Buy an essay on “Encountering the Other in Ethic and Racialized Worlds”

The chapter called “Encountering the Other in Ethic and Racialized Worlds” contains a number of essays that describe the perception of Others, the division between people and Christian view on this division. I have selected the essay by Paul C. Hiebert called “Western Images of Others and Otherness” due to several reasons. First of all, it is interlinked with the previous essay called “Science and the Myth of Biological Race” by Eloise Hiebert Meneses, and supports the same Christian outlook about equality of all people which I share as well. Secondly, the chosen essay presents a very informative classification of people’s view of the Others, from prehistoric ages to our days. Thirdly, it has added much to my understanding of racism and ethnical hostility, and on the origins of these ideas. Finally, this essay presents a very interesting view of identity, the diversity of identities and prioritization between identities.
The author describes the variety of identities that people have in different situations, and states that “our identities as persons and as groups of people and the expected relationships between us are social constructs” (Hiebert, 2007). In other words, our reality is mostly how we perceive it, and to change the identity (or priority of identities) means to change personal reality. I strongly agree with Paul Hiebert on this: indeed, the way we perceive and treat the world determines the response reaction, and in fact, shapes a personal reality.
For the majority of people, though, the idea that their reality is actually their own responsibility and can be changed, is too audacious, and they prefer to inherit existing social; constructs. The society uses differences between people as markers, and creates many categories basing on these markers, imposing stereotypes on the behaviour of people, so that there appear “proper” and “improper” individuals. But are these categories justified and who has the right to impose such categories on other human beings?
The essay traces the evolution of the perception of Others, as the opposition to Natives, since early historical times. Before the Exploration age, Others were viewed as humanoids living in forests and prairies, and were not considered human. In the Exploration age, new questions arose, about the humanity of Others, about their soul and place in hierarchy. Colonists regarded the Others as source of profit. After the coming of Christianity, Others were perceived first as “descendants of Cain” and “infidels” (Hiebert, 2007). Then, with the discovery of new lands, this view has shifted to the idea that Others were sinners, and needed to be improved and taught. It is necessary to mention that though the view of Christians on groups of people differing from their main group was quite bounded, Christianity was the active force which gradually changed the attitude to Others.
In the Enlightenment age, Others were regarded as barbarian and savage people. Later, they were thought to be child-like, and Christians considered their duty to enlighten and educate these people. Although Others were still regarded as inferior, they were already considered to belong to human beings, and this itself was a significant change of attitude. By the 1900s, it has been scientifically proved that all human beings are one biological species (Hiebert, 2007), and thus the unity of all people has been proved.
Although the division to Others and Natives could be based on many factors, and the perception of Others might change, one thing remains invariable in this division – “social categories are built by establishing oppositions” (Hiebert, 2007). Moreover, Natives were always thought to be superior, and hence a hierarchy was always imposed. As a result of such social constructs, hostility to Others always appeared. “Racism is what happens when ethnicity is seen as biologically inherent and hierarchically organized” (Hiebert, 2007). The author clearly shows how the different identities evolved: they were always created by the dominant group, and were often used to justify conquest, colonialism and slavery (Hiebert, 2007).
Here I would disagree with Paul Hiebert to a certain extent: he states that now the society is on the way to eliminating these divisions and categories, and I believe that currently the stereotypes in people’s minds are still strong. These stereotypes are cultivated by the politicians and by the might of this world for the purpose of starting wars, conflicts and obtaining economic profit because of these events. Using mass media and others communication channels, it is currently very easy to propagate an opinion or ethnical hostility.
In my opinion, much time is still needed to remove these stereotypes. Since the globalization is spreading, people travel to various countries, establish intercultural communication, work together and get used to the thought that Others are equal human beings. From this point of view, the mission of Christians is to “address the issues of racism, injustice and hostility, and show how humans of different kinds can live in peace and justice” (Hiebert, 2007). The equality of all people runs all through the Bible, from the creation of man to the claims of Jesus Christ. The primary idea of Christianity is that their primary identity is as human beings and as Christians, and the equality of people in church is the greatest cure to the hostility resulting from racism and ethnocentrism.
There was one more remarkable idea in this essay which I found very useful: Hiebert states that Christians in no case need to lose their old identities, but to live in peace they need to learn how to prioritize between them. “If we remember that human and Christian are our primary identities, we can celebrate ethnic, gender and cultural differences knowing that when problems arise we will remain united” (Hiebert, 2007). I believe that this is the idea which wonderfully describes the essence of Christianity: to unite the people in one kingdom of love and justice together with letting them remain themselves.

References
Hiebert, Paul C. (2007). Western Images of Others and Otherness, Robert J. & Nieves, Alvaro L. This side of heaven: race, ethnicity, and Christian faith (ch. 6). Oxford University Press.