When we look at the ugliness of racism and the impact that evolutionary thinking has had on it, there is a solution: applying biblical principles and scientific facts. (By the way, this topic is of great interest to me, for it was an African-American lady who led me to became a Christian in 1972.)

In the wake of news events that have reignited the issue of racism (racial profiling, and so on), it is time to offer a compelling answer to the problem of racism. In doing so, we must first ask the question: "Where did the different people groups (or 'races') come from?" Accepted scientific principles and the teachings of the Bible provide easy-to-understand answers about the origins of people — and the antidote to racism.

Unfortunately, and largely as a result of Darwinian thinking over the past 140 years, most people today think in terms of different "races" around the world. Consciously or unconsciously, many people have ingrained prejudices against certain groups of people. While this is not to say that all evolutionists are racists, Darwinism has given many people a justification for their racist attitudes. Darwin himself was very much a racist. The subtitle of his famous book, "On The Origin of Species," was: "The Preservation of 'Favoured Races' in the Struggle for Life."

Scientists are now agreeing that, biologically, there is only one "race" of humans. For example, a scientist at an Advancement of Science Convention in Atlanta declared: "Race is a social construct derived mainly from perceptions conditioned by events of recorded history, and it has no basic biological reality." The word "race," therefore, should be abandoned — it is meaningless.

The Bible does not even use the word "race" in referring to people. Instead, it describes all human beings as being of "one blood" (Acts 17:26). This, of course, emphasizes that we are all related, for all humans are descendants of the first man and woman.

But some people think there must be different "races" of people because there appear to be major differences between people groups, especially skin color.

The truth, though, is that the so-called "racial characteristics" are only minor variations among the people groups. Scientists have found that if one were to take any two people from anywhere in the world, the basic genetic differences between these two people would typically be around 0.2 percent. Furthermore, the so-called "racial" characteristics that many people think are major differences (skin color, eye shape, and so on), account for only 6 percent of this 0.2 percent variation — which amounts to a mere 0.012 percent difference genetically! So, In other words, the so-called "racial" differences are absolutely trivial.

Moreover, all people are of the same color. You see, we all have the same coloring of pigment in our skin, called melanin. If we produce a little melanin, it means that our skin will be a very light brown (or "European white"). If our skin produces a great deal of melanin, we will be a very deep brown ("black," if you will).

If Adam and Eve were a middle brown, as is most likely, one can explain all the different shades of brown skin that we see in people today. Surprisingly, we find that an entire range of "colors," from very white to very black, can result in one generation, beginning with this particular type of mid-brown parents. Some readers may recall a newspaper photo a few years ago of twins, one of whom was very light, and the other very dark.

Scientists have also shown through the study of mitochondrial DNA that all people today trace their ancestry to a single mother. Why should we be surprised that the Bible records such a woman, Eve, whose name means "to become the mother of all living"! Although evolutionists take pains to point out that they are not saying that this "mitochondrial Eve" is the Eve of the Bible, they are forced to agree that, at the least, this evidence confirms that all the groups of people alive today are astonishingly closely related. The Bible and science are in remarkable harmony — there are no different "races" of people today!

Racism is morally, socially, scientifically and biblically wrong. When we realize that we are all of "one blood," the more peace, freedom and opportunity all of us will have.

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through [email protected].