I read with interest Devin Graham’s Thursday column, in which he accused religion in general and Christianity in particular of racism and prejudice. Citing the historical slaying of Canaanites by the Israelites and Jesus’s analogy comparing Gentiles to dogs, Mr. Graham asserts that religion encourages an “us-them, tribalistic mentality.”
Look, it’s one thing to say that there are racist, religious people in the world — no one’s going to argue with that. To say that they are racist because they are religious is quite another matter. It would come as a great surprise to the countless religious people who spent their lives combating racism and prejudice: William Wilberforce, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and Benazir Bhutto, to name a few.
Just as surprising was Mr. Graham’s example of supposed bigotry: Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s comment that he shares a unique sense of community with fellow Christians. Excuse me? The real question is, who wouldn’t share a unique sense of community with people who hold the same beliefs and values as they do? Are fraternities and sororities racist because their members share a special bond among themselves? I don’t think so!
God never commanded the Israelites to wipe out other nations because they were not his chosen people, but rather because those nations were totally perverted with gross immorality, child sacrifice and the like. There was far more going on than people holding different religions. As for the case of the Gentile woman, Jesus did not say Gentiles were dogs. He was making an analogy, not an equality. Mr. Graham left out the fact that Jesus did grant the woman’s request and heal her daughter.
As someone who has read the whole Bible, I can say that God’s justice is more than balanced with His love. Take the story of Naaman the Syrian, a Gentile general whom God healed of leprosy, at the time an incurable disease. God is so full of love that he gives each person an opportunity to receive forgiveness of their sin through his son Jesus Christ.
Philip Goppelt
Civil engineering junior