Opinion: Has Christianity Blinded Black People From the Truth?

As stated by Nina Simone, “The people that built their heaven on your land are telling you, yours is in the sky.”

Photo by Luis Quintero

“God is good… all the time, and all the time… God is good!” For centuries, African Americans have practiced Christianity. Every week, we put on our “Sunday’s best” and donate our money to the collection plates to keep these churches alive. Has anyone taken the time to consider why we follow this belief? If we took the time to research our history, we’d realize that “The Good Book” hasn’t always had our best interest at heart.

  When we were forced to come to this land during slavery, they stripped us of our dignity, confidence, intelligence, and culture. They saw us as nothing more than animals used for work. They did not want us to learn how to read because then we would become too smart to be controlled. With all this hate spewing, the white man takes it upon themself to introduce slaves to God. But why? If God embodies all things loving, forgiving, and selfless, why would the slave master (who hates black people) hand them Bibles and allow them to sing hymns? Christianity was used to make Black people think that this is the way God wants it. This higher entity is making us slaves, not the slave owners. And if God wanted things to be different, he would change it, right? This white man's worship made us believe that we had to wait for a man in the sky to save us from over 100 years of inhumane treatment, and we were incapable of saving ourselves. Christianity has always been a mechanism used to make African Americans follow Eurocentric beliefs.

Christianity has also been used to push an economic agenda. People spend hundreds of dollars on Christmas and Easter. We go to the stores and buy up decorations, food, fancy outfits, and gifts for those we love. But why? These holidays are supposed to showcase our love for God and reflect on the teachings from the Bible. Yet, we fall right into these “money-hungry traps,” and everything becomes a contest on who can spend the most. Ironic, isn’t it? 

I’m sorry to say it, but the Black church itself is becoming more and more performative anyway. People are creating these “Mega Churches” that are getting out of control. I kid you not, at some of these places, they have the pastor hooked up to wires so that they can be in the air while preaching, and they’re asking the congregation for hundreds of dollars for an offering. Is this a Chris Brown concert or church? Nowadays, everything is for social media. Even the church is looking for a viral moment. 

Nine times out of 10, if you ask a Black person why they believe in God, the response is usually because they grew up in the church. Instead of forming our own beliefs about religion and aligning with something that fits our personal needs, we’d rather blindly follow because it’s been passed down through generations. As African Americans, we always think that we can flip something in our favor or make it a new thing. It is crazy to think that something used to oppress us can also liberate us. Adopting this religion and its practices into Black culture has sparked economic growth for the white man and blinded us from the truth. As stated by Nina Simone, “The people that built their heaven on your land are telling you, yours is in the sky.” As a people, we will never be free until we deconstruct this oppressive religion. Think about it.