Have you ever noticed the ethnic reconciliation that exists in the future world of Star Trek.(remember this series began in the late sixties, so think metaphors and allegories in a turbulent time of our history) All sorts of strange, exotic and unique humanoids live together in harmony that is usually disrupted only by an outside alien force or rebels within the utopian, discovered and civilized galaxy.
There are marriages between Vulcans and humans that produce Mr. Spocks and the struggles of deciding how to live between two worlds.
The original essental crew is comprised of an African (and a woman at that) named Uhura, a Russian named Chekov, a Japanese American named Sulu, a Vulcan named Spock, a southerner named Bones and a midwesterner named Kirk (whose character is loosely based on Horatio Hornblower)
There are still some Klingoncentrics and Romulancentrics who see humans as a lower species of the evolved orders who at best should only be occasionally tolerated because of their inferiority.
However, with this unity in diversity, there is one thing that is absent: any sense of absolutes that govern morals or ethics with the exceptions of murder, rape and pillage.
So, if mating, for example, is an instinct that carries little or no responsibility with it because all the offspring are turned over to eunuchs and professional mothers, one may think it odd, but that is their culture.
If the singular goal of the Federation of Planets is to bring peace to the galaxy and let each culture live in Utopian bliss., then there is no need for truth as an absolute. The only truth is the need for each culture to promote this peace for the well being of one another and ultimate success as living organisms that can reason and act accordingly.
Everything comes to fulfilment through negotiation and compromise based on reason, logic and as a common goal a peaceful co-existence with galactic neighbors. Cultural exchange and free market enterprise are the tools for galactic peace and harmony. An integrated hierarchy of rule and an integrated force of military/explorers and scientists can accomplish anything. Higher and lower life forms can interact to defend and save the galaxy from intruders and rebels because everyone acknowledges that Utopia, although demanding, is desirable and attainable and does not require absolutes.
This is wonderful in the context of a fantasy world, but it is not the reality of a world bound in sin, which results in ethnic hatred and racial prejudice. Sadly, even the greatest vehicle by which true reconciliation is granted to the human race, the Body of Christ, is a tragic failure.
We have been asked to address how we can improve the state of the church in relation to racial reconciliation.
Obviously, the first step is to recognize that the church has problems with deliberate segregation and prejudice.
Once this is recognized there is hope for working our way through a number of solutions and bringing true reconciliation, ethnically, within the body of Christ.
Let me ask you a question. During the O. J. Simpson debacle (it was which ever side was right or wrong) how did you respond to the deliberate politics of racism.
Was he guilty because he was rich and black? Was he innocent because he was black and had overcome the gangs and the hood and was very talented? Guilty because he was married to a white woman and in the end they both got what they deserved? Guilty but got off because of his wealth? Guilty but had to be let loose or once again America might burn.
What was the significance of seeing OJ with a Bible in his hands? Was black America being emasculated once again through the trial of a successful black? Were whites getting even because of all the “reverse discrimination†that was on the increase?
Or was the OJ thing nothing but another indicator of how deeply ingrained racism is in the American conscience: corporately, institutionally, in families, in our neighborhoods and let’s not forget the church.
Use the OJ thing as a barometer of your own failings in the matter of racial reconciliation. How well did you hold up, biblically, during the whole series of events? What glasses did you view it through?
How many cross cultural relationships have you attempted to build since then?
The first step in building an honest relationship across ethnic lines is to make acquaintance with someone. (Big revelation right?). This needs to be done intentionally.
You may have to go out of your comfort zone because you may sense that you have nothing in common with someone who is not of your ethnic origin.
But we all have many things in common.
First of all, we are all created in the image of God and are marred and scarred by sin. We are common in our sinfulness and imperfection. Second, death is common to all men and all men are made common in death. Third, many women and men are wives and husbands, mothers and fathers. Some due to various circumstances are single parents. Others are not married. Professional people have something in common with their peers just as construction workers share in a number of common experiences. Everybody wants some sense of meaning for their lives, although many are living in despair and are overcome by their circumstances
If we are truly saved, we have the same Saviour and Sovereign God.
Yet, there are some differences that could keep us apart, even as Christians, especially if we do not know what it means to develop a Christian mindset in a pagan world, which is essential for reconciliation.
If I have a Euro-centric mindset, I may believe that all of the greatest achievements in history came from the mind of Western Europeans. But don’t forget, that’s where the (racist) Crusades and two world wars began.
If I have an Afro-centric mindset, I may celebrate the heritage and amazing feats and incredible knowledge of the Egyptian Dynasties. But don’t forget that they were a slavemaster nation, one of the worst of antiquity and God crushed Pharaoh.
All of us will have some kind of baggage to bring to the relationship table.
It may be bias or prejudice, but in Christ each can be overcome because in Him we are one new people.
