3 Ways the Bible Speaks About White Privilege

The Bible really does speak to the issue of white privilege! This might sound strange, given that white identity was not created until 1500 years after the writing of the New Testament, but it’s true. Throughout the NT, God speaks to the spiritually privileged Jews (particularly in Galatians) and he speaks to the socially privileged Gentiles (particularly in Romans).

White identity, having developed historically out of a nationalized Christian identity that had superseded Jewish identity is very much an identity due for biblical critique. The creation of white identity was an attempt to marry social privilege to spiritual privilege, and the Bible has much to say to this:

1. The Bible openly acknowledges and confronts the trouble and temptations involved with social privilege

• Being socially privileged increases the temptation to destroy the work of God in other people groups when we have power to assert our cultural preferences (Rom. 14:15, 20)
• Social privilege increases the temptation to pass judgment on (Romans 14:4, 10) and despise (14:3) others
• Social privilege makes it easy to assume that other people groups haven’t been blessed like us (Amos 9:7)
• Being spiritually privileged increases our temptation to segregate ourselves (Galatians 2)
• Combining spiritual and social privilege can make us think that God is more for us than for others (Romans 3:29)
• Combining spiritual and social privilege undermines the mission of God for his people to go to all peoples (Matthew 28:19, Romans 2:24).

2. The Bible contrasts social privilege with a truly great privilege

• Even when God gives a social advantage to one people group (Romans 3:1–2), it doesn’t mean that group is spiritually privileged over others (3:9)
• Social privilege is worldly power, and in the end that power will be shown to be worthless in and of itself because the greatest privilege is knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:7–8)
• The truly great privilege of knowing Jesus helps us to strongly oppose the segregation that ethnic privilege often causes (Galatians 2:11–14)
• The truly great privilege of knowing Jesus moves us to anguish and sorrow and prayer when we see the spiritual failures of another group (Romans 9:1–5, 10:1), instead of the boasting and judgmentalism that we are tempted to (Romans 2:17–24)
• Challenging social privilege can easily cause rage in others (Luke 4:25–29, Acts 22:21–22), but this persecution can be used by God to spread the greatest privilege (Acts 23:11)

3. The Bible helps us see how the greatest privilege should affect our view of social privilege

• Experiencing the greatest privilege (Romans 3–8 and Ephesians 2:1–10) is not an excuse to avoid the hard issues of social privilege: it provides a solution to the problems of social privilege (Eph. 2:11–22), a solution that acknowledges wrongdoing (Rom. 1–3) and gives practical, loving ways to respond (Rom. 14–15).
• Experiencing the greatest privilege demands that we use any and every privilege to bless others instead of ourselves (Romans 14–15, Philippians 2). This means we need to:
  - welcome people from other backgrounds as Jesus has welcomed us (Romans 15:7)
  - live in harmony with people from other backgrounds (Romans 15:6) particularly by bearing with them in their weaknesses (15:1)
  - seek peace and mutual upbuilding in social conflicts (Romans 14:19)
  - gather together as different peoples to praise God (15:8–15)