Dr. Brad Breems is Professor of Sociology at Trinity Christian College.  The articles below appeared as a trwo-part installment in Trinity Christian College Magazine, a biannual publication of the Development Office that goes out to all alumni, parents, supporters and interested people.  These articles appeared in the Fall, 2001 and Spring, 2002 issues.

The development of diversity occurs immediately in Creation, where the emptiness of Genesis 1:2 is replaced by myriad divisions - light from darkness; water below from the vapors above; land from water; abundance and variety of plants, insects, birds, fish and mammals; and, finally, humankind itself, in the image of God. General and specific diversity sprang from God, who declared it good, even after it had been given to people to develop. God portrays divinity as a community in Genesis 1:26--"let us make man in our image, in our likeness…"--setting diversity’s origin in God.

Further, the principle of diversity is connected to the cultural mandate to be fruitful, multiply, and to steward God’s dominion, according to the patterns God established. Even after the fall, God affirms human diversity in the accounts of the human family as evident from Adam and Eve’s genealogy in Genesis 5.

In a New Testament reflection, the apostle Paul indicates that all reality finds its unity in Christ, in whom all things hold together, unified (Colossians 1:16-17). And the Bible concludes with the profusion of ethnicity raising united praise to God.

The Bible shows how diversity gave way to disharmony

The harmony of paradise, in which "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good," gave way to disobedience, banishment, misery, and destruction.

People sometimes cite the account of Noah and his sons, in which Canaan is cursed because of the sin of Ham, his father, while God blesses Shem and Japheth in Genesis 9:18-27 and 10:1-32. Close biblical study shows that these passages are not intended to indicate the origins of ethnic or racial beginnings in s the sense of scientific or modern classification. Instead, they view three lines of people from a Hebrew perspective. This story cannot be used to separate nations, ethnic groups, or their members from one another in our present time. In fact, separate lists of the descendants of Shem in Genesis 10 and 11 indicate two emphases: the first--broader, more inclusive--stresses the line of belief through many nations. The second narrows until attention is placed specifically on Abram. In both cases, we note how God transformed His relationship to the covenant people until literal descent gives way to the principle of inheritance to all those who are Abraham’s seed in Christ.

The Babel event of Genesis 11 is likewise used to explain the origins of languages and peoples. its primary significance also is not lingual or ethnic origins, since such divisions already existed; rather, the passage describes people who wanted to make themselves great, independent of God. Confusion of language, therefore, was not its origin, but the fragmentation and alienation that develop as a result of attempts to consolidate massive human efforts against God.

Thus, the fall into sin does not make the differences, themselves, curses or evils; rather, in disobedience and sin, divisions become vehicles for disobedience and service to false gods and religions. Accordance gives way to dissent, profusion degenerates to confusion, diversity to perversity.

Christianity and its Scriptures show God intervening to restore the root of unity through human atonement and Christ’s sacrifice for all.

Isaiah’s picture of redeemed humanity typifies the Scripture’s theme

When Isaiah cries, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you" (Isaiah 60:1), the vision that follows is a chapter-long saga of all peoples coming to the throne of God: "Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (Isaiah 60:3).

These directives toward redemption of God’s creation and humanity are fulfilled in Christ. Sin’s division, in its social and personal dimensions, must be destroyed: "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (I Corinthians 15:22). In the book of Revelation, we note that redemption is closely tied to a restoration of unity among people without diminishing diversity:

All humanity gathered before the throne links redemption to fundamental human fellowship. Paul relates Christ, who is the redeemer of humanity, with his larger role in creation: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, …all things were created by him and for him. His is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16-17). Christ’s redemption becomes clearer and more concrete in Romans 3:22-29--in which God declares righteous all who believe in Christ--"There is no difference" (vs. 22). Only through faith in Christ can redeemed humanity consistent with verse 26. Christ justifies us, in spite of our continuing sin (vs. 26), and demonstrates that justice means being willing to go as far as shedding one’s blood for others. Although all have sinned, we are justified and freed to meet God’s standards of justice only in Christ’s redemption. This theme is repeated in Romans 3:9, in which all--Jew and Gentile alike--are "under sin" and in need of redemption.

Redemption is the vehicle by which God brings back sinful and wayward humanity, making people part of the family of God once again by the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son, our brother. Since Christ bought back the world and humanity by His own purchase, the process of reconciliation between God and humanity, and among people, can begin. As parts of the redemption motif, God reconciles us with Himself and with each other, and demands repentance from evil. In this movement of reconciliation, humans must become right with each other, as God, in Christ, is forgiving and reconciling them.

Difference, diversity, and profusion are not, themselves, degenerate. Even the establishment of the children of Abraham and Israel as God’s special people was not to perpetuate their special status, but to bless all people through them (e.g. in Genesis 18:18 and 26:4). Micah 6:8 repeats this theme of actively redeeming structures through acts of obedience: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." These are all movements toward concrete redemption, through obedient action, of the original task of managing diversity according to the principles established by God at creation. Christ redeems us once and for all (Hebrews 7:27), yet in repentance and deliberate actions of justice and love we must continue to seek the actual reconciliation that Old Testament sacrifices signified in their societies. Restoration of people with each other is closely tied to redemptive sacrifice; likewise, redemption today involves trust in Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and then obedience that leads to reconciliation between people under Christ’s blood. Jesus refers to this in such passages as Luke 3:8, in which he links obedience and repentance from an ethnocentrism that precludes obedience: "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."

Romans 12:9-21 indicates the lengths to which one must enact love because of God’s mercy (vs. 1) and "in Christ" (vs. 5), as we supersede divisions and hatred in accepting one another as children of God.

This new redemption, in which we are "justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24), leads Paul to comment on the direct relationship between justification or redemption and the tearing down of all barriers, in Galatians 3:26-28. Faith in Christ erases the significance of human ethnic divisions as bases for membership in the family of God. If one believes he or she is an heir of Abraham, and clothed in Christ, this kinship transcends and displaces the categories of Jew-Greek, male-female, slave-free. In Ephesians 2:11-13 and 21-23, Paul notes that the joining of all into one covenant and citizenship is directly related Christ’s saving sacrifice and resurrection. Those who would otherwise be hostile and separate are now reconciled through the cross and made one. In the middle of a great treatise that places multi-ethnicity at the center of God’s redemption and human reconciliation and repentance, Paul writes:

Ethnic reconciliation is not a tangent of redemption; it is central to the theme of redemption. It is more than an example of God’s restoration of creational unity, it is a paradigm for peace. Putting this thrust of the gospel into practice individually and a College, requires the concerted effort of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 4, where this link between obedience and unity is explicit:

Founded and supported largely by Dutch-American Calvinists, Trinity Christian College has usually drawn only between eight and 14% of its student body from non-European ethnic groups – that figure was 11.5% in Fall, 2001 – 12.6 % including off-campus and adult programs. The number of African-American students last fall was 43; Hispanic, 13. This is very low, in a metropolitan region with 1.5 million African Americans and 1.4 million people claiming "Hispanic" in the 2000 census – with many Christians in both groups. While this is above average for similar Christian colleges, Trinity recognizes the limitations of its relative uniformity and seeks to change that. A paragraph in its mission statement says, "We consciously seek to develop a multi-racial, multi-national, and multi-denominational student body." Currently its Ethnic Diversity Committee is working on new documents with measures to encourage a more diverse student body with higher student retention and greater satisfaction. Students in the Organization for African-American Unity and its Multicultural Subcommittee try to increase awareness, participation and understanding among all students. The Alumni Association knows it must foster interest among minority students. Recently the Admissions Department developed the Greater Chicago Christian Leadership Scholarship – a full-tuition scholarship targeting potential students from under-represented groups. President AJ Anglin stated his desire for a more multicultural climate and community.

While the college is aware of its mission and advantages of a diverse community, achieving that is difficult. Perhaps foremost is that American society, in general, remains segregated in spite of civil rights advances. Still around 90% of the people in the Chicago area would have to move in order for every neighborhood to reflect the population percentages of the region. People simply don’t know how to interact effectively and deeply across ethnic and religious boundaries. Expectations, assumptions and prejudices about each other continue to govern relations and choices. The heritage of the college, including its theological and philosophical tradition, is rich, but also unfamiliar to many Christians, and sometimes that appears a barrier to full participation. College structures, and sometimes persons are not congenial or sensitive to the needs and persons of those who are not of the college’s majority support and student population. As a tuition-based institution, expenses are higher than many can sustain, and fewer scholarship dollars are available to those from outside the Reformed tradition. Another feeling that minority students frequently mention is that so many of our students are from Christian schools. While that is good in many ways, it creates at least the perception of distinction and exclusivity. Academic training and style are cited as other reasons some do not feel that they fit at Trinity. Others chafe at the effects of limited world experience and exposure of some students, faculty and personnel, with results ranging from naivete to insensitivity and ethnocentrism. With so few non-European American students here, recruitment, identity, and specific-interest entertainment and services are all issues that potential or current students feel and sometimes mention. Lack of understanding across all social boundaries is endemic in our culture. It hurts us here too.

On the positive side, many minority students cite reasons why Trinity appeals to them. Often those rationales are mirror images of what bothers others. Many students reel off a list of features they appreciate about Trinity. That includes: academic excellence; consistent infusion of biblical teaching into everything we do; the care, love and personal attention of some administrators, faculty and students; and an appreciation of individuality and sensitivity for ethnic differences. People here often cross ethnic boundaries, learn from and interact with each other, leading to greater tolerance and understanding. Increasingly multicultural, inter-ethnic and cross-racial issues are discussed in forums, chapels, conversations and classes. Many faculty and departments, along with the General Education and Curriculum Committees are instituting positive steps toward inclusiveness in content, teaching and participation. Students notice and comment on that. Under the direction of Felecia Thompson, the Academic Services program has expanded, and Mrs. Thompson’s office serves to bridge students who may struggle to adjust to Trinity’s climate. Although many students appreciate that guidance, other, broad, systemic changes must also occur.

Among the many reasons to seek diversity, six stand out: the desire to make Trinity’s unique Christian education available to all those who desire it; God's fundamental mandate for unity in the body of Christ; the recognition of unequal access to higher education; awareness of and the desire to redress ethnic discrimination in the society and church; acknowledgement that a harmonious society depends on harmonious relations within institutions. To this we must add that the world in which our students will live and serve will certainly be much more diverse, international, and complex than at present. Without diversity, the college is not participating in the real world. This article realizes where we have come from, where we would like to go, and the barriers and assumptions that prevent quick, easy acceptance of each other. In it we struggle with why we have to struggle, not simply with diversity, but with the unhealthy divisions in contemporary multicultural society, with which we struggle here at Trinity Christian College.

If you are not white, or even if you are white, but not affiliated with a Reformed or Presbyterian denomination, you won’t find too many people just like you at Trinity. Some may not consider that a problem, but many people disagree, and for reasons that we don’t clearly understand nor control. Anthropologist Clifford Geertz goes so far as to say that ethnic consciousness is part of being human. He calls it "ineffable," or beyond questioning. Biologist E.O. Wilson claims that the feeling for one’s own kind is genetically encoded. Sociobiologist Pierre van den Berghe asserts that human institutions and emotions are built on the organism’s desire to pass along and preserve genetic material. So, like an animal does instinctively, a person will likely save her own before another’s offspring, to maximize reproductive success.

Some folks read a similarly exclusivist position into the Bible. If one reads literally the "table of nations" stemming from the sons of Noah in Genesis 10, or the scattering from the Tower of Babel of Genesis 11, or ancient Israel’s uniqueness, one could come up very ethnocentric.

Those who hold these positions say that differences among people naturally follow genetic lines and say things like: "Germans (or fill in the blank) stick together; that’s natural." For them, although there’s a social result to ethnic difference, there is no social cause. The cause is metaphysical, genetic or divine.

"Circumstantialism" is another broad explanation for why people seek out others like themselves. It holds that people form ethnic groups and even develop strong versions of identity like nationalism, racism, or ethnocentrism because of their circumstances or situations. People who share common ancestry, territory, physical traits, language or traditions find it convenient, comfortable, or advantageous for safety, security, knowledge, or resources to hang with some and avoid others.

Which do you think best explains why people form groups when, for example they attend college? Most of us – certainly in social science -- do not accept the assertion that we naturally or instinctively choose "our kind." Humans always associate, but whenever it occurs, you can be sure there is a reason, and they vary widely. For example, colonial imperialists developed the concept of "race" in the modern period beginning with the 18^th century Enlightenment and its new and popular blend of philosophy, science and technology. As science spurred complex technology, the ability to harness fossil fuel to machines and production sparked the industrial revolution. One of its important consequences for ethnicity is the great premium attached to belonging to the groups with rights, freedom, wealth and power. The concept "race" as we use it today emerged only in the modern industrial age. No coincidence. Imperious statesmen used it to justify vastly different treatment of people. Of course, people always distinguished each other, but the only previous times they so vigorously did that were at other periods of great power, such as in the empires of the Nubians, Egyptians, Israelites, Romans, Ottomans, Mayans and various Christian empires. Powerful though these empires were, their territory and technology were limited. Raw power, rather than scientifically sanctioned explanations of human differences, governed group distinctions. But, beginning in the 18th century, differences assumed deeper, and sometimes dangerous meanings. In that climate, group identity, and assignment to a group became very important because much depended on it: status, chances of success, rights, roles, and standards of beauty, intelligence, and ability.

Into this mix, religion figures in at least two ways. For one, when people either categorize themselves or are assigned ethnicity by someone else, religion can become part of that identity, as in the case of Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, or Israel-Palestine. Religion can play right into the modern scientific concept of race, and reinforce its insistence on race. In another way, people use religion to justify differential treatment of others, under authority of religious texts and doctrines. Including Christianity, religion is prone to such uses, and so we must look carefully at the Biblical treatment of differences if we are to answer the question: is more ethnic diversity desirable at Trinity? Only then can we find an alternative rationale to those using chance, circumstance or "nature." Here, I refer back to Part I of this series, where I showed that only Biblical misinterpretation can justify ethnocentrism and inequality.

Above, we mentioned six reasons to stress diversity at Trinity. There are obviously more. Connected to that, and stemming from the biblical teaching about the crucial nature of recognizing unity in diversity, a number of possible actions emerge. Some of these are already in progress. They all point to the need and desire to both diversify and deepen our commitment to Trinity’s heritage. First, the college is committed to publishing its position on diversity for the whole community. Working toward this is a cooperative venture of the Ethnic Diversity Committee, the president and provost and their advisors, both on and off campus. This document will address the need for all of us at Trinity to encourage and oversee developments toward greater diversity. This will include changes to the curriculum and instruction. It will impact admissions and publications and efforts to increase minority enrollment and prominence. We will diversify cultural events general campus atmosphere. Third, the college will undoubtedly continue inviting scholars and practitioners of diversity to address and assist, efforts that President Anglin supports. We will increase consideration of inclusiveness and diversity as we develop programs and courses so that we appropriately recognize the contributions and uniquenesses of all members of society. We also will multiply scholarships and grants to enroll and retention more minority students. In general, Trinity will surely focus on a broad spectrum of people who can share and augment our vision by participating in boards, committees, faculty, staff and student affairs. Finally, we will continue to find ways to meet the needs of all our students, so we can be consistent with the biblical picture of the Body of Christ, reconciled to God, to each other and the world we serve. That Revelations 5:9 picture has the saints singing to the Lamb who saved us all. And wouldn’t you know it. People from every ethnic group are in that choir. We think that unity-in-diversity begins here.