BIBLICAL BRIEFS 103
For those who grew up in South Africa before 1985 (when the law on mixed marriages was scrapped), the resistance to marriages between different races may be foreseeable, mostly because of cultural or political indoctrination, but it can in no way be Biblically justified. The society we live in often prohibits certain taboos and demand certain customs and traditions. Although racial segregation is as old as humanity, it is usually underpinned by racial superiority or conservative cultural or racist prejudice, even a distorted class consciousness. However, the Bible clearly states that all people descend from one common ancestor (Acts 17:26) and have the same blood, and in that sense of the word we all belong to the same group – the human race. In Acts. 10: 34-35 (GNB) Peter preaches: “I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. Those who fear him and do what is right are acceptable to him, no matter what race they belong to.” The fact that all people do not look the same or act peculiarly, or differently (which sadly often causes distrust towards one another), has nothing to do with eternal divine creation order. Where people grow up and live determine many facets of their being, and originated over time as a result of all kinds of environmental factors and genetic adaptations and changes. The old covenant was against Israel’s integration with Gentiles (Ps. 106: 35) for the sake of safeguarding their religion. The point is, however, that the Bible does not forbid people of different races to marry one another. There might be legitimate objections to marriages to people of other religious beliefs (e.g. in Neh. 13: 23-27), but the only ban that the Bible has when it comes to marriage is that believers should not marry unbelievers because of the potential temptation of idolatry (Gen. 28: 1; 1Kin. 11: 1-13; Ezra 9-10). It also goes without saying that what marriage requires of husband and wife makes it difficult for men and women to walk within the same yoke if there are major differences in their believe systems (1Cor. 7:3; 2Cor. 6:14-7:1). However, there is also flexibility in cases where one party becomes a believer after marriage, but not the other (1 Cor. 7: 12-16). It is often the case that if the husband and wife are from different religions, they do not give clear spiritual guidance to their children, often just to keep the peace, and that may give rise to all sorts of issues later. A race-mixed marriage is a personal choice between two individuals. There is nothing in the Bible that prohibits it. They only have to count the cost thoroughly in advance and marry for the right reasons. But where there are genuine attraction and love, there is no reason why such a marriage cannot succeed.
Dr Tom Gouws
