Let me start this blog with the same disclaimer as I did for the last one.

I want to be Biblical.

I try hard not to be either conservative or liberal. I don’t try to align my thoughts with any political party. I don’t like to accept any labels the world uses to categorize people, other than I am a follower of Jesus. When I examine politics, current events, economic, scientific, national, or international affairs, I work hard to understand the issues Biblically.

With that introduction, let me address this topic, “What does the Bible say about racial diversity and inclusivity?”  Is it more than a political issue? Is it a Biblical issue?

Racial diversity is both an historical reality and a obviously Biblical topic.  Let’s start with the historical issue for some perspective, for too many Americans (including believers) incorrectly see “whites” and especially “white males” as the dominant majority group and all others as “minorities” and often as “lesser thans.”  There’s even an occasionally expressed fear that “minorities” are taking over. 

Let’s go back in history to the year 1490.  In the land that makes up the “Americas” there were a huge number of Native Americans.  Historians lack sources for complete details, but they estimate there were from 500,000 to 20 million natives and from 400 to 1000 different tribes with different customs and governments.  One historian, Aaron Carapella, has identified 584 different tribes in North America alone.  That is incredible diversity—long before any “whites” arrived.  When whites came, they weren’t coming to empty lands—they were immigrating to land with many people and adding to the diversity that already existed. 

The first “whites” who colonized in what is now the United States were Spaniards who settled in Florida in 1565 and in the American southwest in the late 1500’s.  The first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States was in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.  There were black slaves in Florida in the first settlement in 1565 and by 1619 in Virginia.  From that time on, people from nearly every country in the world have migrated to the United States, and most of the known languages have been spoken here by immigrants and their families.  Immigration—both legal and illegal—has been an issue in the Americas for as far back as we can trace it. 

My point is simple.  Diversity and immigration have always been facts of life in what is now the United States.  It’s not a new issue.  Often, it has been seen as our strength.  At other times, it has led to heated division.  Diversity is an historical reality and was an issue in our country well before we were a country.

Let’s not act like we are the first to struggle with this issue or pretend that it’s more of an issue now than it was years ago.  Instead, let us be the first generation to—finally—live by the preamble to our own Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Now let’s look at it from a Biblical perspective.  What does the Bible teach about racial diversity and equality?  I will focus primarily on New Testament teaching, for that’s when the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus led the “faith of the Jews” to become a “faith for all people” and equality began to be highly emphasized.  Here are some Biblical highlights:

Jesus Himself regularly crossed racial lines, showing that all people groups were equal.  He was a Jew and He clearly ministered to and loved the Jews.  He healed the servant of a Roman officer in Matthew 8:5-13.  He accepted an invitation to talk with Greeks (something Jews would avoid) in John 12:20-23. He made a Samaritan (a “half-breed” to Jews) the hero of His most famous parable, the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.  Clearly, Jesus saw diversity and put into practice equality and inclusivity. 

Jesus also purposely showed love and treated a Samaritan woman with a respect that caused traditional Jews (His own disciples) to be amazed that He would spend time with a woman of a different faith and treat her as an equal. 

The Book of Acts gives a history of the church grappling with the idea of equality.  At first, they saw the church as preaching the gospel only to Jews—they were “exclusive.”  Chapter 10 introduces the gospel being preached to and accepted by an Italian.  By chapter 15, the church met to decide the issue and they became “inclusive.”  Jews and Greeks and any others were welcome in the church.  The rest of the book focuses on the spread of the gospel among many different people groups.  The entire book of Acts emphasizes the idea that all people are equal before God. 

To a church in Galatia that was becoming “exclusive,” Paul wrote, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  (Galatians 3:26-28, NIV)  Note that he included racial equality, male/female equality, and slave/free equality in this very powerful statement.

Diversity, equality, and inclusivity have suddenly become “bad words” in the political climate of America, but they are not “bad words” in the church.  As a pastor, I openly desire to lead a church that is multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and that has both men and women in our leadership and ministry teams.  As a result, we offer worship and classes in English, worship and classes in Spanish, and worship in the Kinyarwanda language for recent immigrants and refugees from Africa. 

It used to be said that 11:00 on Sunday morning was the most segregated hour in American life.  We are working hard to change that.

I know that oftentimes people use the acronym DEI for other reasons and for other topics, but I wanted to start with racial diversity.  The Bible is clear.  Men and women of all races and ethnicities are equal in God’s eyes.  Diversity, equality and inclusivity are not bad. 

They were modeled by Jesus and highly taught and even emphasized in the New Testament.  In other words, diversity, equality, and inclusivity are Biblical.

We can’t let the politicians steer us away from clear and Biblical teaching.