The benefit of being open-minded is the opportunity and privilege of discovering new things.
If you observe people who have been in the military, especially those who have had the privilege of being posted abroad, their perspective on the human person is different from that of those who spend their lives within the same environment.
Those Kenyans who have lived outside of the country have a perspective that is richer than those who dwell in the town of Kinangop or Kosirai, Nandi.
Not to undermine the quality of people of Kinangop: I have family members in engineer (Kinangop) and Kosirai (Nandi).
Those Hillbillies in Kentucky are ignorant of other cultures. The Kikuyu tribal proverb says, “Utaumagaraga oigaga no nyina oe kuruga.” He who does not travel says only his mother knows how to cook.
At a church in one of those valleys in Kentucky, a congregation composed of what would be considered ‘red necks’ sat silently as I preached the gospel.
In my opening remarks, I brought them greetings from my family in Kenya, and jokingly added, “ Also, my cousin George says hallo.”
I displayed a picture of a monkey hanging on a tree, ‘curious George’. They laughed out loud understanding the humor.
But in their laughter, I knew some people were laughing because they could not believe that, in an area full of white Anglo Saxon protestant Hillbillies, a black person can have the courage to inject ‘George’ into a sermon.
After the service, most of the people shook my hand smiling and expressed amusement that a black man can bring out curious George as reference.
Years later, the pastor who invited me to speak reflected that the sermon changed many people’s perspective about black people.
The purpose was not to change people’s perspective about race. I was using this as an icebreaker: I come from the school of thought that believes that racism is a necessary evil. Note that I used the words necessary and evil.
Racism is necessary because it is a divinely instituted category within historical development of God’s relationship with man. It can be argued that when God set out to purge the development of human power, He used race as the tool.
The case in Genesis chapter 11 is clear. The whole world spoke the same language. And because they spoke the same language God decided that this was dangerous for their survival.
“But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
There is nothing wrong with racial distinctions. In fact racism has contributed positively towards human development. Let us take for example the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Though it was used by the Dutch to oppress Africans, and the authorities submitted to human decadence and used it to kill and maim many Africans, it has brought forth great development in South Africa.
Africans would not have brought upon themselves modernism. Even in Kenya, the whole concept of western civilization has resulted in modernity.
As I write this piece, I am using the language of European colonizers. If Britain had not colonized Kenya, I would not have a PhD and in fact you would not be reading this column.
This does not mean that I endorse the use of violence against Kenyans for Kenya to become modern and to participate in modernism.
Rather, I am arguing that God necessarily instituted racism. However, when colonizers both in South Africa and in Kenya, or the selling of black people to the Arabs by their own people and then selling them to American slave traders inflicted violence against these people, this necessary object became evil.
Therefore it is necessary (within Divine Goodness), but evil (being actuated by evil men).
In this case then, we need to ask ourselves where God stands on racial divisions, which He clearly instituted.
To answer this question, I go back to my original statement that being open minded is a good thing.
As I had coffee with an educated lady from another race (white), she mentioned something that seemed to make sense.
She was not presenting this case from a perspective of racism. Rather, as a Christian reflecting on issues of faith and social, cultural theories.
“It is possible that Adam was a black man like you, and Eve was a white woman like me. Just think about it.
Adam was made directly from dirt, which is black-brownish, and Eve was made from a rib, bone that is white.
If you combine the two together, then you have the perfect color.” She said. To this, I looked at her and said, “You may be right.”
Those people who have intermarried, white and black, produce what Kenyans call a half-cast color.
And of course they are a good example of persons who do not practice racism. On this I believe you can agree with me.
Therefore, the thesis of this article can hold its position rationally: Maybe Adam was black and Eve was white! It is clear that linguistic distinctions are divinely instituted.
Within this argument then, race and language becomes GOOD if applied within God’s perspective.
Teddy Njoroge Kamau (PhD)
HTBluff Associates
Diaspora Messenger Senior Columnist
New Creation Theory: Adam was Black and Eve was White.
