African American people have suffered for a long time due to American oppression, and before that, in their home country when their capture and colonization is considered. There is a saying that strength is developed under pressure, and this is also apparently true if you consider that African Americans today are making really great strides even though, at the same time, they still reap the lion’s share of oppression.
It is popular nowadays among “woke” African Americans to debunk Christianity, and in fact, ALL religion. Many of them question whether or not the individual known as Jesus Christ even existed. There are those among this group who feel that the only reason that Blacks were ultimately allowed to become Christians was for the purpose of control. Interestingly, during slavery, there were white people who did not want Black people to worship as Christians because they were not sure of what impact it would have on them.
Black people have always had a sense of the “supernatural,” if that name can be given to the belief in the intangible aspect of life that is manifested through “faith.” The term itself has several meanings; it denotes a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof; or a strongly held belief or theory.
One of the most popular definitions is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith, in other words, grants an individual a kind of power that can be wielded for personal or collective advantage.
If we take an honest look, we will discover that many of the Black community’s advocates and liberators have been members of the clergy. One of the chief examples of this is the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who actually lost his life in a fight to help empower Black people and to demonstrate a love for all of humanity. Sadly, he was murdered, and that is possibly one of the reasons that so many African Americans lost belief in the power of faith.
But let’s take another look at the idea of faith. In metaphysical philosophies, ideas tend to center around the concept that one must believe in the acquisition of something in order for it to manifest.
Christianity, therefore, is not the only bastion of the power of faith. In Buddhism, adherents chant certain phrases with faith in order to bring things into manifestation. The crux of the foregoing is that it is apparently evident that the more someone holds a belief, the more likely it is to bring into existence that which is desired.
Today, science is catching up with this religious concept. In quantum mechanics, it has become known that manifestation is connected with what we “see;” in other words, things don’t come into manifestation until we look for them. Most non-scientific people today find it hard to believe this is true.
Religious people, however, have believed this since time immemorial. What we may be witnessing today is a quasi-marriage of religion with science when we think of the idea of faith. In other words, quantum mechanics lends credence to the idea of faith!
The Church has been the chief purveyor of faith in the Black community, both here and abroad. This is why prayer has been so important; it provides a vehicle for the utilization of faith. There is a common saying among Christians attributed to Jesus paraphrased: “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I will be also.”
Taking this further, the opportunity to gather in churches provides a powerful opportunity for the combining of faith through collective prayer. The church, in this regard, has been a powerful “scientific” tool that works in favor of the faithful.
With this in mind, it might behoove the naysayers of faithful prayer to understand it in a different light. Yes, in some cases, religion has worked to inhibit and oppress people, but on the other hand, no one can deny the fantastic successes that the Black community has had as a result of its utilization.
Actually, the question may be asked whether it is our lack of faith in each other that is contributing to our oppression.
The Black church has been a powerful influence in the march toward Black liberation, and a champion of the science of faith, and to not acknowledge this would be throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water! A Luta Continua.
Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader