Hey hey hey!
I promised you something a little more deep last week so here it is enjoy!
I think that the “Christian” culture within the African-Caribbean diaspora that are descendents of slaves and live within Anglo-America (England and America), is flawed. I do not think that it is Christianity at all. It makes African-Caribbean Anglo-American’s too passive towards abuse and it keeps them opressed. The Colonial “Christian” tradition handed down to them stems from colonialism and is damaging and full of lies and needs to exorcise colonialism and racism from it. The colonial tradition that Anglo-American African-Caribbeans have inherited damages their communities, stops them correcting each other, permits abuse and enslaves them to the Caucaisan Alpha Male to this day, who is still profiteering from his slave trading ancestors. I submit that Anglo-American African-Caribbean peoples need as a matter of urgency to forget everything they thought they knew about Christianity, re-read the scriptures, take a critical look at their history and really study the scriptures through subjective lens, remove their culture and see what it really says. Then they will find that true Christianity does not enable bad behaviour or abuse in the way it was used during colonial times and this present day.
The initial engagement between African peoples in the Americas and Christianity came within the context of the abuse that happened within slavery. These enslaved peoples were taken from Western Africa and abused by their slavers, who used the bible and Christianity to justify enslaving the Africans (Noll 2006) (Haynes 2002) (Oshatz 2012). For example, Genesis 4:15:
[Genesis 4:15 NLT] “[15] The LORD replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.”
The mark that God put on Cain was interpreted as involving dark skin and Africans were regarded as the accursed descendants of Cain. Also in Genesis 9, Ham the son of Noah saw his father naked when he was drunk and sleeping. When Noah recovered from his drunken stupor he cursed his son Ham saying:
[Genesis 9:25-27 NLT] “[25] Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: “May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.” [26] Then Noah said, “May the LORD, the God of Shem, be blessed, and may Canaan be his servant! [27] May God expand the territory of Japheth! May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.””
African people were identified as descendents of Ham partly due to Genesis 10:6 associating his decedents with parts of Africa, e,g, the Cushites were from Ethiopia:
[Genesis 10:6 NLT] “[6] The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.”
Other verses such as Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, 1 Timothy 6:1 and Philemon were used as well to support a master slave relationship. Consequently, the curse on Ham was used to justify slavery of the African people as a biblical act, requiring the obedience of the enslaved African’s to their European masters. Even those who did not support slavery still had notions of white supremacy because of such scriptures. Within the patriarchal historical context of colonialism, African American women were both subordinate to men and to Caucasians (Junior 2015, pp.42-43).
Along with physical abuse; forced surrogacy e.g. forced to be a “mammy” to Caucasian children (Williams 2013) and the separation of family groups, breaking down the most basic unit of human civilization; the slavers oppressed the Africans through loss of cultural identity, removal of gender distinctions and control over the African woman’s reproductive functions.
The African’s lost of cultural identity when they were forced to adopt Eurocentric cultures/food/dress and even names in the colonies. To this day, Caribbean people still suffer from the practice of renaming as they still bear surnames of the last person who owned their ancestors, instead of their original African surnames.
The removal of the gender identities of the Africans had particularly difficult consequences for the women. In North America, understandings of the Bible as authoritative and normative shaped the social norms of the Caucasian slavers and contributed to the notion of women as subordinate to men. Nineteenth century Caucasian gendered ideals held up the Caucasian woman as being pure and fragile. Yet any non-Caucasian woman or poor women were not considered “real women” in the same way as wealthy Caucasian women (Junior 2015, p.42). The enslaved women were not seen as women or delicate or “ladies” like affluent Caucasian women. Instead, they were seen as masculinised, licentious, primitive and lacking in morals (Harris-Perry 2011) (Hooks 1981) (White 1999). Those misconceptions encouraged dehumanizing practices in North America during slave times. The African women slaves were made to do the same work as the African men, as they were seen as just as tough, unlike Caucasian women who were perceived as the fairer sex (Mann 1989). For example, the African women were expected to plough the fields, haul logs, drive out hogs etc typically a job reserved for men but they were seen as being hardier that Caucasian women (Williams 2013).
The slavers took autonomy over the enslaved African women’s body through coerced sexual activity to either: use them as “breeding stock” to make more slave babies with other African enslaved men who were used as “studs” or to make mixed ethnicity babies with the Caucasian slave masters. This benefitted the slave masters as the children of the slave mothers followed the condition of the mother (partus sequitur ventrem) (Williams 2013, p.67). The slave owners through a practice called the “fancy trade”, a practice co-morbid with the salve trade, further violated the sexual autonomy of the African woman. Slavers would buy and sell the most attractive African women for the exclusive purpose of them being the slavers mistresses. In North Carolina the famous octoroon balls allowed rich Caucasian slavers to meet and purchase these women (White 1999, pp.37-38). Furthermore, the slave owners also used the African enslaved women for their own sexual gratification, with the knowledge of their wives (Williams 2013, p.60). The enslaved women were often promised their freedom if they acquiesced but they and the children that resulted from these relations were often sold to other plantations. Regardless, the enslaved women did not have a choice in any of the sexual relations (White 1999, p.15).
On top of all that abuse, the slavers also forced the African’s to convert to their religion, Christianity. The enslaved Africans were initially suspicious of Christianity, as traditional African religions were part of an aural tradition, whereas this new religion was a “book religion” (Fulop 1997) (Raboteau 2004) (Sernett 1999). Early African American literature meditated upon this stating that you could “hear” the book by reading (Gates 1988). This was because the Bible was first introduced to them by preaching from reading the stories to them. In particular, the evangelical branch of Protestantism took what could be considered as a womanist episteme, as they put emphasis on both the Bible and ones own personal experience of God (Junior 2015, p.40).
Whenever we deal with the history of missions to enslaved African people one has to question the kind of Christianity that was transported to the slaves. It wasn’t even Christianity at all. Any kind of religious tradition that says: “you can be free spiritually but raped and tortured and brutalized in the social world”, isn’t any religion at all, it’s an occult practice. The slave owners then used this “Christianity” to pacify the slaves and make them compliant and accept their slave status and poor psychosocial realities. The main promise being, if you behave and accept this mistreatment, then when you die you will go to heaven.
Many forms of Christianity that were transferred to the slaves via the colonialists were embedded with capitalist ideology. The teachings that they fed the slaves pacified them, making them easier to make money from, the colonial Christianity, as mentioned earlier was also used to justify the “farming” of African’s, to make more slave fodder. The colonial Christianity that was handed down to the enslaved peoples was an enforcer of colonial capitalist agendas. Today, Christianity is still prevalent amongst the African-Caribbean diaspora that reside within Anglo-America (Britain and the Americas) and the churches that the colonialists built are there today and what they taught has filtered down to the modern day African-Caribbean Diaspora in Anglo-America, the same way their slave surnames have filtered down through the generations. As a consequence, African-Caribbean Anglo-American peoples have been conditioned to accept and tolerate abuse and anti-social behaviour between and against themselves and from other ethnicities directed at them and within their churches. Sadly, some of the men still act like “studs” and have babies with multiple women, some are still illiterate, don’t exercise civil liberties like voting and there is a serious problem with a lack of social cohesion.
One has to be very critical of these “Christian” traditions that evolved out of colonialism because they were grown inside of colonial capitalism and therefore they do not deconstruct imperialism or any of the economic underpinnings of empire that they belong to. This is true of any form of Christianity that was transferred to the slaves via the colonialists; it was embedded with capitalist ideology. The teachings that they fed the slaves pacified them, making them easier to make money from. Life can only exist when chemical compounds do not use absorbed energy for their own kinesis but disperse it among other chemical compounds and let it transmute into chemical bonds. In order for the wealthy to stay rich, poor people need to stay poor. Hence rich people want poor people to believe that their fate is set and righteous or even due to their own stupidity (Abarim Publications 2018). This idea is what the colonialists transferred to the slaves. They tried to make the poor trust the power of lighting candles in church or hours of quiet prayer and other passive acts because if poor people became properly informed, they would rise up (Abarim Publications 2018).
Sinning has nothing to do with being guilty and everything with being in a situation in which you don’t belong or even want to be. Leaders will want you to believe that sin has to do with being uppity, but capitalism is of course the greatest enslaver of all, and the imposition of poverty the most evil of evils:
[1 Timothy 6:10 NLT] “[10] For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
This culture of uneven distribution of wealth goes hand in hand with a culture of misinformation, misdirection and sedative surrogates “whiffs of plastic luxury and base entertainment, which are all “part of their enslavement” (in the words of Tacitus; Agricola.1.21). This is why God said in Hosea “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (4:6). Fortunately, Christ unlocks the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (see Colossians 2:3) and knowledge will buy us all out of the slave market. Slavery comes with ignorance and freedom comes with knowledge (See Proverbs 18:15, Isaiah 11:9, Malachi 2:7, Luke 1:77, 1 Corinthians 12:8, Colossians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Philippians 1:9, Ephesians 3:9, 2 Timothy 2:7, 2 Peter 1:5). The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the absolute law of nature; the knowledge of which will set us free (See John 8:32). The effect of preaching the gospel is not to form another legion of quietly compliant people (which is what the rich people preach) but poverty relief and a Cambrian explosion of mental life. Sin is nothing else than being restricted and confined. Freedom is God’s gift and autonomy is the ultimate working principle of creation, this is called the Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. The word Christ means, “anointed” and marks anyone who is the boss of his or her own life:
[1 John 2:20-27 NLT] “[20] But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. [21] So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. [22] And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. [23] Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. [24] So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. [25] And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. [26] I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. [27] But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true–it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”
Do not allow anyone to tell you who you are and what you should do with your life. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free:
[Galatians 5:1 NLT] “[1] So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” (Abarim Publications 2018)
The modern day African-Caribbean is living with that legacy of Colonial “Whiteanity” and the pacifying un-biblical ideas that come with them have been transferred to the modern day Caribbean, mixing with their faith. We have to question what happens when we take on a religious tradition that is structured to keep us impoverished, dis-empowered and disorganized and reproduce it uncritically.
African-Caribbean people need to start asking why are the most famous churches not taking a more active role in promoting the well-being of the African-Caribbean diaspora? They are happy to take our money. The Evangelical “Christians” in America are backing Donald Trump in a big way. Why are they not questioning him and his attitudes towards immigrants and African American people? Any kind of “church” that supports hegemonies that are happy to abuse one set of people are not churches at all. Look at what Trumps spiritual advisor Paula White said (follow this link to find out more). She’s a racist denounce it, say it like it is. I am a Christian and I am telling you be suspicious of organized religion. By supporting individuals like they are again using Christianity to justify maltreatment. There is a difference between being USED by God and being OF God. Anyone who says Trump is OF God is mistaken. Has he repented of his views towards s**thole countries? Has he said sorry to Obama for demanding to see his birth certificate? Has he seemed sorry for the Central Park Five? (follow this link to find out more) No. Then what kind of “Christianity” is backing him? The kind that enslaved my ancestors, don’t believe them. They aren’t Christians, double check what they are saying, like the pharasees, what they are teaching might be correct but how they are living their lives is not.
Anglo-American African-Caribbeans need to start correcting each other, questioning their leaders, stop sucking the sack of misinformation, quit shooting each other, quit sowing your wild oats, go to school, pay attention at school and educate yourself on your history, vote and come together as a community. The reason why the slavers would split up families was because a divided people are easier to conquer.
Here’s what the Bible really says about abuse and what the colonial masters never wanted the African Diaspora to understand:
THE TRUTH
Let us examine the original Greek translated as sin. The Greek verb αμαρτανω (hamartano) [In bold in the verse below] used in Luke 17:4 et al is translated as in or wrongs in later translations:
[Luke 17:4 NLT] “[4] Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.””
This verb describes the difference between three things: aim and impact, purpose and application, or intent and realization… This concept of “sin” has now come to mean being caught breaking the law. There are two kinds of law: human law and God’s law. God’s law is natural law and is what binds atoms into objects and natural compounds into living creatures. Natural law governs the biosphere and forms each creature according to its personal constitution and its place relative to the others (See Psalm 50:10-11, 104:10-14, Matthew 6:26) God’s law also aims for people to grow into fruit-bearing adults who fit perfectly into the world:
[Colossians 1:16 NLT] “[16] for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see–such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.”
Human law is derived from the whims of humans following their own appetites. Unfortunately, we are all stuck in the transitional period between a humanity consisting of tribes and an integrated global economy. Sinning has nothing to do with breaking a formal law and everything with getting in the way of nature, God’s law:
[Ephesians 4:30 NLT] “[30] And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.” (Abarim Publications 2018)
When you restrict each other it is sin. Slavery was sin, in fact, any kind of slavery is sin, no kind of abuse or anti-social behavour should go uncontested. Yes the bible says to forgive but if you need to call the police on your son do it. We are not being leaders in our communities if we just let stupidity and abuse go by the by. That is what we have been conditioned to do through “Whitanity” and it is destroying African-Caribbean communities in Anglo-America. All that happens is they go to jail and end up slaving for “massa” making number plates.
Therefore, never tolerate bad people in the church
[1 Corinthians 5:9-13 NLT] “[9] When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. [10] But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. [11] I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. [12] It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. [13] God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.””
The Bible says that we are not even supposed to associate with people who are abusive or cheat you or indulge in sexual sin. It also says we have a responsibility to correct those in the church. I denounce the bad behaviour that has gone on in my family. The practice of “studs” fathering babies left right and centre NEEDS TO STOP. We are not slaves anymore when that was forced upon us. Now it’s just outright stupidity. Tolerating it and not calling it out is not faith, it’s not Christianity, it’s Colonial “Whitanity” and occult. If the Bible says we should confront these things, WHY ARE WE NOT DONG IT? In fact, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for having spiritual pride for not calling people to account.
[1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 5 NLT] “[1] I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you–something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. [2] You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. … [5] Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.”
So we are actually committing the sin of spiritual pride when we are not confronting the anti-social, abusive behaviour of our family members. It’s pride, Pride acts as a barrier between us and God. This is what the Bible says about pride:
{Isaiah 13:11 NLT] “[11] “I, the LORD, will punish the world for it’s evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty”
Abuse must be confronted and if someone has something against you go and be reconciled
[Matthew 18:15-18 NLT] “[15] “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. [16] But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. [17] If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. [18] “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Abuse is sin it says here clearly that this must be confronted; you confront them to win them over so they can grow and be the person that God wants them to be. In fact Jesus and the gospel message is described as being a stone in Luke:
[Luke 20:17-18 NLT] “[17] Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ [18] Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”
[Luke 12:49-53 NLT] “[49] I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! [50] I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. [51] Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! [52] From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against-or two in favor and three against. [53] ‘Father will be divided against son and son against father;mother against daughter and daughter against mother;and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.'”
The Gospel of Jesus is the cornerstone because He is the standard that we are to align and measure ourselves to. Jesus and His message is also a stumbling block to some because they cannot accept it or follow it. This shows that the gospel is supposed to be arresting. In fact, the above verses show that if the Gospel you are hearing is not in some way confronting or challenging you in your life, ITS NOT THE GOSPEL AT ALL It’s witchcraft.
Confrontation is not wrong; it can be done in an assertive, reconciliative way. The reasons for confronting bad behaviour is so that it does not spread and people can heal and stop manifesting negative behaviours that are going to land them in hell. The verse above states that you talk to them privately, then in front of other people, then the church then treat them as a pagan. This could mean understand them to not be a Christian. Ok ok ok, for the purpose of discussion, just because a person disagrees with you it does not make them wrong, this just shows how to confront them. The bible also puts an emphasis on the person who has sinned to reconcile themselves with other people:
[Matthew 5:23-24 NLT] “[23] “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, [24] leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”
The lack on reconciliation that has occurred within my African-Caribbean family is appalling. This models the praxis of the colonial masters when they mistreated the slaves. They were not able to fight back or to expect an apology. I along with the others who have been abused within my family am owed acknowledgement and reconciliation. Brushing aside what has happened is not biblical. Forgiving them is, lack of reconciliation is not.
Faith without works is meaningless, along with sacrifices without goodness
Unfortunately, some people think that they are Christians but they are not. Being a Christian is not just about going to church, singing hymns, reading the Bible and praying. Anyone can do that. Being a Christian is about those little moments where your behaviour is different and that is what will make people notice as God said in Isaiah:
[Isaiah 1:11-19 NLT] “[11] “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. [12] When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? [13] Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting–they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. [14] I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! [15] When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims. [16] Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. [17] Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. [18] “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. [19] If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.”
Going to church, wearing a nice hat, singing hymns and doing solos whilst secretly enabling the mess in your African-Caribbean community is not going to get you into heaven. In fact, verse 13 says that kind of thing disgusts God. It’s not biblical. Get your private life in order, call out wrong when wrong is done and don’t brush it aside. Sadly, the colonial past of my family has infected their faith with inappropriate doctrine, making them permissive of evil and mistreatment. This is wrong and this permissiveness alone is sinful. It says in the Bible:
[James 2:14-26 NLT] “[14] What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? [15] Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, [16] and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”–but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? [17] So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. [18] Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” [19] You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. [20] How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? [21] Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? [22] You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. [23] And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. [24] So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. [25] Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. [26] Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”
Tolerating any kind of abuse or anti-social behaviour is not Christian and enabling or covering it up, to the detriment to other peoples health is not Christian either. Well, I suppose it is very Christian. Looking in these modern times where American Evangelical Christians back Donald Trump as a presidential candidate really exposes the phony nature of the movement. Donald Trump has been linked to far right groups, he’s in the White House with his third baby mama, who is the woman he was having an affair with when he was married to his second wife. He was also having an affair on his third wife with a stripper, whilst she was pregnant and this is the type of person that the “Christians” are supporting… If you are saying that you are a Christian and not behaving like one or even worse covering up or dismissing the abusive behaviour of other’ or using the Bible to say that what an individual is doing is OK and people should list (yes I’m talking about you Mr Sessions) there is no point even calling yourself a Christian. Behaving like a true believer requires confronting abuse and bad B These ideals would not have been considered mainstream African-Caribbean Christian thought in the 1700’s – early 1800’s because confrontation of abuse does not correlate with slavery. In fact, during colonial times, preachers who preached to the enslaved peoples that Jesus came to set them free were jailed!
The colonialists showed the enslaved peoples faith for show, they were one way in church and another way out of church and this is the kind of Christianity that I have observed within my family. Our faith cannot just be for show, on the outside everyone sees one thing but what’s going on behind closed doors is more important. As I said earlier we cannot go to church in big hats, singing hymns and not be doing simple things like providing justice to each other in our private lives and expect to call yourself a Christian because you are not. That makes you a Pharisee:
[Matthew 23:5-7, 23, 25, 27-28 NLT] “[5] “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. [6] And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. [7] They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ … [23] “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law–justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. … [25] “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy–full of greed and self-indulgence! … [27] “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs–beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. [28] Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
The historic abuse and ongoing abuse needs to be dealt with, we must be as clean in our private spheres as we appear in our public spheres. The Christians and Christian teaching that does not do this IS NOT CHRISTIANITY.
There must be parity between members
As mentioned earlier, I tried to confront family members about abuse. Due to being amongst the younger and members of the family, as well as the fact that I am not being a boy or married or as wealthy as I would like my opinion was discounted. This is not biblical in a context like this and is very colonial and parochial thinking. To not consider the views of an adult woman legitimate or see the African-Caribbean woman is , for some to continue slavery.
This kind of self destructive division is a-typical of Black culture and the colonialists played on this and exacerbated it to keep us divided whilst they strengthened ties with the colonies and grouped together. This is not how Christians aught to be Paul had a brilliant metaphor of the church where he described it as a body, each of the parts having their own job and each job is important and each member is interdependent. Note Paul also says in the last verse that some parts that seem more insignificant are actually the most important parts of all!
[1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NLT] “[12] The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. [13] Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. [14] Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. [15] If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. [16] And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? [17] If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? [18] But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. [19] How strange a body would be if it had only one part! [20] Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. [21] The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” [22] In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. [23] And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, [24] while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. [25] This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. [26] If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. [27] All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
Although the different parts have different jobs and look different, some with more exciting jobs than others; due to their interdependence they are all equal. True Christians enjoy parity, oneness and unity. We are all different but equal working towards shared goals. Jesus himself said that we are all on the same level when he said:
[Matthew 23:8-10 “[8] “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. [9] And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. [10] And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.”
And furthermore Jesus also said that those who are in charge should not be dominating those under them:
[Luke 22:25-27 NLT] “[25] Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ [26] But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. [27] Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.”
This sentiment was reiterated in 1 Peter to elders [of a church]:
[1 Peter 5:3-4 NLT] “[3] Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. [4] And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”
So where is the biblical precedent to dismiss my grievances? There is none. For-shame. In fact, Paul goes on to say:
[1 Timothy 4:12 NLT] “[12] Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
Hierarchical familial structures that enslave are direct iterations of the kind of Christianity that the Caucasian slavers used to keep the African’s bound and by not addressing abuse or negative behaviours we are repeating and reliving colonial evils. It must stop. These structures existed because the African’s were not considered equal and they were not treated equally and this warped idea of a Christianity that enslaves and puts people on different levels is evil and untrue. We are all equal, no one has a right or biblical precedent, in a context like this, to dismiss someone’s opinion or to say that a person should just have thick skin. Those mindsets are there to continue the enslavement and stop us from progressing and keep us sinning as mentioned earlier, lack of reconciliation and lack of confrontation of negative behaviours IS sin.
Forcing burdens on people unnecessarily is un-scriptural
I don’t know why in our communities we force each other onto each other. Time and time again my dear mother has been told she should keep her middle aged brother and only a select few including myself have told her it is not right. Those people are hypocrites who will not take him in themselves and play the Christianity card that she is being a good Christian when she bares with him by keeping him instead of getting him the help that he needs. He’s abusive and wasteful. Those people, again African-Caribbean Anglo-American Christians, descendants of slaves are still seeing suffering through the lenses of Colonial “Whiteanity”. Unreasonable demands were always put on the salves and they were told that it was their Christian duty to bear with it. They are making unreasonable demands and conflating them with Christian duty. This is absurd; when Paul was working with the different churches he was self-sufficient and did not consider it a “duty” of others to host him:
[1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NLT] “[7] As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. [8] We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.”
It’s “religious” not Christian to make demands that are unreasonable, unrealistic and unfair of others then emotionally blackmail them with hell if they do not comply, especially when they are not prepared to help you, like my aunt who would not take my uncle in but expects us to keep him for years. That is what the slavers did to our ancestors. Jesus described people who do such things as Pharisees:
[Matthew 23:2-4 NLT] “[2] “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. [3] So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. [4] They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.”
Destroyed for lack of knowledge
You wonder why there is so much strife and disorder and people being jailed and shot in the Anglo-America African-Caribbean population, Am I the only one that thinks that’s strange? I postulate that our circumstances are partly due to the fact that we are constantly sinning towards each other, upsetting each other because we do not truly know God or the scriptures. Additionally, we have inherited an occult form of Christianity from our ancestors’ colonial masters, which is designed to abuse, pacify and make money of African people, by making us far too tolerant to abuse and anti-social behaviour, which damages us physically, psychologically, spiritually, economically and financially. Anglo-American African-Caribbean people who support people and structures that oppress them are not Christians. These kind of people and things are the reason why former colonial countries still continue to benefit financially from the occult form of Christianity that African-Caribbean people absorb. We have kept their names, we have said “oh well that’s over and done we should just forgive and forget now”, instead of pursuing reparations like the Jews, so the colonial powers got to keep the wealth they made off slavery and still gain because when we [members of the African Diaspora] get ill or poor from following backward belief systems, we go to “massa” (the colonial powers) and give voluntarily give them our money for pills, therapy, medical assistance and loans… The plan of the colonial masters has worked with shocking efficiency to the point that they are still making money off. Let me make this excruciatingly clear. There is no scriptural justification whatsoever for a passive attitude towards sin, antisocial behaviour and abuse and a lack of awareness of this is destroying us. As it says in Hosea:
[Hosea 4:6 NLT] “[6] My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.”
The latter part of this verse is chilling, it says here when we forget God by not following His commands; God will forget our families and us. Ignorance of His ways does not seem to be an excuse. You will still be punished, if not in this life certainly in the life to come.
Sadly, there are child abusers in my family who do not even realise or acknowledge that they are child abusers and are suffering because of lack of knowledge. I genuinely believe that some of my family members are struggling because of that.
You do not get away with it, as it says in the word:
[Luke 17:2-3 NLT] “[2] It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. [3] So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.”
The above verse of scripture means that if you cause a little child to sin your punishment will be so severe it will be worse than drowning. Remember that as was mentioned earlier “sin” is being in a state that is unnatural as well as being in a restricted state (Abarim Publications 2018). When you do bad things against people you are restricting and violating their liberty to not be wronged or restricted. I was restricted severely when I was beaten and not allowed to cry as a child. My liberty to be at peace in my own house has been restricted and restrictions have been put on my voice and adulthood through the continual disrespects and disregard of my opinions. No doubt the colonialists did the same things to the slaves.
We don’t need slave masters any more, we are happily doing it to ourselves, using the Bible to justify it, again. If the people in question realised what they had done, perhaps they would have repented ages ago but they have not and God being a just God is punished them for it. Additionally, we [Anglo-American African-Caribbeans] are putting barriers between us and God by doing things against his will and that is stifling our spiritual/emotional/health/financial development. However, Jesus is the light of the world and these things have been brought to the forefront because Jesus wants to set us free so we can escape abusive, self deprecating habits, that’s why:
[Mark 4:22 NLT] “[22] For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.”
[John 8:32 NLT] “[32] And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
[John 8:12 NLT] “[12] Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.””
We need to know and understand what is wrong so we can be fully free. We are heirs with Jesus:
[John 8:35-36 NLT] “[35] A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
We are not slaves anymore why are we acting like them?
The Christianity that the enslaved Africans were shown was a Christianity without holiness, it was a tradition that numbed the African-Caribbean people to the abuse that the Caucasians gave them, it also numbed them to the abuse they gave each other. It subordinated and shamed the African-Caribbean woman, seeing her as a sexual object as opposed to a lady, it made it ok for the men to breed like rabbits, with a woman in every port. It made it ok for Caucasian men to do whatever they wanted to us and to this day it gives legitimacy to the wrongs of the Alpha Caucasian Male by not calling him out on what he has done. Instead saying, we should pray for our leaders! We should, we should also hold them to account, they work for us not the other way round. If you are in a position to do so and are not you’re no Christian.
For more of my thoughts on Christianity and African-Caribbean’s see this blog post follow this link
Bibliography
Books
Fulop, T. E. and A. J. Raboteau. 1997. African American Religion: Interpretive Essays in History and Culture. New York: Routledge.
Gates, H. L. 1988. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Harris-Perry, M. V. 2011. Sister Citizen: Shame Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Haynes, S. R. 2012. Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery New York: Oxford University Press.
Hooks, B. 1981. Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Boston: South End Press.
Noll, M. A. 2006. The Civil War as a Theological Crisis. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Oshatz, M. 2012. Slavery and Sin: The Fights Against Slavery and the Rise of Liberal Protestantism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Junior, N. 2015. An Introduction To Womanist Biblical Interpretation. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press.
Raboteau, A. J. 2004. Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum South. Rev edn. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sernett, M. C. 1999. African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness. 2nd edn. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
White, D. G. 1999. Ar’n’t I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South, Rev ed, New York: W. W. Norton.
Williams, D. S. 2013. Sisters In The Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. New York: Orbis Books.
Journals
Mann, S. A. 1989. Slavery, Sharecropping, and Sexual Inequality. Signs, 14:4, 774-798
Websites
Abarim Publications ‘The Truth About Sin: What Rich People Don’t Want You To Know’ Abarim Publications Web site, at <http://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/a/a-m-a-r-t-a-n-om.html#.W0SL2YXfsfp> 7 July 2018
