Ethnicities and the Bible
With current discussions regarding race and racism, it sometimes seems as though people are talking past each other rather than with each other. I think these discussions often break down because we are using one word with two different meanings. This happens all the time — it’s one of those wonders of the fluidity of language! But in the case of discussing emotional and polarising topics, it can be problematic in the search for clarity and unity.
One of those shapeshifting words is ‘race’. We tend to use it to mean two different things. One way is to mean ‘race’ in the singular, as in the idea that we are all part of the human race (i.e., descended from Adam). This particular use of the word points to something which all sides of the current debates regarding racism tend to agree on.
Of course, we also use ‘race’ to denote ethnic differences. So, when we talk about ‘white’, or ‘black’, or ‘Indian’, or ‘Asian’, etc., we are using very broad brush-strokes to speak about cultures and ethnicities that are distinctive and different from each other.
The Bible fully understands this difference in ethnic groups. We see, too, that the answer that the Bible gives is not to homogenise all cultures and ethnic groups into one super-culture, but rather to bring all cultures (and all their wonderful diversity) into one body. Unity is never about making everyone the same, but about working together - despite differences!
So for example when Paul speaks of there being no more male or female in Christ, we understand him not to be saying that male and female distinctions no longer matter. That would be a misreading of his words and would miss the point (Gal 3:28).
However, we tend to overlook this reality when we see Paul address Jew and Greek, slave and free. Does Paul mean to remove all distinctions between people groups? Do cultural heritages no longer matter? Again, the answer must be no! Jews have distinct characteristics that the Gentiles do not, and vice versa.
Throughout the book of Romans, Paul seems to affirm good things about being Jewish. The Jews received the oracles of God. They had the promise of the covenant. Yes, they missed their Messiah, but that doesn’t diminish their Jewish identity or the rich heritage they have (Rom 3:1-3). The fact remains that the Jews, as a people-group, are distinct from the Gentiles, and there is nothing wrong with acknowledging those distinctions.
We also see that the apostles, in the book of Acts, did not tell everyone to eliminate ethnic differences. Rather, they told everyone to get along within those ethnic distinctions. How else are we to make sense of the prohibition against eating meat with the blood still in it (Acts 15:20, 29)? This was something that the Gentiles did not care about, but which mattered a great deal to their Jewish brethren.
Jewish and Gentile Christians were not to come together while ignoring those ethnic differences but were to work toward real harmony within those distinctions. So, Gentiles were able to have fellowship around a common meal with Jews — and not offend them! Again we should understand, the same could be said of the Jews regarding Gentiles.
Finally we see this idea of diverse ethnic groups even present in the book of Revelation. The beautiful picture of people gathered around the throne of God is not a picture of ‘one race’, but instead people from every tribe, language, nation, and tongue! It appears that in heaven we still have ethnic distinctions (Rev. 7:9). This is because that is the way God made us!
It is helpful for us to be reminded that, in our spiritual state, we are as one race. We are all fallen in Adam, and we all need to be redeemed in Christ. But it is equally helpful to remember that acknowledging and celebrating different cultures and ethnic groups is not sinful, and neither are people called to completely forsake their ethnic differences in order to become Christians.
We are all ethnocentric, whether we realise it or not. This seems to be human nature post-fall. We see the world through our own specific cultural lens, and we tend to believe that the way we view the world is the most reasonable and accurate reflection of reality. We get along with people who are like us. We prioritise people who are like us. We have a tendency to look down on people who are not like us. We discount people who do not talk like us. In our fallen state we will never be fully free of these tendencies, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t actively start working in ourselves to recognise them and overcome them.
We can start by recognising the different meanings the word ‘race’ can have, and to clearly identify the meaning we intend in our discussions. Let us work for real unity among different ethnic groups, embracing both our distinctions and our commonalities, because that is a beautiful picture of Christ’s body!
