By Rev. John Jackson
In the Old Testament book of Genesis, the story of the Tower of Babel is told. It traditionally has been interpreted as a story of the arrogance of humankind to want to invade the Holy Presence to play God.
This interpretation has some value, although it may not have been the intention of the Yahwist writer who penned the story. There are also other biblical texts that illustrate humanity’s penchant for wanting to play God. For instance, the book of Isaiah reads, “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” These words address the King of Babylon, who wanted to play God, which always meant dominating the lives of the masses of people and colonizing other peoples to play God with their lives.
The text of Genesis concerning the Tower of Babel has been interpreted in this same way. Regrettably, we have seen this attitude of hubris and dominance throughout history, up to and including this present moment in America. The defunding of the Department of Education, Health and Human Services, USDA, Food Banks, CDC, the EPA, and so many other agencies that protect and provide necessary resources to so many people is indeed an example of playing God with people’s lives to control them.
Yet, this text about the Tower of Babel is about more than arrogance and, in fact, exposes a deeper problematic development. Biblical scholars in the New Interpreter’s Study Bible point out that this text is really about God’s original plan for diversity among humanity. The text reads, “Come let us build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth.” Then the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they all have the same language…” The use of the word “one” is key in this text. God then scatters the people across the face of the earth and confused their languages so that people will no longer have “one” language but will develop a diversity of experiences, cultures and languages.
This text, therefore, is about The Divine plan for diversity among the peoples of the earth. The same diversity that is being attacked by white nationalistic policies and attitudes today. The same diversity that is being frowned upon in the education system by the banning of books. The same diversity that is being demonized in the telling of the history of how this nation was constructed on the bodies of the indigenous people who were already here and built by the labor of humans from Africa who were trafficked as property. The same diversity that is at the heart of the jingoistic hegemony that characterizes the White Christian evangelical nationalistic ideology. The same diversity that is being erased and replaced by a false homogeneity of “whiteness.”
God, in the text, forced the people into diverse groups of people who were scattered all over the earth and made them speak various languages because diversity was the original divine plan. To try to make one language the dominant language in a country, nation or region is antithetical to God and God’s will for this world. It is enlightening to know that many of the people on this planet speak more than one language. However, in these “yet-to-be-united States of America,” “whiteness” would have you think that the bastardized form of English that is spoken on these shores is the most important language. The text shows us that God never put a hierarchical value on any language above the other. All the languages, cultures and people were human and cherished by God in their diversity because diversity among the people of this earth is the original plan of God. What do you call something that is the opposite of God’s plan? Be well, Be authentic and Stay Woke! Uhuru Sassa!
Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ-Gary, 1276 W. 20th Ave. in Gary. “We are not just another church but we are a culturally conscious, Christ-centered church, committed to the community; we are unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian.” Contact the church by email at [email protected] or by phone at 219-944-0500.