There lingers among many people the en¬tirely fallacious idea, sometimes referred to as racism, that some races are by nature inferior while others are superior. God, how¬ever, has made no innately inferior or superior races. All races have been created in the image of God. All belong to one family (Acts 17:26). This means that racial prej udice is to have no place in the life of a Christian or a Christian church. Our heavenly Father is no respecter of persons (Job 34:19; Acts. 10:34; 1 Per. 1:17); and his children should not be. We are “all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). If we cannot pray “Our Father” (Mart. 6:9) with fellow believers of different colors and cultures, there is something wrong with our relation to their Father and our Father. One expression of prejudice that we should avoid is stereotyping. We should never be guilty of saying, “All whites are...,” ‘All blacks are...,” “All Hispanics are.” There may be vol¬untary separation of races in our churches and society but there should be no involuntary segregation, maintained by law or social pressure. We may be of many classes and colors in our churches, but we are “one body in Christ” (Rom. 12:5; I Cot. 12:12), with Christ as the head (Eph. 5:23). Human distinctions such as male and female, white and black are transcended in him. He will break down the walls of prejudice that separate us if we will let him (Eph. 2:14; Col. 3:11).

A church that is “the church of God” (1 Cot. 1:2; 2 Cot. 1:1) cannot close its doors or its membership to anyone because of his or her race. Racial prejudice is expressed most strongly regarding mixed marriages. While there are some valid practical arguments against mixed marriages in some cultures, there is no scriptural teaching directly against such marriages. Old Testament passages frequently used against mixed marriages were religiously rather than racially motivated (Exod. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-5; Ezra 9:1-2). When such marriages take place churches should accept and seek to minister to the ones in¬volved. Christians and churches are obligated to do what they can to eliminate expressions of prejudice in housing and in jobs.

Housing is one of the most basic but difficult problems in the whole area of race relations. Many other problems stem from or are related to housing. Christians from any majority group, how¬ever, should not succumb to prejudice and scare tactics to be a part of the racially motivated exodus from an area into which minority peoples have moved. Christians should support efforts to see that apartments and houses are available for rent or sale re¬gardless of race. Also, we should do what we can to prohibit dis¬crimination in employment or discrimination regarding upgrad¬ing on the job on the basis of race. The ideal, in the area of education, should be that every child regardless of racial origin, would have an opportunity for the best possible education. Every indi¬vidual should have an opportunity to receive adequate education helpful in his or her daily work.