Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site
Featured
Featured
Paid Promoted Content

Cultural diversity is part of the great redemptive purpose of God

 |  November 10, 2017

Learn more at: Judson Press

Given the current mood in the country and the moral and ethical dilemmas the nation faces, how is the church to respond? Baptist pastor Wendell Griffen offers leadership on how to deal with the challenges and opportunities of being people of prophetic hope in a divisive time in his new book, The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope (Judson Press, 2017). Griffen challenges social justice-minded followers of Jesus to reexamine and embrace the radical gospel of Jesus Christ and the generosity of God’s love in confronting and overcoming the issues of racism, sexism, imperialism, materialism, militarism, techno-centrism, and xenophobia.

Some people interpret the biblical story of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9 as God’s punishment of human ambition and ingenuity. They point to the city and its tower and the words of God found in Genesis 11:6-7: “And the LORD said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’”

According to that view, cultural diversity within humanity — our many languages, ethnicities, and identities — is God’s way of punishing human arrogance and ingenuity for daring to build the first skyscraper.

That interpretation of the story of Babel is not fair to God. Do we really think the Creator of the universe is threatened by a municipal construction project? Are we dealing with a Being so insecure that a few people who establish a city together and build a skyscraper get on God’s nerves? If the Lord is that easily threatened, God should not be called good and gracious but petty and tyrannical.

Instead of interpreting the passage to mean cultural diversity is divine punishment, we should understand it to show how cultural diversity is part of the great redemptive purpose of God. In Creation, God commanded the first humans to be fruitful and fill the earth. At Babel, we see the human tendency to build towers and walls — out of fear. “Otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth,” they told one another (v. 4). But scattering across the earth and filling it was exactly what God wanted from the human family!

For the community at Babel, salvation meant tribal identity and a protected location. God’s response was to mix them up linguistically — and scatter them geographically (vv. 7-8. Cultural diversity — mixing the languages and dispersing the tribe — was God’s way of getting the people to fulfill the creation mandate. God was at work at Babel.

As humans migrated, the challenge became whether we would retain a sense of our kinship under one Creator. Would distance and diversity cause us to deny our common humanity? Would we glorify God in many languages and places, or would we decide that only our place and our language truly deserve divine favor? Would we try to recreate Babel? If so, what does God do?

Wendell Griffen

The rest of the Bible and human history answer that question. Throughout the centuries, human beings have stubbornly held on to the ancient fear of diversity. Fear of people who are different lies at the root of much hate, oppression, and injustice in human history. We view people who are different as dangerous, whether they are different in how they look, what they speak, whom they love, how they worship, or from where they come.

Even Baptists do not trust God enough to love the diversity that God created. In fact, we have often used religion to justify prejudice, bigotry, and injustice. Consider our petty denominational rivalries and dogmatic litmus tests. Listen to the hate-filled and fear-based demands by US politicians and white Christian nationalists to preserve monuments to a racist past and to put up a wall to fend against a more racially diverse future. See it in the efforts to ban Muslim immigrants and turn away Syrian refugees.

If there is a condemnation in the Genesis 11 passage — and I use the word if intentionally — it condemns the idea that sameness is the way to secure our safety and salvation. We are one people because we have a common Creator, not because we speak the same language or live in the same location. Our oneness lies in who we are before God, not in whom we are physically related to by human ancestry and geography. God loves our diversity. God intentionally caused our diversity. God is glorified by our diversity.

And if there were any doubt about this conviction, just consider how the story of Babel is mirrored in the story of Pentecost in Acts 2. Once again, a mixing of languages is divinely stirred — and when the Holy Spirit moves, the church of Jesus Christ is born. Pentecost confirms what Babel teaches: God calls us to expand our notions of community and nudges us into deeper experiences of diversity.

 

Wendell L. Griffen is a Baptist pastor serving the New Millennium Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, and a Circuit Judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Arkansas. He is founder and CEO of Griffen Strategic Consulting, and his blog Justice Is a Verb! can be found at www.wendellgriffen.blogspot.com. This article is adapted from “Babel and Pentecost” in his book, The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope (Judson Press, 2017).

Judson Press is the publishing ministry of American Baptist Churches USA, a historic Protestant denomination that includes 1.5 million members in 5,600 congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico. The denomination’s national offices are housed in the American Baptist Mission Center in Valley Forge, PA.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
Tags:BabelThe Fierce Urgency of Prophetic HopeJudson Presssocial justiceWendell GriffenDiversity
Read Next:

Life post-Roe: Is there middle ground between religious liberty and medical freedom?

Analysis

More Articles

  • All
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Faith groups must fight online hate, Interfaith Alliance urges

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Of church cemeteries, pulpit committees, crafts and sweet potato casserole

    OpinionChris Ayers

  • Colorado cake maker back in court, this time for refusing service to a transgender woman

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Of Margie, mountains and ‘El Shaddai’

    OpinionBert Montgomery

  • For every critic of Jesus and John Wayne there are many more positive responses Du Mez says

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

    OpinionBill Thurman

  • Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • On the baptism of our firstborn

    OpinionEmily Hull McGee

  • Members of Florida church required to sign ‘biblical sexuality’ statement or be removed from membership

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Life post-Roe: Is there middle ground between religious liberty and medical freedom?

    AnalysisMallory Challis

  • Has virtual worship actually harmed Christianity?

    OpinionSara Robb-Scott

  • 165 religious leaders plead with White House to abandon immigrant travel ban

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Boebert babbles about God, Satan and the Second Coming

    AnalysisRodney Kennedy

  • ‘What can we forgive?’: An interview with Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness

    OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Knowing a church’s history on slavery can be a nudge toward redemption, historians say

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Los Angeles faces a homeless ‘emergency’ as global warming changes the equation

    AnalysisMallory Challis

  • My father’s faith

    OpinionBrett Younger

  • Sandra and Andy Stanley: ‘We’re not perfect parents, but we’ve learned some things along the way’

    NewsMaina Mwaura

  • As more Americans delay health care they can’t afford, it’s time for the church to be a light once again

    AnalysisRick Pidcock

  • The apology that never came at Bubba-Doo’s

    OpinionCharles Qualls

  • United Methodists on alert for dissidents ‘poaching’ members and pastors

    NewsCynthia Astle

  • Trump and his allegedly disloyal white evangelical supporters

    OpinionRobert P. Jones

  • The other speech Martin Luther King gave at Southern Seminary in 1961

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Faith groups must fight online hate, Interfaith Alliance urges

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Colorado cake maker back in court, this time for refusing service to a transgender woman

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • For every critic of Jesus and John Wayne there are many more positive responses Du Mez says

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Members of Florida church required to sign ‘biblical sexuality’ statement or be removed from membership

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • 165 religious leaders plead with White House to abandon immigrant travel ban

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Knowing a church’s history on slavery can be a nudge toward redemption, historians say

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Sandra and Andy Stanley: ‘We’re not perfect parents, but we’ve learned some things along the way’

    NewsMaina Mwaura

  • United Methodists on alert for dissidents ‘poaching’ members and pastors

    NewsCynthia Astle

  • The other speech Martin Luther King gave at Southern Seminary in 1961

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Faith-based leaders discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of Biden’s proposed border policies

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • U.S. churches more likely to have adult and youth education programs than interfaith or ecumenical work

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Here’s Johnny! Embattled SBC pastor back in the pulpit and will headline a men’s conference

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Dan Hobbs, early leader of ABP and CBF, dies at 95

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • ‘Public safety ecosystems’ could help replace nation’s broken criminal justice system, evangelical leaders say

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Reparations should begin with recognition of human dignity, Delbanco says in 50th annual Jefferson Lecture

    NewsMallory Challis

  • Church of England won’t allow same-sex marriage but may allow a liturgical blessing of civil unions

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Transitions for the week of 1-20-23

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Class-action suit against Department of Education alleging discrimination in Title IX exemptions dismissed

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Supreme Court will hear former postal employee’s appeal that he shouldn’t have to work on Sundays because he’s a Christian

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • New survey: Republicans and white evangelicals are outliers in fear of immigrants invading U.S.

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Religious liberty advocates applaud Biden administration rollback of Trump policies allowing faith-based discrimination

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • ‘Religicide’ a growing threat worldwide, authors warn

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Of church cemeteries, pulpit committees, crafts and sweet potato casserole

    OpinionChris Ayers

  • Of Margie, mountains and ‘El Shaddai’

    OpinionBert Montgomery

  • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

    OpinionBill Thurman

  • On the baptism of our firstborn

    OpinionEmily Hull McGee

  • Has virtual worship actually harmed Christianity?

    OpinionSara Robb-Scott

  • ‘What can we forgive?’: An interview with Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness

    OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

  • My father’s faith

    OpinionBrett Younger

  • The apology that never came at Bubba-Doo’s

    OpinionCharles Qualls

  • Trump and his allegedly disloyal white evangelical supporters

    OpinionRobert P. Jones

  • Doom-scrolling, sourdough starter and three kinds of kin

    OpinionJustin Cox

  • Putin needs to be taken down

    OpinionMark Wingfield

  • How my eyes were opened to America’s broken immigration system

    OpinionChristian Vaughn

  • Meditating with Buddhists and other Asian lessons

    OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

  • The Black resistance tradition and its fight for U.S. democracy

    OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

  • Five book recommendations on creation stewardship for 2023

    OpinionDon Gordon

  • Queen Elizabeth was a role model for women in faith and leadership

    OpinionChrystal Cowan

  • Two football coaches went up to pray …

    OpinionPatrick Wilson

  • ‘Grief brain’: The three big deficits of grief

    OpinionLaurie Taylor

  • Prayer might not be enough

    OpinionTerry Austin

  • Mending broken pieces and broken lives with kintsugi

    OpinionPhawnda Moore

  • When my church and I let Jesus down: Jesus in the distressing disguise of the homeless

    OpinionChris Ayers

  • What I’m learning as a Maston Scholar: ‘Don’t forget!’

    OpinionAlfa Orellana

  • A world inside a world, spinning around

    OpinionRobert P. Sellers

  • Faith and civil rights went together for Martin Luther King

    OpinionRussell Waldrop

  • My love-hate relationship with football

    OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

  • ‘He Gets Us’ organizers hope to spend $1 billion to promote Jesus. Will anyone care?

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • National Prayer Breakfast breaks from ‘The Family’ with new organization

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Twitter reinstated white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He lasted 24 hours.

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • In Rare Rebuke, Elaine Chao Calls Out Trump’s Anti-Asian Attacks

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • How Southern California helped birth white Christian nationalism

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Extreme Israeli group takes root in US with fundraising bid

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Review: Decolonizing Christianity

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Two Leaders Of The New US House Could Put Baptist Diversity In The News Spotlight

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Making Sweat Feel Spiritual Didn’t Start With SoulCycle

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • White Christian nationalism isn’t pro-life. It’s pro-order.

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Stop Using the Bible to Dehumanize Transgender People | Opinion

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Was A Saint, But Also Just A Man — That’s The Glory Of It

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • A Houston synagogue is tightening security after a woman broke in twice, damaged a Torah and harassed children

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Islamic paintings of the Prophet Muhammad are an important piece of history – here’s why art historians teach them

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Lutherans ordain first Palestinian woman pastor in Holy Land

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • 2 States Introduce Radical Bills To Prosecute Pregnant People For Abortions

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Flyers coach Tortorella defends Provorov’s Pride boycott

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • ‘Dream bigger’: How weekend marches keep advocates’ fight for Roe v. Wade alive on 50th anniversary

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Rinse, Repeat: Should Believers Be Dunked Again?

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Meet the real Jewish Republican of color being floated to replace George Santos, the fake one

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Florida Gov. DeSantis leads the GOP’s national charge against public education that includes lessons on race and sexual orientation

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians Unite in Support for Apache Fight to Save Oak Flat

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Group of faith leaders sue challenging Missouri abortion law

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • ‘Exporting garbage to the nations’: conservative Christian rifts spreading like cracked glass

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

Conversations that Matter.

© 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS