Ever since I was little I have seen various relationships involving people from different ethnicity. I, personally have never had a problem with it, but I have noticed and witnessed the effects that come from these relationships. Families are sometimes separated along with longtime friendships diminishing all because of different opinions that people share. Certain Christians state that God did not intend for us to "mix" with other races, but interestingly enough I have found that their seems to be no where in the Bible where God states this outlook. He does tell Christians not to marry an "unbeliever" in Corinthians, but no where does he say not to marry someone from a different culture or race. I am a Christian, but I am not a racist. I believe that God created us ALL equal and while I have never been in a multi-cultural relationship, I do not hold anything against those who are or have been. When God says he made EVERYONE in his image, he does not mean just white people or only African Americans...he means EVERYONE. So how can any Christian be racist? Society has formed their own negative opinion against interracial relationships and their is no doubt that people involved in interracial relations go through quite a few more challenges in their relationships than most couples. The way I see it, everyone has a special someone for them... and if you are truly in love with someone, you shouldn't worry about other peoples' feelings on the relationship, but rather embrace the love you have found and as long as your both happy, run with it!
26 comments:
I absolutely agree with you that interracial couples face many obstacles in their relationship. God created us all equally and it isn't right for society to criticize an interracial couple. I do think that our society is becoming more accepting of mixed couples and I believe that the older generations are the people who have the most problem with these couples. They grew up in a time where it was completely wrong for two people of a different race to have any kind of relationship, but times are changing and so are the standards of generations before.
Interracial couples definitely face more challenges than normal couples in our society. God created everyone the same way and I don't think that society should look down upon these types of relationships. However, I do believe that the people in our generation are more open to this idea than those in older generations are. So as our generation takes over society, I believe that this problem will become less and less of an issue.
I would have to agree in saying that interracial couples do encounter a lot more challenges than most couples face. I do believe that it is hard for our current grandparents to understand this, just because that was un-heard of and was considered unethical. I believe that as the generations go on.
I personally have been in an interracial relationship for almost seven years. I have come from a background where color does not matter. My great grandparents are white and my grandparents are a mix between African American, Native American and white. At first, it didn't seem as such of a big deal, seeing as we were only sixth graders when we started dating, but as the years went by we started noticing the expressions from people who may have different opinions. I am a Christian and I strongly believe that God does not see color. If we are constantly striving to be more like God day by day, as Christians are hopefully doing, we should be able to overlook color as well. The love between two people is not predictible. God teaches us to love what is shown through the inside despite the appearance on the outside. It is sometimes difficult to be comfortable with the stares and the whispering that my boyfriend and I experience say for instance, walking down the mall holding hands. I feel that older generations have a harder time coping with the fact that society is somewhat becoming okay with the situation. I think as the years go by more and more people will become accepted with the situation at hand. It has been discussed about what would happen later on if we were to get married and decided to have children. I do believe that biracial children have obstacles they have to experience in their day to day lives. At that point, the parents are there to help their children through that and hopefully the child will learn from the experiences. It is a difficult and frustrating situation at times but if I had to do everything all over again, I wouldn't change one thing. I can only hope things will change, and one day everyone will be looked at as equal.
In my highschool years I attended a few extremely conservative christian camps who made the exact claim that interracial relationships are bad and I personally never understood it. I remember asking a preacher why they held this view and he honestly just seemed unsure of the answer to that question and really unsure of the claim in general- like he basically held that opinion because it was the accepted belief for that denomination. But as the world changes, so does the church and I feel like not many people hold this opinion any more. A lot of "christian" people were at the center of racism and segregation and I feel like our generation just felt the lingering yet dwindling affects of generations past. I think soon enough this view will no longer be held. I feel like there has been a drastic change even in the last few years and our generation is for the most part a generation who is not willing to tolerate racism and once we raise our kids, the claim that interracial relationships are wrong will be completely obsurd. That preacher I spoke of before said that the biggest reason is that it is difficult to mesh two different cultures but we are a much more flexible and tolerant generation and we actually enjoy learning and adapting to other cultures.
I have never believed that there is a problem with interracial relationships. I just feel that because of the stigmas set up by society it makes it much more challenging to have an interracial relationship. For that reason, it is really important that the two people go into the relationship understanding what a challenge it will be.
My opinion on a few points:
a) How does God play into this? For that matter...why does God play into this? In my opinion, God matters as much in relationships as does the average bollard. Also, you've got to consider that Christianity is an incredibly broad term; a Catholic and a Southern Baptist will disagree on many things. Just as Mormons will disagree with Methodists on many things. The challenge is not what God believes, it's what you believe (and put into practice). From what I have seen, Christianity plays an enormous role on how and what people think. Moreover, it plays an even larger role on why they think what they think, which is sadder still. Most people are offended by how people thought (concerning race) in the 50s and 60s. I am offended by how people thought 1700 years ago, as well.
b) There are few people who can say that they are not racist and be truly sincere. An excellent example of this is Jane Elliot's eye color experiment. Opression happens by default. White like me is a good book to read concerning racism.
c) I personally believe that Love is Love. Race holds the same weight as something trivial (and meaningless) like hair color.
d) This is one of the most liberal universities out there. Most people are incredibly less accepting than people around here. Many religions have yet to get to gender equality, so I am not really holding my breath for religions to even consider racial equality for quite some time (example , the Southern Baptist Convention states that only males may be priests). As far as obstacles goes, think how many obstacles such as gender and racial equality are hindered by certain religious convictions.
The one thing that bothered me most about what you said is that God doesn't see race. I can't buy this. There's a reason that God created different races, why would he choose to ignore them if he placed them on Earth? Every race is beautiful, but there can be differences between them which just make them even more beautiful, especially when they live together. As cliche as everything I just said sounds, I truly believe it. And I feel people make too much of an emphasis trying to ignore race just so that they aren't pegged as a "racist." But there's nothing wrong with distinguishing between someone being black and white, just as long as you are careful not to stereotype. However, there can always be valuable cultural differences. In our society today we are all afraid of being considered racist and so we are always on guard about "not seeing color." If we take away people's race, then we take away a part of who they are.
I totally agree with the idea that God made EVERYONE in his image, and that for this reason interracial relationships are just as acceptable as any other relationship. Love is a matter of the heart, not of the eyes...a person's skin color should not be a factor when considering a relationship with them.
I agree with your comments about interracial relationships. It is not my place to decide whether or not someone is right for someone else. That is a decision not up to me. However, while it is ideal that Christians are not racist, we are all hypocrites and struggle with judging others for various things.
I do not have anything against interracial or inter cultural relationships, but I can see how it might make future situations in life harder. For example, if a Christian marries a Jewish person, they would have to be in agreement whether to raise their children Christian or Jewish. I think if the couple can agree on situations like those, than the relationship will work.
i completely agree with this opinion! its definitely ok in my opinion to have interracial relationships!! and if you are both honoring the Lord, it has nothing sacreligious about it.
Interracial relationships are a beautiful blend of two cultures and I think it creates a neat environment for the children to grow up in, but I also can understand the difficulties and challenges that the children could face with deciding where and how they fit into society.
But, my overall opinion is that interracial relationships are great. I think that Love is Love, and that it should not depend on what race the two people are.
The song "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world..." comes to mind. The song doesn't say Jesus loves some of the little children -- he loves us all. So why wouldn't it be okay for us to love anyone and everyone, regardless of their race. I agree that being in such a relationship is a personal decision, as all relationships are a personal decision. It doesn't matter the color of your skin as long as your relationship is a healthy and godly relationship.
I think this is a very hot topic in today's society because it is something that is easily seen throughout our world. Personally, I do not think I could ever be in an interracial relationship. Because of my beliefs, some people might call me racist, but when in fact, I am not. I do not look down on others who feel that they are in a great relationship. If being happy with someone means putting yourself in that situation, that is fine. I think this topic is mainly based on personal beliefs. But when people's belief differ, the problems start to play in. When someone is opposed to these relationships, they sometimes shun these people. Just because SOME people do that, it doesn't mean all people are like that.
I'm a white, Jewish female, and my last boyfriend was Indian. Our relationship lasted two years and we are talking about getting back together, but he goes to college in a different state. We even managed to stay together through his first year of college, but the distance makes things difficult. Anyways, we learned so much about each other's cultures and religions during our time together. In fact, we realized that our cultures are actually quite similar.
On another note, I cannot wait until the day that all cultures are mixed and we do not even have to worry about race. I think it is far off, but the "pure" bloodlines are starting to disappear. Hmm...this reminds me of Harry Potter. A mudblood was the best in their class. What does that tell you?
I completely agree with you Monica. Where there are differences, there will always be discrimination of some sort. Christians shouldn't be racist because what holds us together is love, not hate!
I think most would agree that our generation is much more tolerant to multicultural relationships. When my youth pastor married a Filipino women no one in the youth group thought anything about it. Later however, parents reacted to it questioning how it might effect the lessons learned in the time we spent together. Time passed and it was no longer really noticed, we still loved their family.
Society put the bad label on interracial relationships, the bible did not. I think we are all just looking for someone in this world to make us happy whether they have a different skin pigment or not. People are not always able to choose who they fall in love with, sometimes it just happens. I believe it is okay to just let it happen.
I completely agree. Essentially i think the arguement behind this is racism. I think that love is simple about that... love. Why should the color of your skin make any difference? Love is something you cant control and something you shouldnt have to control. We are all equal, relationships shouldnt be an exception to equality. Anyone who claims to be Christian and then demonstrates racism by openly disagreeing with interracial relationships, I believe, is hypocritical. Not only that, if a person does disagree with interracial relationships, there is no need to be openly hateful about it. Some people will have their opinions and disagree with it and unfortunately theres just nothing you can do about that, but what I dont understand is why people thing they need to interfere with the love lives of other people?
I also agree with you, Monica. You're right, society has definitely created a negative view on interracial relationships. I also agree with what you said about these relationships breaking up families. That reminded me of one episode of "Engaged and Underage" on MTV. In that episode, a Hispanic girl was marrying an African American boy, and the boy's family would have nothing to do with him after he informed his family about his new relationship. It's kind of sad that a situation like this would split up a family. The family didn't seem to have a reason for shunning the boy other than the fact that he was going to marry someone of a different background.
I couldn't agree with you more. I think that relationships are about love and inward happiness rather than the external stereotype that we most often label. I think that relationships can be very complicated, but shouldn't be made complicated through the race of either partner. I really look up to people in interracical relationships. They allow themselves to see from a different perspective and take part in a new culture.
Let me start off by saying that i am not racist and grew up with all black people and happen to be a very cultured individual although you may think otherwise after this. Im just not a fan of the whole race mixing thing. Just look at the beginning before people started exploring the world. Black people in africa, white people in europe and thats how it was made to be. and honestly people give all this crap about how gods eyes see all individuals evenly. this is true but do you honestly think that god made different races for a reason outside of organization. and honestly the problem is this generation has made this acceptable. but why do it because although your parents may tell you that they are proud they are not bc when they grew up it was black couples and white couples. people are doing this basically as a form of acting out and going against the norm. this entire generation is about that, doing drugs bc its wrong having lots of sex before marriage w/ multiple partners bc its not what we are supposed to do. people who have interracial relationships are just doing this to act out against society or whatever. im not sayin adam and eve were white but every thing ever known by the bible is that they were of the same color ill tell you that. if not they would have been ebony and ivory. and lets be honest its harder for kids growing up having a white mom and black dad or vice versa so i just dont understand why people would cause this kind of mental trauma when everyone growing up learns that white people go together and black go together. you dont see kids books with mixed couples and for a reason, same race relationships is the way its supposed to be. and for whoever this offends i apologize but this is how i see it and how probably 85% of the world does its just that the other 15% is 10 that dont care and 5% that have to speak out strongly bc they know inside that they are wrong and outnumbered. Basically is a parallel with gay couples and how everyone thinks its wrong or just dont care to pay them any mind and then there is the small group fighting for something that history shows us is not the way things started so dont change certain morals that our ancestors set. just my opinion stay strong love strong just love those who look like you, things would be easier.
I feel like society holds this ideal that interracial couples can't succeed and there will much criticism if one chooses to be in an interracial couple. By society portraying this ideal it is meant to deter people from engaging in this type of relationship. Really is that how society feels? Or do certain people in our society feel uncomfortable with the idea of interracial relationships and therefore tell others that it won't work? I don't believe that people of the same race will have a more successful relationship than someone who is in a multi-cultural relationship. Relationships are hard no matter what your background. If you truly care about the other person and work together you can have a wonderful relationship. If in God's eyes He loves everyone the same then who you choose to be with doesn't matter. The only real opinion that matters is God's. So there is no reason to worry about what others think.
OK so I've been in an interracial relationship for almost 8 years (with a year and a half break) and an interracial marrige with the same person I was dating for almost two and a half years so I have a lot of experience in this area. I think people sometimes treat you a little differntly like in public. For example, I absolutely HATE when my husband and I go to a restaurant and they assume that we are not together. Especially if we walk in with a group of people they assume I'm with the black people and he's with the white people and the crazy thing is we are standing right beside eachother holding hands. It is so aggrevating!! Other than that though, I sometimes feel like society make a way bigger deal out of the interracial thing than it really is. Yes, we get weird looks, but I think frankly I just don't care and I think that's kinda the approach you have to take. I see magazine articles and such all the time talking about "Raising multi-racial children", etc., etc....I just feel like raising a child is raising a child, what does race have to do with it? They need the same love as eveyother child in the world and as far as culture is concerned..teach them both (or all 3 or whatever). It's not that hard ...love your kids, teach your kids who they are including all cultures involved, teach your kids your moral and religious values end of discussion. Their identity will emerge on its own and "race" should have nothing to do with with that, multi-racial or not.
Yes it is harder for interracial couples,but sadly enough, most of those problems come from their own friends and loved ones.
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