Dear Mr Bacchiocchi.......

[David_McQueen]

....what are you on?

http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_131.htm

[Clio]

Whatever it is... I want some! Good grief!

[Bravus]

Just for the record, Sam's experience of South Africa is opposite to mine...

[David_McQueen]

The thing is I personally think conferences based on colour in the US is so backward. I can understand people wanted to worship with people of the same style or language, but based on colour!

I couldnt care less about people talking about upheaval and all those shenanigans. Are we gonna have a separate areas under the tree of life. Surely the kingdom of God is here too and if we have to have conferences separated based on colour something is seriously, seriously wrong.

Fix up NAD!

[Amelia]

David,

I would love for you and fifi to come over and tell them personally. Of course then you would have to travel and visit everyone on the CA board. <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/mittelgr124.gif" alt="" />

[Michelle]

All I can say is, there are some people I know very well who I HOPE never read this article, as it will simply reinforce existing feelings of superiority and bigotry and prejudice!!!!!

M

[aka]

I read the good, learn from it and am blessed in increase of knowledge and understanding when I read Dr.Sam's books.

The "off the track" stuff I know about, now as never before for all the bad talk circulating around his reputation, I acknowledge and put on hold.

I put it aside, and do not pursue his line of reasoning when I have conviction of bible talk saying the opposite.

And knowing the questionable items he propagates, I don't take them to heart and allow THEM to be MY personal conviction.

I'd be in a very silly-nilly dumb-blond state of being to let every new hypothesis, anti-thesis, presumption, premise, new theology statement, control my heart's convictions each time I am exposed to them from some guru-scholar itinerate lecturer.

I repeat.... I am in deep gratitude for Bacchiocchi's book on the Sabbath and how it has fortified my understanding of Sabbath honoring. I am of the same bent as he when it comes to views on Music, Dress, and Jewlery.

Like I said..... I will hold to the good and put on hold the controversial questionables of his touching on very special parts of our Church's established views. That is where I don't support him.

It is the responsibility of the higher-uppers to take him to task and we the plebs should stop maligning his reputation with innuendos. He needs to sit down with ministers of his peer group for a talk out if he is going world wide as he does in representing our Church.

But then again on second thought...

If GC Maryland is representing a policy of allowing puralism in it's members, we have no authority from them to buck the man from his course of free-speech, eh?

I just don't reject him like being of the same ilk as DesFord or Ratslaff.

...not yet.

Turmeric's 2$ worth of spice

[Michelle]

Turmeric--all I am saying (nothing about him personally) is that this article would be taken by some whom I know well and used to prove their twisted racial beliefs. They already use EGW to "prove" their demented bigotry, so would be ecstatic to find this. Blech!

M

[Gregory Matthews]

Re: "It is the responsibility of the higher-uppers to take him to task . . ."

He it totally independent.

There is nothing that the GC, or anyone else, can do to change what he does.

He publishes his books independently. He independently produces his media productions. His writings are NOT reviewed, prior to publication by any SDA agaency. He is not presently a denominational employee. His financing is independent of the denomination.

[aka]

Gregory, someone wrote elsewhere of him not having a retirement fund being paid out to him now monthly for having served at Andrews. Is such possible? Doesn't everybody pay from their paycheck all their working life money into Social Security and gets it when they reached the retirement age?

[David_McQueen]

Personally his work on the Sabbath was his best work. It was devoid of opinionated conservatism and focused on the principles as well as the history of the sabbath issue. His approaches to wine, dress and music however were not even as half as good and since then the tone of the various other topics he has addressed have left much to be desired.

Having met the man and tried to get a straight answer on some subjects twice, without success, this kind of article does not suprise me. Whilst there is no cause to malign him it worries me that he goes off on on subjects like this without being challenged. Especially considering the large sections of Adventism who swallow his every word, hook, line and sinker.

Just because you have good stuff doesnt mean that people should turn a blind eye to the bad.

[Gregory Matthews]

Re: "Gregory, someone wrote elsewhere of him not having a retirement fund being paid out to him now monthly for having served at Andrews. Is such possible? Doesn't everybody pay from their paycheck all their working life money into Social Security and gets it when they reached the retirement age?"

1) Social Security (FICA) is a Federal Government program. The Church has nothing to do with how it is run, managed, and payments are made. If Dr. B. is eligible for payments, there is nothing the Chruch could do to prevent them.

However, there is a provision in the law that allows clergy to take an oath regarding consicentious belief that exempts people from the program. If Dr. B. signed such a document, he is probably not elegible to participate, and to recieve payments.

There may also be some strage provisons of the law that apply to non-citizens working in the U.S. But, I think that Dr. B. became a U.S. citizen.

2) The SDA Chuch as a retirement fund, which I assume Andrews participates in. I cannot immagine that Dr. B. would not be covered by such a fund.

There is a provision of the retirement policy that takes certain people involved in an "inter-division transfer" out of retirement consideration. This provision rarely occurs, and I cannot immagine that it would have taken place with Dr. B's employment by Andrews. So, the bottom line remains that I cannot immagine that he would not be covered by church retirement.

3) Some may remind me of Dr. Andreason (sp) who was refused denominational retirement. That was a sad chapter in SDA history. As I understand it, the provisions of our retirement policy have changed to that no one else can ever be treated as Dr. Andreason was treated. It was wrong then, and it has been made right.

4) There are situations where people can be employed by our major institiutions and not recieve retirement benefits. These happen when people do not fall under salery caps, and recieve a higher salery than the denominational norm. It can also happen in situations where people are not considered to be regular employees. They are generlly thought to be part-time, or temp. employees, although there are a few other catagories.

Again, I cannot immagine that Dr. B. fit any of these.

[Gregory Matthews]

Re: "Personally his work on the Sabbath was his best work. . . . His approaches to wine, dress and music however were not even as half as good and since then the tone of the various other topics he has addressed have left much to be desired."

Dr. B's work on the Sabbath was monumental. If he had written nothing more, he would have made a life-time contribution to Adventism.

His other writings are mixed. They are often produced in a hurry, and often without competent peer review. In his work in wine he mentions a Baptist doctoral student, as I remember, as having dome some helpful work in this area that stimulated his thinking. It should be noted that he openly gives that man credit. However, there are some of us who believe that Dr. B's work on wine is more endebted to that doctoral work than most people reallize. There are some of us who think it would bave been better to have listed that person as a co-author.

On of the problems is that Dr. B. now regularly writes in areas where he has not demonstrated competence. An expertese in historical theology, which I believe that he has, does not make him an expertet in New Testament studies.

[Pockey]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

Gregory Matthews said:

Dr. B's work on the Sabbath was monumental. If he had written nothing more, he would have made a life-time contribution to Adventism.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Which work of his regarding the Sabbath do you recommend to read?

[Neil D]

Sid asked-

"Which work of his regarding the Sabbath do you recommend to read?"

From Sabbath to Sunday, by Samuel Bacchiocchi

It's a good work, Sid. But anything else, I would NOT recommend from Mr. B. With all due respect, I have had conversations with Sam and have talked to his collueges [sp] at Andrews, and the consense is the same as what Gregory has stated. He has diminished in the respect of his Andrew University peers. Everytime I see one of his presentations, there is a lot of himself rather than what he discovered at the Vatican. I suspect that he enjoys the limelight abit too much...And that conclusion is my own opinion based upon what I have discovered and my conversations with him.

[aka]

BACCHIOCCHI RESPONDS TO CRITICISM ABOUT HIS COMMENTS ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA (newsletter 132)

The brief report about South Africa I posted in my newsletter No. 130, was intended to be informative, not accusative. My brief comments on the racial policy being implemented by our Adventist leaders in South Africa as well as my general observation on the socio-economic situation of the country, were designed to express my impressions, not to give a researched analysis of the issues. Every person is entitled to share his or her first impressions.

Much of my report dealt with the unprecedented warm reception and response I received in all the churches. I made few comments about the socio-economic situation, simply because I was shocked by the crime, poverty, incompetence, and corruption that I saw in South Africa. If you read past newsletters you will see that I am very frank in describing what I see in any countries I visit, including my own country of Italy. In fact, I do not hesitate to point out that our Italian government is one of the most corrupt governments in the world.

Few years ago about two thirds of our Italian politicians were fired and jailed, because of the kick-back scandal that was uncovered. The latest news indicate that Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, may be guilty of the same crime. In Italy, a major problem is the failure of the Catholic Church to develop a moral national conscience of honesty toward God and fellow beings. Dishonesty is condoned on the assumption that at the end of life, the Catholic church can help practically anyone to make it through Purgatory into Paradise.

For me the issue is not whether the government of a country is black or white, but whether it governs the country effectively, by promoting investments, reducing unemployment, improving the standard of living, and offering security to its citizens. What I saw, heard, and read in the Johannesberg Star, seems to indicate that the situation is deteriorating. An article in Star compares the increasing poverty, crime, unemployment to a time-bomb that could explode at any time. If what I read, saw, and heard is inaccurate, no problem. Thank God for that. I was just reporting my impressions. If my impressions were wrong, thank God for all the prosperity and security that South Africa is allegedly enjoying.

The problem is not the alleged inaccuracies of my report, but the foul language used by some to defame me as if I were a criminal. I have never been insulted so badly by people of any country. i like to believe that those who engage in such defamatory campaign, represent a small, but strong politically minded black minority. Their hateful language only shows that their Christianity is skin deep. It is a hallmark of Christian maturity to be able to disagree without becoming disagreeable to one another. Let us learn to have a respectful dialogue.

A shining example of Christian maturity is Prof. Sylvan A Lashley, A Carribean who has served as President of Caribbean Union College and Atlantic Union College. Currently he works as an Attorney. We have exchanged a dozen of messages in a most cordial and respectful way. He is a most gracious and congenial individual, though he does not agree with me in everything.

THE RESPONSE OF THE ADVENTIST CONGREGATIONS

All the congregations where I spoke in South Africa were racially mixed. At Helderberg the church and the overflow tent was packed with Black, Colored, and White members. The same was true in Pretoria, where perhaps the white members may have been the majority. The response of the various Adventist racial-groups was inspiring and heart-warming.

At the Bassonia SDA church both the sanctuary and the large fellowship hall were packed every night with members of all races. My impression was that the black members may have been the majority, but there was a good representation of colored and white members as well. In all my travels around the world, I do not recall ever having received such a marvellous response. I will treasure the happy memory of the moving expressions of appreciation received. The last evening at Bassonia I felt like crying for joy, because I could feel that the Lord was using me to meet the spiritual needs of our fellow believers and of the many friends who attended the meetings. During the whole lecture tour, I felt well accepted by all the racial groups. Nobody ever expressed a criticism about anything that I said.

I was greatly impressed by the eagerness of our South African believers of all races to deepen their understanding and experience on Biblical truth. This is indicated also by the fact that over 2000 South Africans are subscribers to my newsletter. Some of them told me that they travelled hundreds of kilometers to attend the meetings. Never before I received so many orders for my publications and recordings. I mention all of this to reassure every one that South African Adventists of all races will hold a special place in my heart.

A DISTRESSING ASPECT OF OUR ADVENTIST CHURCH POLICY

What distressed me about our South African church is the policy of forced integration of white and black conferences being pursued by our South African Adventist leaders. I am told that the General Conference is supporting such a policy. If it is true, then for consistency sake, the General Conference should first of all implement such a policy of forced integration in the USA, where black (Regional) conference function independently within the same Unions. In the West Coast, where black churches do not have yet their own Regional Conferences, repeated attempts have been made in recent years by black Adventist leaders to set up their own Regional Conference. So far they have not received the majority vote from their own black members.

The existence of separate black and white conferences is not perceived to be discriminatory in the USA. A proof is the fact that there are black churches in white conferences, and white Hispanic churches in black conferences. Such a mixture can be seen, for example, in the Greater New York Conference, the Northeastern Regional Conference, the Florida Conference, and the Southeastern Regional Conference. Churches have the right to choose under which conference they wish to operate.

My point is that if in the USA our Adventist church has adopted a tolerant policy which allows not only for white and black conferences to co-exist, but also for black and white churches to choose the conference to which the want to belong, I do not see why our leaders in South Africa feel compelled to promote forced integration-a policy which has proven to be a total failure in the USA. In America churches and public schools are more segregated today than even before.

[aka]

(Bacchiocchi continues)

My comment that Helderberg has become a black college and consequently white students have no white college to attend, was interpreted to mean that black students have forced white students out of the school. Obviously, that is not what I meant. To my knowledge black students have never forced white students out of any Adventist College.

The reality is that when a College becomes predominantly or exclusively black, white students go to another college where their race is adequately represented. This gives them a better chance to date and marry within their own race. This is what is happening in America, where predominantly white Adventist colleges receive the largest enrollment of white students. The problem is that in South Africa white students do not have the option to attend another Adventist college that is predominantly white. Both Bethel and Helderberg college have become exclusively black.

The response of some black South African Adventists is that white students have no reason to stay away from black colleges, because we are one in Christ and we all belong to the family of God. Christ has abolished all racial distinctions and consequently there is no problem for white students to date and marry persons of another race. In fact, some see interracial marriages as the surest way to overcome the results of sin manifested in skin pigmentation of some races.

RACE IN THE BIBLE

In my preliminary investigation if found that nowhere the Bible suggest that racial distinctions are a human evil invention. God is the Creator of all the distinctions in the human and subhuman world. There are 25 different types of Fox animals in different parts of the world. Each type developed its characteristics in accordance to its habitat. Each type of fox, whether red or gray, is a divine creation, not the result of sin. The same is true of all animals, fruits and vegetables. Look at the variety of color and taste of apples. Dark red apples are not more sinful than the light green ones. The same is true of the distinctive racial groups of people.

Races are classified in 9 major categories: European, Indian, Asian, Melanesian, Polynesian, American Indian, African, Aboriginal Australian. Each race has developed its own unique features. I served 5 years in Ethiopia and I was amazed by the beauty of some men and women. Some of them looked like perfect statues. I am not surprised that Moses fell in love with an Ethiopian lady (Num 12:1-2). There is beauty in every race, simply because each race is part of God's creation.

The division of the earth at the time of the Tower of Babel, was God's action. Though the division was the result of human rebellion, the development of new races as a result of inbreeding within an isolated people-group, must be seen as part of the original genetic pool created by God. Gender and racial distinctions are not human inventions, but a divine creation. God built within each species the possibilities to develop amazing variations. The Bible teaches us to accept, respect, and appreciate the distinctions that God has established both in the human and subhuman creation.

There are no indications in the Bible that racial and ethnic distinctions must be abolished because they are the result of sin. . The text usually quoted to argue for racial integration is Galatians 3:28, which says: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Some focus on the Greek/Jew aspect of this text to argue that in Christ all races should be melded into one people. The problem with such a reasoning is the failure to recognize that the text affirms the soteriological unity of mankind, that is, salvation is open to all races and sexes, not the sociological integration of all races, that is, the melding of all races into one new race.

The Gospel did not perform the miracle of eliminating all racial and gender distinctions in the Apostolic Church. Greeks remained Greeks and Jews were still Jews. Males and females were not transformed into unisex beings. The text teaches us that all races have equal opportunity for salvation and to become part of spiritual Israel. But this does not mean that God wants everyone physically melded into one race.

Twenty years ago when I researched my book WOMEN IN THE CHURCH, I found that liberal scholars were eager to promote the abolition of functional, gender, and racial distinctions. These scholars see all these distinction as the legacy of a sinful past. My research shows otherwise. Scripture defends these distinctions as part of the order of creation, not as a result of sin.

It goes without saying that WOMEN IN THE CHURCH made me very unpopular in some Adventist circles. To this very day I am still a persona non grata in some Adventist Universities. My aim has never been to seek popular approval, but divine approval. My commitment is to seek to understand the teachings of the Bible, especially on issues we face today. Surprisingly, even in our church some jump to such simplistic conclusion that if we are one in Christ, then all forms of racial distinction are immoral and to be rejected. This seems to be the conviction that is influencing the policy of forced integration in our Adventist church in South Africa. The problem with this policy is the failure to understand what unity in Christ means and how it expressed in the OT and NT,

I take comfort in the thought that my research reaches beyond the boundaries of our church. For example, WOMEN IN THE CHURCH has been adopted as a text book in numerous seminaries. I am told that it has also influenced the Southern Baptist Church about 5 years ago, to reverse their decision on women ordination. Incidentally, the Southern Baptist Church is the largest Protestant denomination in the USA.

I have reason to believe that a thorough biblical study on the race issue can help us to put to rest some prevailing misconceptions. One of them is that racial distinctions are an immoral-a sinful legacy to be eliminated. My preliminary study shows otherwise. All distinctions in the human and sub-human creation are part of God's creation to be accepted and respected. There is nothing sinful about them. They are part of the beauty and variety of God's marvelous creation.

Respect for Divinely Established Distinctions

We live in an age when divinely established functional and sexual distinctions are rejected as an immoral legacy of the Dark Ages. The new social "Gospel" teaches functional and sexual interchangeability. Men can be women and women can be men, both functionally and sexuality. I discuss this philosophy at great length in my book WOMEN IN THE CHURCH. This philosophy has given impetus to the ordination of women and of homosexuals. The reasoning is that if functional distinctions do not matter, why should sexual distinctions matter? By extension, the same reasoning is applied today to racial distinctions: If we are one in Christ, why should racial distinctions matter?

My impression is that the Bible teaches us to respect all the distinctions that God has established. For example, we read: "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whoever does this things is an abomination to the Lord your God" (Deut 22:5).

[aka]

(Bacchiocchi continues)

The distinction extended to the inbreeding of cattle, mixing of seeds, or even cloth-threads. "You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind; you shall not saw your field with two different kinds of seed; nor shall there come upon you a garment of cloth made of two different kinds of stuff" (Lev 19:19). The reason for such instructions appears to be the need to respect the order of God's creation. God does not to approve blurring the distinctions which He has established.

The Origin of Racial Distinctions

The Bible teaches that all races descend from our first parents, Adam and Eve. All the genetic diversity we see today, was built in at the beginning. Prior to the building of the Tower of Babel "the whole earth had one language" (Gen 11:1). The rebellion at the Tower of Babel resulted in people being scattered over the earth. Such a scattering produced two effects: one genetic and the other linguistic.

Genetically, the separation of inbreeding populations produced distinct phenotypic characteristics within each separate population. Linguistically, each separate populations developed their own distinctive language. The result was that different races and cultures were formed, with certain features becoming dominant in each group.

Paul alludes to these distinctions when he says that God "made from one [Adam and Eve] every nations men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitations" (Acts 17:26). Obviously the "boundaries" refers not only to the geographical areas, but also to the racial and linguistic characteristics of each people group.

Interracial Marriages

In the Bible there are a few examples of interracial marriage. A notable example is the Cushite (Ethiopian) woman that Moses married (Num 12:1). No clues are given as to when and why Moses married this African woman, whose name is not even given. The only thing that we know is that she was not well-accepted by Aaron and Miriam. This led them to challenge Moses' authority. God punished Miriam with leprosy. The punishment reveals, not God's approval of interracial marriages, but God's condemnation of the rebellious attitude of Aaron and Miriam.

Another example is the marriage of Ruth, the Moabite, to Boaz, an Israelites. Prior to her marriage she expressed her faith in the true God of Israel (Ruth 1:16). These examples of interracial marriage in the Bible are the exemption, rather than the rule. The rule was to avoid marrying foreigners because of the danger of apostasy. "You shall not marry with them [Cananites], giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons. For they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods" (Deut 7:3-4; Ex 34:10-17).

This instruction was ignored by the Jews, especially when they returned to their homeland after the Babylonian exile. Many of them, including the priests, married native women and had children from them. We read in Ezra 9:1-2: "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices ... They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness."

Ezra, after a night of prayer and supplication, called all the people instructing the men "to put them [the wives] away with their children" (Ezra 10:44). Plans were laid out on how to carry out the instruction of sending away all the foreign wives with their children. A long list is given in Ezra 10 of all the priests, Levites, and leading men who obeyed the command by sending away their foreign wives and children.

The text suggests that the preservation of the Jewish race was very important in their thinking. Ezra led into the renewal of the covenant by issuing an absolute ban on mixed marriages. He required that all who wished to remain within the Jewish covenant community, had to immediately divorce their non-Jewish wives.

I find such drastic action unreasonable. After all, Ruth the Mohabite, was accepted into the Jewish community of faith after accepting the God of Israel. Why not give the same chance to all the non-Jewish wives and children that Jewish men had married? Undoubtedly some wives, like Ruth, had come to appreciate and accept the Jewish religion and were willing and ready to worship the God of Israel.

It appears that in Ezra's mind the preservation of "THE HOLY RACE," was very important. Thus he opted for a radical and, in my mind, irrational solution, that is, the expulsion of all the non-Jewish wives and children, irrespective of their leaning toward the Jewish faith. I find this radical action merciless. Yet this helps us to understand the importance of the race factor in the Old Testament.

The Jews were instructed not to marry foreigners, because people are conditioned not only by culture and education, but also by racial and genetic patterns. This is why God has set some boundaries for the orderly functioning of the human family (Acts 17:26; Gen 10:25,32; Deut 32:8).

Over half a century ago, when the U. S. declared war on Japan, the government rounded up and imprisoned Japanese-Americans just for being Japanese. The government never considered the political leanings of the people. It assumed that people of the same race are genetically predisposed to support the policies of leaders of their own race. This example shows how difficult it is to be rational when racial tensions arise.

No matter which races are combined, there exists an inherent possibility for different ways of thinking to clash. Moreover, children of interracial marriages are confused about who they really are. Racial bigotry can cause tensions within the family. Life is hard enough without adding the burden of interracial tensions.

BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL

An important point to note is that there are no derogatory references in the Bible about black skin color. On the contrary, Solomon quotes his lover as saying "I am black but comely" (Songs of Sol 1:5; KJV). The text suggests that "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL" in the Bible. There are no indications in the Bible of inferior status assigned to those of black skin. The reason is that God is the Creator of all races. Racial distinction are not the result of sin, but are part of God's design for the orderly functioning of the human family.

Skin pigmentation was not a problem in Bible time. In the Near East the skin color was pretty uniform. The Jews were instructed not to marry foreigners, because people are conditioned not only by culture and education, but also by racial and genetic patterns. This is why God has set some boundaries for the orderly functioning of the human family (Acts 17:26; Gen 10:25,32; Deut 32:8).

In Leviticus 17-18 there is a repeated mention of the foreigners who lived among the Israelites as foreigners. They had to observe specific Mosaic laws, but they were still different-they were foreigners. The integration of foreigners into the Jewish race was a rare and difficult process that required for men the surgery of circumcision. This explains why foreigners remained GODFEARERS, and were treated as a separate class.

Racial Distinctions in the Apostolic Church

The situation in NT is essentially the same. Believers were taught to accept and respect every race, because in Christ there is no distinction between Jews and Greeks. But the spiritual unity in Christ, did not abolish racial distinctions. The Apostolic Church understood that accepting people of all races as equal in Christ when it comes to salvation, does not eliminate racial or ethnic distinctions. This principle is exemplified in the division of the Apostolic Church between THE CHURCH OF THE CIRCUMCISION, that is, JUDEO-CHRISTIANS, and THE CHURCH OF THE UNCIRCUMCISION, that is, GENTILE CHRISTIANS.

If we accept the Apostolic Church as a model for Christian churches today, then we must accept that racial distinctions have been a reality from the very beginning of Christianity. The Apostles understood that Gospel teaches acceptance and respect of all races, but not their elimination or integration of races. I need to do more research on this matter, but my preliminary research leads me to conclude that racial distinctions were accepted in both the OT and NT as part of the order of God's creation.

[aka]

(he ends up by saying )

Paul himself admits that he was commissioned to minister to the Gentiles (the uncircumcised), while Peter to the Jews (the circumcised) (Gal 2:8). The two churches co-existed side by side in mutual respect during the first two centuries. No attempt was made by the apostles to integrate the two churches, because Scripture teaches that God has created us equal, but different. The Apostolic Church understood that differences in gender and race have to be respected.

Gradually a rift developed between the Jewish and Gentile churches, as a result of the Roman repressive anti-Jewish measures, which outlawed the practice of Judaism in general and the Sabbath in particular. I have examined this development in my doctoral dissertation. The outcome was that Gentile Christians came to distance themselves from Jews and Jewish-Christians, especially by abandoning even the Sabbath.

The point is that the Gospel teaches to accept and respect every person, irrespective of color, race, or culture, because soteriologically, that is, in terms of salvation, we are one in Christ, that is, equal before God. But the Gospel does not promote forced racial, cultural, or ethnic integration, because sociologically it recognizes and respects the racial, cultural, and ethnic distinctions established by God.

Paul alludes to these distinctions when he says that God "made from one [Adam and Eve] every nations men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitations" (Acts 17:26). Obviously the boundaries, as noted earlier, are not only geographical, but also cultural, linguistic, and racial.

The Problem of Accepting Gentile Christians

The problem in the Apostolic Church is that Jewish-Christians were apprehensive about interacting socially with Gentile Christians. It was through the vision of a great sheet containing clean and unclean animals, that God taught Peter not to be afraid to interact socially with Cornelius, a Gentile, because "what God has cleansed, you must not call common [unclean]" (Acts 10:15).

The issue of the social acceptance of Gentile Christian was deeply felt in the Apostolic Church. In fact, the first Jerusalem Council was convened in 49 A. D. to address this very question. The decision formulated by the Council was to inform the Gentiles who accepted Christ to respect four specific Mosaic laws (abstention from idolatry, unchastity, strangled meat, and blood) found in Leviticus 17-18. The original intent of these laws was to make it possible for foreigners (geer) to live among the Israelites.

In other words, the Mosaic law regarding the foreigners living in Israel, was now applied by the Apostolic leaders to the Gentile believers who wanted to live among Jewish believers. The foreigners in the OT and the Gentiles in the NT, were to be accepted and respected, but they were not expected to abandon their ethnic identity by becoming Jews. There are no provisions in the Bible for forced integration, that is, Gentiles becoming Jews or vice versa.

The Apostolic church gradually and painfully understood that the universal salvation offered through Christ's atoning sacrifice, meant the acceptance and respect of people of different races and culture. Such an acceptance did not result in forced integration. The Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians learned to accept and respect one another, but they continued to co-exist as independent churches. To use today's language, we might say that in the Apostolic Church there were the JEWISH CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE and the GENTILE CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE.

Gradually the Judeo-Christian churches disappeared, largely as a result of the Roman repressive measures against the Jews and their Sabbath. To avoid such measures Gentile Christians distanced themselves from Jews and Jewish Christians in order to show to the Roman authorities their separation from Judaism and their Sabbath, as well as their integration into cycles and worship the pagan society, especially by adopting the Day of the Sun. In my dissertation FROM SABBATH TO SUNDAY you will find a lengthy analysis of this process.

APPLICATION TO OUR TIMES OF THE EXAMPLE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH

When we apply the example of the Apostolic Church to our times, it is evident that forced integration did not work in apostolic times and will not work today. The reasons are theological and practical. Theologically, racial and cultural distinctions are part of God's design for the human family. Practically, most people want to retain their cultural and racial identity. For example, the Hispanics in America are the fastest growing ethnic group. They are so committed to preserve their ethnic identity, that they insist in speaking Spanish at home, at school, in the church, and in the society at large.

The same situation exists in our Adventist Church. In some conferences the number of ethnic churches outnumbers the English-speaking churches. The reason is that most people prefer to worship and fellowship with members of their own culture and race. At Andrews University numerous ethnic churches have been established, sometimes at great sacrifices. We have Korean, Hispanic, Filipino, Caribbean, Black, African, Asian, and other Adventist churches. Unfortunately, there is no Italian Church. I would love from time to time to worship in an Italian church to hear my melodious Italian language and to interact socially with believers who share my cultural heritage.

It is the same desire to preserve one's cultural and racial identity that is influencing parent to send their children to a school where their own race is adequately represented. For example, most white parents have no problems yet in sending their children to Andrews University, because black students make up 27% of the student body. They feel that there are still ample opportunities for their children to date and marry members of their own race.

The situation is much different at Atlantic Union College where 83% of the students are blacks. Most white parents do not feel comfortable to send their sons and daughters to a school where the racial mix is predominantly black. Thus, they usually send their children to Southern Adventist University which at this moment has only 11% of black students. The situation is rapidly changing as the influx of blacks at Southern Adventist University has been increasing dramatically in recent years. The explosive enrollment of white students of the past few years, will not last for ever. Soon white parents will have to face the reality that even Southern University will no longer be the "most white" Adventist university in North America.

In the light of the American experience, white South African parents can hardly be blamed for failing to send their sons and daughters to Helderberg college-an almost totally black college. The issue is not racism, but the lack of a balanced racial mix that provides white students opportunities to date and marry within their own race. If Helderberg was racially mixed like Andrews University, I believe that most white parents would have no problems in sending their sons and daughters there.

Conclusion

This preliminary investigation has shown that the unity in Christ proclaimed by the Gospel, does not abolish racial, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic distinctions. The Bible teaches us to accept and respect as members of the family of God, people of all races, languages and culture. Since racial distinctions have been established by God, they are to be accepted and respected, not abolished.

The biblical solution to the racial problem is not forced integration. America has experienced first hand the total failure of forced integration by bussing students away from their own ethnic schools to integrated schools. The result has been that today schools in America are more segregated than ever been before. The solution proposed by the Bible is to accept and respect people of all races, without forcing the elimination of racial or cultural distinctions, which God has established for the orderly functioning of the human family.

People have the right to live, worship, study, and marry within their own racial and cultural heritage. Some may feel comfortable to study, worship, or even marry within a different culture. That is their own prerogative. But there are no indication in the Bible that the aim of the Gospel is to eliminate all racial or cultural distinctions.

The great multitude of the redeemed consists of an amazing racial mixture of people from "every nation, from all tribes and people and tongues" (Rev 7:9; 14:6). It is evident that racial distinctions are here to stay until Christ's coming. What will happen at that time we do not know. I have reason to believe that we will all speak ITALIAN, because after all Italian is the most musical language. Consequently ITALIAN will help to preserve musical atmosphere of the new earth! (Please laugh!).

While we live in this present world, let us accept and respect the racial distinctions that God has established for the orderly functioning of the human family. Let us resolve to uphold at all costs the dignity of all people as beings created in the image of God. It would be inconsistent for our Adventist Church to be involved in world mission, without accepting people of all races as sons and daughters of God, created in His image and redeemed by Christ's atoning sacrifice.

--

Christian regards

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,

Retired Professor of Theology and Church History, Andrews University

4990 Appian Way

Berrien Springs, MI 49103

Phone (269) 471-2915 Fax (269) 978-6898

E-mail []sbacchiocchi@biblicalperspectives.com[/]

WWW HOMEPAGE: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com

[Guest]

Is Mr. Sam still authoring books? I thought he was into selling of Hitachi equiptment & such. When I first read his book "Sabbath to Sunday" when it first came out, I reconized real skill there. A Adventist could read this book and SEE that he was talking about the 7th day as the Sabbath, but a Sunday keeper could read the same book and SEE he was talking about the 1st day of the week as the sabbath. That is skill of the highest order in my opinion. Know any other people like that?

[David_McQueen]

What gets me is this point about racial representation and marriage based on the college you go to. I always knew I was going to marry a black woman and my older brother was always going to marry a white woman.

We both grew up educationally and professionally in a predominantly white environment but our aspirations and values remained the same. But then to be honest I really dont give Sam the time of day on these opinions, especially after this comments about music at the last GC session.

As Ed says maybe he is better focused on selling hitachi equipment and such!