The scourge of racism remains a massive problem in Western Society.  There is not a day that goes by without some new incident of racism being reported in the mass media.  The symbol of ‘taking the knee’ has become a popular way of protesting racism.  Almost every major game of football in the UK begins with this ritual protest.  In the USA frequent reports of police violence, have made race an inescapable topic, fierce and divisive.  There is deep and widespread concern about what has become known as systemic racism.

Accusations of white supremacy and white privilege have become commonplace.  Indeed, virtually all accusations of racism are directed at white people.  Racism is held to be a terrible sin that only white people commit.  Here it is important for us to understand is that there is no clear definition of ‘racism’.  Different people define it in different ways, and the meaning of the word ‘racism’ is continually changing and expanding.

According to the popular racism narrative of our day, there are two kinds of racism.  Overt racism, which is committed when a white person purposely commits an offence against a person of colour, and unconscious racism, when a white person intentionally or unintentionally supports systems or social structures which discriminates against people of colour. This is also known as systemic or structural racism. 

In the video Understanding Racism we argue that the racism narrative is a false and destructive concept that divides people by the colour of their skin, causing tension and hatred.  We need to recognise that the heart of man, both black and white, is sinful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). All men seek their own good and not the good of others (Philippians 2:21). This means that all men are prone to acts of hatred. Indeed, overt racism is more accurately defined as the sin of racial hatred that comes from the corrupt human heart; it is a sin committed by both white people and black people. 

Unconscious racism, sometimes referred to as systemic or structural racism, is a political ploy to demean white people by accusing them of being a ‘racist’. Terms such as ‘white supremacy’ and ‘white privilege’ are used to shame whites as being guilty of inner racism they do not even know they have.  The answer, according to the anti-racism movement, is for white people to admit to their unconscious inner racism. 

The question the video seeks to address is how Christians should respond to accusations of racism? What does the Bible say about the issue?