why? And why have the media given him a free pass and have not held his feet to the fire? Of the reason is because the media, for the most part, are hypocrites. But we all know that don't we? It is always wrong to mistreat anyone, to be unkind or unfair or unreasonable. Christians are to treat others the way they want to be treated. We are to love our enemies, so we should have no problem loving, appreciating, respecting and associating with blacks who are not our enemies! However we should not "use" blacks to prove anything to liberals. I believe I am without prejudice, but because I insist on treating people according to their own attitudes, actions, associations and accomplishments, I am accused (usually by white liberals who make a big show of loving blacks, while detesting them) of being a hater and bigot. Let me make it clear that I will accept no guilt for whites who held blacks as slaves for the first 240 years of our history-no guilt. If such guilt can be justified, then blacks must likewise accept the guilt of black chiefs who sold blacks to white slave traders! If a black, living today, can prove discrimination he has every right to justice. That does not mean that government has the legitimate authority to tell a white (or black) businessman how to run his business. An American has a right to hate anyone, but not mistreat them. Of course, a Christian does not have that right. If a barber desires to only cut the hair of men with red hair, that is his right, although not a legal right today. When businessmen lost their right to run their own businesses, it was hailed as a great victory! The businessman's right to choose his own customers is more precious than the questionable right to get a haircut from a specific barber. The public domain is another matter. If I had been a black in the 1950s, I would not have used "black" rest rooms in publicly owned buildings without a protest. I would not have been satisfied with unpaved streets in my neighborhood nor with inferior schools. A black should be paid what a white man, with the same ability, is paid for the same job. Blacks should be permitted to attend any non-religious college and enter any profession on an equal basis with all other men and women. However, any special treatment of blacks to "atone for past discrimination" is insane, insensitive and insulting. Blacks with character will not demand nor accept any special treatment. After all, if discrimination against blacks was wrong forty years ago (and it was), then why is discrimination against whites not wrong today? It is always wrong for Christians to treat people unfairly whatever their color, but it is a sin problem not a skin problem. Men hate because of sin. Men pay unfair wages because of sin. Men burn crosses and throw rocks and send scurrilous letters because of sin. Genuine Christians, who want to do right, don't act that way. Churchgoing, psalm-singing hypocrites do act that way, and all of us get blamed for their cowardly actions. Fundamentalists are much like everyone else, some good , some bad. We, like all groups, have warped, worldly and wicked people among us who hate others-often trying to use the Bible to justify it. But unsuccessfully. © 2000 Cornerstone Communications