Melanin is a natural substance in the human body which gives color to hair, skin, and eyes. Everybody has it. People with light skin have less melanin, people with dark skin have more.
And so five colors (black, brown, red, yellow, and white) are commonly used to define mega groups of humanity according to skin color. Then those artificial divisions are called "races." On what basis should Christians go along with this scheme, especially since even within genuine ethnic groups there can be diverse skin colors?
Do the black race, the brown race, the red race, the white race and the yellow race actually exist? The Bible never defines an ethnic group by its skin color. The Scriptures indeed speak of nations, tribes, kindreds, tongues – but there is only one biological humanity.
We are all descendants of Adam and Eve. Acts 17:26 tells us "...and He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings." The verse does not say every skin color, but every nation.
Those united to Christ are part of the new humanity, brought into being from a very different and infinitely superior blood...His blood shed on the cross! (Cf. Ephesians 2:15)
And what about those hyphen-Americans? Here's a little exercise to help us think about that. Which of the following least conveys helpful information to a couple trying to choose what kind of cuisine they will enjoy on their date night:
A. Chinese restaurant
B. Italian restaurant
C. Ethiopian restaurant
D. European-American restaurant
Europe, Africa, and Asia are continents, not nations. Sure, an American who knows his nation of origin might describe himself as of that heritage. In other words, he would speak of his ancestry in terms of nation, not continent. Continents are large land masses which nations inhabit.
Moreover, [ X - American ] is properly applied only to the first generation, who began life in old country X. Their descendants, born here, are simply Americans: no hyphen required.
When it comes to Christ's universal church, the inspired apostle wrote"...there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all." (Colossians 3:11)
Let us be zealous to see that Biblical precept fleshed out - to see the unifying power of Pentecost swallowing up the temporary protective measure God Himself put in place at Babel to destroy the hideous strength of a fledgling humanistic empire. We neither bury our heads in the sand regarding the issue of ethnicity, nor do we cater to worldly ways of thinking about it and behaving.
In the revelation the risen Christ gave to John the apostle, we read, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands..." (Revelation 7:9)
1 Corinthians 3:3 "...for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?"