So, there are a lot of memes and think pieces making the rounds on social media chastising Black people for being Christian. Apparently, the creators of such content think Black Christians are lost in a White man’s world; that they are caught up in a religion created by White people and one that centers a White God. These people can’t understand why CHOSSA would continue to adhere to such a tradition since Christianity was historically used to justify the captivity, enslavement and brutality endured by the ancestors for 400 years.
In my soon-to-be-released book encouraging the diaspora to focus on Africa, I go into more detail about Christianity, its roots and how wrong some of the assumptions made about it are. But today, I’m going to keep it brief and point a few things out before I move on with my day. First, let’s just be clear, the European White man did not start Christianity, nor did he introduce Africans to it. At the center of Christianity is the one most call Jesus (but, whom I call Yahushua since that’s closer to his actual name). Yahushua was a Jewish Hebrew who had not one European ancestor. Ditto for Paul who wrote much of the Bible’s New Testament who happened to be a Roman citizen and who was once mistaken for an Egyptian in the book of Acts in chapter 21. At that time, Rome was a diverse melting pot filled with people of varying hues, features and backgrounds. That Paul was questioned about being an Egyptian and wasn’t initially believed to be a Roman citizen and wasn’t thought to even speak their language, tells us that he must’ve at least appeared to be African by sight. Again, not a European White man.
Christianity also existed in Africa long before it took root in the countries like England, France, the Netherlands and Spain, which is where many of those who trafficked our ancestors came from. Simon of Cyrene, the man who helped Yahushua carry the cross, was an African. Newsflash, but Cyrene is in Libya, which is North Africa. In Acts 2:10, the Bible mentions Africans being present on the infamous Day of Pentecost. Roman colonies and churches also existed on the African continent from the very beginning of Christianity. I mean, Rome colonized Northern Africa, which made it a province of Rome (some even call it “Roman Africa”. Paul’s respected colleague, Apollos, (mentioned in Acts 18:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 3:5-6) helped in the growth of some of those churches and Apollos was from Egypt. Ethiopia is home to some of the oldest texts and oldest churches in the Christian religion, which has been practiced in Ethiopia, uninterrupted, for close to 2000 years. There were also Christian kingdoms around modern-day Sudan in places known back then as Nobadia, Makuria and Alodia. Again, Africans were not solely introduced to Christianity through slavery.
So, my message to those who make these memes and who write long think pieces to ridicule CHOSSA who are also Christian, I want to tell you you’re not only wrong about it being a so-called White religion, but I want you to know that as long as you pay (taxes) to live in a White dominated society and as long as you have a White man’s name as your surname, please don’t preach to anyone else about their ties to a religion that is most definitely NOT White. Also, please stop crediting White people for something they didn’t create. White supremacy knows how to steal and appropriate quite well, they don’t need your help.
So, that’s it. That’s all I wanted to say. Everybody just chill and check yourself before you try to check anyone else.
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Thanks for tuning in and we’ll talk again, soon!