"The white man’s false religion called Christianity . . . gives you no desire or power to resist them. The only way and place to solve this problem is the religion of Islam . . . In the religion of Christianity the white race has had us worshiping and praying to something that actually did not even exist." (Elijah Muhammad)
Whatever else the Nation of Islam may teach today under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan, its original teachings stem from Elijah Muhammad, and have been circulated to a much wider audience than the Black Muslim community. In the 1950’s and early 60’s, Elijah Muhammad, and his key disciple Malcolm X, were the primary voices in the black community declaring that Christianity was a "white" religion. The alternative was Islam, which they proclaimed as the "true religion of the black man." Though the Nation of Islam ("Black Muslims") is a departure from orthodox Islam, they were definitely a catalyst propelling many black Americans to examine Islam. Since that time we have seen the phenomenal growth of Islam in the black community.
Unfortunately, many have been deceived by the myth that Christianity is a "white" religion. The truth of the matter is that Christianity is not the sole property of white Europeans. It is much more African and "black" than is often realized.
African scholar, John S. Mbiti states: "Christianity in Africa is so old that it can rightly be described as an indigenous, traditional and African religion. Long before the start of Islam in the seventh century, Christianity was well established all over North Africa, Egypt, parts of the Sudan and Ethiopia."
European scholar Theodor Mommsen acknowledged that "through Africa Christianity became the religion of the world." Christianity developed earlier and spread more rapidly in North Africa than in most of the Roman Empire. Latin Christianity originated there, ultimately shaping the thought of the Roman Church. Christianity spread in Egypt so widely that that it remained predominately Christian into the tenth century. Even today at least ten percent of Egypt remains Christian.
Nearly half the prominent church leaders of the first few centuries were North African, and in all likelihood were dark in complexion. For instance the "nickname" of Athanasius was the "Black Dwarf." (That ought to tell us something!) Augustine, whom I have always seen painted as a "white" man, was a North African, and as Malcolm X would say "he would have been ‘Jim Crowed’ if he had lived in Mississippi." Guess what! Origen, Cyprian, and Tertullian were all black! In fact how "white" were Jesus and the Apostle Paul?
All of this is to show that Christianity is not, and never has been, exclusively a "white" European religion that was forced upon "black" Africans. From its very beginning it was ethnically diverse, not only in terms of Jews and Gentiles, but within the entire panoply of Gentile nations. It is not a "white" religion, nor is it a "black" religion. Neither is it yellow, brown, or red. It transcends ethnicity.
Don Walker is a teacher, counselor, and writer living in the
Joel Petersen
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... Ever think about just what is IT that empowers the rise and fall of " religions " ? Just what empowers christianity ? Propaganda ? Holy Spirit ? Spirits ? Calamaities ? Heads of state [ kings, dictators ? etc. ] ? What do you think or believe ? |
Joel Petersen
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... I see there is a " White Religion " revival going on in Mobile Alabama with miracles, signs and wonders. I wonder if this ever happens in the Muslum world ? |
QEdlin
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I disagree Mr. Walker... Mr. Walker's point in bringing up North Africa, and trying to draw a conclusion that the early church leaders were probably dark is not rooted in sound historical framework. Sincere students of Ethnographic History (which my master's degree is in) is aware of the fact that before the modern Arabs pushed westward in to North Africa in the Islamic invasions, the main group of people living in that area were known as Cyrenes. Their descendants are what are now known as "Berbers" - of course, with the passing of time, and living among other peoples, the Berbers have become somewhat mixed, but many of them right down to this day have Celto-Gaelic/Iberian features; many with blond hair and blue eyes. It wasn't until the Islamics moved westward, and began the African slave trade that we find large numbers of blacks occupying the northern regions of Africa. The nations he mentions by name were not occupied by many black folks in the era of the early church. This is a major problem that history faces. It's called "presentism" --- it means that we tend to view the past with our understanding of modern reality without going through ALL the events that have taken place from the time we are analyzing to the present. Therefore, our view of the past ends up skewed by the prejudices of the present. A perfect example of this is modern greeks who are very proud to be greek, and they talk about greek heritage, and the history of the ancient philosphers and builders, and the great civilizations of Athens, Corinth, Sparta, etc. Well, in actuality, most modern greeks are Turkic in their racial background. They have no genetic claim to the advancement of western civilization in ancient Greece. Most of their ancestry migrated in to that region with the westward invasions, long after the greek empire had fallen to rome. So, to claim to be greek today doesn't make you part of the ancient tradition of that country. Geography remains the same, but peoples migrate and spread out. This is a major problem in modern academia: because of political correctness at all levels of public life, our schools now teach history through the lens of geography rather than ethnography. I know it's nice to think that Christianity is a multicultural religion, but in historical reality it belongs to the heritage of the peoples of European extract - white folks - there I said it. The reason we are losing that identity is because there is an enemy within our gates who's been there for a LONG time, and is doing everything possible to undermine our cultural identity with the faith... dominion. We've had modern evidences of that enemy in things such as the Frankfurt School in the early 20th century, and several other political revolutionary movements. And the Christian churches today have NOT recognized it for what it is, or they're just too afraid to speak up and say who it is. So, now after all that political incorrectness, let the rock party begin... you can stone me, but can you call me a liar? |
Joel Petersen
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The Questions Mr. QEdlin are : Where exactly in the Word of God does it state that " Christianity " is to be the sole propriety of " the heritage of the peoples of European extract - white folks " ? What happened to " go and make disciples of all the nations " ? Notice it says ALL , not just the Whities. Just who in the hell is this " enemy " ? |
Jimmy Day
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to Mr. Peterson Dear Joel, Mr.QEdlin may a sound argument from what I can read. Never really looked at things quite that way. It is definitely something to consider. Let me ask you, where in the bible does it say, "go and make disciples of all nations?" I have never come across a statement like that in scriptures. Can you please provide the verse? Thanks in advance. Also, the "enemy" he could have been referring to may just be a reference to antichrist forces that seek to subvert Christianity with lies, precisely what Christ warned against. |
QEdlin
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Glad you asked... Jimmy Day, The passage that Mr. Petersen references which says "go and make disciples of all nations" is the english translation of the Greek in Matthew 28. Literally, it is rendered "disciple all the nations." Now, the problem with this application in a historical context is that Paul states that the gospel HAD BEEN preached unto every creature... however I will address this in another post. At the moment, I'm being summoned to have a thanksgiving meal with my family. Regards to all, and look for a response later this afternoon. Mr. Petersen, stand by for a REALLY long response Sir. |
Joel Petersen
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Welcome aboard QEdlin and Jimmy ... Hello, It was getting a little lonely here till you came along. I'm certain we can all learn alot with the upcoming discussion. Before you start laying it out, I am wondering if you see " preaching the Gospel " and " discipling nations " is one and the same exact thing ? |
Joel Petersen
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Jimmy, Q made a good argument as far as he went, but he did not exactly refute the statement made by Don that Origen, Cypryian, and Tertullian were Black. I really don't know if they were or not, but I have deep respect for Don Walker's teachings and knowledge in Christian history. The main issue here is Christianity . Did Jesus come just to establish a " religion " just for whites or just for white nations ? |
Joel Petersen
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Hello QEdlin We are all waiting in great expectation, Q. I've even been doing a little boning up on long forgotten theological truths. Regards, Joel |
Joel Petersen
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Let's kick it up a notch, QEdlin To be honest, I smell a bit of " white supremacy " in your dissertation. Also, since you haven't responded to the Enemy question, the vagueness of your statement seems to indicate that " dominion" is the enemy of white christianity. Thank God ! |
Joel Petersen
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Christian Identity There's a discussion on The Christian Worldview Forum called Christian Reconstruction : Hijacked that is dealing with the Christian Identity movement that believes in white christianity only. |
