[Diligent]

Originally Posted by custer

I agree that what we choose to call the division of peoples IS a side issue; I only brought it up because parts of this thread had degenerated into regionalism - taking God's divisions (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and breaking them into a myriad of regional "races."

Now you're cherry-picking. Why stop at the sons of Noah? You have all sorts of "ites" throughout Scripture -- Canaanites, Amelikites, Israelites, and on. Where do you get the doctrine that a Hamite can't marry a Japhethite?

Making (and keeping) distinction in Caucasian, Asian, and Negroid peoples is a world apart from trying to say French people can't marry Germans or Americans or Canadians or Scots - which is what some were trying to assert here.

When someone quotes a verse that says something about nations and boundaries, they are quoting a verse that is taking about nations and boundaries.

Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

This verse was presented as a proof text for disallowing "race mixing." The verse says nations, and doesn't even include a command preventing migration, let along intermarriage between nations. If you (or someone else) is going to hold up this verse as proof that "race mixing" is not allowed, you're going to have to first explain why it's okay for a German to marry a Frenchman, since they have different "bounds of habitation." Then you're going to have to explain why you don't advocate that we white people all move back to Europe (presumably our original "bounds of habitation") and give the Americas back to the American Indians. Maybe after that is all settled, we can figure out what that verse has to do with marriage of people from different nationalities, but only after you tell all those people, like me, with mixed heritages where they can go to get spouses.

However, I was a little too narrow with the Bible terminology; in Genesis 10, God refers to tongues, nations, countries, families, AND generations...(This relates well to the Acts 17 verse.)

According to Genesis 43:32, it's not true that "only Israel under the Law was ever concerned with such things." The Bible says, "the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians."

I am talking about God's commandments, not cultural taboos. That was an abomination to the Egyptians, not God. And, by the way, who did Joseph marry?

For instance, Acts 17:26 is about the physical bodies of people, which is what gets married...while Galatians 3:28 is completely spiritual (I know this has been said already...bear with me!) My question is - How can you make one part of the list in that verse ("Jew nor Greek") PHYSICAL and leave the other parts of the same list SPIRITUAL? My point is that if we are not supposed to take any note of "race" now that we're in Christ, why are we to notice any PHYSICAL difference in male and female - the verse DOES say "there is neither male nor female!!!" So I just want to know how you reconcile that...

Marriage is always between a man and a woman. There should not need to be any discussion of that fact here. The question is, in Christ, do we need to concern ourselves with segregation? Galations 3:28 and Collosians 3:11 teach clearly that there is no reason to consider it in Christ. Marriage, by definition, from the first occurrance, is between a man and a woman. The definition of Marriage from the Bible never includes "race" as a component. Whom did Moses marry? Whom did Joseph marry? Whom did Boaz marry? They all married women, from different "races." This goes beyond marriage, of course. If you're going to ignore Gal 3:28 and Col 3:11 and make an issue out of Blacks "staying in Africa" and Whites "staying in Europe" (who knows where everyone in America is supposed to go) you're also going to end up having to segregate your churches, etc.

If someone is going to "forbid" marriage between two people, they had better come up with a solid Scriptural basis for it. The idea that they have to be from the same "ites" (if such a thing can even be determined now) is nothing you can get from Scripture, unless you are Hebrew under the law considering marriage with a Canaanite!