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Race Relations
351
evident that his disciples were true to his spirit in interpreting his
mission and the Church in inclusive terms. The Jesus of the Gospels
always treated each individual as a person of dignity because he
looked upon each as a child of God. He mingled with publicans and
sinners. He was denounced by the Pharisees for dining with publicans.
He healed the servant of a Roman centurion and marveled at the
latter’s faith because he had not found anything to compare with it
in all Israel (Matt. 8:5-10, 13). He refused to grant the Jews
any special claim upon the Kingdom. Many will come from the
east and the west and sit down at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob in the Kingdom of God, he declared, while “the sons of the
kingdom” (i.e., the Jews) will be cast out into outer darkness (Matt.
8:11-12). And, in an equally surprising and pointed way, when he
wanted to make clear the meaning of neighbor-love, he told his
Jewish audience a story about a merciful act of a despised Samaritan.
Recognition of the dignity and fundamental equality of all men has
been part of the general witness of historical Christianity. As we have
previously noted, the idea of a superior race is a relatively modern
one. Although it has been defended by some on religious grounds,
it has never gained general acceptance in the Church at large. The
position of historical Christianity as a whole was well summarized
by the Oxford Conference in 1937: “The existence of black races,
white races, yellow races, is to be accepted gladly and reverently as
full of possibilities under God’s purpose for the enrichment of human
life. And there is no room for any differentiation between the races
as to their intrinsic value. All share alike in the concern of God,
being created by him to bring their unique and distinctive contributions
to his service in the world.”11
The testimony of science strikingly confirms the Christian con
ceptions of both the oneness of mankind in its origin and the essential
equality of the races. Scientists generally agree that all men belong to
11 J. H. Oldham, ed.,
The Official Report of the Oxford Conference,
New
York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937, p. 60. Compare the Preliminary
Report for the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Evanston,
The Christian Hope and The Task of the Church
(New York, Harper & Broth
ers, 1954), section entitled “Intergroup Relations—the Church Amid Racial
and Ethnic Tensions,” p. 27: “The Churches agree that since mankind . . . is
created and sustained by God, the human race is of one blood, possessing a
fundamental unity in spite of secondary differences.” Roman Catholicism
grounds the equality of men in natural law. See John LaFarge,
The Catholic
Viewpoint on Race Relations
,
Garden City, New York, Hanover House, 1956,
p. 77.