Do you know the difference between race and ethnicity? How many races are there? How many ethnicities are there? Why do we have different ethnicities? Why do we differentiate races? What I have learned will take more than one blog, so I am dividing up. Let me share with you what I learned.
According to Britannica the definition of race is, “the idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups based on inherited physical and behavioral differences. Genetic studies in the late 20th century refuted the existence of biogenetically distinct races, and scholars now argue that “races” are cultural interventions reflecting specific attitudes and beliefs that were imposed on different populations in the wake of western European conquests beginning in the 15th century.” Ethnicity is “the quality or fact of belonging to a population group or subgroup made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent.”
I have come to believe there is only one race, the human race. In Genesis 1:26-27 it says,“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (ESV)
Scripture reveals how we are all descendants of Adam and Eve. Skin color or physical characteristics does not make us a different race. Even science has shown that, as I quoted above. Then what is it that distinguishes us from others. It is our ethnicity. So, how did we become ethnically diverse? Again, we need to go back to the beginning. When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them a command, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (ESV) We find however, in Genesis 3 that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin came into the world. In fact, it got so bad that God looked at what He had created and decided He would destroy mankind except for Noah and His family. Genesis 6:5-7 says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’” (ESV)
I would have expected that after God destroyed most of mankind how everything could start anew. Well, that was not the case right after the waters had subsided from the flood and Noah had made an offering to God, God said in Genesis 8:21-22, “And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.’” (ESV) He then placed a rainbow in the sky as a promise of His new covenant. As you can see immediately God had seen the heart of man was evil. He also gave Noah and his sons the same command that He had given Adam and Eve. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the whole earth.
Well, the descendants of Noah did not do what God instructed them to do. Genesis 10 gives a list of ethnic groups that came from the descendants of Noah. The problem is they did not disperse and fill the earth, rather they hung around together in the planes of Shinar and started to build a tower to heaven for their own glory. God responded in Genesis 11:6-9, “And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” (ESV) Since God confounded mankind by creating different languages for the different ethnicities, man responded with evil hearts and caused there to be disharmony among the ethnic groups.
At this point everything looked hopeless for mankind. Divided and dispersed, they could not communicate with each other outside of their own ethnic group. But God has a plan to reunite mankind which we will look at next time.
So, until next time I pray you will better understand why we have ethnic disunity and why we can trust God’s plan for reuniting all people, which can bring you hope. Remember from past blogs that it is by knowing God that we have hope. The relationship with God through Jesus brings us hope in the present and the future. I would also encourage you to seek Jesus for He is the only option there is to get eternal life. This is to me the greatest source of hope. In doing so, I believe we will have hope and joy during our everyday lives. Understanding that Jesus Christ allows us to access eternal life, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (ESV) This will allow us to have hope. At the same time understanding you will live eternally knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ and this will bring you the greatest hope. Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for sins. His payment satisfies all my sins from the past, the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because holiness shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
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