“When Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”

Genesis 5:32

Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist criticized those who are opinionated with the assertion, “We have Abraham as our father.” This boast is a core belief in racism found in Judaism and its concept of “the chosen” that makes other people “the unchosen.” This is a core belief in the Judeo Christian heritage. In the conquest of the Western hemisphere a cultivated contempt for the indigenous inhabitants and the African slaves were fostered by the fact that they were not baptized Christians. John informs us that it is not the “water” baptism that is important, rather it is the baptism of the “Spirit” and “fire” that brings salvation. We are called to brotherhood and sisterhood in the Spirit of our heavenly Father and to be on fire with love for each member of the human family.