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Hello Family, me again. I am disturbed. I love my country, and I have a lot to be thankful for in my life, yet, I find myself worried about the way my land is going. In terms of racial classification, I am Coloured (In South Africa, that means a combination of 1 or more races, or in my case, where parents of a mixed-race decent got married and had me) and coloured people are in the "middle" between black and white people, and because of the mixtures of races, most people have great difficulty categorising coloured people, because some are very dark, some are very light, some have straighter hair than others, or lighter eyes etc.
As I'm sure most of you know, South Africa's history is tainted with Racism, intolerance and other historically significant issues that are still divisive and touchy until today. Now, given the nature of my family (We are so mixed and so diverse in race and culture, that's a story all on it's own) as well as my education, and my beliefs as a Christian, I have a very open mind toward race, and race relations, but at the same time I have found myself in situations where I wanted to date outside my race, and it has been an issue, usually from the girl's side. Now in fairness I know some people are still uncomfortable with the unfamiliar, and someone from outside their race will be " unfamiliar" to an extent, I can accept that as long as they are prepared to venture into the unfamiliar and judge once they have seen the content of my character. What i have a problem with is those people who are hard-wired to think that anyone of a different colour ( I say this because it happens across the board, black and white), no matter what racial group or what culture you are from, is inferior to them, and the reason that upsets me is that the vast majority of the people claim to be Christians!!!!!!!!!!!
If that is the case, Where is the acceptance, where is the Love for your neighbour? I don't remember any interpretation of the Bible saying "love your neighbour as you love yourself, unless he is of another race" Does anyone agree, or can anyone give me a Biblical reason about why I am wrong? And please, don't argue culture, because I can understand that in some cases, people fear that culture (by culture, I mean things like family traditions, a family set of morals, a mode of behaviour) may be lost if two people from different cultures marry, but that can be compromised, as most things often are when 2 people are in LOVE.
Now, what I do see as a potential threat is Inter-Religious marriage or dating. For instance, A Christian person dating an Islamic person. I don't see how that can work. I think there will be a problem. As much as people can argue that the fundamentals of most religions are the same, and the codes of morality and all the rest preach basically the same thing, I believe that the religious common ground should be there, so that you are both aware of what moral code you are building your relationship on. Now, in my family, my father is Catholic and my mother, Methodist. Two different denominations within Christianity. As children, my younger brother and I were exposed to both churches, and we al (The whole family)l went to the same church (either Catholic or Methodist) until my brother and I were old enough to choose for ourselves where we want to be, but it is still within the Christian sphere, I think that's okay? does anyone else care to share their views on this?
As I'm sure most of you know, South Africa's history is tainted with Racism, intolerance and other historically significant issues that are still divisive and touchy until today. Now, given the nature of my family (We are so mixed and so diverse in race and culture, that's a story all on it's own) as well as my education, and my beliefs as a Christian, I have a very open mind toward race, and race relations, but at the same time I have found myself in situations where I wanted to date outside my race, and it has been an issue, usually from the girl's side. Now in fairness I know some people are still uncomfortable with the unfamiliar, and someone from outside their race will be " unfamiliar" to an extent, I can accept that as long as they are prepared to venture into the unfamiliar and judge once they have seen the content of my character. What i have a problem with is those people who are hard-wired to think that anyone of a different colour ( I say this because it happens across the board, black and white), no matter what racial group or what culture you are from, is inferior to them, and the reason that upsets me is that the vast majority of the people claim to be Christians!!!!!!!!!!!
If that is the case, Where is the acceptance, where is the Love for your neighbour? I don't remember any interpretation of the Bible saying "love your neighbour as you love yourself, unless he is of another race" Does anyone agree, or can anyone give me a Biblical reason about why I am wrong? And please, don't argue culture, because I can understand that in some cases, people fear that culture (by culture, I mean things like family traditions, a family set of morals, a mode of behaviour) may be lost if two people from different cultures marry, but that can be compromised, as most things often are when 2 people are in LOVE.Now, what I do see as a potential threat is Inter-Religious marriage or dating. For instance, A Christian person dating an Islamic person. I don't see how that can work. I think there will be a problem. As much as people can argue that the fundamentals of most religions are the same, and the codes of morality and all the rest preach basically the same thing, I believe that the religious common ground should be there, so that you are both aware of what moral code you are building your relationship on. Now, in my family, my father is Catholic and my mother, Methodist. Two different denominations within Christianity. As children, my younger brother and I were exposed to both churches, and we al (The whole family)l went to the same church (either Catholic or Methodist) until my brother and I were old enough to choose for ourselves where we want to be, but it is still within the Christian sphere, I think that's okay? does anyone else care to share their views on this?
