Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 22 replies, 23 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 5 months ago by
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Growing up in a Christian environment, I was always taught to believe that the different races came about after the Flood, when Noah’s sons settled in different parts of the world. If this is the case, were the people before the Flood the same race, and if so, what race were they? If they weren’t, then the question remains: how and when did the different races begin to emerge? Also, why is the Bible so unclear in regard to this issue?
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Name : Kristina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : Transcriber, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Hello, There’s a scripture in Acts that comes to my mind with regard to your question; and it says: ‘And he {God} made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth…’ (Acts 17:26) This acknowledges that different groups of people –nations, or races — did come from one human pair. The bible does also verify that that it was the offspring of Noah from which all mankind came from thereafter. ‘And Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Ja’pheth. …These three were Noah’s sons, and from these was all the earth’s population spread abroad.’ (Genesis 9:18, 19) So, these we know are factual. As far as what race Adam and Eve were, the bible doesn’t say they had a race. What it does tell us is that when God created man, they were made in His likeness. (Genesis 5:1, 2) God intended for them to ‘Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.’ (Gen. 1:28) And since they were perfect before they sinned, it’s reasonable to believe that they were created with the capacity to have offspring that didn’t look exactly like them. For example; suppose Adam had black hair and Eve had brown hair. Well, then, where did red hair come from? Certainly, we can conclude that God biologically created them with genes that would result in each and every different characteristic we see today. Now, suppose you take two of their offspring: one blonde and one redheaded, and they had children, and so on until you had several generations of people. (basically, inbreeding, which God allowed temporarily for the purpose of populating the earth) You would have a whole region of people with every variation of blonde and red hair — as well, the other physical characteristics that the first two parents had. When each of us are born we have a set group of genetic traits, or genes. And when the same group of traits are multiplied over and over without the introduction of a new set of genes, what results is a race of people. That in itself is how the different races developed as Noah’s offspring occupied different geographical areas of the earth. I hope this helped answer your question. Holly
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Name : Holly, Gender : F, Age : 28, City : Annapolis, State : MD, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College,Race is a socially determined category, so when the different races ‘appeared’ and what races exist is determined by the society you live in. In the not too distant past, the Irish were considered a fairly subhuman race by the English (and many Americans). The Nazis considered themselves to be ‘Aryan.’ While there is no denying that there are physical differences among groups of people, the fact is we are all of the human race and the physical differences are nothing more than adaptations over time to different environmental factors.
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Name : Sylvia27521, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 38, City : Milwaukee, State : WI, Country : United States, Occupation : Education, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The Bible is so unclear because it is mythology. Why don’t you try exploring a scientific explanation? We are all African, ultimately…. Evolution doesn’t have this problem, you know.
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Name : Hugo21342, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 34, City : Tallahassee, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Many of the stories in the bible are drawn from far older sources- such as the story of the great flood. This story can be traced to far older sources than the Bible and much older religions than the Christian religion. In the older stories, the plot line is much the same (evil world, god(s) choose righteous person to build ark, world destroyed, etc.). The theory goes that most of the epic stories, laws, pronouncements, etc. in the bible were drawn from sources/stories that people were familiar with so not as to ‘scare them away’ from the new Christian God. So where do races come from? Natural selection. Survival of the fittest. Darker skin, able to take the heat and aridity of the tropical/subtropical environment. Lighter skin, able to handle the cold, humid northern climates. Contrary to what your Sunday School Teacher told you, just because it’s in the Bible doesn’t mean it’s cold, hard fact.
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Name : Mike, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 42, City : Ben Lomand, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Even though I am an atheist, I believe I can answer that question based on my own theories. Africa has long been recognized as the originating country of the human race. That’s not to say that all persons coming from Africa are black. Look at the northern aspect of the country, Egypt, Morraco and so forth. These races tend to have the appearances of middle eastern races. As people spread out from this area of the world to all points, they naturally and gradually changed the pigmentation of their skin to meet their environment. This takes centuries to acheive. People that were exposed to the sun (Africa, Middle East) with little shelter possiblities adapted by having skin go darker, while Europeans who were exposed to more temperate climates, along with snow, tended to cover more of their skin and lost this pigmentation, hence they became caucasians. The human race had to start somewhere, and my opinion is it started in Africa and spread from there, it doesn’t mean we are all ‘black’ people, just that our environment evolved us into the people that we are today.
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Name : Doug25642, Gender : M, Age : 29, City : Hickory, State : NC, Country : United States,GROWING UP IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WE WERE ALWAYS TAUGHT THAT ADAM WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY MAN CREATED. GENESIS 1:27 TELLS US: God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. I BELIEVE THAT ALL RACES WERE CREATED ON THIS 6TH DAY. TO FURTHER VALIDATE THIS; CAIN WENT AWAY TO A FAR LAND AND TOOK A WIFE. WHERE DID SHE COME FROM IF GOD STOPPED AT ADAM AND EVE?
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Name : Godz, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 28, City : Kidd, State : GA, Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class,Was Jesus white? Was he black? who cares. The teachings of the bible are meant for everyone. We are all God’s children. But if you must know, it does say that life began in theGarden of Eden, which was placed between the Tigris and Euphraties rivers. Take a look at that region today and what ethnic group is dominant there, and I think you’ll have your answer.
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Name : Bill, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 29, City : Fort Mill, State : SC, Country : United States, Occupation : graphic arts, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Both the Bible and science has our ancestory traced to the area around Northern Africa and the Middle East. In order to survive the constant sun it is necessary to have skin pigmentation. Therefore, I believe that Noah and his family would most closely resemble those of the African race. As far as the second, and more important part of your question the answer is a little more complicated. As humans moved around the world, those most able to adapt to their own area were the ones who survived and had offspring. Those of us today who have large noses probably had ancestors who found large noses necessary. The physical traits that make up a race are dominant because it was necessary at some point along the line. I am assuming the second part of your question refers to the animosity felt towards those of other races and the discrimination that follows. This really began to emerge when the Europeans began traveling around the globe. They encountered different people and, being Europeans, they began to classify them as less than White. As far as the Bible is concerned, it was written in a small geographical area. Any difference between groups of people would not have been very dramatic. However, you do see certain clans in the Old Testament and nations in the New Testament. When they are described they are shown in the light of armies and purity, just the things that did matter to those writing the information down. The way we think of races today not only includes skin tone (lost to the Europeans) but also many other things that just did not matter at the time the books in the Bible were written.
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Name : Andrew J., Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Hearing Loss, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Seattle, State : WA, Country : United States, Occupation : IT, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Not to try and shake your faith, but don’t take the Bible so literally. Remember as you read it that the Bible is a written history of the early Jewish people. People were uneducated at the time and needed ways to explain things they couldn’t figure out. Remember there was no science then. A lot of the Bible stories are also parables to teach people how to live and get along with others. These are tribal societies we are dealing with. If you really think about the ways people lived back in Biblical times, most of them probably never saw other races or traveled too far from where they were born. I hope this doesn’t interfere with your beliefs.
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Name : Deb25771, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 48, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,I can only answer the part of the question as to why the Bible is so unclear, as I would not want to mislead or misinform you otherwise. The Bible may not be clear on this issue because it is unimportant. God doesn’t care what color or race we are. Humans are the only living thing on the face of this earth that care about that kind of nonsense. And as is so many other parts of the Bible, God did not explain or make clear, because we were not supposed to know. Why are we not supposed to know, I dont know. But who am I to question God? Then again maybe it is explained in the bible, and it just maybe unclear to you. Get with a Pastor, or someone you can trust, that knows the Bible to help you in studying the word.
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Name : Erin, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 20, City : Fort Lauderdale, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Middle class,I have also wondered about that alot, and the reason that I have come to is the nature of the Bible it’s self. First of all, don’t want to detract from anyone’s views of the divinity of the Book, but it must also be realized that the Bible is only the record of 1 nation. While, according to the Bible, Noah and his family were the only survivor of the flood, this is the story according to that record. Who is to say that there weren’t others? While I don’t doubt the historical accuracy of the Bible, it can’t be taken as the absolute and only record of ancient people. I’m afraid I may have not answered the original question, but I don’t think that the Bible does have the answer as to where different races come from. I think that any one who says that it does, or that the Bible by it’s self contains ALL the answers for ALL the questions, must be looked at in a sceptical light.
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Name : Norm James, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Farmington, State : NM, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Okay. I am a Christian and to answer the last part of your question…I think the Bible is ‘unclear’ about this issue because there is absolutly no reason to discuss it. Seriously. The Bible teaches about love and compassion, for everyone. Race was more about where geographically you were, not what color skin you had. To answer the fist part of your question. Well, I won’t pretend to know the answer. I’ll just say, sorry I don’t know. But best of luck to you. I hope you find the answer.
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Name : Mike20372, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : BaptiCostal (Baptist/Pentecostal), Age : 19, City : Beaverton, State : OR, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,Basically, the Bible is unclear because it is BS written by men who thought the world was flat. I’m sure you have read about the tower of babble (unsure of spelling). Do you really think that actually happened? I’m amazed that any intelligent person actually gives this book any credence.
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Name : Lance26206, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 39, City : Chico, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Civil Service, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Take the Bible at its value, which is the inspired word of God, not the scribblings of uneducated people. As a Christian, allow me to answer your question directly with references to scripture (which is actually very clear on this issue). First of all, the Bible refers to people by their tribe or nation (where they geographically live) and not race (typically used to describe physical characteristics). Even as late as the New Testament (a time when very educated people advanced many of the principles that our nation adheres to today), it was understood that there was no such thing as ‘race’ (Acts 17:26). In Genesis 11:8-9 we read of God dividing people by language and dispersing them geographically. Modern genetics easily explains how different physical characteristics come about based on the environment where one lives (over a long period of time of course!). The point is that we always were and still are one race – the human race.
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Name : Bill, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 31, City : Cleveland, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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