Dear visionaries,
In our discussions, we have to beware of racism inflation. In contemporary public discourse, such charges are too readily leveled as the all-purpose trump card. Why don’t we agree to reserve it for those who believe and affirm that one race is (racially) superior to another? With this more precise definition, it would even be possible for the sin of racial animosity to occur without the (distinct) sin of racism. The world is a complicated place, and not made out of cardboard. For example, is it possible to acknowledge the existence of malicious egalitarians and benevolent racists?
Too often, racism is a charge that folks (who don’t believe in morality) use to help themselves feel morally superior. It has become sort of the ultimate sin — for those who don’t believe in sin.
Cordially,
Apologetics in the Void” are repostings from an on-going electronic discussion and debate I had some time ago with members of our local community, whose names I have changed. The list serve is called Vision 20/20, and hence the name “visionaries.” Reading just these posts probably feels like listening to one half of a phone conversation, but I don’t feel at liberty to publish what others have written. But I have been editing these posts (lightly) with intelligibility in mind.