Answer
Kinism is one branch of a diverse series of religious movements that promote racial segregation. This movement is based in Christianity and, for the most part, is populated with people who claim to follow historic Christian doctrine. The tendency to adhere to some true doctrines, however, does not mean that Kinists are orthodox in belief and practice. In fact, their adherence to true doctrines and the extensive theological knowledge of some of Kinists make this legalistic cult all the more dangerous.
It is difficult to get a direct answer about Kinism, because the movement is relatively new and “un-formed” and also because Kinists themselves tend to be quite scholarly and esoteric. But a few things are clear. Unlike the Christian Identity Movement, or the Aryan Nation, Kinists do not believe that non-white races cannot be saved. Also, unlike Anglo-Israelists, they do not believe that national Israel’s true descendants are the British and American people groups.
What makes Kinism different is the belief that God has ordained an order for mankind that goes beyond personal and individual worship. They believe that God has set boundaries for groups of human beings and that human beings should respect those boundaries by maintaining a tribal order. What this means is that you could have a group of white Kinists, and a group of black Kinists, but they would not worship together. They believe that man is usurping God’s authority when they “cohabit” with different races, when (as they say) God has ordained a necessary distinction. In the words of one Kinist, “This [belief] affects our ecclesiology since it would consider a multi-racial, drum-banging mega-church to be a foul stench in God’s nostrils.” Besides being unloving, this assertion is simply unbiblical, promotes a racist point of view, and is a platform for pride and legalism.
Kinists insist on racially segregated churches and communities and, of course, families. They believe that Christians should still adhere to the Old Testament Laws that forbade Jews to intermarry with other tribes/families. They also say that God “separated” the races at the Tower of Babel and that to “re-integrate” is an affront to the order for mankind that He has ordained. Both of these beliefs, despite having a copious amount of scholarly support in Kinist camps, can be easily dismantled with Scripture.
First, to determine whether Old Testament law regarding segregation applies to the New Testament church, we should ask what the reason for segregation was in the Old Testament. God’s reason for this law was very clearly to avoid the introduction/assimilation of pagan idolatry into Jewish society (Malachi 2:11; Deuteronomy 7:3). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit came to indwell believers, and Jesus gave the command to take the good news to the Gentiles; now it is plain to see that “God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” (Acts 10:34–35) and part of the body of Christ. The Kinist will agree with this, saying that any person of any race can be a Christian. But he still says that intermarriage is forbidden, although there is no biblical reason for this.
The law that said, “Don’t intermarry with foreigners, lest they draw your heart away from God” (cf. Deuteronomy 7:3–4), is no longer valid. A person can marry a Christian of another race and not be in danger of being drawn away after foreign gods. The command today is not to intermarry with unbelievers—nothing is said of race or ethnicity (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14). Even under the Old Testament system, Gentiles chose to follow God could join the family of Israel: Boaz married Ruth, a Gentile; Salmon married Rahab, a Gentile. The church now consists of both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ for salvation, and all who have the Spirit are, in a real sense, “one brotherhood” (Luke 8:21).
As for God’s action at the Tower of Babel being taken as His ordaining racial segregation, the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9) is about God confusing the languages of men so that they would not be able to work together to accomplish evil against Him. It is not about racial segregation. This is proved by Galatians 2:11–14, where Paul opposes Peter for separating himself from the Gentile believers in their church. Another example would be Paul’s ordaining as a Christian pastor the Greek-born Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6). He even calls Timothy “my true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). Timothy’s mother was Jewish and a woman of the faith. This implies that Timothy lived and ministered in a community that was both Jewish and Gentile. Did his own mother not attend his church? And, if God wished the races to be segregated, which church would Timothy, being half-Jew and half-Gentile, be able to pastor? And what about Paul himself, a “preacher, apostle . . . and teacher of the Gentiles” (1 Timothy 2:7)? If Kinism were true, would not God have sent a Gentile to preach to and teach the Gentiles?
In short, Kinism is simply another attempt to be justified by Law, rather than by the gospel of God’s grace. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16, emphasis added.)
