“One Blood: The Biblical Answers to Racism” by Ken Ham – Book Review by Rev. David Fagrey


One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism

by Ken Kam, Carl Wieland, Don Batten (Master Books: 2000)


Book Review by Rev. David Fagrey



This book is based on a very simple truth: our world would go a long way in solving the problem of racism if everyone would simply realize that all human beings are descendants of Adam and Eve. All human beings are related. Some are more closely related than others are, but all are related. God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26, KJV). How then does one explain the fact that there are different ethnic groups? How does one explain differences in skin color and eye shape? This book answers such questions in a biblical and scientific manner.


The authors begin by admitting the obvious truth that if all human beings are descendants of Adam and Eve then “back at the beginning when there was only the first generation, brothers would have had to marry sisters or there wouldn’t have been any more generations!” (p.24). This was not a problem at the beginning, for then the effects of sin and the curse would have been minimal to start with. When there came to be an increased potential to produce deformed offspring, then the Lord introduced laws forbidding brother-sister (and close relative) marriage (Leviticus 18-20).


In chapter 2, the authors refute the claim commonly made by evolutionists that the observable changes in living animals are evidence that evolution is true. However, this is NOT what evolution is all about. Creationists agree that dogs, for example, change.  But they change into different varieties or breeds of dogs. Creationists deny that one kind of animal changed into another kind of animal over millions of years, which is what evolution is really all about. In the rest of chapter two the authors use the basic principles of genetics (which are very simply explained) to explain how changes have occurred in dogs.


In chapters 3-4, the authors apply the same basic principles of genetics to human beings. They show how variations in skin color, for example, can develop in only a few generations. First of all, we all have the same coloring pigment in our skin: melanin – a dark brownish pigment that is found in special cells in our skin. If we produce a little melanin, it means that we will be European white. If our skin produces a great deal of melanin, we will be a very deep black. And in between are all shades of brown. Secondly, the authors demonstrate (very simply) that two middle brown parents (called “mulattos”) can produce an entire range of  “colors,” from very white to very black – in only one generation! Noah and his family were probably mid-brown, with genes for both dark and light skin. In fact, most of the world’s population today is still mid-brown. Chapter 4 is the best chapter in the book and contains a lot of useful information regarding how the different ethnic groups arose from Noah’s three sons.


Chapter 5 deals straightforwardly with the matter of interracial marriage and concludes that there is no biblical justification for claiming that people from different ethnic groups should not marry.


In chapters 6-7, the authors refute all the pseudo-biblical arguments that, sadly, even Christians have used to promote racism. For example, the curse that Noah pronounced upon Canaan was NOT the origin of black people!


In the rest of the book the authors give several horrible examples of how Darwinian Evolution has impacted society. Darwinian evolution is inherently a racist philosophy, teaching that different groups (“races”) of people have evolved at different times and rates, so some groups are not as advanced as others.  Some are more like their ape-like ancestors than others are. For example, Darwin taught that blacks were less evolved than whites, and that they would eventually become extinct. This sort of evolutionary thinking inspired Hitler (an ardent evolutionist) in his quest to eliminate Jews (and other groups) and establish his “master race.” This sort of thinking also led people to view Australian Aborigines as “missing links” between an ape-like ancestor and rest of mankind. This resulted in terrible prejudices and injustices towards the Aborigines. Thousands were deliberately murdered to provide specimens of “living missing links” for museums. The authors also tell the horrible story of Ota Benga, an African Pygmy, who was put on display, along with an orangutan, in the Bronx Zoo in early 1900s as an example of an inferior race.


The publishers hope that Christians will distribute this book and by God’s grace start a reformation in “race” relations. Highly recommended. To order, call Answers in Genesis at 1-800-778-3390.


Rev. David Fagrey,

Rapid City, SD


[Editor: from the website www.answersingenesis.org, under the book One Race One Blood: A Biblical Answer to Racism, by Ken Ham and Dr. Charles Ware (Master Books: 2010), “Special note: Previously published under the title Darwin’s Plantation, this book utilizes historical research, with special emphasis on the history and growth of race-related culture issues faced in the U.S.A. and throughout the world. Readers will benefit from the emotion-touching personal experiences communicated by the book’s cross-racial writing team, and the updates to much of the teaching included in One Blood, the book co-written by Ken Ham on races and racism that was previously distributed by Answers in Genesis. This is unquestionably the most race-unifying book ever distributed by AiG (other than the Bible), due in large part to the clear biblical perspective given for every major issue discussed.”]

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