I have always been puzzled by this because first Jesus Christ is not white, He's Jewish and second the first Christ followers were not white they were Jewish. In the climate of society Jews are often the targets of white supremacists so as I have said this association has always puzzled me.
The term white man's religion came about because of Christianity's popularity in Europe which is predominately white. However, that in no way means that it is the religion of white people or that it is only for white people.
In fact during Jesus' day the term "white people" didn't exist. You were categorized based on your country of origin (Midianite, Cushite, Canaanite) and honestly most of the people during Jesus' time including Jesus himself had brown skin. This is the Middle East we are talking about not Europe. These are farmers, carpenters, laborers who spent many hours in the hot sun we are talking about. The question was not what shade of white you were but what shade of brown.
Furthermore, the only distinction God talks about in the Bible is Jew and Gentile. And a Gentile is basically anyone that is not Jewish. So that includes Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Natives, etc. If you weren't/aren't a Jew, your a Gentile. Which God then says in Galatians 3:28-29 (MSG),
"In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises."
So where did this idea come from then? Sin. Is the short answer. Religion has often been used as a tool of oppression and control. How do you oppress and control? Division. You make one group of people feel superior to another and you can effectively control and oppress. All religions have been used this way at some point in history. If you read the Bible it is clear that God is about unity and love, not division and hate.
However, flawed sinful people take bits and pieces of the truth to convince people of their lies. Trying to tell a White Supremacist that Jesus was a Jew is an arduous task. Even though it is clearly in the Word, they have so bought into this "Jesus is white" lie, their whole lives would fall apart if they accept the truth because accepting the truth means accepting the ugliness they've perpetrated or worse cause them to reject that which has become part of their identity.
That is why it is critically important that you read the Word of God for yourself. You know the people I don't debate with? People who tell me what the Bible says even though they have never cracked its pages. I cannot have a discussion with you about God's Word if you have never read it because all you are doing is regurgitating what someone else has said about God's Word. How do you know that what they told you is the truth?
God says very clearly in the Bible, not everyone that talks about Me knows Me.
“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’
The term white man's religion came about because of Christianity's popularity in Europe which is predominately white. However, that in no way means that it is the religion of white people or that it is only for white people.
In fact during Jesus' day the term "white people" didn't exist. You were categorized based on your country of origin (Midianite, Cushite, Canaanite) and honestly most of the people during Jesus' time including Jesus himself had brown skin. This is the Middle East we are talking about not Europe. These are farmers, carpenters, laborers who spent many hours in the hot sun we are talking about. The question was not what shade of white you were but what shade of brown.
Furthermore, the only distinction God talks about in the Bible is Jew and Gentile. And a Gentile is basically anyone that is not Jewish. So that includes Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Natives, etc. If you weren't/aren't a Jew, your a Gentile. Which God then says in Galatians 3:28-29 (MSG),
"In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises."
So where did this idea come from then? Sin. Is the short answer. Religion has often been used as a tool of oppression and control. How do you oppress and control? Division. You make one group of people feel superior to another and you can effectively control and oppress. All religions have been used this way at some point in history. If you read the Bible it is clear that God is about unity and love, not division and hate.
However, flawed sinful people take bits and pieces of the truth to convince people of their lies. Trying to tell a White Supremacist that Jesus was a Jew is an arduous task. Even though it is clearly in the Word, they have so bought into this "Jesus is white" lie, their whole lives would fall apart if they accept the truth because accepting the truth means accepting the ugliness they've perpetrated or worse cause them to reject that which has become part of their identity.
That is why it is critically important that you read the Word of God for yourself. You know the people I don't debate with? People who tell me what the Bible says even though they have never cracked its pages. I cannot have a discussion with you about God's Word if you have never read it because all you are doing is regurgitating what someone else has said about God's Word. How do you know that what they told you is the truth?
God says very clearly in the Bible, not everyone that talks about Me knows Me.
“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’
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As this is Black History month I leave you with this food for thought on this topic. The most dangerous thing that the master allowed the slaves to do was not just read but allow them to read the Bible for themselves. Nate Turner, Harriet Tubman, and others are a perfect example of this. When they were allowed to read the Bible for themselves and not just forced to believe what the master wanted them to believe that is when they learned who God truly was. That is when they knew they were meant to be free and demanded it. That is when they rebelled. They knew that God would deliver them just like He delivered the children of Israel from the Egyptians.
Christianity has NEVER been a faith for one group of people it has ALWAYS been about each and everyone of us being able to have a personal RELATIONSHIP with God. It is about us giving our brokenness and emptiness and oppression and overall bad stuff to Him so that we know we are not alone.
The slaves realized by reading God's Word they were not alone and that God was not some Great White man in the sky but that He was GREATER and STRONGER than this white man who was oppressing them on earth.
READ THE WORD FOR YOURSELF
The Unlikely Missionary
DHW
Additional Resources
IT’S NOT THE WHITE MAN’S RELIGION (Highly Recommended)
Lies Hip Hop Told Me: Christianity is the White Man's Religion (Highly Recommended)
THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS (Highly Recommended)
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