There is a growing group of people of African descent, who are being dissuaded from following Jesus and rejecting the faith. Their main reason: the vehicle that was used to bring the Gospel to our part of the world was colonialism. Furthermore the same people who brought the Gospel came to enslave our fore fathers, using the sacred scriptures to justify their actions.
They taught African slaves to submit to their masters, using scripture such as Ephesians 6:5 and 1 Peter 2:18. While this is biblically accurate (that slaves should submit to their masters) it’s the motive that is questionable as well as the application of scripture in this scenario. Please note that we are not trying to dig up any old racial wounds but bear with us as we explore the relevance of Christianity for the African
Jesus the God of the “white” man?
So a growing number of our African brothers and sisters believe that Christianity is the white man`s religion. This is quite understandable considering that the colonialist on his quest to gain advantage and conquer brought with him the missionary and his bible to teach the people about Christianity.
Many historical records will show that they portrayed the God of the bible in a way that would benefit their cause. Seeing the power the gospel had when it came to people`s hearts, they used it as a way to teach people obedience and make their agenda God’s agenda and hence whoever would rebel against the colonialist would like wise be rebelling against God. In other words they added their culture to the Gospel in order to make it “the way” to live.
Since the world has progressed significantly from that time, people around the world are starting to catch on to this tragedy and there have been largely two reactions to this realization. The first is that, some, when they realize that white culture is not necessarily Christianity, endeavor to study the scriptures in depth and are then able to make the distinction, in the process, discovering the pure heart of the Gospel out lined in Galatians 3: 28 which says
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
That means no culture is more Christian than the other and all cultures must submit to the authority of Jesus Christ
They did not all have the same agenda
Then the second response is that some then reject Christianity all together throwing out the baby with the bath water. This is rather unfortunate, especially when you consider the role Christians played in the abolishing of slavery and colonialism, you get a different perspective. Not all white men came with a sinister agenda; therefore it’s a bit unfair and stereotypical to point a finger at the white man in general.
Christians such as William Wilberforce were at the forefront of the movement to abolish slave trade. He was “white”. The Civil rights movement was led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. a Baptist minister. Even though he was black, he was motivated by his Christian convictions .In Zimbabwe, Garfield Todd, a white protestant missionary openly opposed white minority rule in Rhodesia and put in place significant reforms to empower Africans during his tenure as Prime Minister. Missionaries actually played an important role in the liberation of Zimbabwe and many other African countries. While others used Christianity for selfish ambitious, others genuinely wanted to share the Gospel and we must make that distinction.
Is western culture christian culture?
Perhaps the main problem some Africans have is this tragedy of “white” people enforcing their culture and traditions as the word of God. It’s still happening even in this present day for example with the so called “white evangelicals”, but the truth of the matter is that it is not a new phenomenon. It was happening even before Jesus came to earth and Isaiah prophesied about it in Isaiah 29:13. Jesus emphasized it as well in Mark 7: 6-9 warning the Jewish leaders,
“You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.”
If you read all the way to verse 13 you will see that Jesus exposes them saying that they find clever ways of weaving their own rules and agendas into the word of God and this is precisely what some of the white people did to justify slavery and all the injustices they have committed against the other races.
This has made some of the oppressed people bitter to the point that they have rejected Him regarding him as a cruel God. Yet Jesus, who was a Jew, was clearly warning and rebuking his own people for making such a grave error. The word of God is separate from man’s culture and culture must never be considered as gospel. Culture must submit to Jesus Christ who is Lord over everything.
Could he actually be more God of the “black” man instead?
This God also came into the world and lived under colonial rule, and was crucified for our sake by this colonial regime, with the approval of his own people. How is he a cruel God? Having been subjected to colonial rule while on earth, and conquering, does this not actually make him more relevant to the African?
God is not at all fazed by the false agendas people have. His will is greater than the selfish ambitions of men so much so that he will even turn all their ill intent to work according to His plan. Paul in his letter to the Philippians (Chapter 1: 17-18) confirms it saying, “…whether in pretense or in truth Christ is still proclaimed…”
So even in their attempt to push their agendas and greed the colonialists ended up preaching Christ. Whether from good motive or bad, Christ was proclaimed to nations that would not have heard the gospel otherwise. The foundation was laid for God to build upon.
In light of this I encourage anyone who feels that Christianity is the white man’s religion and nothing more to not disregard it based on the opinions of others or mere thought, but to search the bible for themselves in order to see and judge if it is truth or not.
He is not God of the “white” or of the “black” man, he is God of all
Some argue saying “why did we reject our religion and in place adopted the white man’s religion? Well first of all, Christianity is not the white man’s religion; he received it as much as we Africans did. The Christian faith is actually of Jewish origin and it is being shared to the nations. If our African gods where really gods, why were they overpowered by this “foreign god”. Why did they not deliver us from the colonizer and where is their power now? It’s because they were not gods to begin with, some are nothing but a figment of our imagination, while others are just demons.
I would rather anyone, if at all, reject the gospel after having heard it, comprehended it and scrutinized it, coming to the conclusion that it is not truth and not because it’s the “white” man’s religion. As Romans 10: 11-12 will tell you that God makes no distinctions based on race, nation or culture. Jesus Christ is Not the God of the white man; He is Lord of all.
