Interracial Marriages
April 22nd, 2008
What Is Grace Church’s View on Interracial Marriage?
Here’s the short answer: nothing in the New Testament prohibits interracial marriage. Christians are at liberty to marry whomever they wish—as long as the other person is also a Christian (1 Corinthians 7:39).
We should realize from the start that there is only one human race. Scripture clearly says we all descended from Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 1-2; Matthew 19:4; Romans 5:12; 1 Cor 15:22). And one important passage says that God made of one blood all nations (Acts 17:26).
It is true that the Old Testament contained some restrictions on whom the Israelites could marry. These were meant to protect the people of God from pagan influences (Deut. 7:3-4) and to guard the purity of the Aaronic priesthood (Lev. 21:13-14). There were even some strict regulations about inter-tribal marriage, designed to keep the various tribes’ inheritance from being lost by intermarriage (Num. 36:3-9). However, all such restrictions are explicitly annulled by the New Testament (Gal. 3:27-29).
We believe that the potential for all the different features we humans have (skin, eye, and hair color, etc.) was present in Adam and Eve. Modern science has demonstrated that the genetic combinations to produce every shade of skin color, for example, could be present in one male and one female.
Scripture clearly reveals two major events since Creation that affected human genetics. The first event was the flood. Noah and his family were the only survivors of the antediluvian era, all others died in the flood, taking their genetic traits with them. So many features of the human race were cut off forever at the flood, while others were carried by the eight who survived in either homozygous dominant, homozygous recessive, heterozygous (i.e., mixed dominate/recessive) gene combinations.
Only four of the people on the ark (the women) had distinct genetic makeups that were separate from Noah’s (since his three sons would have shared the genetics of him and his wife). So of all the genetic possibilities initially present in Adam and Eve, the post-flood human race was rebuilt with only five separate gene “pools.” Scripture doesn’t tell us what these eight people looked like, but it is certain that every feature humans have today was brought into the world by them.
The second major event to influence mankind was the dispersion at the tower of Babel (cf. Genesis 11). After God judged the people with different languages, they grouped together by those languages and spread over the globe. As they spread out, they brought with them their own genetic features. We believe that this scattering of people, with the subsequent isolation of gene pools, is the reason why we see distinct traits and characteristics in certain people groups, and not in others.
Sadly, American society (even in some Christian circles) has historically looked narrowly on interracial marriages — but for cultural reasons, not biblical ones. In some places, such negative stereotypes still exist. Based on where people live, they or their children may face prejudice and even persecution from others. Such prejudice is absolutely wrong, and deserves our condemnation. Nonetheless, it is something that people should consider before seriously pursuing a romantic relationship.
The New Testament strongly emphasizes the unity of the human race (all are sinners; all are in need of salvation; God is not the respecter of any person; all are saved through faith in Christ; all are one in Jesus Christ). Colossians 3:11 clearly says that salvation puts off the old barriers that separated people — we now have “A renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” In Christ all previous religious, cultural, and social barriers are destroyed.
The primary marriage restriction given in the New Testament is that a believer should only marry another believer (cf. 1 Cor. 7:39; 2 Cor. 6:14). So we believe that the most important issue in dating/courtship is to be fully convinced that the prospective partner is a true Christian who loves God (Mark 12:30).
If this is true, then other issues such as cultural or ethnic background, “personality type,” physical appearance, and family upbringing are only a distant second. If a man and woman are totally committed to living for Christ, then they will have the capability through the power of the Holy Spirit to resolve any difficulties that might arise from differences in those other areas.
Well said, especially the part about there only being one (human) race.
Sadly, many “inter-racial” marriages find themselves unwelcomed by churches of either option.
What’s sad is how many professing Christians would have much less heartburn about their children marrying a non-Christian versus someone outside of their ethnicity.
There’s still some renewing of the mind necessary.
There are those who would divide on the race issue, even if on cultural grounds, but an interesting thing occurs when an adopted child of a different ethnic group grows up in the culture of the parents. Is that child part of the ethnic group of his parents? or of his skin color? Who then should this child marry? Only other adopted children of the same skin color who were raised by parents of like skin? It gets complicated quickly.
I don’t have a problem with people who want to retain culture, but it has to be noted that many Christians are outcasts of their culture because they embraced Christianity in the first place. Should they be limited in their marriage choices? The church I attend is 13 years old (SF Bay Area suburb), and we just ordained our first elder who DIDN’T have a “mixed ethnic” marriage. It’s interesting, but the church I’m familiar with has more interracial marriages than the surrounding culture. I agree that we should show grace and not judgment.
The race issue has always been a burr under my saddle. TOo many professing “Christians” are seemingly only interested in skin color (e.g. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson) and routinely throw in their lot with all kinds of infidels for “the cause”. Well said.
I have friends, who are Christian, down here in the deep South, who will argue all day long that black and white should not marry. I have tried my best for years to point out exactly what the Bible says (or does’nt say) concerning interacial marriages.
Good post!
I agree wit Mac’s article completely with one caveat: you better be strong enough in your faith and marital bond to dismiss the bigotry of others. People still believe that they can change the world just by virtue of their love for another and when others see their love for each other bigotry will recede. No one can change the bigotry in another persons heart. Interracial couples need to understand that they will be mocked, jeered and left out of things and bigotry will survive as long as sin does.