Why do African Americans continue to practice Christianity if it was forced upon them during slavery

[OTG]

lol i don't get it either. i think if i told some of my family i was atheist they might wanna disown me.

 

[Deleted member 107398]

Wheres Nomad to make sense of all this

 

[currensy]

I think it just gives people the feeling of believing in something.

 

[ctidda]

A sheep will follow his/her Shepard off a cliff if he led them.

 

[wr]

I think it just gives people the feeling of believing in something.

For hundreds of years church was the only way blacks could publicly socialize. Wear nice clothes. Not be expected to work. After a while it was the political action tool for progressive blacks at one point. Honestly after the super fly era, we really haven't gotten past the preacher pimp.

 

[docwatson]

In the instance of enslaved Africans in America and religious conversion, wouldn't you concede that slavery had a lot to do with one's religious choice in this situation?

Yeah, I mean clearly for the enslaved individuals in America the saliency of Christianity was made prominent through the slavers. I guess I misworded what I was trying to say. I mean, in the big picture, its not about a group (African-Americans) subscribing to an institution (the Christian church). Rather, its about the individual affiliating one's self with God (irregardless of the church).

And I may not be speaking for everyone, but in my case, I try to spread Christianity through example and openness rather than force and "retribution". Because force and retribution are God's tools, not mine. Its unfortunate that many Christan individuals attack homosexuality, drug addiction, etc., as immoral and "un-Christlike" yet practice vanity, judgment, etc. Because they are self-proclaimed representatives of the religion and aren't the best examples of God's principles, when they pick-and-choose the causes to push.

 

[keel252]

Does it matter?

All I needed to know. Meet my block list.

 

[yotk13]

Because its the best religion

 

[beh235]

 
Good question.I don't get it...not like this isn't a proven, documented and blatantly obvious fact. I don't see how people do it with a straight face.

I brought this up to my family once...didn't go well. Managed to spark my sister's curiosity tho so at least it was a partial win.

I was just thinking about you last week. Glad to see you back. Hope all is well. As far at this topic...

. Too big for NT, it's more of a face to face situation for me. 

 

[luckyluchiano]

West Africa were most slaves were taken from did not have anything that resembles Christianity or Islam.  West African mythology was a polytheistic, nature, animalism and ancestral worship based system. There's no mention of Jesus Christ or even a similar story in the Gambia.


How many slaves taken from Ethiopia?

lol how you gonna tell me about west African culture and I'm African? LOL wiki intellects.

 

[knowledgebones72]

In the instance of enslaved Africans in America and religious conversion, wouldn't you concede that slavery had a lot to do with one's religious choice in this situation?

Yeah, I mean clearly for the enslaved individuals in America the saliency of Christianity was made prominent through the slavers. I guess I misworded what I was trying to say. I mean, in the big picture, its not about a group (African-Americans) subscribing to an institution (the Christian church). Rather, its about the individual affiliating one's self with God (irregardless of the church).

And I may not be speaking for everyone, but in my case, I try to spread Christianity through example and openness rather than force and "retribution". Because force and retribution are God's tools, not mine. Its unfortunate that many Christan individuals attack homosexuality, drug addiction, etc., as immoral and "un-Christlike" yet practice vanity, judgment, etc. Because they are self-proclaimed representatives of the religion and aren't the best examples of God's principles, when they pick-and-choose the causes to push.

Bruh.

Africans, as a part of their enslavement in North and South America, were forcibly converted to Christianity. This is the source of the African American Christian Church culture.

How do you feel about this, particularly? What thoughts or feelings or ideas does that fact bring to your mind?

 

[az102]

My people are from Eritrea and Ethiopia and we were Christian before most whites were Christian. Nobody forced it on us. I think the reason people are bring up all of Africa is because this topic is switching between all black peoples and the African-Americans in this country who are descendants of the West Africans.

 

[luckyluchiano]

LOL because you're "African" it means you know EVERYTHING about Africa? Ok I'll play this game, where in Africa are you from?


No wiki nonsense here I've studied ancient and traditional African history, arts, music, spirituality extensively. But yea I'll bite, tell me more about how you lived amongst every African culture today and before slavery?

When did I say I knew everything? Quit bunching west Africa together because you read about a tribe in mali don't mean you know about another tribe in Ghana, I'm saying how you gonna tell me what my people were practicing and what traditions were past down? Many of the native tribes of Africa believe in one supreme god, and many of the other figures of the bible directly correlate the other lesser deities in these belief systems. I'm saying how are you going to argue as if you know the cultures fnevery African tribe? When you can't even fine 10% of the info dealing with indigenous people online? These are things you will never know unless they were passed down to you point blank. I can tell you my tribe right now and guarentee ou can't present me with any info that isn't on wiki

 

[flyny]

Race + religion tied into 1 thread?
This might be too much for me to participate in, but I will say that Black Man was the original man, and God created man. Therefore God is black, as well as Jesus and his disciples.

When white people crawled out of their caves and learned to read and write, and stepped up from cannibalism, they took our religion and made it into something else. The true Christianity is Black

 

[az102]

Bruh.

Africans, as a part of their enslavement in North and South America, were forcibly converted to Christianity. This is the source of the African American Christian Church culture.

How do you feel about this, particularly? What thoughts or feelings or ideas does that fact bring to your mind?

I know your question wasn't directed to me but from an outsiders perspective I don't think it is the worst thing in the world. It is a legacy of slavery and to SOME a symbol /reminder of oppression. Some Black Americans (and correct me if I'm wrong) want an want an identity that is strictly theirs or at least not one that is a remnant of oppression that Black Americans faced in this country. That is why some Black People changed their names. The thing is every group of people that comes in contact with other groups of people will always see their cultures change. All the cultures that exist today didn't develop in a vacuum and the meeting of different groups wasn't always peaceful. When it becomes a part of your culture it becomes yours.

 

[Teknoman]

They chose the blue pill. 

 

[knowledgebones72]

Race + religion tied into 1 thread?
This might be too much for me to participate in, but I will say that Black Man was the original man, and God created man. Therefore God is black, as well as Jesus and his disciples.

When white people crawled out of their caves and learned to read and write, and stepped up from cannibalism, they took our religion and made it into something else. The true Christianity is Black

I feel you, bruh, but this needs just 1 or 2 small tweeks

 

[knowledgebones72]

......and people are getting antagonistic off the bat......

 

[sea manup]

Race + religion tied into 1 thread?
This might be too much for me to participate in, but I will say that Black Man was the original man, and God created man. Therefore God is black, as well as Jesus and his disciples.

When white people crawled out of their caves and learned to read and write, and stepped up from cannibalism, they took our religion and made it into something else. The true Christianity is Black

so then what are the differences between modern christianity and "true" christianity?

 

[luckyluchiano]

LOL so the other lesser Gods in African (and dare I say pretty much every other pagan spiritual tradition) is similar to those found in the Christian faith.....or are you just making stuff up and making YOU own interpretation of "African spirituality" to prove your argument.


Many European, Asian, Native American spiritual traditions also believed in greater and lesser Gods how is this proof that they were worshipping Jesus Christ?


Do please tell me your tribe. You're definitely blowing smoke out of unspeakable places right now. I know the pre-colonial religions of West Africa and i know that's where the slaves were taken from, and I know the slaves would not have been Christian if the white man did not teach them.




Next thing you know, someone is going to be telling me Native Americans were Christians before the Manifest destiny. Yea ok.

Lol prove what argument? You're arguing against yourself lol you focus on ya wiki pages and trying to learn about where ever your originally come from linage wise and I'll continue to know who I am and where I come from. As I stated before you're grouping all west Africans in one bucket, many groups have different belief systems as each group often migrated from different areas.

 

[knowledgebones72]

Oh ****, guys.

Let's not turn this thread into that.

 

[rolaholic]

Oh ****, guys.

Let's not turn this thread into that.

Looks like it's already too late *shrugs*

 

[knowledgebones72]

Like, for real.

We get it, guys.

Some of ya'll may or may not have been African before slavery. And some of ya'll might not have been until before Christianity.

That's not really the topic of discussion, though.

 

[360waves]

Interesting topic

 

[bleach]

Christianity was practiced in many parts of africa long before the transatlantic slave trade and even before it was practiced in europe