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Was William Branham a racist?: Difference between revisions
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With this statement Donny Reagan is insinuating that mixed-race children are destined to hell. This is because followers of William Branham's message believe that they are the Bride of Christ and will dwell in New Jerusalem while those Christians that are not in the elite group (anyone who does not follow William Branham) will be part of the nations outside the city. The only other option is hell. | With this statement Donny Reagan is insinuating that mixed-race children are destined to hell. This is because followers of William Branham's message believe that they are the Bride of Christ and will dwell in New Jerusalem while those Christians that are not in the elite group (anyone who does not follow William Branham) will be part of the nations outside the city. The only other option is hell. | ||
= | =Race versus ethnicity= | ||
Today, we have come to understand the following about race and ethnicity: | |||
*Mainstream belief among scientists is that race is a social construct without biological meaning.<ref>https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/race-is-a-social-construct-scientists-argue/</ref> | |||
*There is more variation within a race than between races at the level of our DNA.<ref>https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-general-science/are-you-there-race-its-me-dna#:~:text=Race%20is%20a%20real%20concept,onto%20race%2C%20not%20even%20close.</ref> | |||
*How we define races has varied throughout history and differs from one culture to another.<ref>https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-general-science/are-you-there-race-its-me-dna#:~:text=Race%20is%20a%20real%20concept,onto%20race%2C%20not%20even%20close.</ref> | |||
*Studying our DNA reveals that races are not real in a biological sense, but how we treat other races does have an impact on their health because of poverty, stress, and lack of access to healthcare.<ref>https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-general-science/are-you-there-race-its-me-dna#:~:text=Race%20is%20a%20real%20concept,onto%20race%2C%20not%20even%20close.</ref> | |||
*Ethnicity speaks to our ancestry, the physical component, while race is a cultural construct.<ref>John Piper and Timothy Keller, Bloodlines (foreword by Tim Keller): Race, Cross, and the Christian (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011).</ref> | |||
==What does the Bible say about marriages between different ethnicities?== | |||
We are not aware of any passages in the Bible that condemn or even discourage what William Branham considered to be inter-racial marriages. | |||
The Hebrews were forbidden to marry Canaanites and other pagan peoples (see (Exodus 34:12, Deuteronomy 7:1-4, 1 Kings 11:1-3, Nehemiah 13:25, Ezra 9:11-14). The reason was because those people worshipped idols, not because of | ===False arguments against interracial marriage and Biblical responses=== | ||
Here are five arguments that are used to oppose marriage between different ethnic groups, and Biblical responses to each argument.<ref>The arguments which follow are from the sermon notes of John Piper's sermon on "The Ethics of Interracial Marriage", February 14, 2001</ref> | |||
====1. God forbade the Jews from marrying other peoples==== | |||
The Hebrews were forbidden to marry Canaanites and other pagan peoples (see (Exodus 34:12, Deuteronomy 7:1-4, 1 Kings 11:1-3, Nehemiah 13:25, Ezra 9:11-14). The reason was because those people worshipped idols, not because of ethnicity. In fact, the Hebrews, Amorites, Canaanites, etc. were all from similar ancestry. | |||
The only marriage constraints put on a Christian are that they marry someone of the opposite sex and they they marry a believer. (1 Corinthians 7:39, 2 Corinthians 6:14) | The only marriage constraints put on a Christian are that they marry someone of the opposite sex and they they marry a believer. (1 Corinthians 7:39, 2 Corinthians 6:14) | ||
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God says not a critical word against Moses for marrying a black Cushite woman. | God says not a critical word against Moses for marrying a black Cushite woman. | ||
==2. Races are God's will and therefore amalgamating them is against his will.== | ====2. "Races" are God's will and therefore amalgamating them is against his will.==== | ||
Genesis 11:6-9, Deuteronomy 32:8, and Acts 17:26 are texts that are used to support this argument. However, these texts refer to separation of peoples that are along lines much more narrow than race. They are not racial divisions, so, used this way, they "prove" too much, since they would seem to forbid intermarrying between any people group boundaries even within the same race. | Genesis 11:6-9, Deuteronomy 32:8, and Acts 17:26 are texts that are used to support this argument. However, these texts refer to separation of peoples that are along lines much more narrow than "race". They are not racial divisions, so, used this way, they "prove" too much, since they would seem to forbid intermarrying between any people group boundaries even within the same "race". | ||
When God separated the peoples in Genesis 11:6-9 it was by language, not race. Racial distinctions came later. This passage does not teach that people cannot learn each other's languages and marry each other. Rather, the lesson to be learned is that no group of people should conspire against God. | When God separated the peoples in Genesis 11:6-9 it was by language, not race. Racial distinctions came later and differed between cultures. This passage does not teach that people cannot learn each other's languages and marry each other. Rather, the lesson to be learned is that no group of people should conspire against God. | ||
God's punitive judgments (like the curse at the tower of Babel) do not become our mandates. For example: God cursed creation at the fall, but this does not mean that we should not use antibiotics or aspirin. So God's separating peoples does not mean there should never be any coming together of | God's punitive judgments (like the curse at the tower of Babel) do not become our mandates. For example: God cursed creation at the fall, but this does not mean that we should not use antibiotics or aspirin. So God's separating peoples does not mean there should never be any coming together of peoples of different ethnicities or cultures, including in marriage. | ||
==3. There is a curse on Ham, the son of Noah, who the Black race came from== | ====3. There is a curse on Ham, the son of Noah, who the Black race came from==== | ||
The curse was on Canaan, Ham's son, not on Ham (Genesis 9:18-27), and Canaan was not the father of the Black race. | The curse was on Canaan, Ham's son, not on Ham (Genesis 9:18-27), and Canaan was not the father of the Black "race". | ||
Even if a particular | Even if a particular ethnicity was cursed, the curses of God are not mandates to his people. God's curses are not commands to treat the cursed people badly. All of these things have been done away with by the cross of Jesus Christ and the new covenant that God made with man. | ||
==4. Interracial marriage tends toward the lessening of the diversity that God intends.== | ====4. Interracial marriage tends toward the lessening of the diversity that God intends.==== | ||
This argument might carry some weight, perhaps, if there were the real possibility that | This argument might carry some weight, perhaps, if there were the real possibility that marriage between different ethnic groups diminished diversity. But doesn't it actually increase it? | ||
The statement of relational and social unity among the races that is made by | The statement of relational and social unity among the races that is made by intermarrying is as important as any biological differences, whereas opposing interracial marriage makes the statement that "races" are not relationally or socially equal. | ||
===Race as a social construct=== | =====Race as a social construct===== | ||
It was once believed that our DNA could sort us into categories like the “five races:” African, European, Asian, Oceania, and Native American. But a report in Scientific America stated that "today, the mainstream belief among scientists is that race is a social construct without biological meaning." As a result, "ethnicity" is a better word to use than "race".<ref>https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/race-is-a-social-construct-scientists-argue/</ref> | It was once believed that our DNA could sort us into categories like the “five races:” African, European, Asian, Oceania, and Native American. But a report in Scientific America stated that "today, the mainstream belief among scientists is that race is a social construct without biological meaning." As a result, "ethnicity" is a better word to use than "race".<ref>https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/race-is-a-social-construct-scientists-argue/</ref> | ||
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Nonetheless, racism has persisted. Scientific findings are often ignored, or otherwise actively misinterpreted and misused to further racist agendas of extreme political groups.<ref>https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-debate-21st-century/</ref> | Nonetheless, racism has persisted. Scientific findings are often ignored, or otherwise actively misinterpreted and misused to further racist agendas of extreme political groups.<ref>https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-debate-21st-century/</ref> | ||
==5. The cultural differences make interracial marriage wrong because the couple will be incompatible== | ====5. The cultural differences make interracial marriage wrong because the couple will be incompatible==== | ||
As Christians, we should base ideas of compatibility on the facts of a situation not on skin color. | |||
There are couples from similar cultural backgrounds that are less compatible than couples from different ethnicities, because the issue is not cultural or ethnic. Spiritual union, common conviction, and similar expectations make the marriages workable. | |||
=This is an example of the Bible taking a back seat to William Branham= | |||
In a [[Was William Branham a racist?|well known racist diatribe, Donny Reagan, the pastor of Happy Valley Church of Jesus Christ, stated publicly in a sermon that if Moses was alive today, he would have to follow William Branham's message]]. This comment clearly shows that Donny Reagan holds William Branham's message as superseding the Bible. He specifically makes this comment in respect of William Branham's teaching that biracial marriages are contrary to God's plan. | |||
But what does the Bible say about biracial marriages? | |||
:''Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.<ref>Numbers 12:1</ref> | |||
A Cushite is from Cush, a region south of Ethiopia, where the people are known for their black skin. We know this because of Jeremiah 13:23: "Can the Ethiopian [the same Hebrew word translated "Cushite" in Numbers 12:1] change his skin or the leopard his spots?"" | |||
In response to Miriam’s criticism, God does not get angry at Moses; he gets angry at Miriam. Then God strikes Miriam with leprosy. Why? Consider this possibility. In God’s anger at Miriam, Moses’ sister, God says in effect, "You like being light-skinned Miriam? I’ll make you light-skinned." So we read, "When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow" (Num. 12:10) | |||
God says not a critical word against Moses for marrying a black Cushite woman. | |||
So according to the Bible, there is no proscription on biracial marriages. William Branham preached against them. Donny Reagan's comments thus prove that he holds William Branham's message as a higher authority than the Bible. | |||
The following video is a look at interracial marriages from a Biblical perspective by John Piper: | |||
<youtube width='800' height='600'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSoQsu3os-c</youtube> | |||
=Quotes of William Branham= | =Quotes of William Branham= | ||