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Permalink Reply by Zarathustra on October 20, 2009 at 9:07am

I recently had some back and forth on my YouTube channel with a bonafide, self-admitted, fascist/racist. The exchange was relatively polite. In the end we agreed on one thing. Blacks who describe themselves as Christians don't understand Christianity. It is a religion that for thousands of years described them as the cursed race of Ham and justified both race-based genicide and race-based slavery.

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Permalink Reply by Galactus on October 20, 2009 at 10:49am

I've always wondered about that when I see videos and depictions of African American church services. Why are these people so gung-ho about a belief system that was forced on them through death and torture and originally intended to keep them subservient?

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Permalink Reply by Madeline (Brigit) on October 20, 2009 at 11:07am

I find this is a common theme in oppressed communities. It is not limited to African Americans - there are plenty of Indigenous and Black Hispanics that are devoutly Catholic.
There are plenty of written accounts of mass abuse, murder, and rape of both populations by the Church and its priests. Yet, there they are, doing pilgrimage on their knees to worship at churches that only represent the rape and plunder of the new world, and the annihilation of countless societies, in the name of God.

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Permalink Reply by KC the Great on October 20, 2009 at 11:50am

Please don't overlook the fact that historically enslaved peoples in the U.S. and elsewhere (Brazil is the other instance I've studied) found ways to resist in whatever fashion they were able. Church services have allowed terrorized groups of enslaved people to gather together in community and support of each other when all other collective action was so dangerous as to be impossible. Historical complexity is an important thing, I think.

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Permalink Reply by Norman Davis on October 20, 2009 at 9:17pm

i'd be an idiot not to acknowledge the historical importance of the black church. I just see an inherent fallacy of adopting and retaining the relgion of your oppressors. I think it was necessary because if blacks congregated en mass any where but church i think jim crow would have strongly objected.

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Permalink Reply by KC the Great on October 21, 2009 at 7:08am

Hi Norman, I didn't think you weren't acknowledging it. I meant the reply to be to Galactus.

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Permalink Reply by Norman Davis on October 20, 2009 at 9:20pm

me to .... can ya help a brotha out (lol)

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Permalink Reply by Louis Davout on October 20, 2009 at 11:02am

Religion - opium of the masses.

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Permalink Reply by Norman Davis on October 20, 2009 at 9:08pm

Thanks for the welcome. Im greatful that there are like minded individuals that i can chat with that have an i.q. above 75 (lol)

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Permalink Reply by Rusty Gunn. on October 20, 2009 at 11:13am

Well, it just goes to show ya that black folks can be just as foolish as any other race when it comes to belief systems. Why are we surprised?

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Permalink Reply by Norman Davis on October 20, 2009 at 9:13pm

Absolutely... the differance here is that because of racism you have an lack of educational oppourtunities ( brown vs board be damned) you dont have competing ideas. Without competing ideas you cant change the way people think. The result in this case is the hyper religiousity of african americans. To that end, i think its more acceptable to be a gay believer than a straight athiest

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Permalink Reply by Norman Davis on October 20, 2009 at 9:04pm

Zarathustra...... could not agree with you more, but thats the genius of the bible. Its so long and vague that in times of struggle one does not look at it as a whole. They cling to fairytales of deliverance and prosperity as a crutch to assist them through life. So when i pont to the story of Ham to my religous friends they pretty much ignore it. Without the bible, without the crutch they are lost. They cant imagine a life without god.

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