Brock,+Brett,+Erika's+Connections

Connections: Our thoughts on what we have read:

Erika:

I have learned more than I can ever imagine from this book and discussions in class. Before reading this book and knew almost nothing about the details of black and white tension. I never understood what kind of issues the black community went through, and still goes through, and I still don't understand everything about them and their culture. Where I come from we are a 97% white town, so I have had a small amount of interaction among blacks and their culture. I am glad that this class talks about this issue because I felt like I have learned a lot about blacks and how they view things in this world today. From a Biblical perspective, this topic definitely relates. The Bible tells us to love everyone the same. Luke 6:27-31 says, "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others woud do to you, do so to them." I feel like this passage relates so much to the book because no matter how much you might dislike someone, we are all the same. We are all brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and we were all put on this earth equally. Before this class, and reading the book I found that cultural and racial issues were of little importance. I now see how important they are and how much more important they have become to me personally.

Brock:

Understanding the minority by the majority is a step in helping eliminate racial issues across Americans. Through this class it has helped me think more in depth about racial issues across America. Growing up I have been exposed to other races and cultures, but never really talked about them. With this class, and others thoughts, it got me thinking about other perspective on different topics within races and cultures. Just hearing others thoughts about race and culture made me more aware, and deepened, in my understanding of what it feels like to be the minority. Something that I disagreed with in the readings was in the book, //The other side of the River//. I felt like that Eric McGinnis was murdered and did not accidentally drown that the book claimed. I felt that Marchke did have something to do with the death of Eric, not saying that he may have did it, but might could have prevented something that caused Eric’s death. The events in the story just didn’t all add up to prove that he was completely inoccent, I felt like he was trying to hide something. Through a Biblical perspective this topic hits right at home, meaning the Bible talks about loving your neighbor as yourself and that God created people and he loves them all no matter their skin color. A scripture verse that supports this is found in Leviticus 19:18 it says, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” We as the people of Christ should not seek revenge or hatred toward another person no matter what they look like or act like. Yes, they may be different than us, but in God’s eyes we all are the same; so we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Another scripture verse that can relate to the topic is found in 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” The majority of people today judge others by their outward appearance. This causes the problem that we have with other race and cultures, there becomes this grouping and racial discrimination which leads to problems and issues. If people could just judge others as Christ does, by their heart, then it would help eliminate this racial and cultural beerier. This impacts my faith a lot because I believe what the Bible says and believe to live out the Word of God. For me at times it can be hard not to judge others by their outward appearance, because that is the world we live in. Everyone is judged by what they wear, have and own. Through this though I have grown and become closer with my walk with Christ.

Brett:

When it comes to race relations, I have a pretty good understanding of the tension between Blacks and Whites. Having grown up in Flushing, Michigan, which is just outside of Flint, Michigan, I have encountered many issues with race relations. Giving a little background information on the area I grew up in, Flushing was started when General Motors came to Flint, and most of the CEO's and executives of GM wanted to live just outside of Flint, so they moved to Flushing and it became segregated very fast. Flint became mostly a city filled with minority races, specifically Black, and Flushing became a city full of Whites. Because of that it has created a lot of tension in the surrounding areas, and even in the schools. I can recall times in High School, when I was called a racist, simply because I ignored an individual who just so happened to be black. I was not ignoring him because of his race, but because I refused to listen to his comments. That is just a little preface of my understanding and interaction with the tension between the two races. Yet when it comes to have learned something new, I would say, I was given a refresher course on why those tensions exist, and what my role is in trying to eliminate them. In doing so, it helped me realize that until we stop seeing someone for the color of their skin and see who they are as a person, we will never understand their culture and they won't under stand ours.

With all the reading that was done in this section, I would not say that I disagree with what I read at all. It is actually the contrary; I agree with what I have read, especially when it came to the Christian role in race relations and what that looks like. For sometime now, I believe Christian have taken a back seat to many issues that plague society and have not done much about them, and reading what "actions" Christian should take, gave me a better understanding of what I can do.

When looking at race relations and what Scripture says, there is one verse that comes to mind of how we ought to see someone. I realize I have used this verse before, but I believe that until everyone truly understands the meaning of it, until it really hits us in the face, we will continue to have the struggles between races. The verse is found in 1 Samuel 16:7 and this is what the Lord said to Samuel, when Samuel was looking for the Lord's anointed, "The Lord does not look at what man looks at; man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at heart." Until we realize the significance of these words, we will only ever see someone for the color of their skin, instead of who they really are, who God sees them as and who God created them to be.

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