I’ve had to deal with a lot of frustration as of late. I feel like with every day there is another anti-christ message circulating on Twitter. Like man, this stuff is really starting to get annoying. And if I’m going to be truthful, a lot of the anti-christian sentiments I’ve been hit with have come from people in the Black community.
At this point I’ve heard it all: “Christianity is the White man’s religion”, “Christianity enslaved our people”, “Jesus was Black”, “Witchcraft and voodoo have been demonized by the White man, but their not evil at all”. Literally – witchcraft?! Now we’re talking about witchcraft and voodoo. It’s been very frustrating to see how many people in the Black community have turned their back on Christianity. And it’s like all I can do is just watch.
I try my best to tell them that Christianity is about Jesus Christ, not the institutions set up by white supremacists. I try to tell them that the colonizers weren’t being Christ-like when they enslaved us. I try to tell them that Jesus wasn’t Black, and that doesn’t mean I agree with the false image of blonde-haired-blue-eyed Jesus. He didn’t look like that either – damn why are we even talking about this? I try to tell them that they know nothing about the darkness that surrounds witchcraft and voodoo – I’m literally Nigerian. And I know it may have rooted from healing practices and African religion, but bottom line is you’re playing with spirits that aren’t of God.
And then they respond – “I’ve seen more evil done in this world in the name of Christ than I have in the name of anything else,” and my heart is broken. In my head I have the answer. I know that there are many Christians killed everyday, just never broadcasted. I know that Christian persecution doesn’t fit into the narrative we all love to tell – that Christians are the oppressors, Christians are the wealthy, white men that cause all strife around the world. I want to point them to Sri Lanka, the scene of over 290 Christian deaths in a terrorist attack. I want to tell them about the beheadings, the massacres. I want to remind them that the church was the foundation of the civil rights movement. It was the place we came together and strategized. I want to – but what will it all do? They seem to be convinced these things aren’t relevant.
Who can blame them, all they see is the false prophets in the media. All they see are the stereotypical archetypes in every movie and tv show. All they see is Donald Trump. All they learn about is how slave masters read the Bible to their slaves. Or maybe they went to the wrong church that was actually filled with hypocrisy and corruption, so instead of finding a new church, they decided to find a new faith. How can I show the Black community and the world at large the truth about Christianity when all they see are the public figures or even their own associates that chose to misrepresent Christ with every chance they get?
It’s hard. I know they’ve called me a coon behind my back. I’d be surprised otherwise at this point. I speak because I have uncovered the truth, and I speak because it needs to be shared. I dare not keep this to myself. I don’t know how much longer people will want to be around me. Sometimes I think about the day when people turn their back on me. I recognize that this day is very possible of coming to fruition. All I ask is that you, the reader, take the time to listen, and zone out the noise. Look past the lies and misrepresentations, and see – just see – the truth.
