Point-of-View

Not many years ago, our church’s leadership and I felt we should have joint services with a neighboring black church. Imagine my surprise when, after the announcement, a man confronted me with, "Preacher, you’re making a serious mistake. The Bible clearly teaches that the races are to stay separate!" Really?

Three areas of the Old Testament are used to justify the views of the racial separatist. When Noah cursed his son Ham, he declared that Ham would be "the lowest of slaves ... to his brothers" (Gen. 9:25). Since Ham means "dark skin," some presume that all dark-skinned peoples are to be slaves. This interpretation cannot be justified. God did not curse Ham; a human, Noah, did. Also, dark skin is a physical characteristic of many people groups around the world, not just Africans.

A second appeal is made to God’s insistence that the Hebrew people live strictly separated from the godless pagans around them (Lev. 20:26; Deut. 7:1-4; et.al.), but this is religious segregation rather than racial segregation.

God’s destruction of the tower of Babel is seen as further indication of God’s pleasure in keeping the races separate (Gen. 11:1-9), when in reality God was judging human pride, self-sufficiency, and rebellion. The people chose to build a city, live together, and erect a monument to their urban success, when God’s purpose was for humans to inhabit the whole earth (Gen. 1:28; 11:4). God’s judgment was confusion of language, not racial segregation.

Scripture is abused when we search it seeking to confirm what we already believe, and using God’s revelation of Himself and His will to justify racial prejudice is nothing less than evil.

But even racial acceptance is not enough for a believer! If there really is "neither Jew nor Greek" in Christ (Gal. 3:28), then anything less than loving appreciation is beneath the standard of Christ. How can we develop that appreciation?

• Cultivate personal relationships. Stereotypes get lost when we really get to know one another. Take the first step by sharing a meal, joining a prayer group, or worshiping with those of another race.

• Create ministry partnerships. A black church needed to expand its facilities and bought a building that had housed a nightclub. I went with a group of men to work with them in converting it to a church building. Friendships grew as we worked alongside these brothers and sisters. As we packed our gear to leave, their tears and ours proved that the varied shades of our skin were insignificant.

Clarence Shuler, in Winning the Race to Unity (Moody, 2003), suggests staying close to home and doing "missions across the tracks instead of always out of town. This creates long-term cross-cultural relationships and provides a tremendous training ground for future foreign or home missionaries."

What can unite truly us? Dolphus Weary, in his untiring work for racial harmony in Mississippi, says that the common denominator can never be politics, economics, music, or worship style, for we will never agree on those. Only one common denominator can unite us: Jesus Christ.

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace ... [there is] one God and Father of all who is overall and in all and through all" (Eph. 4:3, 6). God commands it. We can do no less.

Tom Atwood is a retired pastor living in Oxford, Mississippi.