Thinking Theologically About Race (series)

• With Liberty and Justice for All
• Faith Seeking Understanding: Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions
• Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions: The Image of God
• Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions: Sin and Guilt
• Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions: Life Together in the Church

Genes for skin color dispels biological notions of race

Scientists have pinpointed eight genetic variants that strongly influence pigmentation, genes that are shared across the globe. The research "dispels a biological concept of race."

Excerpt:

For centuries, skin color has held powerful social meaning — a defining characteristic of race, and a starting point for racism.

“If you ask somebody on the street, ‘What are the main differences between races?’ they’re going to say skin color,” said Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tishkoff and her colleagues showed this to be a profound error. In the journal Science, the researchers published a large-scale study of the genetics of skin color in Africans.

The researchers pinpointed eight genetic variants in four narrow regions of the human genome that strongly influence pigmentation — some making skin darker, and others making it lighter.

These genes are shared across the globe, it turns out; one of them, for example, lightens skin in both Europeans and hunter-gatherers in Botswana. The gene variants were present in humanity’s distant ancestors, even before our species evolved in Africa 300,000 years ago.

The widespread distribution of these genes and their persistence over millenniums show that the old color lines are essentially meaningless, the scientists said. The research “dispels a biological concept of race,” Tishkoff said.

Humans develop color much as other mammals do. Special cells in the skin contain pouches, called melanosomes, packed with pigment molecules. The more pigment, the darker the skin.

Skin color also varies with the kind of pigments: Melanosomes may contain mixtures of a brown-black called eumelanin and a yellow-red called pheomelanin.

Comment: See Ten Postulates on Race and ‘Caucasian’: " a completely ridiculous term":

• There is one race: “[God] made from one man [Adam] every nation of mankind” (Acts 17:26) – Read about creation starting in Genesis 1!
• Skin color differentiation is a false paradigm. Skin thickness varies from 0.5mm on your eyelids to 4mm or more on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. Color is literally “skin deep” and that’s not very deep!
• All men (human beings) are made in the “image of God” (Genesis 9:6) and have intrinsic worth. This is true from the baby in the womb to the senile and aged cripple!

Ten Postulates on Race

1. There is one race: “[God] made from one man [Adam] every nation of mankind” (Acts 17:26) – Read about creation starting in Genesis 1!
2. Skin color differentiation is a false paradigm. Skin thickness varies from 0.5mm on your eyelids to 4mm or more on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. Color is literally “skin deep” and that’s not very deep!
3. All men (human beings) are made in the “image of God” (Genesis 9:6) and have intrinsic worth. This is true from the baby in the womb to the senile and aged cripple!
4. There is no supreme race. In fact, our entire race is fallen and sinful. Yet “The Lord redeems … those who take refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:22)
5. “[God] commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by [the Lord Jesus Christ]” (Acts 17:30-31)
6. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (The Declaration of Independence – a foundational truth for our Republic!)
7. Hate is the antithesis of the Gospel because God loves all of mankind: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
8. Christ has called on us to “love our enemies” (Matthew 5:43-48)
9. We are called to be peacemakers: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9)
10. Violence is to be eschewed! “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” (Romans 12:19)

Tim Keller says it better than I:

Race, the Gospel, and the Moment https://t.co/P7zJYfPmpM via @TGC

— James Peet (@jrpeet) August 15, 2017

pic.twitter.com/kFCAghT7a2

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 17, 2017

Why Were The Police Held Back In Charlottesville? https://t.co/udBzPlInn4 via @dailycaller

— James Peet (@jrpeet) August 17, 2017

The Lessons of History and the Heresy of #RacialSuperiorityhttps://t.co/K1PY3JfQk2 pic.twitter.com/XrcBPKmtrB

— James Peet (@jrpeet) August 17, 2017

5 Facts about the alt-right https://t.co/9Gmoz0NZ1v

— James Peet (@jrpeet) August 18, 2017

Many of the authors, commentators and journalists who spend all their energy thinking and talking about race today fail to acknowledge how much has improved with regard to race in this country, writes Rodney Stevens https://t.co/18tgAw5Owg via @WSJ

— 𝓙𝓲𝓶 𝓟𝓮𝓮𝓽 - [Anthony calls me Bandhu (बंधु)] (@jrpeet) December 29, 2020