The Truth About Interracial Marriage

​Christian views on interracial marriage vary widely. Some believe it is a sin, while others believe it's perfectly acceptable.

​Those who believe it is a sin often cite passages from the Bible that they believe prohibit it. While others argue these passages are being misinterpreted.

We often find people emphasizing passages of the Bible promoting love and acceptance. Many consider these parts of Scripture significant when it comes to interracial marriage.

​But what does the Bible say as a whole?

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to support interracial marriage is personal. Each of us must decide what we believe based on our own interpretation of the Bible and personal values.​

Christian views on interracial marriage have changed over time. In the past, interracial marriage was often seen as taboo, and many Christians opposed it. However, in recent years, there has been a growing acceptance of interracial marriage. A 2017 survey by PRC found 77% of Protestants believe it is morally acceptable. That's up from 48% in 1996.

This trend is likely due to a number of factors. These factors include the increasing diversity of the United States population. They also include the increasing visibility of interracial couples in the media. As we become more exposed to interracial couples, we're more likely to see them as the norm.

There are still some who oppose interracial marriage. However, the trend is clearly an attitude of acceptance. In the future, interracial marriage will likely be seen as an accepted part of Christian life.

​I recently read the following from Ken Ham. Ken is the founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis. AIG operates the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter. I believe he has great insight, based on biblical truths, about interracial marriage. 

“What should we believe about “interracial” marriage?

​One of the most asked questions I’ve received when I talk on the origin of the so called “races” is what I believe about what many call interracial marriage.

When anyone asks me that question, I respond by saying “biologically there is no such thing as interracial marriage.”

When I speak on the race issue, I first of all go to God’s Word to understand what God clearly teaches about the human race.

We learn there was only one man to start with:

1. God made one man at the beginning: “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7).
2. “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45)
   
   

Then we learn there was only one woman to begin with:

1. “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21–22).
2. “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20).

All human beings descended from Adam and Eve. This means there is only one race of humans biologically: “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26).

Yes, all human belong to one biological race descended from the first man and woman.

​In 2000, the Human Genome project that mapped the sequence of the human genome released their findings to the world and stated:

“Dr. Venter (head of the Celera Genomics Corporation, Rockville, MD) and scientists at the National Institutes of Health recently announced that they had put together a draft of the entire sequence of the human genome, and the researchers unanimously declared, there is only one race—the human race.” (Natalie Angier, “Do Races Differ? Not Really, DNA Shows,” New York Times, Aug. 22, 2000).

Exactly what one would expect based on the Bible’s revealed human history—there is only one human race.

This means all humans belong to one human family. We are all related to each other, and all have the same two ancestors 6,000 years ago, Adam and Eve. There is only on race biologically according to Scripture and confirmed by observational science. This means there is no such thing as “interracial marriage” from a perspective of biology.

However, there is an issue in regard to interracial marriage spiritually. Consider this principle given in Scripture for us that also applies to marriage: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

​Applied to marriage, this principle means a Christian should never knowingly marry a non-Christian. Remember, one of the primary importance of marriage is to produce Godly offspring. Sadly, many marriages end up in trouble because this principle of Christians only marrying Christians wasn’t adhered to. Also, such spiritually mixed marriages can result in a Godly legacy not being passed on to the next generation.

Some Christian leaders claim God teaches the claimed “races” of people be kept separate because he told the Israelites not to marry into other groups of people. For instance, God told the Israelites not to marry the Canaanites. But Rahab, a Canaanite who helped the Israelite spies at Jericho is the lineage leading to the Godman Jesus in Matthew 1 and is also listed in Hebrews chapter 11 as a person of great faith.

It's obvious Rahab stopped being a Canaanite spiritually (rejecting the Canaanite pagan religion) and became and Israelite spiritually (believing and trusting in the one true God) and thus was free to marry an Israelite. This clearly shows there is no such thing as interracial marriage biologically. The Interracial marriage the bible speaks against is the marriage between the two spiritual races—the Godly “race” and the ungodly “race.” Who a Christian should marry has nothing to do with biology but the spiritual state of one’s heart.

When you then apply this, if two Christians get married and one has a light shade of skin and one a dark shade (all humans are the same basic color just different shades), this is not a biracial couple. This is a one race couple! This also means there are no biracial children as all of us belong to one race.

Christians should be using terminology consistent with God’s Word and science to help people understand the truth concerning homo sapiens.

​I urge people to not use the term “races” but use the term “people groups” when referring to humans from different cultures. We also need to stop using terms like “biracial” as all humans belong to one race.

Because all humans belong to one race, all descendants of Adam, this means all humans are sinners, and all are in need of trusting Christ for salvation. That’s why Christians need to proclaim the truth of the gospel to everyone, to all tribes and nations.

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Revelation 14:6).

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9).

What a difference it would make if every person started looking on everyone else as one of their relatives, a member of our extended family!” —Ken Ham

As stated earlier, thoughts on interracial marriage are personal. I pray the truths outlined here have helped you as you cultivate a biblical worldview on the subject.

​Ken Ham is the president and one of the founders of Answers in Genesis. AIG is a Christian apologetics organization. He is the author of numerous books including "One Race One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism." He is also one of the most in-demand Christian speakers in the United States. He's heard daily on over 900 radio stations nationwide. You can find him on the broadcast Answers with Ken Ham.

​AIG's mission is to "train young people to defend their faith in the face of the modern scientific challenges to the authority of the Bible." The organization has published a number of books and articles on creationism. It also operates the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky.​