Do the people in Scripture look like they do in the paintings of European artists? How much racial diversity is there in the Bible?
The main title, "From Every People and Nation" makes one think of the promise in Revelation that God will gather people from all languages and ethnicities around the world. The subtitle, "A Biblical Theology of Race" reveals the focus on race, aimed at the divide between black and white in American Christianity.
Author J. Daniel Hays points out the importance of the Cushites (also known as Ethiopians) throughout Scripture, going from Genesis to Revelation looking both at the mention of black Africans as well as the teachings on unity of God's people throughout the Bible. In addition, he deals with how commentators through the ages ignore the importance of the Cushites and often consider them slaves when the Biblical text doesn't state that.
This is the second book I've read in the series "New Studies in Biblical Theology", and I am hooked. I highly recommend this book, especially to confront some of the prejudice and racist interpretations of Scripture. For example, he makes it clear the Bible does not condemn inter-racial marriage - the only prohibitions deal with faith and religion, not on ethnicity.
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