Racism and Reconciliation in Church and Culture by Mark Tatlock
Racism is the deeply held belief that one’s ethnicity or cultural heritage justifies a sense of superiority over those of other ethnic backgrounds, resulting in discrimination, segregation, or unjust treatment toward them.
Creation and Race
God created one race, the human race. As a result, equality extends to all members of the human race. As a result, equality extends to all members of the human race.
In His design of man, God embedded His image (Genesis 1:26-27; James 3:9). As a result, man possesses an inherent dignity and value (Genesis 9:6; James 2:1-6). But racism violates this fundamental reality by elevating one ethnicity over another. Due to the Fall (Genesis 3:16-19), sinful man no longer submissively worships the Creator, but instead assumes a prideful position of superiority and, as a result, views others as inferior. At the heart of racism, then, is a consuming commitment to love self rather than others. Such pervasive pride is ultimately an affront to God and is consistently denounced in His Word (Proverbs 8:13; 16:19; James 1:9).
Having rejected the worship of the true God, unredeemed men manifest behaviors and desires that are contrary to His nature (Romans 1:18-32). Only a total heart transformation through regeneration and sanctification can bring sinners back into a right relationship with God. At conversion, believers become reconciled image bearers, able to once again reflect the righteous character of God (cf. 1 Peter 1:14-16).
As redeemed image bearers, our capacity to reflect God’s character is limited to His communicable attributes, such as His goodness, love, mercy, righteousness, justice, compassion, longsuffering, and forgiveness (cf. Galatians 5:13ff). Such attributes are seen most clearly in God’s relationship to us. And we reflect them most clearly in our relationship to others. Because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we can interact with and relate to others as God Himself does toward us. But when we demean other people or discriminate against them, we fail to reflect the nature of God. And when we claim to follow God but fail to reflect Him in our conduct, we justify the world’s accusation of hypocrisy. Therefore, pursuing right relationships with those of other ethnic heritages is critical to the church’s witness.
The Old Testament and Race
At creation, God gave a clear mandate for man to subdue and populate the earth (Genesis 1:28). This mandate was given so that man could rule, or manifest dominion, over the earth for the purposes of God’s glory. The Fall, changing man’s affections, produced in man the desire to exercise dominion for his own personal benefit. In Genesis 11, where mankind refused to fulfill this mandate, God Himself confused human language to assure His purposes would be achieved. Variations in language and geographical separation resulted in the development of very distinct ethnic traits, cultures, and identities.
Throughout the Old Testament we see illustrations of how man, now fallen in his thinking, perverted God’s command to subdue and rule the earth, and in turn sought to have dominion over other peoples. We see this exemplified in Scripture by the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Medes and Persians. War, slavery, and injustice stem from the violation of God’s intended purpose for man to exercise dominion.
All through the Old Testament, the children of Israel often encountered people from other ethnic tribes and states. While many prohibitions were given to the Israelites to avoid making treaties or covenants, including marriage, with non-Jewish people, the intention of these restrictions was to limit the influence of idolatry. God had called out the nation of Israel to function as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:3-6). This mission required the Israelites to be lights to Gentile nations. They could not fulfill this call if they forsook the worship of the Lord and embraced the worship of the pagan gods of the nations (cf. 1 Kings 8:57-61; 11:1-4).
In the Old Testament, interracial marriage was not forbidden on the basis of ethnicity but rather idolatry.
Since national membership and faith were linked in identity, ethnicity was linked to idol worship. The basis of God’s prohibitions was to prevent false worship from being integrated into the Jewish culture; therefore, an Israelite could not marry a person who was not a true worshipper of God. This is still true for the believer today (2 Corinthians 6:14). For God’s people, marriage has always been an issue of faith, not race.
At the same time, Israel was not to neglect the needs of foreigners. Repeatedly the law instructed the Israelites to practice hospitality to aliens and strangers by extending care, generosity, and protection (Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 19:34; 25:35; Deuteronomy 27:19; 31:12). On many occasions the Israelites practiced hospitality to foreigners who, as a result, became followers of the Lord. Examples such as Rahab, Ruth, Namaan, the widow of Sidon, Nebuchadnezzar, the entire city of Nineveh, and others illustrate this point.
Christ and Race
With the inclusion of the Magi and the prophetic statement of Simeon in the nativity narrative of Luke 2, we see that from Christ’s birth His love and ministry extended to men and women from every nation.
The issue of racism is seen as Christ began His earthly ministry. On several occasions, Christ identified Gentiles who demonstrated greater faith than the Jews of His day (Matthew 8:5-12; Luke 4:23-29). In so doing, Christ illustrated that in His kingdom there is no superiority of one race over another. There were valid reasons for the Jews to be angry and hostile toward Gentiles. Their long history had been benchmarked by periods when Gentiles abusively ruled over them. Whether the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, or the Romans, the Jews had suffered much under the tyrannical and inhumane rule of foreign rulers. Their longing for the Messiah and the coming of an earthly Jewish king was so intense that the very notion of a Gentile exercising true faith immediately stirred up anger from the Jewish mobs.
Christ understood racism, offering not just a temporal but an eternal solution. The gospel would not be limited by national or ethnic identity. All men were equally in need of God’s undeserved grace. The gospel itself demands a rejection of pride and the acknowledgment of total humility (Luke 18:9-17). As the church again recovers the heart of the gospel, it discovers the ultimate solution for racism. It is not only human dignity (flowing out of creation), but primarily the gospel (flowing out of the cross) that is the ultimate equalizer. In the Beatitudes, the Lord delineates the distinct character of those who receive saving faith. The redeemed live according to kingdom values, which are inherently different than the values of the world.
This is no clearer than in Christ’s call to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). To be a peacemaker is to be like God Himself (cf. Ephesians 5:1). Where conflict and divisions exist due to pride and envy (James 4:1), the Christian has the potential to display how God moved toward us in salvation. Peacemaking is a high standard, being met when we actively pursue reconciliation with our enemies and thereby make peace where it did not previously exist. Only a Spirit–filled, humble, compassionate believer can do such work. Because racial division is one of the most systemic evils in the world, there are few more dramatic contexts in which gospel love and peacemaking can be better illustrated.
On one specific occasion Christ confronted the sin of injustice. In so doing, He made it clear that any unjust abuse of power to prevail and take advantage of those who are helpless is contradictory to the values of the kingdom. The disciples John and Mark, looking for positions of prestige, boldly asked for seats of honor (Mark 10:35-45).
As they did, Christ illustrated how Christian humility was to be understood in contrast to the world’s lust for power and superiority. Christ responded to their request severely, telling them not to be like the Gentiles, who lord it over others (verse 42).
In rebuking His disciples, Christ identified the fact that unregenerate men seek power to mistreat, manipulate, or control others for personal benefit. He went on to explain that His followers must seek to serve their fellow men, not rule over them. “Lording over” is a biblical reference to injustice. This practice was repeatedly condemned in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:15; Psalm 58:2; Proverbs 18:8; 22:8,22-23; Isaiah 61:8; Jeremiah 21:12; 22:13). Historically, injustice has been one of the most consistent characteristics of racism. As the disciples observed Christ model compassion for the Samaritan woman, or heard His account of the good Samaritan practicing Christian love, they began to see His equal love for all men and women regardless of ethnicity. His love confronted His disciples’ established attitudes of superiority.
The New Testament and Race
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), given as Christ’s final word to His disciples, clearly defines the scope of the kingdom as inclusive of men and women from every people group. To make disciples of all the nations fulfilled the historic and redemptive plan of God first expressed to Abraham in Genesis 12. The New Testament illustrates the outworking of this multi-ethnic mosaic of God’s elect people.
Beginning on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the global scope of the church would be displayed by the many languages represented when Peter first rose to preach. It was Peter, instructed through a vision that there was no longer any distinction between Jews and Gentiles, who would go and baptize the Roman Cornelius (Acts 10). It was Philip who would preach to the Samaritans and open the Scripture with a man from Ethiopia. It was Paul who, in meeting with the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), would help his fellow apostles see that there must be no ethnic distinctions in the church. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul definitively described the church as racially and economically diverse, with variations of gifts and abilities, yet unified as one body (verses 12-14). The gospel is the great equalizer. Understanding racism as a direct violation of the loving heart of God, and contradictory to the character of the gospel, requires believers to take racism seriously. Racism has led to great pain, separation, and division not only in society, but within the church.
The gospel enables the believer to see his identity in Christ as spiritual, not ethnic. Our ethnic and cultural identities are secondary as we assume the primary identity of citizens of God’s kingdom. Here and only here can we find a common identity, which is an eternal one. This does not mean we are to ignore our cultural heritage, for God, in His providence, has ordained every aspect of our lives. Cultural differences provide us each with a framework to see the distinct and creative design of God, and with unique opportunities to minister the gospel within our own spheres of influence. But as those who are first and foremost citizens of God’s kingdom, we must recognize that there may be parts of our own culture that run counter to a biblical worldview. In such cases, the Scriptures—not culture—must be upheld as the ultimate authority.
Racism in American History
The institution of slavery indelibly stamped the practice and effects of racism upon the American experience. The efforts of the church to either defend or renounce slavery led to significant denominational schism. Slavery also divided the nation as the issue of race, particularly attitudes of superiority toward blacks, left an indelible mark on early-American economics, education, and culture.
By the time of the Civil War, a number of major immigrant populations were becoming established in the United States. Most came to the new country impoverished and took up residence in the industrially developing urban centers. Added to this was the northerly and westward expansion of blacks seeking employment in the cities. As these impoverished populations filled the city, North American churches, which had been primarily Protestant, began to witness a shift in urban demographics.
White Protestants, who were more established and therefore possessing greater economic resources, had the means to relocate beyond the cities. And churches often followed parishioners. While not all Protestant churches ignored or rejected these new urban populations, over time the dominant Protestant influence shifted from the cities to the suburbs. Between the Civil War and World War I, the urban population in the United States grew from 6.2 million to 42 million. Ethnic immigrants during this same period numbered over 26 million. Many of these immigrants were from less-developed, non-Protestant countries in Eastern and Southern Europe.
Following World War II, the development of affordable GI housing and the creation of manufactured housing developments established the suburbs as the home of the majority of whites. By the 1960s and 1970s, 85 percent of city growth was suburban. Money spent on constructing new churches in this period grew from $76 million to over $1 billion, almost all focused on suburban churches. Following the Civil Rights legislation of 1965, the United States expanded its quotas for immigrants to avoid ethnic discrimination. As a result, new immigrants to the United States over the last 40 years have come from Middle Eastern, Asian, and South American nations.
Understanding that city centers function as ports of entry for immigrants, the church should consider the city as strategic to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The disengagement of Protestant churches from urban centers has led to a disengagement between ethnic churches and suburban communities. Pastors today must understand that ministry in the United States will be cross-cultural. Demographic trends show that minority populations will replace majority white populations in many states during the next quarter century. Today, the suburbs of the twenty-first century have become as multi-ethnic as the city centers. This is a strategic time to see the advancement of the gospel, a critical time for the church to think biblically about the issue of overcoming cultural barriers and ethnic distinctions.
In North America, where church and state are so clearly separated, we fail to appreciate that most of the world events we see unfolding today are an expression of deep-seated racial and religious conflict. It is critical to recognize that racial issues and discrimination are universal and affect every culture. They are not an American phenomenon. Whether it is caste clashes, genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass migration of refugees, or extreme nationalism, all are expressions of racism and religious conflict. Where race, state, and faith cannot be so easily separated, we can begin to understand why peace will never be ultimately achieved by human political instruments. Those involved in cross-cultural ministry, both in the States and overseas, must help their disciples understand the issue of racism and instruct the church to live biblically.
The future of the church provides the most comprehensive and beautiful picture of what God’s intended plan has been for the ethnically diverse peoples of the earth. Gathered together as one community, one body, and one citizenship with one aim, we together will worship the Creator (Revelation 5:9-10; 7:9; 22:2). This has been God’s agenda from creation, throughout history, for His church on earth and for eternity. Nowhere else in Scripture do you see the ultimate expression of God’s redemptive love than in heaven. This picture, while perfect and eternal, serves as God’s greatest illustration of what the church should look like today. It also reinforces that we as bearers of the gospel are stewards for every people group. God’s church is global in nature, and we cannot afford to narrowly define the identity of our local church or the universal church along racial lines.
Considerations for Today’s Church
1. The church must understand it was intended to encompass men and women from every ethnicity. This should produce a humility in lifestyle that confronts sinful attitudes of racial superiority among the redeemed.
2. The church must recognize that, due to the Fall, every cultural context has at some point in its history experienced substantive racism. Christians should understand this history and honestly recognize the social, economic, and geographic effects on those who have been treated unjustly. Though individuals today may not be personally responsible for historical injustices, ignoring or denying these realities does not demonstrate God’s loving concern and instead reinforces previous offenses.
3. The church must demonstrate a commitment to overcome racial strife, misunderstanding, or unintended offenses. Inviting the counsel of those in your congregation who are from different or minority populations (to help church leaders see their perspective on racial issues) will require trust, genuine interest, and an abiding commitment to growth and change.
4. The church must encourage those who have experienced the effects of injustice to be willing to practice forgiveness, faith, and hope, believing that God’s people can work together to experience the unity that God promises is possible to enjoy within His church.
5. The church must discern the threats of a secular agenda of diversity, which, while attempting to address the right problem, relies solely on a rights-based and man-centered line of argumentation. A rights-based argumentation is inadequate. Christians can offer more than a rights-based solution; they can model a love-based and God-centered solution.
6. The church must anticipate that a secular agenda of multiculturalism also normalizes and equalizes every culture’s faith and religious worldview. While we must recognize the equality of every race, we cannot also affirm the equality of every faith system. Religious pluralism is a great threat to the church, often coming on the heels of the noble pursuit of cultural diversity.
7. The church must observe that dramatic shifts in global ethnic populations, patterns of legal and illegal immigration, and political conflicts require careful biblical and practical ministry responses. Simplistic attitudes or policies will not suffice to aid Christians to live out their faith in authentic ways.
8. The church must articulate a biblical perspective on the issues of interracial marriage, multiethnic families, and interracial adoption. Training its members to think biblically about these matters will also require that subtle racial attitudes or assumptions be confronted when demonstrated toward church members.
Racial reconciliation cannot genuinely happen unless people are born again. For only as redeemed individuals can we first be reconciled to God, and then possess the ability to be reconciled to one another. The goal of racial reconciliation, pursued apart from the gospel, will result in lesser accomplishments. Therefore, as believers who are indwelt by Christ, we have the greatest capacity to be peacemakers in our world today, both between men and God and between men and their fellow men.