Mixed Race

Dear Victorious,

I'm Hispanic and am in a relationship with an African-American man. My grandmother, who is Catholic, says this is immoral. When I've asked her to explain why, she just says that God separated people for a reason and it's disrespectful to him to ignore that separation. Is this Biblical?

Rosa P. - El Paso, TX

Dear Rosa,

No, it's not. Your grandmother is trying to make up truth to support her own bias. Don't listen to her. The only time God told His people to separate from others was when the others were evil. Language, race, culture and other differences are not supposed to separate God's people. Rather they are a way of humbling God's people as we come together.

When considering anyone as a marriage partner, consider the Biblical admonition to not be unequally yoked. (See 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.) It means that we are not to commit ourselves in marriage, in business or in any other way to people who don't share our faith, share our values, etc.

So the only way to apply race in a situation like this would be if you considered a certain race to be inferior in some way (i.e., evil, not loved by God, etc.). Christ-followers would never take such a position on any such race - it's simply not Biblical.