The following is a response to those who criticize Christianity based on their European ancestry, like the guy in this short video clip here. As someone of Anglo-Saxon and Swedish descent, I understand this reaction in this video, that of feeling like Christianity is attempting to replace your ethnic Indo-European heritage.
There's also a biblical scholar named Matthew Thiessen who argues that Paul was teaching a literal Gene Replacement Therapy: where the Gentile's genetic code is literally supernaturally replaced with the Jewish genes of Jesus. But is this true? Upon reflection, it seems to me that Matthew Thiessen is engaging in a lot of speculation when the actual New Testament does not seem to support what he argues. Let's start with the apostle Paul responding to those demanding Christians obey the Jewish Law Code in order to be considered part of God's People, writing in Romans 2:27-30 (Amplified Bible):
27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps [the spirit of] the Law will judge you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, break the Law. 28 For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by [the fulfillment of] the letter [of the Law]. His praise is not from men, but from God.
We see this echoed in the following written to Gentiles in Ephesians 2:12-19 (EXB):
12 Remember that in the past [at that time/season] you were without Christ [the Messiah]. You were not citizens [L excluded from the citizenship] of Israel, and you had no part in [L were aliens/strangers to] the agreements with the promise that God made to his people [L covenants of promise; C the Abrahamic (Gen. 12:1–3), Mosaic (Ex. 19—24), and Davidic (2 Sam. 7) covenants.] You had no hope, and you did not know God. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death [L Christ; C blood symbolizing his sacrificial death]. 14 Christ himself is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles one people [L both one], and broke down the wall of hate [hostility; enmity] that divided them [C the wall beyond which Gentiles could not pass in the Jerusalem temple, or the law of Moses that distinguished Jew from Gentile (see v. 15)] by giving his own body [L in his flesh; C this phrase may go with the following sentence]. 15 He did this by ending [setting aside; nullifying] the law of commands and rules by giving his own body [L in his flesh; C this phrase may go with the previous sentence]. His purpose was to make the two groups of people become one new people [humanity; person; man] in him and in this way make peace. 16 It was also Christ’s purpose to end [L put to death; kill] the hatred [hostility; enmity] between the two groups, to make them into one body, and to bring them back [reconcile them] to God. Christ did all this with his death on the cross [L …through the cross]. 17 Christ came and preached [proclaimed the Good News of] peace [Is. 52:7] to you who were far away from God [L far away/off], and to those who were near to God [L near; Is. 57:19]. 18 Yes, it is [For; or So that] through Christ we all have the right to come [free access] to the Father in [by] one Spirit.
19 Now you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer, but are citizens together with God’s holy people [T the saints]. You belong to God’s family [household].
Verse 14 above is clear, that to be in Christ is for the person to receive a new pneumatic body, meaning there is to be a new creation of a new people. So it's not about the Gentiles becoming literally Jews supernaturally through a process of gene replacement therapy, but Gentiles and Jews becoming one as literal children of God through the donated divine gene of Christ. So what Paul was teaching is that Gentiles become a new type of body, a post-ethnic divinized body or pneumatic (what the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church calls theosis). The fluid pneuma of Christ creates a new separate category beyond ethnicity where the Christian partakes of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) becoming eventually one of the divine beings in God's Divine Council (being exalted even above the angels).
The Christian is joining the Divine Family of the Elohim (Divine Beings) in the Divine Council. See the Naked Bible Podcast Episode 226 on Colossians 1:1-13 (July 28, 2018) with Dr. Michael S. Heiser, that explains that the term saints in most New Testament translations actually means holy ones and it refers to Christians literally joining the family of the divine holy ones (Divine Beings) in Heaven while yet on earth awaiting ones death and resurrection. Obviously the Divine Beings in God's Divine Family are not any particular ethnicity but a non-ethnic, non-human, "Divine Species" so to speak.
Ephesians 2:18 on Bible Hub explains that word Spirit in this verse is from the Greek word "Πνεύματι (Pneumati)" which is a Noun that Strong's 4151 defines as "Wind, breath, spirit." In other words, the word Spirit is best understood as the omnipresent fluid energy and material substance of God that carries the divine "gene" capable of transforming mortal human Christians into immortal divinized gods (i.e. theosis); not Gods, upper case, but gods, meaning lesser gods in Jehovah's Council of gods (according to biblical scholar Michael Heiser).
Bible Hub also offers this commentary for Ephesians 2:18:
... The unity of the Spirit [Pneuma] is a key theme in Ephesians, as seen in Ephesians 4:4, which speaks of one body and one Spirit [Pneuma]. The Spirit's role in uniting believers is also evident in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where Paul writes about all being baptized by one Spirit into one body. ...
... we both
• Paul is writing to a mixed church of Jewish and Gentile believers. “Both” means these two previously alienated groups now form one new humanity in Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16).
• The gospel levels every cultural, ethnic, and religious barrier (Galatians 3:28).
• Practical outflow: unity in worship, fellowship, and mission (Romans 15:5-7). ...
... by one Spirit [Pneuma]:
• The Holy Spirit applies Christ’s work, bringing us near and keeping us there (1 Corinthians 12:13).
• He indwells every believer—Jew and Gentile alike—forming a single temple (Ephesians 2:22).
• The Spirit assures, guides, and empowers our fellowship with the Father (Romans 8:26-27; Galatians 4:6).
Bible Hub goes on to provide these other related New Testament verses:
Galatians 3:28:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:13:
For in one Spirit [Pneuma] we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
Romans 8:15-16:
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” / The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Acts 2:18:
Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
Matthew 28:19:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ...
John 4:21-23:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father…
We can thus see that it is the spirit (pneuma) that is creating a new post-ethnic People that receive the literal "seed of divinity."
We then have the Gospel of John, again, repeating this idea that it's not about an ethnic transformation where a Gentile literally becomes ethnically jewish, but instead it is about Christ donating the DNA of the Divine Family in the heavens, who are not composed of human matter and genes with an ethnicity but instead the Heavenly holy ones are divine beings (gods) are of a separate divine species so to speak.
This is the core message of Christianity, that Christ is donating a new holy genus (the "divine species"), which breaks down ethnic barriers since Christians are being transformed into a new category of being which transcends ethnicity; because when they are baptized they supernaturally die in their mortal bodies and receive a new pneumatic body which begins a process of theosis: which transcends ethnic boundaries and individual ethnicity altogether, as the Christians' mortal bodies have died so that ethnicity supernaturally disappears altogether; for even though they remain temporarily in ethnic bodies of flesh, they are becoming divinized pneumatic bodies as divine holy ones. Thus, Gentile Christians are not supernaturally turned into ethnic Jews but have become literal children of God (the literal offspring of the Divine Family by adoption through theosis).
This theme of theosis that transcends ethnic boundaries is not just in the writings of Paul but we see it as well in for example John 1:12-15, 29-34 (EXB):
12 But to all who did accept [receive] him and believe in him [L in his name; C the name indicating the character of the person] he gave the right [power; authority] to become children of God. 13 They did not become his children in any human way [by natural descent; by physical birth; L by blood]—by any human parents [human passion/decision; L desire/will of the flesh] or human desire [a husband’s decision; L desire/will of a man/husband]. They were born of God.
14 The Word became a human [T flesh] and lived [made his home; pitched his tabernacle; C God’s glorious presence dwelt in Israel’s tabernacle in the wilderness] among us. We saw his ·glory [majesty]—the glory that belongs to the ·only Son [one and only; T only begotten] of [who came from] the Father—and he was full of ·grace and truth [God’s gracious love and faithfulness; Ex. 34:5–7]. 15 John tells the truth about [testifies concerning; witnesses about] him and cries out, saying, “This is the One I told you about: ‘The One who comes after me [C in time] is greater than I am, because he was living [existed] before me [C a reference to Christ’s preexistence; 1:1–2].’”
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look, the Lamb of God [C lambs were used for sacrifice; Gen. 22:8], who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the One I was talking about [1:15] when I said, ‘A man will come after me, but he is greater than I am, because he ·was living [existed] before me.’ 31 Even I did not ·know [recognize] who he was, although I came baptizing with water so that the people of Israel would know who he is [he might be revealed to Israel].”
Then John ·said [testified; bore witness], “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven in the form of a dove and ·rest [remain] on him. Until then I did not know who the Christ was [or he was the one; L him]. But the God who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest [remain] on a man; he is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this happen, and I tell you the truth [testify; bear witness]: This man is the Son of God.”
This is why Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that basically through his death and resurrection, a new life-giving spirit (pneuma) would break down the walls of separation between all ethnic groups. You see the Samaritan woman was considered by Jews outside the boundaries of Judaism. So you had the Samaritans worshiping in their own ethnically boundaried locations separated from the Jews. While Jews had their own ethnic boundaries and seperated worshiping locations. So Jesus basically says to her that when he soon dies and resurrects, God's omnipresent fluid pneuma will flow everywhere and indwell anyone which will replace all ethnic boundaries which separates Gentiles from Jews and Jews from Samaritans; and so that instead, everyone will worship out in the open as one "pneumatic people" beyond ethnic boundary walls. Here is how Jesus says it, speaking to the Samaritan woman in John 4:23-24 (EXB):
23 [L But] The time [L hour; see 4:21] is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in ·spirit [or the Spirit] and truth, and that time is here already [has now come; is now here]. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit [Spirit], and those who worship him must worship in spirit [Spirit] and truth".
Remember that the the word Spirit here means Pneuma: a divinity donating fluid air-like omnipresent fluid substance that both inspires and divanizes as the mind and power of God emanating from his divine nature.
Another translation of John 4:23-24 (Amplified Bible):
23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
So it is clearly not about ethnicity at all but what is going on is the idea of theosis or deification which had become popular during this time; and was being utilized by Paul and New Testament writers to break down ethnic boundary walls and religious divisions; in order to create a new separate identity of everyone in Christ becoming literal children/offspring of God.
What I take from this is that we cannot really know for sure what exactly Paul meant and in the end we are speculating. As the author of Two Approaches to Pauline Discourse, Albert Harril writes:
... I would like to ask Matthew Thiessen a similar question. Your argument often relies on claims about knowing the mind of Paul (p. 96), even as you admit that “all of this thinking lies beneath the surface of Paul’s argument” (p. 147). How can the historian know authorial intention? Does this problem matter for your thesis?
The following are excerpts from the article Πνεῦμα [Pneuma], Genealogical Descent and Things That Do Not Exist according to Paul by J. Thomas Hewitt (New Testament Studies (2022), 68, 239–252 doi:10.1017/S0028688521000291):
All the words in brackets are my own and words in bold are for emphasis. From the summary Abstract:
... This article assesses that proposal, finding it to be an inaccurate description of Paul’s language and rationale, and sets forth an alternative proposal based on Romans 4 and Paul’s descriptions of baptism. This alternative proposal is that Paul understood the forging of an Abrahamic and divine pedigree for gentiles to be a divine act of creation from nothing, that is concomitant with believers’ proleptic death and resurrection in solidarity with the messiah.
Hewitt basically agrees with the other scholars that there was an attempt by Paul to forge Gentiles into an Abrahamic pedigree, he just disagrees that it was a literal biological physical transformation in a concrete physiological process; and instead, he thinks it was more of an instant supernatural transition from Gentile to Abrahamic lineage/pedigree as an act of creation from nothing through the death and resurrection process that would be more instant and supernatural, rather than a slow biological transformation.
From the Introduction
Peacocke’s account of solidarity with the messiah, for πνεῦμα [pneuma] is understood to be that which interacts directly with matter, particularly living matter, and thus makes possible a quasi-biological conception of what in previous generations had famously been called ‘Christ-mysticism’.[3] C. F. D. Moule, reflecting on Peacocke’s approach, grasps the nettle: ‘[Peacocke] is saying that little sense can be extracted from language which speaks of us as in Christ, but more from language which speaks of the Spirit as in us’.[4]
… there is a renewed interest in Paul’s notion of solidarity with the messiah, particularly the messiah as ‘seed of Abraham’; … there is an urge to provide an account of Paul’s notion of solidarity that is less ‘vacuous’ and more ‘biological’; … Paul understood ethnic identity.[5] Thus, determination to give a more concrete account of solidarity with Christ according to Paul is coupled with an effort to understand Paul not as the founder of a ‘universal’ religion in which ethnic distinctions are obliterated (‘in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek’),[6] but as a Jew who remained a Jew yet had become convinced that some of the heritable benefits of his kinspeople bestowed by their tribal deity had now also been made available to pagans, who, importantly, remained pagans (‘we are Jews by nature and not gentile sinners’).[7] With these aims in mind, several scholars have recently set their hands to developing a hypothesis concerning the role of πνεῦμα [pneuma] in genealogical descent according to Paul, offering a ‘realistic’ account of gentile inclusion among Abraham’s seed and the simultaneous preservation of distinct Jewish and gentile ethnic identities.[8]
Hewitt then goes on to cover and summarize the biblical scholars on the subject of how Paul meant for Gentiles to be subsumed into the lineage of Abraham through the ethnic lineage of the Messiah.
Hewitt does believe Paul taught a forging of Gentiles with Abrahamic descent. The dictionary defines forging as making her shaping as in a metal object heated in a fire and hammering it into shape; it also means to create, as in create new conditions or produce a copy, imitation of something. Hewitt is thus of equal opinion that Paul intended for Gentiles, in some way, to be re-formed into Abrahamic seed.
On page 9, Hewitt speaks of Gentiles becoming "Abrahamic pedigree" through the procreative pneuma (Jewish DNA/Genome) of Messiah. Page 9 through 12 covers the argument from scholars like Theissan, that Paul believed that the stars were composed of pneuma; and so to be of Abraham's seed you would become as numerous as the stars and thus exalted like the stars; because the stars are composed of pneuma, so to receive the pneuma of Christ was to receive the same pneuma that composes the Divine Stars in the heavens.
If Abraham himself was not originally a Jew but a pagan and thus was similar to a modern European, and if the European/Gentile is receiving a star-like body composed of pneuma, which is the same divine body as the Divine Beings in the skies (represented by the stars), then what Paul is really doing is not saying Gentiles are inferior but that they are equal to Israelites once they receive the Divine Substance (Pneuma) of the Stars; which just happens to be from an Israelite Messiah whose lineage descends from originally a pagan (Abraham). So that Paul's argument is not that his race or ethnos alone makes Israelites God's chosen people, but it was Abraham's act of faith or trust and devotion that saved / rescued him. So that a Gentile's devotion and trust and allegiance to Christ as the emissary of Yahweh and the Divine Beings, grants them the same status as a Jew and exalts then to the Divine Council where they will even judge lesser angels.
God promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5). In Jewish apocalyptic literature (e.g., 1 Enoch, Daniel 12:3, 4 Ezra), this was often interpreted not just quantitatively (countless numbers), but qualitatively—that the righteous would become like the stars in brightness, substance, and heavenly status.
In Hellenistic physics, the heavenly bodies (stars and planets) were believed to consist of the highest form of fire/pneuma (ether). Therefore, receiving Christ's resurrected, pneumatic body (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:40–49) literally assimilates the believer into the celestial realm occupied by divine beings.
Abraham’s Pagan Origins and Gentile Equality:
Abraham’s origin before his call (Ur of the Chaldeans) is central to Paul’s argument in Romans 4:9–12: wherein Paul explicitly points out that Abraham was reckoned righteous while he was still uncircumcised (i.e., in a "Gentile" state). Thus, Abraham serves as the prototype for Gentiles, proving that covenant standing was never inherently tied to ethnic descent or the Mosaic Law alone.
This levels the status, for by framing Messiah’s pneuma as the ultimate vehicle of Abrahamic identity, Paul dismantles ethnic hierarchy within the ekklesia (churches). Gentiles do not become second-class citizens or mere "guests" in a Jewish covenant; through the Divine Pneuma, they are reconstituted into equal heirs of the promise.
Exaltation to the Divine Council:
1 Corinthians 6:3 ("We shall judge angels") shows that receiving the divine pneuma of the exalted Christ—who is seated above all principalities and powers (cf. Ephesians 1:20–21; Philippians 2:9–11)—believers are elevated above ordinary cosmic spirits/angels.
The Divine Council:
Rather than replacing Israel, Gentiles who pledge loyalty (pistis, often translated as "faith," but better understood as allegiance/trust) to Jesus as Yahweh’s supreme emissary are integrated into the heavenly court, sharing in Christ's cosmic rule.
In a nutshell:
1. Abraham's trust qualified him for covenant promise before any ritual mark.
2. Christ, as the ultimate pneumatic seed of Abraham, acts as the donor of divine celestial substance.
3. Gentiles, by offering allegiance (pistis) to Christ, receive this pneuma, undergoing an ontological forging that makes them true Abrahamic descendants, destined for cosmic exaltation alongside faithful Israel.
The argument raised by ethnonationalist commentators —who claim that Christianity requires Gentiles (including Europeans) to adopt a foreign religion that views them as ethnically inferior or subordinated to Jewish biology—reflects a modern racialized view of identity. The core critique rests on the assumption that identity is rooted in human bloodline and earthly lineage, meaning a non-Jew submitting to a Jewish savior is inherently accepting ethnic displacement or inferior heritage.
Scholarship on Pauline pneumatology directly counters this:
- The Flesh (Sarx) is Ineffective: Paul repeatedly argues that physical lineage, human ancestry, and biological identity (sarx) hold no saving efficacy or intrinsic spiritual rank (cf. Romans 3:9, Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 15:50). A Jewish gene pool confers no celestial superiority.
- Ontological Transformation via Pneuma: Under the physical-pneumatic model (Hewitt/Thiessen), receiving the Pneuma of Christ is not a subordination of one’s human DNA to another human group’s DNA. Rather, it is the overwrite of mortal, corruptible human biology altogether by a cosmic, heavenly substance (pneuma).
- Equivalence in Exaltation: The pneumatic body of the resurrected Christ is divine ether/star-substance, not mundane earthly blood. Therefore, when a European Gentile receives this pneuma, they do not become "ethically inferior 'spiritual-Jews"; they are transformed into celestial beings alongside faithful Israelites, both sharing in the exact same divine nature.
Abraham as an "Ethnic Neutral" Pre-Jewish Prototype
Critics of the covenant as a proprietary product of a single racial group, often miss Paul’s radical redefinition of Abraham’s identity:
- Abraham Was Not Ethnically "Jewish": Historically and biblically, Abraham was an uncircumcised Mesopotamian (pagan/Gentile) when God justified him in Genesis 15.
- Faith Precedes Jewish Law: In Romans 4:9–12, Paul explicitly argues that Abraham is the father of all who exercise faith while uncircumcised. Thus, the covenant prototype was not an ethnic Jewish institution, but a universal relationship of allegiance (pistis) established before circumcision or the Mosaic code even existed.
- No "Gene Replacement" Necessary: European Christians do not need to alter or feel ashamed of their earthly genetics. Rather, their faith connects them to Abraham's pre-circumcision posture of trust, placing them in direct continuity with the foundational covenant without needing to mimic another group's bloodline.
The Rejection of "Foreign Subjugation" in European Christian Thought:
European Christian thinkers throughout history (and in modern theological responses) reject the premise that Christianity is an alien imposition that degrades native heritage: Paul explicitly teaches that in Christ, traditional ethnic divides (Jew/Greek) are transcended (Galatians 3:28). All believers become co-heirs rather than vassals. As to the accusation that, "Gentiles must spiritually submit to another race." The allegiance is to the Cosmic King, not an ethnic tribe. The resurrected Christ is no longer merely a mortal Judean, he is the cosmic Lord of the Divine Council seated above all earthly powers and nations.
As to the accusation that, "Europeans are forced to reject their own heritage." Early European theologians (e.g., Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Augustine) argued that Greek philosophy, Nordic/Celtic virtues, and natural wisdom were already gifts of the Divine Logos preparing Europeans for the ultimate truth of the Gospel.
The Cosmic Upgrade: Divine Council and Angelic Status
In response to the claim that Gentiles are reduced to second-class status, Pauline bio-theology demonstrates that Gentile believers are elevated to the highest possible cosmic authority:
- Judging Angels (1 Corinthians 6:3): Paul explicitly states that believers will sit in judgment over celestial entities (angels).
- Cosmic Rule over Tribal Lineage: Rather than being placed under a human hierarchy, Gentiles who receive the divine Pneuma are adopted directly into the Divine Council, sharing the cosmic throne room with Christ.
So a European Christian responding to arguments of adopting an inferior position is that Christianity does not ask Europeans to swap their human DNA for Jewish DNA or to bow down to another ethnic group. Paul’s gospel declares that human bloodlines (flesh) are ultimately powerlessness. By receiving the divine, celestial Pneuma of the exalted Christ, Europeans undergo a divine upgrade that transcends earthly genetics entirely, grafting them as equal heirs into Abraham’s covenant of faith and elevating them to cosmic ruler status within the heavenly assembly.
