The idea that some races are superior stands against everything Jesus was about. In fact, race holds a celebrated place in the Bible. In Pentecost in Acts 2, diverse languages arrive with the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and foreshadow descriptions of heaven where every tongue, tribe, and nation offer eternal praise [Revelation 7:9]. Christians were a mix of peoples from the beginning and God is celebrated in humankind’s diversity. But as Christianity grew more powerful, it changed and its biblical figures changed, too, assuming a European look. The invention of “white” Jesus was born and with it, race became political. And Christianity embraced it.
Racial inequality became an American Christian tragedy. From slavery to segregation, to today’s deeply segregated churches, Christianity has provided its theological justification. Christianity was the primary religion of most American slave owners and they used it as a tool to control and oppress slaves. Biblical stories like the Exodus from Egypt were deleted from the “Slave Bible” to repress revolts, as were promises that God heard a slave’s prayers and offered deliverance.
People in and around the time of Jesus came from different ethnic groups; race was not an issue. They were Asiatics or Semites (Israelites, Canaanites, Amorites, Arameans, etc.); Cushites (Black Africans living along the Nile River south of Egypt); Egyptians (a mix of Asiatic, north African, and African elements; and Indo-Europeans (Hittites, Philistines). Jesus did not ask each ethnic group to politely stay in its own space. Paul the Jew traveled with Titus the Greek. Philip the deacon shared the gospel with the Ethiopian.
There’s a reason the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is so widely taught. This story of a rival helping another is the essence of loving your neighbor. Whether it’s ethnicity, race, religion, nationality, culture, abilities, gender or even those with whom we disagree, Jesus’ solution is to bring us together and call us to work toward a more equal, loving world.
But let’s go back farther, because “in the beginning,” when God created adam (Hebrew for “humankind”). Adam was never any race (in fact adam wasn’t even gendered, but we address that elsewhere.) No ethnicity for Adam and Eve is ever identified. They are the Biblical mother and father of all peoples. The Bible is clear from its beginning pages: all of us carry the image of God. Jesus calls us to treat all people with dignity, empathy, and respect. When we oppress a group of people, that’s an affront to God.
Racism is not systemic and people are no longer treated unfairly based on race. Wealthy African Americans are evidence of equality today. White people are suffering and when we emphasize historic and current hardships placed on people from races other than white, that’s racism against whites.
Systems of injustice are something Jesus knew well. He was a Semite, Jewish, and a poor peasant who recognized systems that perpetuated injustice and famously lead a movement against them.
Had he created his movement in the U.S. in the 20th century, Jesus would have preached against redlining policies that prevented Blacks from owning property and creating family wealth. He would have advocated against Jim Crow segregation and for access to quality education, housing, healthcare, and criminal justice. He would have been against job discrimination. He would have wanted our children to understand racism and how it is baked into our systems, because our failure to see systemic racism helps it flourish.
And he would have fought for voting rights and against systemic voter suppression. In Biblical days, no one got a vote and we got kings and emperors. Today, dozens of states have passed restrictive voting laws after the U.S. Supreme Court issued dismantled part of the Voting Rights Act that protected African Americans. Now woter suppression hits Black communities hardest. It prevents people from registering to vote, casting their vote, kicks people off voter rolls, even criminalizes those who assist people to register. States have reduced or eliminated early voting, Sunday voting, mail-in ballots, and polling places, leading to standing for hours in long lines in all kinds of weather. In some states, it’s now a crime to provide water to voters as they wait.
Voter suppression is also a stark example of how targeting the freedoms of one group undercuts freedoms for many. These laws create barriers to voting for students, elderly, disabled, poor, women, and Christians of all kinds.
Jesus was crucified by a king appointed by a democracy of ruling elites. Jesus did not get a vote.
Keeping white people and people of color pitted against each other is a purposeful system that benefits greed and power through division. Because should we actually come together, our numbers would overwhelm their hold on wealth, power, resources, and global influence. Racial justice would benefit people of all races and push back hard against unjust systems.
Racial justice is not some heavenly hope—it’s the Gospel’s earthly calling. Racial justice is an issue in which Christianity could exude great influence. Instead, racism exists across Christian culture, leadership, and influence.
The only way forward is to acknowledge the history of racial injustice, teach it, understand its ongoing impact, push hard against denial, and demand concrete action to dismantle systems of inequality, repair harms, and prevent future injustices.
Voting is everyone's civic right and responsibility and our voting rights under attack. So make sure your voting rights have not been suspended without your knowledge and your voter registration is current. Check your state's registration deadline, and how to register, confirm, or update your voter registration here.
