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My mother says the Bible does not approve of interracial relationships. How can I prove her wrong?

Tagged as: Big Questions, Family<< Previous question   Next question >>
Question - (8 January 2008) 27 Answers - (Newest, 30 April 2010)
A age 30-35, * writes:

Im engaged to a black man, and I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him, hes just like me in every way. My father is racist, and my mother claims that she is just "against marrying out of your race" because of her "religious Christian raisings" and the fact that "God does not approve of it."

I would be able to answer this myself, but I have not read the bible, and wouldn't know where to begin to research the answer to my question. So here it is, in the bible does it state anything about interacial relationships being against God's will?

And if possible, state where in the bible, and the exact saying, so I can pull the fact that it is just her who is against it, not God, and to stop her from using that against me.

View related questions: christian, engaged

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A female reader, pastorlee United States +, writes (30 April 2010):

I am a Baptist minister, and I hope this answer helps you. God does not care what color or race you are. In fact the Bible says very clearly that he does not see the difference in people whether they are male, female, Greek, Jewish, etc., What he does see is whether or not we love him. Whether or not we believe in Him. Whether or not we want to make Him a part of our lives and want to accept the wonderful gift of salvation. He was opposed to the Israelites marrying into other cultures because those cultures had pagan gods and those israelite men were weak when it came to their women. They just strayed so fast! But if you both believe in the same way, you're in just fine!

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A male reader, Mr.Mo Rality United States +, writes (6 April 2009):

Dear ma'am. I too am involved in an interracial relationship and we are dealing with this problem currently. The bible does approve of interracial relationships.

Moses was a Hebrew and he married an Ethiopian woman. His brother and sister were punished for criticizing him and his wife. Here are some bible references to help you support your relationship.

In 2 Corinthians 6:14, Paul says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” While some people try and use this scripture to discourage interracial dating, it is not talking about the color of our skin at all. In fact, it is only discussing the idea that believers should not be dating or married to unbelievers.

Moses' wife was of another race and in Numbers 12:1-15 Aaron and Miriam were punished for criticizing this interracial marriage.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 tells the Israelites to destroy all the inhabitants of the Canaan land and not to intermarry with them--because they would "turn your sons away from following Me, that they may serve other gods."

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A female reader, SirenaBlusera Mexico +, writes (30 August 2008):

SirenaBlusera agony auntI realize this post is from long ago but better late than never...

RUN, don't just walk, away from any church that teaches racism. The ignorant idea that one race is superior, or inferior, goes against everything Christianity teaches.

The Bible says not to be "unevenly yoked," but this has nothing to do with race. What it means, is that Christians and Atheists shouldn't marry one another. As long as both of you are believers then that is what matters. Unfortunately society is not always accepting of black/white marriages, but like I told another poster, people just suck sometimes.

In any marriage, though, you should go for pre-marital counseling and get closure on any issue that might be a problem in the marriage. Any time you make a commitment for life, there may be times when one, or both of you, wants out... and the commitment will be tested. That has nothing to do with race, it's just part of marriage.

Where you all are going to live, put down roots and raise your family is important. Where I live, one doesn't see very many interracial couples... on the other hand, a town like Austin is very diverse and I doubt many people would bat an eye.

There's nothing wrong with blacks and whites marrying, the Bible simply commands that Christians marry other Christians.

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A female reader, anonymous, writes (26 May 2008):

im going through the same thing with my father

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A male reader, livingfree United States +, writes (27 April 2008):

Tell her to read Numbers 12, that is in the Old Testament.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (27 April 2008):

Tell her to read Numbers 12:, That is in the Bible, Obviously your mother have no clue of the God she claims to know.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (26 April 2008):

Try getting therapy for your mother since she obvioulsy needs it. She might try switching religions too. She is simply a racist and it has nothing to do with religion. Tell her that you are ashamed of her.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (25 April 2008):

what i do know is black males love being with white girls.

and black woman are not really happy about there choices.

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A female reader, anonymous, writes (9 March 2008):

Moses married a black woman, Zippora from Ethiopia. throw that it her face and tell her it is 2008 not 1954!!!!! sorry to be so cruel but i just had a mixed baby i still get that reaction from people and it makes me want to scream at them. How can people be soooooo ignorant. Marry him and be proud! If i would have listened to what other stupid scared people thought i would not have the wonderful daughter i have now.

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A reader, kt United Kingdom +, writes (27 February 2008):

kt agony aunthi

well your mothers wrong about the bible saying that. it says love everyone! Martin Luther King was a PASTOR and look what he did! also it says in the Bible that God loves all his Children equally, and he made Black people too didn't he.

it also says in the Bible honour your parents though. im not saying don't carry on with your partner but atleast try and help your mother see that this relationship is not disobeying what the Bible says in this respect.

hope this helps

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A reader, kt United Kingdom +, writes (27 February 2008):

kt agony aunthi

well your mothers wrong about the bible saying that. it says love everyone! Martin Luther King was a PASTOR and look what he did! also it says in the Bible that God loves all his Children equally, and he made Black people too didn't he.

it also says in the Bible honour your parents though. im not saying don't carry on with your partner but atleast try and help your mother see that this relationship is not disobeying what the Bible says in this respect.

hope this helps

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A male reader, rcn United States +, writes (24 February 2008):

rcn agony auntI think the web site the other poster offered would be a wonderful article for your mom to read.

The problem is when people take their own beliefs and figure well I'm Christian so if I believe this, it must be Gods way. Now God, I don't think judges people on race.

I'd have to agree with another poster too in having your mom prove where it states that in the Bible. I do know the bible states not to judge others, and to find fault within yourself before looking for faults in others.

This is my belief, but I think it makes sense. The Bible states to love your neighbor as yourself. I think He's talking about loving everyone, not just immediate neighbor. When you're at a store or anywhere outside your home, everyone standing around you at that moment could be considered your neighbor, at lease for that period of time.

Take care, and good luck to the both of you.

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A male reader, agonyunclechris United Kingdom +, writes (24 February 2008):

agonyunclechris agony auntJesus was hebrew i believe , or near enough , sum where around arabia. not white therefore.

also jesus says that we should love one another.

we are all brothers and sisters and to be blunt. that is a RUBBISH EXCUSE FROM YOUR MOTHER. SHE SHOULD BE ASHAMED! simple as that

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A female reader, anonymous, writes (14 February 2008):

Jesus said we should love one another - not just people who look the same as we do.

Please dont blame racism on Christians - racists come from every walk of life.

I am a christian and I know that Jesus loved people of every colour - so should we.

Every blessing to the two of you.

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A female reader, anonymous, writes (9 February 2008):

www.biblestudy.org/basicart/interace.html gives a really great explaination about interracial relationship... you should check it out... mayhaps even show it to your mother.

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A female reader, anonymous, writes (30 January 2008):

Christians are trying to make really bad reputation for God. It just about time to make a difference between hate and love.

Good Christians are never going to join the racist organization,but unfortunately most of them blows my mind with judgmental racist thinking. God's army.... hmmm

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A male reader, Collaroy Australia +, writes (29 January 2008):

Collaroy agony auntAsk your mother would she have problems with you going out with a brown skinned Jewish man.

I'm describing Jesus Christ here - just to expose the hypocrisy look at the churchs that show pictures of Jesus as a white skinned rather northern European looking man instead of the sun baked Jew he really was.

Tell you mother to face the facts, she's a racist its her problem not yours. Oh and if you want to make some money tell her you will bet her 100 bucks if she can find the passage in the bible that backs up her claim.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (29 January 2008):

You probably won't win this one. Your mother has made up her mind.

The bible can prove all kinds of things if you twist the verses around enough. People can pick it up, selectively choose which passages they wanna take more seriously than others, and invent their own teachings out of it. (Do you think Jesus ever really said a goddam thing about abortions or homosexuality?)

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (28 January 2008):

no the bible DOES approve interracial marriage, many people from old testament did marry people outside their own tribes, and there are intermarriage between Jewish, Roman, Greeks etc. after the new testament.

point no.2 today is a globalization, bible tells us to renew our mind everyday, and we have to avoid discrimination against other races or an extreme proud feeling of our own race, love is the answer of all, if you love a person from your own race then go ahead, if you love a person not from your own race then go ahead as well, diversity love and romance is a decision in your life, bible does not forbid it my friend.

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A reader, anonymous, writes (8 January 2008):

This is verified as being by the original poster of the question

Thank you sooo much everyone, reading what all of you posted made me feel ALOT better, seriously! I really appreciate that you took time out to help with my problems! I will post an update when the conversation with my mother occurs, but just know that everyone that posted an answer was a BIG help, and will be used to prove to my mother that I wouldnt be in God's bad side being with the man I love just because of his race, and that she herself is the one that has a problem with it, not God. Thanks again, and a million times after!

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A female reader, Basschick Australia +, writes (8 January 2008):

Basschick agony auntIn the Bible, it states that God does not desire for us to be "unevenly yoked" to someone. It's a phrase that comes from the old days when people would put two Oxen's on a plow to sow their fields. If one Ox was large, and the other one small, it created an inbalance. If you put a Mule and and Ox together, there might be other problems because the two animals would fight instead of plowing. I think it is God's desire that we find someone we are compatible with, share the same values with, and view spiritual issues similarly. This prevents you from being unevenly yoked with someone because you won't have so many battles to make the marriage work. Think of it this way. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and your spouse is not, it could cause you to pull away from your faith and side with your husband. This could also apply to family values and if your backgrounds are so vastly different, it just means you're going to have more problems to work through before your marriage can survive. These problems also exist in marriages of the same race. And it creates alot of stress of people, and can pull us away from God because we become more consumed with our problems, than our relationship with Him. There can be racial hurdles when you intermix in marriage. But I don't think God is against it. I think the families of an interracial marriage have a harder time accepting it than the people who have fallen in love with each other. I believe when God cautioned us about not being unevenly yoked, it was simply a way of saying, 'don't create more stress in your life than you can handle'. He wants us to live a prosperous, happy, harmonious life and not be fighting and stressing out about the unevenness in our union. If you love this man and the two of you believe similarly about the important things, then I wouldn't let the difference of race stand in your way. You may have some stress from your family about it, so just be prepared for that and make the best of it. I wish you the best.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (8 January 2008):

The New Testament is the key feature of Christianity. Jesus effectively sealed a "new deal" between God and man through his death. A key principle of that new deal is that that Jesus was "a light to lighten the Gentiles" (ie. all non-Jews ie. everyone).

Effectively this change marks Christianity out as explicitly "inclusive" rather than "exclusive" as Judaism had been. Throughout the Christian texts there are references to neighbourliness, mutual respect etc. regardless of origin. Any objection to interracial marriage runs in the face of all of the above.

Anyway, Jesus was an Aramaic Jew (probably, dark, swarthy and bearded - not exactly "WASP"). Racism has NO place in Christianity. Unfortunately humans are great at distorting anything to suit their own ends (Christianity, Communism, Economics....)

Don't forget the story of "The Good Samaritan". The whole point of that is that "it's not your ethnicity that counts - it's how you act". Christianity is about believing, being and doing and has nothing to do with colour. Period.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (8 January 2008):

There is reference in the bible to the 'inferior (black)' children of Ham who where shunned. But as the other posters say, there are also examples of interracial marriage in the bible also. The biggest difference in the races (besides skin color) is socialogical. Blacks are inferior in this respect because they are thousands of years behind whites in civilization. If whites didn't travel to Africa (and wrongly) bring them to America, they would all still be tribal in nature.

If you love your boyfriend and he is socially acceptable (meaning he has standard values, doesn't have 5 kids with 5 women out of wedlock, works at a decent job), then I say go for it. Your parents will come around eventually. They may never love the situation, but they will come to accept and love the two of you if he is decent and treats you properly.

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A reader, anonymous, writes (8 January 2008):

Perhaps you could ask your mother to back up her statement by showing you where in the Bible it states it's against God's will.

Phil

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A male reader, Dr Vendetta United Kingdom +, writes (8 January 2008):

Dr Vendetta agony auntI love how racist parents 's kids always end up like this. its a nice kick in the teeth to the parents.

Just for the record. i'm not religious or racist.

I dislike so called "orginized religion". but hey whatever makes you happy.

now..i'm gonna enjoy this. as i'd love to come over and tell this directly to your parents my self.

"Those who cite biblical passages to prove that God prohibits interracial marriage are misinterpreting scripture. The passages often cited forbid marriage between those of different faiths, not different races. Many prominent figures in the Bible, among them Moses and David, were married to women of different races. Other important figures of the Bible, including Solomon and Jesus, were of racially mixed ancestry...."

the following excert is from : http://www.tbm.org/whatinterrac.htm

"God is absolutely NOT against interracial marriages. God only commands us to marry people of the Christian faith. He's concerned about a person's heart, not what color of skin he or she has. There is a humorous story in the Bible that clearly illustrates God's hatred toward prejudice.

Moses' sister Miriam disagreed with Moses' decision to marry an Ethiopian woman. Ethiopia is in east Africa, just north of the equator--this is a location of the black race. Moses married a black woman. Miriam's prejudice is evident: "...Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married..." (Numbers 12:1)."

So much for christians to do unto others as you'd ahve them do unto you.. and to love thy neighbor..

Gods ment to be this all powerful all forgiving beging. if he didn't want black people on earth why'd he put them here?

Although.. i am jumping ahead of myself.

Jesus was clearly a white guy with blue eyes and blonde hair... and he probably drives a lincon too.

you know if you're really in doubt about this. go to a church and as there, hell maybe even the minister could talk to your folks.

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (8 January 2008):

I dont think there's anything wrong with the guy your seeing...though I dont know if its ever said in the bible...I highly doubt there would be anything against inter racial relationships in the bible

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A male reader, anonymous, writes (8 January 2008):

It is obvious that your mother is racist too. The Bible is never against interracial marriages. There are many examples of interracial marriages in the Bible. I am sure that your mother knows what the Bible says if she has been raised in Christian family. However, true Christian family is never racist. Being racist itself is against the Bible and against the will of God. Of course, in the Bible Jewish people were told not to get married to other races. This was totally changed after coming of Jesus Christ to this planet about 2000 years ago. The foundation of Christianity is Jesus. Jesus is against racism. God is love. You can get hundreds of interracial marriages in the Bible. Even today, many great Evangelists are involved in interracial marriages. Read the Bible you will then be very sure.

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