Posted on 11/30/2014 5:15:33 AM PST by IChing
Arguing and even rioting over racial controversies are among the most obsessive activities in our modern society. Where does it all end?
A couple of years ago I came across an essay which explained racial differences in terms I’d never encountered before. The author’s basic message was that white Europeans were at one point about as savage and culturally undeveloped as Africans or so-called native Americans, but that they later achieved highly advanced civilization not through some kind of rapid evolution or manifesting some latent, inherent superiority — it was the advent and spread of Christianity throughout Europe, exponentially more than anywhere else, which helped inspire and result in drastic advancements there in language, writing, art, social mores, jurisprudence, economic and political systems of cooperation, and breakthroughs in technology, medicine, and so on.
Meanwhile, the populations of Africa and other continents remained mostly in a state of relative barbarism because of primitive spiritual darkness, the Gospel having not been spread nor taken hold to anywhere near the degree it had under the commands of certain European leaders who were powerful evangelists for Christianity. Sure, there had been and were empires and comparatively (in ancient context) somewhat advanced culture in various parts of the world prior to, during, and after the birth and widening worship of Christ, however white Europeans were the ones who had the Holy Spirit basically injected into their midst through dedicated, aggressive religious and political agencies, and through the game-changing phenomenon of Gutenberg’s movable-type press, making possible an untold number of Bibles to be distributed, mainly throughout Europe.
Accordingly, the theory (as I expand on it) goes, the transcendent truth and will of God of the Christian faith, above and in lieu of primitive pagan religions and secular systems, gave Europeans a new consciousness, and a special role in the world and its frontiers.
The mysticisms and social influences of Confucius, Buddha, Brahman, and whatnot also fostered notable developments in civilization and culture in the East, however no other religion has ever been so bold as to proclaim the singular trump card in the Son of God Himself here on Earth, laying it down as supreme and quite beyond any other teaching anywhere, commanding the consciences of men like William Wilberforce and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
I needn’t even discuss Mohammed. Let’s just not go there right now.
If Jesus Christ really is the only true way, as New Testament scripture says, then it would appear that whichever race or races happened to have carried the Gospel the most would largely wind up with a special responsibility and position, wouldn’t it? That responsibility would chiefly include the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) — making “disciples of all nations.”
A few people reading this are, I’m sure, recoiling in shock at the suggestion that blacks lag behind whites in various ways primarily (among other less important factors) because collectively, historically, they lag behind in being converted into Christianity and bathed in the Holy Spirit over the centuries. That is exactly how I interpreted the theory, for what it is worth. It’s actually much less politically incorrect than the usual theories on race differences.
Reading that essay turned most of what I’d previously focused on regarding race differences on its side. At the time I stumbled into it, I considered it, then promptly lost it in the shuffling frenzy of worldly controversies and the usual race theories. I cannot recall the essay’s title/author, just the basic ideas in it. From time to time I remember it, though, and I’m glad that it sort of stuck in my cognitive craw.
I’m glad because I figure that if the author is right, then all of the negativity and strife around race issues in this country may be resolved after all, if indeed Jesus Christ is the antidote to worldly (and in that case, false) assessments about racial matters. Spirituality, not biology, nor secular social science, would be the real determinant of general conditions for races relative to each other, for race relations, and for humans being able to actually transcend race.
It’s a thought worth thinking, given the situation in which we find ourselves.
I have seen reports identical to that which did test for race differences, as for delaying gratification, and the blacks generally took the immediate gratification while whites generally waited for bigger payoffs.
Good info
The spiritual angle, however, might be said to trump all others, no? After all, in the spiritual view, the material world is but the stage for the drama of the battle for men’s souls, for the struggle among powers and principalities, and so on.
What are genes and neurons and gray matter but chemicals, subordinate to consciousness which is more or less either brightened by its divine source, or darkened by a more worldly focus?
Jesse Jackson essentially said the same thing.
Blacks have mean IQs of 85 per many studies. Affirmative action or religion can offset that.
May I ask for references to your: “There is certainly a strong genetic component but intellect is greatly impacted but how our brains are challenged in early life.”
Lack of long chain fatty acids in the diet, and other abuses may diminish expressed IQ, but I am unaware of validated studies, indeed any studies indicating IQ was raised.
If it is possible, I am buying it!
Not quite. The Barbarians assimilated into Roman Civilization and adopted Roman Law and Roman ways. They became Romans. The Barbarian generals who conquered Rome were Roman generals leading Roman formations in Roman arms and regalia.Odoacer was that Roman general come to Rome to collect on arrears in pay for the troops. Rome did not “Fall.” It dissipated. The Barbarians in the successor states maintained Roman civilization for two more centuries, individual rulers ruling in deference to a Roman system that had no longer a center. Roman Civilization was carried by the descendants of the barbarians until the conquests of the Moslems in the East cut off trade with the East which had been for several centuries the cosmopolitan and production center of the Empire. When the Mohammedan pirates cut off the connection with the East the supply of papyrus ceased. Previous to that the population had ben literate to a large extent. With the decline of literacy Roman civilization finally ended.<p?As for the blacks in the USA, in the 40s and 50s there was a migration from the South into the industrial North such that the Negroes become very similar to the Irish and other Europeans who immigrated in great numbers in the first part of the last century. Their trajectory was following that of the immigrants. They rapidly were entering American civilization. Along came LBJ and the War on Poverty and Medicaid and Welfare and the induced disintegration of the family. Just as the motor was starting to crank the Democrats kicked the wheels off the car. The decline of public education overall and more in the schools attended by Negro kids accelerated the disintegration. The same process is coming to much of the white population, just at a slower pace because we start at a much higher level than the sharecroppers of the old South.
I was unable to find where the investigators had used identical twins, one raised in a “more supportive” and the other in a “less supportive” environment, and examined the IQ score differences.
Fraternal twins are far different than identical twins.
My church is active in several urban ministries, and I myself regularly work in two of these: a free clinic and a prison youth ministry.
What I see is this. The blacks who regularly attend my church are doing quite well. They tend to marry one person for life, and expect the same of their children. Most of those children rise to their parents’ expectations.
However, the blacks that I see in prison and in the free clinic have one thing in common. They do not marry. It’s not only that they have children out of wedlock, but it’s that they don’t even seem to aspire to marriage.
One thing Christianity does to change the culture is to create the expectation of lifelong marriage, which results in children who benefit from committed two parent families.
Obviously, the main thing Christianity offers is salvation through Christ’s grace, which not only ensures an eternal citizenship in heaven, but also the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work here on earth.
That’s late Rome. I was talking about at its height, by which I meant late Republic and early Principate. Yes, by the later years, they just sort of became whatever the people around them were; sort of like the USA today. I was simply making the point that the Romans established a great civilization before the advent of Christianity.
In fact fraternal twins are just siblings of no special characteristics beyond how they are treated due to coming two at a time.
I’ve read that Prager article before. It is primarily about homosexuality, which was not the norm in ancient Rome. I don’t see how you can say with a straight face that Rome was not a notable society.
How the hell do you keep reading what I write and attributing to me the opposite? You are Ivy League, yes?
I did misread your reply. I thought you had written that you “had made the point that there was no notable civilization, etc”. Sorry.
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