Christ the Colonizer
Ol' Hobbs' Thursday Thoughts!
Eurocentric Christianity, as a social and political construct, has always been at the root of both European colonialism and the euphemistic "rugged individualism," one which actually is an extreme form of selfishness that places "I" and "my" over "we" and "ours" in public policy.
Whether it is the failed 20-year American expedition in Afghanistan, one that has seen thousands of Americans die and trillions of tax dollars spent—only to now find the Taliban right back in control; or, the anti-science, anti-vaccination, anti-mask "my rights" types, those two dominant news events have, at their roots, a warped sense of entitlement that can be traced back to Eurocentered Catholicism and Protestantism.
To begin, it is important to note that most European explorers ventured into Africa, Asia and the Americas with the approval of both the crown (government) and the Church (Eurocentric Christians). As arbiters of morality, neither the Vatican nor the Anglican and Lutheran Churches did much to challenge the notion that Europeans had a "divine right" to pillage and plunder lands, destroy human lives, and steal material wealth, often in the name of God. Revered South African Bishop Desmond Tutu summed this up best by opining, "When the (European) missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.”
For further perspective, when Eurocentric Christians trafficked Africans across the Atlantic to miserable existences on slave plantations in the Americas and Atlantic/Caribbean isles, their enslavers did not reveal the more radical or liberating aspects of Christ's teachings, rather, the enslaved were forced fed words of submission such as:
***Ephesians 6:5: "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ."
Or this one:
***Romans 13:1: "All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God.2 So anyone who is against the government is really against something God has commanded."
Tragically, for many generations of Blacks, the roots of what is often referred to as "Stockholm Syndrome," which can be defined as an unrequited love or affection for one's tormentors or oppressors, is grounded in how Christianity was used to force the enslaved to submit both to the lordship of their enslavers and to the absolute rule of governments—be they colonial, state, Federal or Confederate—governmemts that allowed their fates as the enslaved to be lawful! Today, this same mindset creates an abject fear in many to challenge authority figures for fear of being contrary to the word of God.
Now, to be balanced, in time there grew to be a few European and American white Christian sects that opposed slavery, but the majority of white Catholics and Protestants in Europe and the Americas profited from the slave trade and slave labor as they believed thus was the will of God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Today, there are some Eurocentric Christian sects who oppose wars of "nation building" abroad while supporting safety measures to flatten the Coronavirus curve at home, but the most vocal neo-colonialists and opponents of Coronavirus safety measures remain predominantly white, so-called Christians.
Thus, when pastors and the laity alike exclaim that "Sunday at 11 a.m. is the most segregated hour of the week," we must delve deeper and realize that the "hour of prayer" that often remains separate is insignificant when compared to the centuries of degradation, depression, and death that European Christian denominations have wrought among their darker Christian "Brethren." Which is why I, as a raised Missionary Baptist (Black) and converted AME (Black), often wonder what is being taught in white churches about neo-colonialism in far flung places like Afghanistan, or the dire need to get vaccinated and wear masks to combat the Coronavirus? I am compelled to conclude that these two separate but equally crucial issues are nothing short of the latest examples of modern day racism. A modern racism that comes in active and passive forms, just like during slavery and Jim Crow, when there were active racists who participated as slave owners, overseers, slave catchers, or Ku Klux Klan terrorists, and passive racists who served on White Citizens' Councils or turned blind eyes to their brethren's murder and mayhem that they plagued upon Blacks—but still showed up to Church on Sunday morning to praise their Lord.
For these reasons, it did not surprise me that it took Southern Baptists (white) until 1995 to issue an apology for slavery and Jim Crow, a "sorry-not sorry" if ever there was one as evidenced by the modern silence of Southern Baptists on police brutality against Blacks, formal systemic racial discrimination, warmongering abroad, and refusal to support Coronavirus vaccines and mask wearing.
Just yesterday, my anecdotal beliefs about “who” was opposed to mask wearing in my home city of Tallahassee were confirmed by hard evidence published in the Tallahassee Democrat that shows that the majority of parents who have chosen to opt their children out of wearing masks hail from predominantly white and affluent areas—parents who praise their Lord in the their homes and churches, but are behaving rather "un-Christ like" in their acts that disregard the safety of others—and their very own kids! Conversely, my native Southside (predominantly Black), has few to no opt outs. A sampling:
North Tallahassee
Hawks Rise Elementary 120 opt outs
Deerlake Middle School 201 opt outs
Chiles High School 458 opt out
South Tallahassee
Bond Elementary 0 opt outs
Fairview Middle School 5 opt outs
Rickards High School 4 opt outs
The difference is crystal clear, which leads to my conclusion from the original premise that Eurocentric Christianity, as a social or political construct, remains the problem that must be addressed by frank conversations—and deep introspection by its adherents who continue to pursue their selfish whims to the deadly chagrin of other citizens.
Have a great Thursday!
Enlightening and so true.
👏 amen!