Description

Race relations and systemic racism has been one of the dominant conversations in America over the past few months. We see divisions over this topic in the media, social networking, and even in the church. Sadly, even Christians cannot find agreement in much of the fundamental elements of this conversation.

In this episode, we will be asking an even more foundational question of the Bible. In order to better understand what it has to say about racism and racial reconciliation, we first need to ask what the Bible has to say about race. Check out this episode and the show notes below for some surprising answers to our question for today.

Show Notes

• The Bible’s view of race and humanity must begin with the creation account in Genesis 1-2.
  
  
• The Bible proclaims that every human being was made in the image of God and is therefore endowed with dignity and value.
  
  
• The creation account also tells us that all of humanity has a common origin in the individuals Adam and Eve.
  
  
• According to the Smithsonian, all of the differences that exist between people only account for a .1% variance in our genes. In other words, all human beings are 99.99% genetically identical.
  
  
• More biblical categorization for thinking of human diversity is to think of people in ethnic, national, and cultural groups.
  
  
• Ethnic strife and “racism” has always existed between people groups, but the concept of “race” was not introduced until the 1600s by Francois Bernier.
  
  
• The thesis that different “races” of people descended from various origins (polygenesis) became the foundation for atrocities such as the abuses of indigenous peoples, American chattel slavery, and Nazi Germany.
  
  
• In seeking to hold a biblical view of race, we should avoid the two ditches of either critical theory or colorblindness.
  
  

Resources

• For an excellent, brief overview of the biblical view of race see “What does the Bible say about race?” by Dr. J. Danny Hays.
  
  
• Dr. Voddie Baucham addressed the two ditches of critical theory and colorblindness in his magnificent message “Ethnic Gnosticism” at the Founders YouTube channel.
  
  
• A good explanation of the biblical position that all of humanity is descended from Adam and Even can be found at “Only One Biological Race” with Ken Ham.
  
  
• For a historical explanation of how race became institutionalized in American chattel slavery, see The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby.
  
  

Read about the history of the concept of race and a more philosophical treatment of the subject in the “Race” article of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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