Is the Bible a White Man's Book?

[ThisShouldMakeSense]

Hi all,

First, i hope i'm in the right debate here...So, would you say that people are justified to say that the Bible is a white man's book? How would you answer someone who claimed that it is? Thanks!

 

[michel]

Hi all,

First, i hope i'm in the right debate here...So, would you say that people are justified to say that the Bible is a white man's book? How would you answer someone who claimed that it is? Thanks!

First off, I'd ask him why he thought that. Next, I'd point out that the latest theories claim that Jesus was probably coloured.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Hmnnn,

I would refer to the Ethiopian Eunuch.

Acts 8: 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." 34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. NIV

 

[CaptainXeroid]

2) I've never heard any justification for such a claim.
1) Until this thread, I've never heard any one make such a claim.

I think NetDoc gave a good answer.

ThisShouldMakeSense, since you brought the subject up, are you saying the Bible is a 'white man's book' or has someone said that to you? I'd be curious to hear the reasons someone would say such a thing. Please enlighten us so this might make sense.

 

[robtex]

Hi all,

First, i hope i'm in the right debate here...So, would you say that people are justified to say that the Bible is a white man's book? How would you answer someone who claimed that it is? Thanks!

May I ask what about the Bible makes you think it is a "white man's book" or what prompted the question?

 

[The Voice of Reason]

I almost NEVER engage in threads about the Bible, because I see it as merely a book written by humans (no inspiration).

Understanding that, I have to say that the idea of the Bible being a "White man's book" seems (at least on the surface) to be inane. Are you saying that some people should reject it simply because of the color of their skin? Or are you saying that the Bible is a book that was written by White Men to help mislead people of color? Or am I completely missing the point of the question?


Thanks,
TVOR

 

[ThisShouldMakeSense]

hi, TVOR
some people, such as the KKK say that it encourages races not to mix by quoting OT scripture about God telling his people not to mix with gentiles, so the impression is that he must be biased toward some.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Some people, such as those that make up the membership of the KKK are morons, with such low self esteem that they need to attack and denigrate others to make themselves feel better. If your friend is a member of the KKK, you would do well to find new friends - maybe someone with a functional brain.

I'm hoping that you were just using the KKK as an example, and that your friend isn't really a card carrying member of a group that, by definition, is against people of color or intellect.

Thanks,
TVOR

 

[Scuba Pete]

The friend was black TVOR... I think he is excluded from membership in the KKK because of that. Wait a moment and I'll go check my rule book.

 

[lilithu]

Hi all,

First, i hope i'm in the right debate here...So, would you say that people are justified to say that the Bible is a white man's book? How would you answer someone who claimed that it is? Thanks!

I would point him to the hundreds of millions of black, latino, asian, and indigenous Christians around the world.

 

[ThisShouldMakeSense]

Hey LiLithu,

thanks! now why didn't i think of that!? but what about racemixing?

 

[johnnys4life]

Well, if you believe in creation at all, then it seems totally impossible that Adam and Eve were anything less than middle brown. There is one creationist who is very prominant who explained pretty thoroughly how it would be possible for all the ranges in skin color that we have today to have come from two people, if those people's skin were certain colors.

But what you also have to remember is, the Bible did not come from the "white man". It came from the middle east. My father-in-law also says that the black kids in his class are far more religious than the white, upper class kids - who tend to be less churched and more liberal morally.

 

[painted wolf]

lets see... a book written by, for and about Middle Eastern Jews is somehow a "white mans" book?

Doesn't quite sound right does it?

wa:do

 

[lilithu]

Hey LiLithu,

thanks! now why didn't i think of that!? but what about racemixing?

The Gentile/Jew distinction is not a racial distinction. It's a religious distinction. The Israelites were a semitic people, as were the peoples surrounding them. There were of the same "race." The prohibition was against marrying outside of one's clan and religion.

I forgot, btw, in my last response to point to Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who used the bible as his source of spiritual strength in his fight against racial segregation. He quoted from the bible extensively in his most moving and famous speeches. "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" From Amos 5:24.

Or Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his fight against apartheid is another example.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The Bible isn't a white man's book. But I think the Ancient Roman Catholic Church tried to make it that way portraying everyone, including Jesus, as white.

 

[ThisShouldMakeSense]

Thanks guys!

 

[SoliDeoGloria]

it's just that someone who i know thinks that it might be after looking on a stupid website that said it is and that misapplied scriptures. i just need to convice them.

I think you have answered your own question. It should be noted that a few years ago the Iowa Department of Corrections considers a certain Bible ( I can't remember the name of it right now) that has commentary geared towards white supremecy contraband and doesn't allow their inmates to be in posession of it. On that same token, I knew an "African American" who owned a Bible (once again I can't remember the name of it)that had commentary geared towards black supremecy so ofcourse it goes both ways. Your use of the words "misapplied scriptures" hit the nail right on the head in both circumstances.

some people, such as the KKK say that it encourages races not to mix by quoting OT scripture about God telling his people not to mix with gentiles, so the impression this person has is that he must be biased toward some.

I would answer somebody like that by pointing to verses in the OT where God actually allowed the Isrealites to take female prisoners of war as wifes from countries that they had taken over. Now there was a process, the women had to go through before they could be married, but none the less it still defeats the whole "pure race" stuff groups like that try to push. A good example of this is in Jesus' geneology. In Matt. 1:5 Rahab, from Jericho, and Ruth, a Moabite is listed in Jesus' geneology.

Sincerely,
SoliDeoGloria

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

You'd think it'd be a semitic man's book, if anything...but I thought the idea behind the NT, at least, was that it was for everyone.

 

[fromthe heart]

Hi all,

First, i hope i'm in the right debate here...So, would you say that people are justified to say that the Bible is a white man's book? How would you answer someone who claimed that it is? Thanks!

Tell your friend that to Jesus and God there IS NO COLOR...as the little song says 'red,brown,yellow,black,and white...they are precious in His sight' The body is just the housing...comes in all sorts of shapes AND colors but all are important to God so He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for ALL of mankind. I almost laughed when I read that the Bible was a white mans book...don't let the blacks find out they'd probably have a whole LOT to say about that especially the ones in the U.S....they take their Bible as serious as anyone else.

Meant respectfully...FTH

 

[Erika24]

Hi all,

First, i hope i'm in the right debate here...So, would you say that people are justified to say that the Bible is a white man's book? How would you answer someone who claimed that it is? Thanks!