Posted on 02/28/2020 6:56:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Is Christianity a white man’s religion? This may sound absurd, but some individuals lay claim to this belief. Some hold such a position due to the practice of slavery by early antebellum Christians. Slaveholders would often persuade their slaves that being submissive is the Christian thing to do and that their blessings would come in the afterlife. Professor Rasiah S. Sugirtharajah contends that the entire Bible is a colonial work used to subdue natives under the conquest of Christians.
However, a simple glimpse at church history quickly portrays a very different tale. African theologians have influenced the church remarkably throughout the centuries. Today, we consider three African theologians who left an indelible mark in Christendom.
Athanasius of Alexandria (AD 293–373). Athanasius was born in Alexandria, a grand metropolis of the early centuries, around AD 293. Alexandria was home to one of the largest libraries in history. Athanasius was called the “black dwarf” because of his height (which was around 5’ 2”) and his dark complexion. Athanasius played a key role at the Council of Nicea (AD 325) along with Bishop Alexander (Hindson and Mitchell, Popular Encyclopedia of Church History, 50). Athanasius influenced the church in three major theological ways: 1) the eternal deity nature of Christ, 2) Christian monotheism, and 3) salvation as a new creation of fallen humanity (Hindson and Mitchell, Popular Encyclopedia of Church History, 50). Athanasius was persecuted for his orthodox positions by being exiled five times by the Roman emperor. The church should be greatly appreciative of the work of Athanasius. Otherwise, Arianism (an ancient form of the Jehovah's Witness movement) would have ruled the day.
Augustine of Hippo (AD 354–430). Augustine of Hippo was born in Thagaste (modern-day Algeria) in 354. His mother was a Christian, whereas his father was a local Roman official who later converted to Christianity shortly before his death. Some have contended that Augustine’s father may have been of a lighter complexion since he was a Roman and his mother quite dark since it is believed that she was of Berber descent (an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa). Thus, Augustine may have been a mixed-race and could have been of a dark complexion.
Augustine’s contributions to the church cannot be overemphasized. Edward Smither contends that Augustine impacted the church in three ways: First, by holding that the church was universal; second, by conferring a solution to the problem of evil; and three, by establishing a new preaching standard (homiletics) while mentoring other church leaders during his time. Through his voluminous writings, Augustine impacted several generations in the future.
Origen of Alexandria (AD 185-254). Origen of Alexandria was born to Christian parents in the metropolis of Alexandria, Egypt. While Origen is a controversial figure due to some of his questionable theology — including his belief that errors were present in Scripture and his modalistic view of trinitarianism — Origen did elevate the authority of Scripture and noted the great importance of careful exegetical interpretation. Origen was not unique in his emphasis on the tripartite view of Scripture — holding that there was a literal, moral, and spiritual meaning of the text. Augustine held a similar view. However, Origen abused the allegorical method by extracting some bizarre interpretations of Scripture. Nonetheless, Origen was an African theologian who impacted the church for many years to come.
As we come to the close of Black History month, it is important to note the contributions of African theologians throughout history. Being a Caucasian myself, I am distressed at how many individuals believe that Christianity only belongs to the European Western world. Christianity began with a Jewish carpenter/theologian in Asia. Yes, the Middle East is considered part of Western Asia. Then, the movement expanded into Africa, other parts of Asia, and into Europe. Eventually, Christianity made its way to the Americas, Australia, and Oceania. Therefore, it is both erroneous and anachronistic to claim that Christianity is a “white man’s religion” or that it is “European.” Rather, Christianity is a global entity belonging to people from all walks and races. If you need further proof, then look at the worship scene found in Revelation 7 where “a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9, CSB).
Source
Hindson, Ed, and Dan Mitchell, eds. The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History: The People, Places, and Events that Shaped Christianity. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2013.
Brian G. Chilton is the founder of BellatorChristi.com and is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast. He received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); and received certification in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Brian is enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University. Brian has been in the ministry for over 15 years and serves as a pastor in northwestern North Carolina.
African only in the sense that they lived in yer northern part of the continent along the Mediterranean Sea. They were Roman in culture . They were all part of the western nature of Christianity and its culture.
Some experts on ancient skeletons in Israel believe: "Judaeans of Jesus time were closest biologically to Iraqi Jews of the contemporary world. In terms of a color palette then, think dark-brown to black hair, deep brown eyes, olive-brown skin. Jesus would have been a man of Middle Eastern appearance. In terms of height, an average man of this time stood 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall."
When I was young, I said to God, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the universe.’ But God answered, ‘That knowledge is for me alone.’ So I said, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then God said, ‘Well George, that’s more nearly your size.’ And he told me.
George Washington Carver
https://www.azquotes.com/author/2580-George_Washington_Carver
There is much to learn from George Washington Carver. I remember reading books about him as kid.
The secret of my success? It is simple. It is found in the Bible.
George Washington Carver
“Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian states in the world.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ethiopia
Why was it omitted?
Serious questions: Are Europeans who settled in Africa and their children - not African? Chinese immigrants living in the US and their US born children - are they not American?
I suppose the question should be, "What qualified one for being African? Is it where they're born or the type of culture they reflect? If the latter, what do we call Latinos, Africans, Asians etc., who are born in the states from immigrant parents but embrace cultural traits from their parents birth country and from America?
As I worked on projects which fulfilled a real human need forces were working through me which amazed me. I would often go to sleep with an apparently insoluble problem. When I woke the answer was there. Why, then, should we who believe in Christ be so surprised at what God can do with a willing man in a laboratory? Some things must be baffling to the critic who has never been born again.
George Washington Carver
Read it slowly and let your lips move. If you have no understanding after reading it, be concerned. If you have a glimpse of understanding, be encouraged.
Black History month,
Get back to the basics, remember the purpose of mans classification AND how artificial it is.
Color of skin is a pretty poor way to classify.
*****
Jesus was not a white boy!
“Black History month”
What??? North Africans of the time were mostly Caucasians (Egyptians, Moors, etc.) (dark ones but that doesn’t make them sub-Saharan Africans)
Orthodox Catholicism is being upheld primarily by the south-of-Sahara bishops and If Francis lasts much longer Africa will be the pool of orthodoxy in the church or will be the detached Remnant as the European and much of the Americas Church slips into heresy and Social Justice.
Native Egyptians were not all "black" as Americans use the term. DNA studies indicate that about 20% of modern Egyptian DNA is of sub-Saharan origin (if I understood the information correctly). No doubt there were some individuals in ancient Egypt we would perceive as black but others as white. The chiliarch in Acts 21 who was surprised to hear Paul speaking Greek had thought he was an Egyptian--he would not have thought that if he thought all Egyptians were black.
There is no reason whatever to think that Augustine or Origen were black. Augustine was probably mostly of Numidian ancestry, maybe some Phoenician or Roman. I think there is a passage somewhere in his writings where he refers to black people in a way that indicates he did not think of himself as part of that group.
Related historical background slave trade history with maps
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3818053/posts
No they saw themselves as Roman. You are just trying to name something based on our modern day views. These people did not even have a clear view of what a Christian was.
The early Christian theologians lifted up in the article are about as related to “Black History Month”, as are the Eskimos related to the Navajo.
Just like the Eskimo and the Navajo occupy the same continent, so did slaves from eastern Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries and the Christian theologians from Mediterranean North Africa in the early Christian centuries. That is about as close - not much - that those early Christian theologians have to “Black History Month”. Other than that the two things are unrelated.
Black Africa is synonomous with Sub-Saharan Africa for good reason. The Mediterranean coastline is separated from it by a nearly impassable desert.
The north African coast was inhabited by peoples who settled all around the Mediterranean.
Berbers for instance are Arab caucasoids, DNA shows this. Ancient Egyptians are genetically a Near East race. Later arrival Cleoptra was descended from Macedonian/Greek general Ptolemy.
Carthagenians were Phoenician. Goths and Vandals were a Germanic race that settled in Spain and from there North Africa.
THANK YOU.
Nice to see that someone here knows some history of the early Church.
An EXCELLENT book is FOUR WITNESSES The Early Church in Her Own Words: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons
The opening dedication: The Fathers are primarily to be considered witnesses, not authorities. They are witnesses of an existing state of things, and their treatises are, as it were, histories--teaching us, in the first instance, matters of fact, not of opinion. Whatever they themselves might be, whether deeply or poorly taught in Christian faith and love, they speak, not their own thoughts, but the received view of their respective ages." from Primitive Christianity: Essays and Sketches, 1833-1836.
I think you may have forgotten the Eunuch of Candace, who brought back the Gospel of Christ to his fellow Ethiopians, in the midst of Africa, where it still abides solidly, Acts 8:26-39. And in this day, it has been the Africans who are forcing the American Methodists to honor what the Bible says about immorality in high places.
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