Opinion
Faith of Our Fathers: Reflections on the Black Church
B
lack History month often
reminds me of the brutal
past we have endured as a
people. The common thread we all
share is that of a people forcibly
removed from a continent and
their respective nations. They
were brought here across the
Atlantic to serve as human chattel.
One of the biggest criticisms of
the Slave Trade was the forcible
conversion of people and the
names they were given to reflect
those of their Christian masters.
The knowledge of this heinous
chapter in our nation’s history,
coupled with the codified racism
that followed, have led some to
vehemently oppose the Christian
faith and label it a “White man’s
religion.” That stated – I beg to
differ with the description “White
man’s religion.”
The Slave Trade had
many conspirators of
diverse religious back-
grounds, from the
indigenous, ancestral
worship of warring
tribes that captured
their enemies and sold
them to the merchants
or kept them for them-
selves, to the Arab
Muslims who histori-
cally enslaved non
believers and rivals
alike. Religion has always been
used to justify atrocity and one
man’s oppression of another. We
must always keep in mind that
many good Christian White peo-
ple fought and gave their lives as
abolitionists to destroy the institu-
R ELEVANT N OW
Hakim Hazim
tion.
I believe some of our fathers
found a new faith in the journey
across the Atlantic. It was not
something their fathers would rec-
ognize or something they were
force fed by plantation owners.
They created a culture grounded in
a hope for the future and a free-
dom they would never experience
in this life. They were not earthly
minded. They looked past the
hypocrisy of their captors and
believed in the God of the Bible
based upon their own internal wit-
ness. In spite of all tangible
evidence, the Black church
between modern day saints and
the rampant materialism that is
taught from the pulpits of many
Black preachers today. In the past,
Courageous believers planted
seeds of hope through their simple
instruction the wonderful music
left behind that spoke
of the riches of
Christ. Stripped of all
earthly hope, they
found an architect
who promised to
build them a city
beyond the Jordan,
and they sang (man
did they sing!) about
it often. They grabbed hold of a
compassionate Christ that loved
them and looked neither like their
master or themselves. He was a
spirit, a fire, a light, eternal and
unchanging.
Their
music identified with
the bondage of the
Hebrews and they sur-
mised that one day their
deliverance
would
come, and if not for
them – then the genera-
tions
that
would
proceed from them.
I have often won-
dered about this faith
handed down for cen-
turies. The faith of our
fathers is something to
reacquaint ourselves with. They
were illiterate, yet spiritual
beyond description. Victims; yet,
overcomers in every sense of the
word! They possessed nothing but
were rich beyond compare. Their
faith created a perseverance few
One of the biggest criticisms of
the Slave Trade was the
forcible conversion of people
and the names they were
given to reflect those of their
Christian masters
believed that God was with them
and that he in fact died for them.
The preachers insisted that those
who called upon their God would
be saved, but not by human hands,
and not necessarily in this life.
Think of the profound contrast
human beings would ever know. I
believe their prayers were
answered regarding many of the
opportunities Blacks have been
given today, but I believe many
remain unanswered still because
many have remained in mental
were tortured, raped and sold off. I
imagine the sweltering heat of the
sun during the summer and blister-
ing cold of winter and alas I hear a
prayer from the battered psyche of
a people. “Delivah us Lawd, and if
not us, our lil ones.”
That was the spirit of our
fathers. The church is not
about color, but it is about
people called out from
diverse
backgrounds
throughout the history of
the human race. Our spiri-
tual journey emerged out
of extraordinary circum-
stances because God
reached out to a people, oppressed
and dispersed throughout this
nation. Whereas some ridicule the
history of the Black church by cit-
ing
excessive
expression,
emotionalism,
shallow
theology/doctrine and the like, I
salute it and thank God for it. I
understand that it is an inseparable
part of our unique history.
I believe some of our fathers
found a new faith in the
journey across the Atlantic
bondage.
The Black church has a rich her-
itage. Historically, it gave us was a
sense of community and belong-
ing to one another. It was a place
we could go to and seek a God
who would make Himself accessi-
ble when we called upon Him. I
think it was the closest place to
home they knew. They carried the
Sunday experience into the every-
day toil of a life in bondage.
In my mind’s eye I can see them
now and I hear the passionate cries
of yearning that ascended into
heaven that came be known as
gospel music. I see their torment
of soul as their family members
Hakim Hazim is the founder of
Relevant Now Consultancy and
co-founder of Freedom², a web-
based Christian think tank focused
on believers in America and other
free societies
To read about the
history of your
neighborhood go online
to www.TheSkanner.com
February 22, 2012
The Portland Skanner Page 5