Posted on 05/13/2025 9:21:57 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Pastoring a church in Johannesburg, South Africa, I hear this complaint periodically. Crudely put, Christianity is the white man’s religion and has no place amongst true Africans. In an era where forming an African identity aside from Colonialism is high on people’s agenda, it’s a compelling argument to some.
Except that it’s not true. For Christianity was present in Africa 1000 years before the first European Colonialists arrived on African shores.
You may be familiar with the strong base for Christianity established in Alexandria, Egypt, in the 1st century. Eusebius even wrote that the Gospel writer, Mark, came to Alexandria as early as 43 AD. But are you aware that in 330 AD, King Ezana of Ethiopia declared Christianity its national religion?
…We have some clues to how Ethiopia was reached. Eusebius and Origen, both based in Northern Africa, wrote of Christian preaching occurring in Ethiopia in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Going further back, we have Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in 180 AD. He wrote that a ‘Simon Backos’ preached ‘the coming in the flesh of God’ in his homeland of Ethiopia (Adversus Haereses, 3.12.8). And going back further still, Luke writes of the 1st century conversion of an Ethiopian high official (Acts 8:26-40). Could this official have started the first church in Ethiopia? We will probably never know this side of eternity. But, from all this, we can say that Christianity has been established in Ethiopia for at least 1600 years—possibly even 2000.
...While some Ethiopian monks did make it to the Council of Florence in the 15th century, when the Portuguese landed in Ethiopia in 1493, they found—to their shock—that it was already full of churches! It should have been unsurprising because Africans had been shaping Christianity since the earliest times...
(Excerpt) Read more at africa.thegospelcoalition.org ...
“Ethiopia, or the land of Cush as it was known in the Bible, is mentioned 37 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament.” - Epikos Church
I recall in university discussions of Prester John and how the early European visitors to Africa were influenced by the legend of this person.
Ptolemy I Soter (a Greek white man), the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, arrived in Egypt and took control in 323 BC after Alexander the Great’s death. So, white man was in Africa 300 years before Christ was born.
There were strong Christian churches in Egypt and Ethiopia long before there were any in England, France, Germany, Poland, or Russia!
“ Christianity is the white man’s religion and has no place amongst true Africans”.
This is why there is so much violence and corruption. Looking at the USA, the majority of blacks believe the same thing. Just look what’s going on.
Afrocentrists claim that the Egyptians were black but that is questionable--they depict themselves in their art differently from the clearly black people from further south. Ammianus Marcellinus has a passing remark implying that the Egyptians tend to be swarthy, but St. Paul could be mistaken for an Egyptian (Acts 21.38). So probably there was a range of skin colors with many who would be considered white in modern America and others who might have been forced to sit in the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1950.
Aya!
The Sahara is a great barrier, an ocean of sand.
And after the Muslims conquered North Africa, only the Copts and Ethiopians had a chance of sending word up the Nile. They don’t seem like missionary people now, but a thousand years ago maybe some were.
But my belief is that sub-Saharan Africa had almost zero exposure to Christianity before Europeans came by sea.
Obviously, you have no clue what the ‘key of David’ means.. no big deal except it is what prevents mass deception..
For all intents and purposes back then Northern Africa was Europe.
Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty (which included Queen Cleopatra) began in 305 BC.
The Ptolemys were White Macedonians.
Egypt was and is in Africa.
So 'splain to me how Christianity thrived in Africa before 305 BC.
27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”[b] 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Acts 8:26-40 English Standard Version
Christianity was in Africa BEFORE EUROPE
Yes but it’s not Aryan.
Christ came through ‘the Adam’ and ironically David is described in having a ‘ruddy’, show blood in the face complexion....
There is a reason why the majority have NO clue what the meaning of the ‘key of David’ is talking about... Sadly the mass deception is vast and wide.
The great irony is so many willingly believe traditions of men and willingly ignore the Word of God.
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