Two weeks ago I met with the pastor of a Church. As most Bible scholars do when they meet, we talked about a Bible passage and its different shades of interpretations. He gave me the mainstream Christian viewpoint but because this referred to the story concerning Abraham offering his son Isaac on the altar, I thought it appropriate to propose some interpretative elements from Judaism. After I finished my proposition, my interlocutor, a very kind, otherwise gentle, educated Quaker gentleman exclaimed, “But, that is Jewish…!” As if to say, ‘Why do we even bring that up; how is it even helpful to the conversation?’ I thank God that I do not have enough hair on my head to stand up in alarm so I could swallow hard and hide my reaction as really, I was aghast. We continued talking.
As I left that day, I pondered this further. That man would never consider himself guilty of prejudice but there, without giving it proper study and consideration, he made a judgment on the validity (or invalidity) of a scholarly proposition just by looking at its religious appurtenance. I am a history teacher and as I said, I was aghast because I thought that these attitudes had been left behind with the Middle-Ages, and had also matured away from the early days of American History. I am not offended by it. It just took me by surprise. It also made me think further. How much do we superfluously judge people? Most of us I hope are mature enough to stay away from the obvious prejudices (positive or negative) that have to do with skin color or ethnicity, but how do we fare with people from what the majority calls ‘fringe religious groups’, with opposite political parties, or mere different social classes be they rich or poor? As we serve them, as we accomplish our civil and civic duties with them, do we look at them all with the same eyes? Contemporary events seem to make these issues return to the fore of our attention. As I shared recently at the 9/11 ceremony at the station, because of my slight middle-eastern look, I felt scrutinizing glances my way as I walked in the streets of Portland on the evening of 9/11. It is a natural reaction of people. I believe in God. I believe in the God of the Bible. I believe in this God who has a tendency to call some people ‘righteous’ and others ‘wicked’, which does seems somewhat prejudicial, but here how I understand it. Whereas He does claim some to be ‘righteous’ and others to be ‘wicked’, he is no respecter of persons. Each of us, whether we are ‘righteous’ or ‘wicked’, has to avail himself of what I would coin as a ‘ticket’ in order to be granted His presence. And this ‘ticket’ is of the same value in respect to the person, regardless of our social, political, religious, or economic group. That is how I believe the Great Judge of the universe sees each and everyone of us, without prejudice, and that is why it has been said that He, “... makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. “ (Mat 5:45)
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