Why do religions seem to insist there are different 'races' of people?
Upvote:1
Christianity neither insists nor seems to insist, in my opinion, that there are different races of humankind. Quite the opposite. In Paul's sermonette to the Athenians, he said:
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place... (Acts 17:26, ESV)
The New Testament is unconcerned with skin color, and certainly as a way to group or characterize human beings. The major division of humanity discussed in New Testament theology is that between Jew and Gentile. There is a wide range of color within both sets!
Upvote:3
The idea of race is not a Christian construct. It doesn't derive from Christianity. It isn't supported by scripture. If you search for 'race' in the Bible it is only ever used to mean "human race" or "competition to see who is fastest".
Race is, as you say, a social construct, and while it was commonly thought to be useful in a society that also happened to have a majority of Christians, and was used by Christian during a time when race was universally thought to be a valid idea, there is no indication that it was Christianity that drove this. Plenty of atheists used the concept of race in the fifties and sixties.
More post
- 📝 Are there any existent military orders?
- 📝 Where did the ecclesiastical offices go?
- 📝 According to Emanuel Swedenborg, will a good person who rejects Jesus go to heaven?
- 📝 Does the Evangelical Lutheran church see Mormons as Christian?
- 📝 How do Catholics view physical and digital copies of the Bible?
- 📝 Do we have the right ten commandments?
- 📝 Is it morally okay to donate potentially tainted goods?
- 📝 What exactly does one do in the Sabbath?
- 📝 Why did Jesus ask his disciples to collect the fragments of bread in baskets?
- 📝 Why can't our immortal souls make our body also naturally immortal?
- 📝 Does Protestant and Christian denominations have stories to tell about bilocation?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about giving one's word?
- 📝 Mary as the Queen of heaven
- 📝 Why call men on earth 'father' when Christ forbids it?
- 📝 Why (how) does Jesus' coat have no seam?
- 📝 According to Trinitarians, why didn't Jesus correct the scribe's use of 'Him' at Mark 12:32-33?
- 📝 Prior to the scientific consensus regarding the age of mankind, were there any theologians who argued that the date of Adam's creation was unknowable?
- 📝 How is the earth soon after God turn the light on according to the literalist / YEC?
- 📝 How did Luther explain 1 Cor. 7:14?
- 📝 What is the biblical meaning of "believe"?
- 📝 Who nurtured Adam when he was an infant?
- 📝 Jesus and Mary / Joshua and Miriam
- 📝 What is the source of the Martin Luther's quote, "We all carry about in our pockets His very nails?"
- 📝 How does a Catholic church support itself without Tithe?
- 📝 Was adelphopoiesis a plural rite?
- 📝 Were the Old Testament prophets married?
- 📝 Why is Hell considered a permanent situation?
- 📝 What is the evidence that Thomas Aquinas was assassinated?
- 📝 Why did this Early Version of the Watchtower Magazine include Crosses, and what do these other Symbols on the Magazine Represent?
- 📝 Was a Unitarian understanding of God present in the Early Church prior to 400 AD?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why do religions seem to insist there are different 'races' of people?
- 📝 Why are there different divisions of the Ten Commandments?
- 📝 According to Emanuel Swedenborg, why are there different types of angels?
- 📝 Why are there people in Protestant countries with the last name "Pope"?
- 📝 Why are there different sects of Christianity?
- 📝 If there is only one God, why are there so many different religions?
- 📝 Why are there so many translations of the Bible?
- 📝 Are there multiple levels to Heaven, for different levels of reward?
- 📝 Are there theological explanations for why God allowed ambiguity to exist in Scripture?
- 📝 Are there two different creation accounts in the bible?
- 📝 Why are some people born into famine and starvation?
- 📝 Why is Jesus occasionally referred to as "The Christ"? Is there a different definition between the two?
- 📝 Why are people traditionally buried facing east?
- 📝 Are there any biblical incidents of people condemned for consensual premarital sex?
- 📝 Why are there no longer large-scale miracles from God?
- 📝 If miracles stopped after the Apostles, then why are there admonitions to pray over people?
- 📝 Why do there appear to be two very different variations of “tongues” in the New Testament?
- 📝 Why are there fourteen stations of the cross?
- 📝 Are there any real statistics on how many people fall away?
- 📝 Are there any scholars or doctrinal schools that address the conspicuous dearth of needy people in Jesus' sayings and stories?
- 📝 Do people of different denominations think that the others are going to go to hell for holding false views?
- 📝 Why are there Sibyls and Prophetesses in the Sistine Chapel?
- 📝 Christian view of why there are so many similarities between Quran and Bible?
- 📝 Why are there so many First Congregational Churches in the US?
- 📝 How many different groups are there that base their teachings on the Book of Mormon and/or Joseph Smith?
- 📝 Why are there differences in the "Greeting" of the Mass?
- 📝 Why are we given details about what the descendants of Cain did? Is there special significance to these details?
- 📝 Are there historical accounts of the character of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah?
- 📝 Are there any ecumenical movements among lay people working to unite Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians?
- 📝 Why are there so many priests in the LDS Church?