We disagree completely, about racism, religion and some other matters.

Submitted by Michael S, Mar 11, 2017 at 13:35

Hi, Robert.

You certainly seem to have some deeply entrenched ideas on the matter of "racism"; but I am reasonably sure that I do not share them.

1. Racism exists in the Bible, but it is not labeled as a "sin". Moses, for instance, was married to a Cushite woman (The Cushites proper were very dark Sudanese; but the term probably had an extended meaning to include Yemenites and Arabs):

Numbers 12:
[1] And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

(The KJV translate "Cushi" as "Ethiopian", based on 16th Century geography). Miriam and Aaron had what would today be called "racist" attitudes; but God did not call them out on this. In fact, they were technically correct in speaking against Moses, because in the Torah taught by Moses, marriage between a Levite such as Moses, and a non-Israelite woman, was forbidden. To this day, there are arguments over the matter of inter-marriage in Judaism, without general agreement. As I said, though, "racism" was not considered a sin.

As for the "Good Samaritan", Jesus used him as an example because he was a non-Jew (in fact, of a people despised by the Jews), yet his conduct was more in line with Torah than that of the Pharisees. Racism was not an issue here. Thee are several passages in the Bible forbidding miscegenation, including:

Ezra 10:
[2] And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
[3] Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

That should put to bed, any argument that "racism is a sin".

You also said,

"I want to remind you that American Christians and American Jews generally believe in the First Amendment, which effectively keeps our Religion Private, whereby we practices in our respective Churches or Synagogues on Sunday or Saturday."

You do not understand the First Amendment, which reads,

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

There is nothing there, about the US Government having license to restrict the religious practices of Americans to the weekend.

We disagree on many things. Such is life. I wish you well.

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