JESUS, JUSTICE, AND RACIAL EQUALITY

Jesus Skeptic (part 2 of 4)
November 5 & 6, 2022
John Reed

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
— The Declaration of Independence

Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Ancient Origin Stories: Humans are an

of the gods, born a

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to serve them and their representatives. We have no

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, rights, or purpose.

Modern Origin Stories: Humans are an

of nature, born a slave to our DNA with no freewill, no choice, and no

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, rights, or purpose. Of no greater value than any other bundle of molecules.

Genesis Origin Stories: All human beings are the

of a brilliant, loving God, who made us in

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to reflect his

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, glory and efficacy to the world around us.

Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11-14
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

They took

, and

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.

FOR FURTHER READING:

The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality, Glen Scrivener.
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion, Rebecca McLaughlin.
Jesus Skeptic: A Journalist Explores the Credibility and Impact of Christianity, John S. Dickerson.
The Triumph of Christianity, Rodney Stark.
Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Tom Holland.
Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History, John Dickson.

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“Amid this universal slavery, only one civilization ever rejected human bondage: Christendom. And it did it twice!”
— Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Christianity

“For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule.”
— Aristotle

“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
— The Prophet Amos, Amos 5:24

“I consulted a good colored man named Charles Lawson, and in tones of holy affection he told me to pray, and to ‘cast all my care upon God.’ This I sought to do; and though for weeks I was a poor, broken-hearted mourner, traveling through doubts and fears, I finally found my burden lightened and my heart relieved. I loved all mankind, slaveholders not excepted, though I abhorred slavery more than ever. I saw the world in a new light, and my great concern was to have everybody converted.”
— Frederick Douglass

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