Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We know that religion is big in the black community. Some argue that blacks really should not be following Christianity given it's history. That said, other religions haven't exactly treated us well either so should blacks be leaning more or less towards atheist/agnosticism?
This is my perspective. I believe in Christ. I understand what his teachings are about. I look at the teachings vs what people do. Christianity reached the African continent(Ethiopia notably) before colonialism ever did. Ethiopia was also never successfully colonized. Italy tried, but only got Eritrea and Somalia.
As someone who has been in the Christian faith my whole life(I've switched denominations a few times), I don't see Christianity as "Black man's kryptonite". I see things from this perspective. Look out for wolves in sheep's clothing. It says so in the Bible. I think this has been the case for Black people. Many people who knew what the Bible said, but practiced something else and tried to twist some words to justify their abuses. Look at slavery. There were those who were trying to justify slavery as "God's will". And yet, slaves weren't permitted to learn how to read. If slaves could read the Bible, they would know that what their so-called "masters" were doing to them was wrong.
Last edited by Ibginnie; 03-28-2017 at 04:48 PM..
Reason: off topic
This is my perspective. I believe in Christ. I understand what his teachings are about. I look at the teachings vs what people do. Christianity reached the African continent(Ethiopia notably) before colonialism ever did. Ethiopia was also never successfully colonized. Italy tried, but only got Eritrea and Somalia.
As someone who has been in the Christian faith my whole life(I've switched denominations a few times), I don't see Christianity as "Black man's kryptonite". I see things from this perspective. Look out for wolves in sheep's clothing. It says so in the Bible. I think this has been the case for Black people. Many people who knew what the Bible said, but practiced something else and tried to twist some words to justify their abuses. Look at slavery. There were those who were trying to justify slavery as "God's will". And yet, slaves weren't permitted to learn how to read. If slaves could read the Bible, they would know that what their so-called "masters" were doing to them was wrong.
There is nothing in the Bible that says "Blacks are inferior". In fact, Christ instructs everyone to love one another. It is instructed that we're all one in Christ. Wolves in sheep's clothing usually know they are. In slavery, it meant forbidding slaves from being literate. In Jim Crow, it meant the KKK waged a terror campaign.
More and more White supremacists are turning to atheism and paganism. This is my theory. You can't convince someone you want to terrorize that it's "God's will" when it clearly says otherwise, and said person can read, and when God-fearing people are against such terror. I watched a documentary about skinheads. The leader of that group, Bill Riccio, admitted to praying to the Norse god Odin. It's "choose God" or "choose racial nationalism", more White supremacists are choosing the latter.
What green_mariner said.
Moreover, the Christianity of non-Europeans is of a distinctly different fundamental character from that of Europeans, especially the strains that never arrived by means of Europeans, such as that of the Ethiopians.
I was watching a segment on OWN focusing on black actresses what what they face in the industry. It was Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, and Gabrielle Union where they addressed that dark skin/light skin issue. It was a very eye opening discussion.
I am just starting to learn about this stuff myself. I do recall being little and thinking my mother was White. My mother being very light of complexion, well, I was a kid. Apart from that, most of this has been somewhat new to me until the early 2010s(2012 particularly). I listened to some videos about self esteem, dark skin vs light skin. As a kid it never occurred to me that much. I know that it was hard as a Black person in America. The dark skin/light skin thing, this started occurring to me much later. I know now that there is a type of competition going on.
Moreover, the Christianity of non-Europeans is of a distinctly different fundamental character from that of Europeans, especially the strains that never arrived by means of Europeans, such as that of the Ethiopians.
I see the Christian faith as being for everyone. Christians have been in India since the 6th century. There are also several strains of the Catholic Church outside of Europe. Syro-Malabar, Maronite, Melkite, Syro-Malankara(from India). Christianity came from the Middle East and spread to several places in its early days. Christianity had to get to Europe first before Europeans could spread it themselves.
I am just starting to learn about this stuff myself. I do recall being little and thinking my mother was White. My mother being very light of complexion, well, I was a kid. Apart from that, most of this has been somewhat new to me until the early 2010s(2012 particularly). I listened to some videos about self esteem, dark skin vs light skin. As a kid it never occurred to me that much. I know that it was hard as a Black person in America. The dark skin/light skin thing, this started occurring to me much later. I know now that there is a type of competition going on.
Being a Louisiana boy, I could probably spot her as black from a mile away (if I had actually seen her). We can often tell a black Frenchman from someone that's Hispanic. On the flip side, in CALIFORNIA there is a sizable population of creoles and they often Do pass of as white, though down here where I'm at.......not so much.
Last edited by pandorafan5687; 03-24-2017 at 08:29 PM..
GM are you familiar with the doll test? I believe it was initially conducted in 1959. Years later, a filmmaker named Kiri Davis re conducted this test with the same results.
We know that religion is big in the black community. Some argue that blacks really should not be following Christianity given it's history. That said, other religions haven't exactly treated us well either so should blacks be leaning more or less towards atheist/agnosticism?
I am an atheist and consider myself a secular humanist.
I personally believe that all religions cause harm in humanity due to encouraging prejudice and intolerance.
I also feel that Christianity in black America has caused black people to lack in critical thought in a variety of ways. Religion teaches that one should just "have faith." Religion was a way to keep black people in check in the past in this country.
FWIW I am well aware of the history of Christianity and Islam on the African continent but that does not diminish my opinion regarding the fact that in America religion was used as a way to force black people to be "good" and to "obey."
One of the founders of black nationalism in America was actually a West Indian immigrant named Hubert Harrison. He was an agnostic centered on a humanist philosophy and one of his most well known quotes is below:
Quote:
Show me a population that is deeply religious, and I will show you a servile population, content with whips and chains, content to eat the bread of sorrows and drink the waters of affliction
I agree with this. Too often religion is used by many blacks as an excuse to live economically destitute lives and to see suffering as a badge of honor and something required of persons who want to go to heaven.
I also feel that being too devoutly religious causes one not to be a rational, critical thinker based in reality.
One of the most famous "free thinking" black men in American history is WEB DuBois, who is one of my favorite historical black men of history and who also had a more humanist philosophical view based on rational thought and science. In his autobiography DuBois wrote that he gradually left relgion and the church during his young adulthood. He became a "free thinker" while he was a college student in Germany.
From DuBois' autobiography:
Quote:
I flatly refused again to join any church or sign any church creed. From my 30th year on I have increasingly regarded the church as an institution which defended such evils as slavery, color caste, exploitation of labor and war.
All that said, I don't think that blacks should not follow Christianity or any other religion. I think it is a natural thing for humans to want to have some sort of deity to depend on. However, I also believe that that natural desire is based in a lack of confidence in ones self and a lack of looking at life from a rational, viewpoint.
I feel that the lack of self confidence is based in fear. I am just not a fearful person. I know that this life is my only life. I am not looking forward to death so that I can live. To me that is an irrational concept. Death is death to me and I am not afraid of it either. But for me, and me only, I need to live my life in a decent way so that I can be happy and can enjoy the people around me. I don't need to be afraid of a God or of hell in order to do that. Some people think they need those consequence to be a "good person" and to me that shows a lack of confidence and an overabundance of fear of what people are truly capapble of.
On a personal level, due to being a non-religious black woman, I used to get a lot of flack from my own family regarding religion. Too often they and other people try to "reason" with me on the basis of the Bible. To me the Bible is just an old book. I've read it many times. I learn lessons from all the books I read (usually) and the Bible and its chapters and sections are no different.
I became a free thinker at a very young age, around 10 years old. I come from a pretty religious family. They are not nutso religious like cultish or anything like that, but they are believers primarily. I was always a curious child and I was always a reader, I cannot remember a time when I did not read books and I especially cannot remember a time when I didn't read "thick" books. I read kiddie novels to my older brother when I was 3 and 4 years old. I read the Bible in its entirety at least 2-3 times by the age of 10. I wanted to be "good" and to be religious because I had a lot of issues in my personal life as a child. While at VBS one summer I decided to ask the questions I had thought about many times about various books/stories in the Bible and was told that I "think too much and ask too many questions." So to my 10 year old mind, I was taught by this person and by various other religious people that to be religious you cannot think. You cannot ask questions. You just have to do what they tell you to do. It was just a way to control you. And that was the essence of me deciding as a child that Christianity in particular was not for me. Over my teenage years, I investigated other religions, thinking that one HAD to be religious. I have read a variety of scriptures and texts as a result over the years. And after reviewing all of those books and texts and scriptures, I decided that none of them are necessary to live a good life. FWIW the "best" one to me was Buddhism because it encourages rational thought and not blind faith.
One of my favorite Buddhism quotes from the Kalama Sutta:
Quote:
“Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ — then you should enter & remain in them.”
This quote is commonly interpreted as the following:
Quote:
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
The blue IMO is the most important. I don't need a religion to do the above and anything that tries to tell me to just believe just because, is just not rational to me.
I do hope more black Americans leave religion in order to grow in rational, logical thinking skills. IMO religion puts blinders on people's eyes and minds and makes them unable to take a neutral position in a variety of situations in life and especially about people who adhere to faiths that are different from their own.
Being a Louisiana boy, I could probably spot her as black from a mile away (if I had actually seen her). We can often tell a black Frenchman from someone that's Hispanic. On the flip side, in CALIFORNIA there is a sizable population of creoles and they often Do pass of as white, though down here where I'm at.......not so much.
Its not that Creoles in CA are "passing" or are trying to pass its just that no one on the west coast cares that someone is of partial African ancestry. Creoles happen to be very proud of their heritage.
Moreover, the Christianity of non-Europeans is of a distinctly different fundamental character from that of Europeans, especially the strains that never arrived by means of Europeans, such as that of the Ethiopians.
Agreed. Especially in the case of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, those branches,of Christianity practice a purer form of Christianity, closer to the original practices. For example, the Sabbath (7th day) is recognized and pork is forbidden etc.
Being a Louisiana boy, I could probably spot her as black from a mile away (if I had actually seen her). We can often tell a black Frenchman from someone that's Hispanic. On the flip side, in CALIFORNIA there is a sizable population of creoles and they often Do pass of as white, though down here where I'm at.......not so much.
Use to be kind of a game: "Looks like there's a bit of 'tone' in her, you think?"
I see homosexuals today playing the same sort of game.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
