[Op-Ed] Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly Says Bible Prohibits Blacks And Whites From Marrying

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly shocked her viewers today, when she stated that the Bible prohibits Blacks and Whites from inter-marrying. Ms.Kelly was interviewing Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day organizer Robert Jeffress on her “America Live” program, when she said, “This country has a long history of discrimination against certain groups. Eventually we wind up getting it right. Right? Against women, against blacks, the civil rights movement and so on. And in justifying that discrimination when it was in place, some folks turn to the Bible and turn to their religious beliefs and said we have to have slavery because it’s in the Bible. Women have to be second-class citizens because that’s in the Bible. Blacks and whites can’t get married because that’s in the Bible.”

Megyn Kelly has a valid point about slavery in the Old Testament, but she certainly does not know her Bible when it comes to the issue of inter-marriage. One of the most famous names in the Bible was King Solomon, who had several wives from far away Africa among the 700 hundred women he married. A reading of the Bible reveals nothing what so ever that says a marital union between a Black person and a Caucasian person is sinful.

While a woman’s role in society certainly has changed for the better in modern society, others have made the case that it is necessary to understand the woman’s role in the Bible in terms of the ancient world. According to some biblical historians, women in the times of the prophets were held in high esteem. This view may have some historical context, but certainly women were not equal to men in ancient times.

One the issue of slavery, although the Old Testament did condone slavery, many of the first and most outspoken abolitionists, based their beliefs against slavery on the New Testament. John Newton, the man who wrote “Amazing Grace” and inspired the influential British Abolitionist William Wilberforce, was a deeply religious man whose worldview came from his understanding of the Bible.

The history of the ancient holy land certainly teaches us that the people of the region were of many races and inter-marriage was not uncommon. Many historians have speculated that Biblical figures from Jesus to Abraham may have been Black or multiracial. There is nothing in the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament that instructs believers to engage in any sort of racial discrimination or racial separation.

Ms. Kelly needs to take some time and read her Old and New Testament before she makes any more pronouncements on the contents of the Bible. There is no denying that there has been a deeply ingrained bias against inter-marriage in America, but to blame it on the Bible is simply not correct.

It should be noted that totally overlooked in the minor uproar over Ms. Kelly’s misunderstanding of the Bible was the comment by Pastor Robert Jeffress, that while he believes in the Christian biblical teaching that marriage is defined as a lifetime union between one man and one woman, he expects that the United States Supreme Court will eventually strike down all laws against Gay Marriage.