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 PrintableVersion From every people and nationEbony and ivory?FROM EVERY PEOPLE AND NATION Subtitled 'a biblical theology of race', Danny Hays writes this carefully-argued and Scripturally-rich treatment as a moving, heartfelt testimony and polemic against racism and segregation in gospel churches in North America. As such it presents a message that needs to be heard, considered and embraced by believers and church leaders in Britain also. The basic thesis of the book, which this reviewer accepts and delights in, is that all races have equal dignity as image bearers of the Almighty, equal welcome to reconciliation through Christ, and belong - now and in eternity in one united, racially diverse and gloriously varied church. And Hays contends, and argues clearly and persuasively from Scripture, that local churches should reflect the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural makeup of the society from which they are drawn. In so doing, he shows that the tendency to allow and justify Jewish churches, white churches, black African churches, Asian churches and the like, is to depart from the Lord's clear pattern and desire for the church and adopt worldly expedients. Carefully arguedHays argues his case carefully from Scripture and the book has a scholarly feel to it. Some of the material is quite technical (and even tedious), and occasionally the exegesis seems a little forced, but much of the book is both interesting and relatively easy to read. Having written from within the American gospel scene, the author can be forgiven for stressing the (not infrequent) Scriptural references to black Africans (Cushites) rather than other ethnic groups, and on the whole this is a balanced and helpful treatment that is largely written in a measured and helpful tone. The book contains interesting and illuminating sections on key Bible characters like ebed-Melech and the Ethiopian eunuch. as well as a helpful, overarching grasp of the worldwide significance of God's covenant with Abraham. It also has a clear and convincing, yet perhaps overbrief, rebuttal of the notion that God's curse on Ham (which is, in fact, a curse on his son Canaan!) consigns black races to second-class citizenship in God's world. One of the most challenging parts of the book is the positive affirmation of racially-mixed marriages within the church. It exegetes powerfully from both Testaments the fact that it is spiritually mixed and not racially-mixed marriages that God outlaws. How we react to the interest of an adolescent offspring in a fellow-believer of different racial background is a searching test of how far our hearts are free from racism. Another area of real challenge that Hays brings to the church is the value of a racially-mixed church leadership (like that in Antioch). Surely an eldership should be viewed as highly desirable, and as an antidote to the racial tension that has troubled the church since the earliest days of the gospel in Jerusalem (as in Acts 6). Danny Hays's book is not cheap, nor is it a light read. However, its message is vital for today's church and absolutely rooted in Scripture. And although race is not the number one issue facing the church (as one black theologian whom Hays quotes in his introduction bizarrely claims) it is a vital issue that must be tackled if the church is to be 'in the world but not of it'. Graham Heaps, © Evangelicals Now - November 2003 |
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