Christian Post: Rick Warren: 7 Different Attitudes on Racism; Christians Should Have This One

Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Southern California addressed racism in his sermon in the wake of the deadly ambush of police officers following the shooting deaths of African Americans, describing seven attitudes to racism and identifying the one which Christians should have.

“Our nation is desperate for healing… and the Church cannot be silent,” Warren told the congregation in a recent sermon he delivered after a shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana left three police officers dead.

The megachurch pastor quoted Titus 2:11: “God has revealed his grace to save the whole human race.”

God has never made a person He doesn’t love, Warren stressed. “Race was God’s idea,” he said. “Racial reconciliation is at the heart of the Gospel.”

How you and I treat other people matters deeply to God, he added, quoting 2 Chronicles 19:7, “. . . the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes.”

The word for “justice” and “righteousness” is the same in the Bible, he explained, and acknowledged, “There is still injustice against black Americans … and other minority groups.”

Partiality is an old English word for racism and prejudice, the pastor said. This means treating one group of people better than another group, he explained, adding that the Church must not be silent when racism is practiced.

He said there are seven different attitudes towards racism.

Warren defined a “racist,” the worst of all, as someone who “hates another race or bullies another race or discriminates against another race.”

There are also “bigots,” just slightly better than the racists, the pastor said, defining a racist as someone who “believes stereotypes about a particular race, and belittles other people.”

And then there is an “avoider,” Warren continued. “An avoider is somebody who … is uncomfortable around people who aren’t like” him, he explains.

Then, there are people who are “insensitive,” the pastor added, explaining that such persons are insensitive to what hurts others.
Read more at Rick Warren: 7 Different Attitudes on Racism; Christians Should Have This One. 

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