Minister Paul Scott
Even as a child, I knew something was wrong
with that picture; a Black minister, preachin' to an all Black congregation
with a blue eyed, blond haired 'Jesus' looking over his right shoulder. The
congregation would rise to their feet screamin' and shoutin' as an all Black
choir sang that when 'he' comes back 'he 'will make us white as snow. They
sang loudly and proudly that we should 'suffa' on Earth because 'he will
give us a long, white robe when we get to heav'n. I remember walking
out of church thinking that I should reverence every white woman that I saw
because she might be an angel in disguise. But as they say, in the church,
'hen I was a child, I thought as a child.'
I can not help but wonder, how my life, as well
as the lives of countless other Black boys and girls, would have been
changed if someone had told me that Judaism was one of the many religions
originally practiced by African people. If someone had only told me that
what is called 'Christianity' was the recorded history of a Black
Revolutionary named Yeshua (misnamed Jesus Christ by the European) who
rebelled against the Roman Empire and tried to teach the Black Hebrews a
clearer understanding of the word of God.
But no one took time to tell me that the
picture of the blue eyed, blond haired 'Jesus' hanging from the wall in my
parent's living room was actually the family member of some European artist
from the 16th century who was commissioned by the leaders of the white
church to paint the Son of God in the image of a white man in order to
enslave and dominate the original people of the scriptures. So I grew up
thinking that I was God's little nappy headed step child.
When our African ancestors were
enslaved and brought to America, they were taught a slave theology that made
most of them docile and submissive, however a chosen few of them saw through
the lies of the white man and embraced a Liberation Theology and shouted
'Before I be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave.' Because it was forbidden
for the enslaved Africans to read, if 'massa' sent a preacher to tell them
that God was white and they were a cursed people who had no soul. Or if he
told them that they were blessed to have been enslaved because if it wasn't
for slavery, they would still be 'heathens' who never would have gotten to
know 'tha lawd', they believed it. Most damaging was the teaching that to
rebel against slavery was to rebel against God.
What is most tragic is that this
mentality is still in the hearts and minds of Black people today. Instead of
seeing the Bible as a book to be read and understood, many see it as a
magical good luck charm and if we place it under our pillows at night, we
would learn 'the word' by osmosis. Because many of us use the King James
version of the Bible, written in Old English, many feel that if 'Jesus'
talked like that surely he must have looked like one of those Shakespearian
actors from TV. Hollywood has also pushed this lie that the people of the
Bible were European, by allowing white actors to play Moses and Jesus but
making Black actors play muggers and junkies.
As we look at the condition of Afrikan
people today, we can attribute the drugs, the Black on Black violence and
poverty to our being brainwashed by European 'nationalism' under the guise
of religion. How else can you account for our perpetual misery? How else can
you account for the state of mind of our young Black boys who think that
they are thugs and gang bangers. Or our Black girls who think that they are
'Hoe's unworthy of respect. No one has told them that they are the people of
God. No one has told them that the 'Jesus' that they hear about in church
was the same color as the one that they see staring back at them in the
mirror. Can we really expect to reach out for the Hip Hop generation with
one hand while clutching a figurine of a lily white 'Jesus' with the other?
How else can you explain our inability to respond effectively to the
problems that have faced our people for the last 400 years. Why do we accept
racism, economic exploitation and racial profiling ? With all our fancy jobs
and college degrees, we still cannot find a way to stop crack from coming
into our communities or AIDS from spreading at an alarming rate. The reason
that we tolerate such injustice is that we are looking for a white man to
come down from heaven and save us and if we can't have Jesus, right now any
white man will do.
What we need is Afrikan Liberation Theology; a theology that reveals the
TRUTH that will make us free. Afrikan Liberation Theology gives us a
theological foundation to fight the battle for the upliftment of Afrikan
people. This theology teaches that the fight for Justice is not against God,
as the white man has taught us, but is your religious duty if you are truly
a follower of Yeshua, the Black Revolutionary Messiah.
Afrikan Liberation Theology recaptures the scriptures from the white
supremacist system and brings it back home to the African people upon which
they were based.
Most importantly, Afrikan Liberation Theology challenges us to finally
confront the question, 'Can a white Jesus save Black people?' Our
current condition answers that question loudly and clearly.
Min. Paul Scott is Prime Minister of the Messianic Afrikan Nation based in
Durham NC. To join the Messianic Afrikan Nation contact (919) 949-4352 or
email
minpaulscott@yahoo.com
