WEBVTT 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:06.360 Greetings, I'm Andy Johnson, and this is a transpersonal 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:09.679 approach to Christianity. From the book of James, 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:14.900 first chapter, 27th verse, religion that God 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:19.800 our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:23.920 to look after orphans and widows in their distress 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:27.980 and to keep oneself from being polluted by the 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:33.320 world. Okay. Now Trump, posted a racist tweet 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:36.920 showing the heads of Barack and Michelle Obama 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:41.380 on monkeys, and he won't apologize for this. 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:46.140 And many Republican supporters refuse to call 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:50.880 him out for this. Now, scripture does not specifically 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.979 mention systemic racism for a variety of reasons. 00:00:56.909 --> 00:01:00.409 But the Bible doesn't mention a lot of things. 00:01:00.490 --> 00:01:04.730 For example, the Bible doesn't use the word rape, 00:01:05.390 --> 00:01:09.450 nor does it mention sexual trafficking, having 00:01:09.450 --> 00:01:14.390 sex with underage girls, disobeying the law passed 00:01:14.390 --> 00:01:18.609 by Congress related to the Epstein file. But 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:23.150 it does mention concubines, and the Old Testament 00:01:23.150 --> 00:01:27.730 seems to be pro -concubine. It also mentions 00:01:27.730 --> 00:01:31.829 having sex with animals. And the Old Testament 00:01:31.829 --> 00:01:36.170 is against it. And it mentions sitting on the 00:01:36.170 --> 00:01:39.909 bed of someone who has had a semen emission during 00:01:39.909 --> 00:01:44.109 the night. And again, the Old Testament is against 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:50.510 it. Now, when we read Holy Scripture of any kind, 00:01:51.209 --> 00:01:55.079 we must listen to the likeness. and we let the 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:59.239 likeness speak to us, understanding the principles 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:03.200 of love and compassion and responsibility outlined 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:07.920 in the Gospels, we read scriptures and let us 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:12.800 speak to us. And what does it say? Galatians 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:17.680 3, 26 to 29, for in Christ Jesus you are all 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.509 sons of God through faith. For as many of you 00:02:21.509 --> 00:02:25.310 were baptized into Christ to put on Christ, and 00:02:25.310 --> 00:02:27.949 we'll talk about what Christ means another time, 00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:31.629 there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:35.210 slave nor free, there is neither male and female, 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:42.689 for you are all one in Christ Jesus. That's about 00:02:42.689 --> 00:02:47.750 the closest we get to systemic racism. So let 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:54.370 us define. racism and systemic racism. Derrick 00:02:54.370 --> 00:02:58.789 Bell defined racism as individual, structural, 00:02:59.490 --> 00:03:04.430 political, economic, and social forces that serve 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:08.409 to discriminate against and disadvantage people 00:03:08.409 --> 00:03:13.669 of color on the basis of their race for the purpose 00:03:13.669 --> 00:03:18.949 of maintaining white dominance and power. And 00:03:18.949 --> 00:03:23.469 systemic racism must be differentiated from racist 00:03:23.469 --> 00:03:29.050 acts. A racist act involves one or more persons 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:34.289 engaged in discrimination, bigotry, hate, or 00:03:34.289 --> 00:03:37.169 violence that is directed against one or more 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:43.030 people and is based on race. And while racist 00:03:43.030 --> 00:03:48.620 acts are a result of racism, A myopic conception 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:53.659 of racism deflects responsibility and diminishes 00:03:53.659 --> 00:03:59.259 the full understanding of this term. Now, some 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:03.219 would insist that racism is simply the actions 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:08.860 of a few bad apples. And this is what the people 00:04:08.860 --> 00:04:14.139 in power want you to believe. According to the 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:18.089 apple theory, Ending racism is simply a matter 00:04:18.089 --> 00:04:23.089 of apple hunting. But the apple theory serves 00:04:23.089 --> 00:04:27.449 to cover up the larger systemic suppression and 00:04:27.449 --> 00:04:31.370 oppression of minority populations used by those 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:34.430 with economic and political power. And they do 00:04:34.430 --> 00:04:41.329 that to maintain that power. Systemic racism 00:04:41.329 --> 00:04:44.509 is that which serves to disadvantage and restrict 00:04:44.509 --> 00:04:48.550 people in color in ways that advance the interests 00:04:48.550 --> 00:04:53.029 of those who are in power, who, by the way, are 00:04:53.029 --> 00:04:58.769 overwhelmingly white males. Specifically, there's 00:04:58.769 --> 00:05:03.050 a finger on the scale to ensure that the dominant 00:05:03.050 --> 00:05:08.110 class has continued access to better jobs, to 00:05:08.110 --> 00:05:12.579 loans, to housing. to good schools, to quality 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:18.019 teachers, and health care. And they are treated 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:23.360 differently by the criminal justice system. Now, 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:28.000 racism exists within the context of a societal 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:33.220 system. According to systems theory, anything 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:37.399 happening to one part of the system impacts the 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:42.300 whole. Included within our societal system are 00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:46.620 a variety of subsystems, each of which has been 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:52.459 infected by the racism virus. These include the 00:05:52.459 --> 00:05:55.680 legal system, the prison system, economic systems, 00:05:55.959 --> 00:06:02.500 political systems, and educational systems. And 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:06.660 racism is like a bit of poison in the water tank. 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:11.910 You can't drink a single cup and expect it not 00:06:11.910 --> 00:06:16.170 to be tainted. So I want to end with this. James 00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:22.389 1, 27. Religion that God our Father accepts as 00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:28.129 pure and faultless is this. One, to look after 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:32.069 orphans and widows in their distress, and two, 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:35.709 to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 00:06:36.170 --> 00:06:38.990 While boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, our 00:06:38.990 --> 00:06:43.870 society has become tainted. It is tainted. And 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:47.269 the tainter in chief continues to pour poison 00:06:47.269 --> 00:06:53.129 in our national water well. He is polluting the 00:06:53.129 --> 00:06:53.550 world.