A Biblical Perspective on Interracial Marriage
Ianthe Gillock helps manage CFBU’s email correspondence. She lives in the Northwest with her husband and two kids (who are Monique’s favorites). This post was originally published in July 2020 in the height of the social unrest on her blog at https://faithintowords.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/i-married-the-oppressor/.
According to the prevailing narrative of today, I am defined by my color, which can be classified as either yellow or brown. I am a first-generation Filipino-American, born in Los Angeles, CA. Having a color other than white, I am then, again according to the narrative, an oppressed person of color (POC).
My husband is white. According to the popular trend, he is THE OPPRESSOR. His simply being white is supposed to be oppressive to me.
Um…what?
I’ve known him for about nine years; I have been married to this man for nearly seven years. In no way is he, or has he been, oppressive to me. To the contrary, he has lived out the biblical mandate for husbands:
Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”
He has done an incredible job of that.
So how am I supposed to take this idea of oppressed and oppressor and apply it to my marriage?
I actually can’t.
I actually won’t.
To do so, I must accept culture’s standard for me. And right now, the standard is based on color and this power dynamic. It is often referred to as Critical Race Theory (CRT), an offshoot under the umbrella of Critical Theory.
Neil Shenvi, a Christian chemist and apologist, defines CRT as “an academic discipline that attempts to understand race and racism primarily through the lens of power.”
Am I supposed to blindly accept that lens? Am I supposed to, first and foremost, see things through the lens of CRT?
Absolutely not.
I could choose to see life through a CRT lens, but I would be choosing wrongly.
As a Christ follower, I must see things through a biblical lens. Any other lens would be misleading and built on a faulty foundation of non-truth. Truth is what is found in God’s word. My world is shaped by what He says about me. My identity is shaped by Him as found in Scripture.
Now, while I can identify as many things (Filipino, a woman, straight, able-bodied, short, etc.), my faith calls me to first identify as a Christian.
Here are a few Scriptures that come to mind.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)
These verses, along with the overall message of the Bible, point to the overwhelming truth that I have a new life in Jesus. The life I once lived for myself is gone. My life is surrendered and will be subject to the authority of Christ and what He says about me, others, and Himself. Because of that, I must live my life differently, a whole new way, defined by His truth that I find in the Bible.
If I do not let His truth define me and I allow another worldview to take its place, I am no longer living by His truth but another “truth.”
CRT proposes another truth—one that is based on the presupposition that white people are evil and have all the power in this world. CRT says that I am oppressed.
Followers of Christ, that is wrong!
As Ryan Bomberger, founder of the Radiance Foundation, has said, racism is a “sin issue, not a skin issue.” White SKIN is not the problem. SIN is the problem!
Let Scripture define what is to be believed. Counter the culture’s definition of oppression.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Rom. 6:6)
I was “enslaved to sin.” I was oppressed by my own sin, not someone else’s SKIN!
I was and am not oppressed by my WHITE husband.
And let’s be real, I am no longer enslaved to sin.
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1)
Jesus has set me free from the bondage of sin.
Because of His death on the cross and His resurrection, I can walk freely as I am, flaws and all, in the assurance of His love and acceptance, here and now, and then beyond this momentary life.
And really, just quickly … JESUS IS ACTUALLY THE ONE WITH POWER! He overcame death! If that’s not power, I don’t know what is.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let Christ define us, not culture. Let’s reflect on who He is and who we are in Him.
For Further Discussion
ATT#115 Is Interracial Adoption Causing More Harm Than Good?
ATT#77 What Does the Bible Teach About Interracial Marriage?