| Christianity: White man's religion?Martin Luther King | | | | to the teaching of SOME, it was NOT the entire |
| referred to Sunday as being "the most segregated | | | | black race that was cursed, only the Canaanites, |
| day in America."Truer words were never spoken.A | | | | because of Canaan's sin. They were the original |
| few years ago I was preaching and, Lord, help me, | | | | inhabitants of Israel (1 Chr 4:40) but exist no more. |
| my opening words were, "Look around. What do you | | | | My, how they could have been blessed! Yes, there |
| see? I see a church full of white people." The Blacks, | | | | ARE long-term consequences for sin, affecting even |
| Hispanics, Asians and others.... they'd all been there, | | | | our descendants.Noah's sons migrated, spreading out |
| but we had holes in our net and hadn't been able to | | | | all over the earth: Japheth's people to modern |
| keep 'em. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a | | | | Europe, Shem's to the Middle East. Ham's |
| net, catching ALL kinds of fish..." (Matt 13:47) and that | | | | descendants went to southern Arabia, Africa, and |
| includes black ones, brown ones, red, yellow, | | | | India. Cush had a son named Nimrod (Gen 10:10) who |
| Protestant and Catholic, young, old, male and | | | | built the tower of Babel as well as Erech, Accad and |
| female.As Americans, we often project an | | | | Calneh near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the |
| imperialistic attitude that the rest of the world | | | | starting point of all civilization (Gen 10:10; 11:1).Cush's |
| detests. Regarding American CHRISTIANS, I've often | | | | descendants founded powerful Assyria,builders of |
| heard and read of third world pastors telling how | | | | Ninevah.The Bible gives no record of Phut's |
| they only wish they had the money the Americans | | | | geneology.Ham's decendants included Menelik, |
| raised to take their "missionary journeys" so that | | | | offspring of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, |
| they could better care for their own families and | | | | to whom Ethiopians trace their historical roots.Joseph |
| congregations... purchase bibles and study tools, | | | | married an Egyptian woman (Gen 41:50-52) so his |
| attend seminary. Can we even imagine a group of | | | | sons, Manasseh and Ephraim definitely had Hamitic |
| half naked primitives coming into our churches to | | | | (Black) blood.Jethro was Ethiopian and converted to |
| share the latest "revelation" God had given their | | | | Judaism because of Moses' testimony (Ex |
| tribe? Yet we spend a fortune crossing the pond for | | | | 18:1-12).Moses was married to an Ethiopian woman, |
| these "life changing" (whose life?) short-term missions | | | | too, (Numbers 12:1). Was she black? Could have been! |
| experiences. Don't get me wrong, I believe in | | | | In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron began opposing |
| missions, most especially those geared toward helping | | | | Moses because of his Cushite (Ethiopian) wife, |
| the sick and the children, but I've heard too many | | | | showing contempt for her ancestry. This angered the |
| stories from missionaries who admitted they felt | | | | Lord and Miriam was stricken with leprosy |
| they made NO difference on their missions trip and | | | | (interestingly, this disease would not only make |
| from Nationals who could have used a nice healthy | | | | MIRIAM the outcast from the community, but her |
| love offering instead.I once taught a Sunday school | | | | skin became REALLY white as a result of the |
| class to a room full of mostly Black African pastors, | | | | disease. Poetic justice? After Moses pleaded on her |
| their small frames lost within their too-large, out-of | | | | behalf, God healed her and returned her to the |
| -date suits and ties. Between them, their | | | | camp). NOTE: It is my contention that Miriam's REAL |
| congregations ranged in the area of 40,000 people. | | | | problem was not so much with Moses' wife as it was |
| These humble men were taking notes, asking | | | | with his prophetic gift and his special relationship with |
| questions, hanging on my every word. I don't know | | | | God. Perhaps she went for the obvious (Miriam's |
| about them but, for me, THAT was life-changing! | | | | fleshtone) rather than humbllng herself and admitting |
| God bless those who were wise enough to fly these | | | | to Moses how she envied him.The Scripture does not |
| African pastors to the USA so they could return | | | | indicate any prohibition against Jews marrying |
| home and teach those with whom they already had | | | | Cushites (Ethiopians) and they seemed to have had |
| relationship (key word).Regarding this so-called "white | | | | good relations with them (Amos 9:7; Ps 68:31; Zeph |
| man's religion," it's true that some mistakenly believe | | | | 3:10; Is 11:11).Jehudi was a secretary in the king's |
| Christianity is the religion of Whites in the same way | | | | court during Jeremiah's time and was a descendeant |
| others consider Islam to be the religion of the Blacks. | | | | of Cushi (Jer 36:14,21,23) as was the prophet |
| Folks, Hosea 4:6 declares, "My people are destroyed | | | | Zephaniah.From Ham's lineage came Joshua, and |
| for lack of knowledge...." Let us strive to KNOW the | | | | David'sgrandmother, Rahab, a Canaanite. Bath-sheba |
| truth for the Scripture says, "they shall know the | | | | means"daughterof Sheba." Sheba is listed in Ham's |
| Truth and the Truth shall set you free,"(Jn 8:32). | | | | family registry, Genesis 7.Bath-sheba was married to |
| What you're about to read, I believe, will be VERY | | | | Uriah the Hittite, whose roots can be traced to Ham's |
| liberating.THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR | | | | grandson, Heth (Gen 10:15). King Solomon's |
| ANCESTORYBlack Christianity did not start in | | | | complexion and hair are described as black but |
| America with the slaves that converted to their | | | | beautiful (Song of Solomon 5:10,11).Moving to the |
| master's religion. Genesis 10 shows us where all the | | | | New Testament times, scholars believe the wise men |
| races originated. The Black lineage is presented by | | | | who sought the baby Jesus (no biblical record of |
| family, languages, locations and nations. The Bible tells | | | | there being only three) were Ethiopians because the |
| us, in Genesis, that everyone began with Adam and | | | | gold, frankincense, and myrrh were plentiful in |
| Eve. EVERYONE! Genesis 2:7 tells us Adam was made | | | | southern Arabia and east Africa.The Ethiopian eunuch |
| from the earth. Science has proven that we're all | | | | in Acts 8:26-39 undoubtedly brought Christianity to |
| made from the same materials as are found in the | | | | Ethiopia. |
| earth. The Hebrew word for Adam is Adahm, | | | | Simon the Canaanite was considered to be a Black |
| meaning "red" or "from red earth."Yes, Adam was a | | | | apostle (Matt 10:4).Simon of Cyrene, who helped |
| person of color!After the flood, it was Noah and his | | | | Jesus carry His cross, was probably a descendant of |
| kids that populated the earth (Acts 17:26; Gen | | | | Ham since Cyrene was in North Africa.Apollos (Acts |
| 9:18,19). His sons were named Ham, Shem, and | | | | 18:24) came from Ham, too. Certainly, nations that |
| Japheth. These names mean Black, Dusky and Bright, | | | | descended from Ham were there at Pentecost (Acts |
| or "fair," respectively. Biblical historians agree that | | | | 2) with the establishment of the Church.Simeon, or |
| Ham is the ancestral father of the Black races - the | | | | Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene were leaders of the |
| Mongoloids, Egyptians, Ethiopians, the Canaanites, and | | | | Antioch Church (Acts 13:1). The people of these |
| the Indians. From Shem descended the Jews, Arabs | | | | regions were black. These were the men who |
| and Persians. From Japheth came the Greeks, | | | | ordained and commissioned the great apostle |
| Caucasians, Russians, the Indo-Europeans.One Black | | | | Paul.JESUS: Man of Many ColorsJesus was of mixed |
| son out of three? Well, we don't know exactly HOW | | | | ancestory. You heard right... Jesus was mixed! Our |
| dark the pigment was of the other two but, is that | | | | Lord was a person of color! Though He was primarily |
| possible? With God, ALL things are possible. Face it, if | | | | Semetic, of the five ladies referred to in His |
| YOU were the Supreme Creative Being, wouldn't | | | | geneology, Tama, Rahab, Ruth, Bath-sheba, and |
| YOU get creative when making people and | | | | Mary, the first four descended from Ham, Noah's |
| animals?Look around. Look in the mirror... God's been | | | | Black son (Matt 1:1-16).Let's face it, folks, man looks |
| VERY creative. Medical research tells us it IS possible | | | | at the outside, but God looks at the heart (1 Sam |
| to have children that are very different in color, | | | | 16:7). It doesn't matter if you're green with orange |
| especially if one or both parents are | | | | spots! He's not looking for complexion or physical |
| dark-complexioned, but it's impossible for a fair | | | | features. He's not impressed by what we look like, |
| complexioned person to produce a dark-skinned child. | | | | talklike, or where we live. He doesn't care how |
| So, for Noah to have fathered a "black" son, he or | | | | religious we are or how beautiful our church is. He |
| his wife had to have been dark-skinned, too.Logically | | | | doesn't care how we dress, drive or what |
| speaking.Noah's son, Ham, father of African and Black | | | | denomination we claim.You see, there was no room |
| races, had four boys... Cush, Mizraim, Phut and | | | | at the Inn when our Saviour was born and now He's |
| Canaan, Genesis 10:6. Cush was father of the | | | | looking at our hearts, regardless of our epidermal |
| Ethiopians (Gen 2:13; 10:6) and the people living within | | | | hue, to see if there's room there for Him to rule each |
| Asia and Africa. Cush means "black" and Ethiopia | | | | individual's life as Lord.No matter what color our |
| means "man witha sunburned face." Jeremiah13:23 | | | | epidermis may be, the question we must answer is: |
| says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin...?"Mizraim | | | | are we available?Need pastoral counseling and prayer? |
| fathered the Egyptians and his name means "children | | | | Write or IM me at Every blessing!Michael |
| of the sun." Eventually, they even started | | | | A servant of God |
| worshipping it, but that's another story. Ham is | | | | t.e.a.m. ministries |
| derived from the Egyptian name "Kam," the srongest | | | | A Message of Discipleship & Encouragement to the |
| word in the Egyptian language for "black." The book | | | | Body of Christ |
| of Psalms refers to Egypt as "the land of Ham" (Ps | | | | P.O. Box 633 |
| 78:51; 105:23, 26. 27; 106:21,22). Phut was father of | | | | Stephenville, Texas 76401Pastor Michael has been |
| the nation of Libya, (Ezekiel 27:10; 38:5; Jer 46:9 and | | | | eMailing weekly broadcasts of discipleship and |
| Nahum 3:9). Libya means "black" also.Ham's youngest | | | | encouragement to Christians of all denominations |
| son was Canaan, cursed by Noah in Genesis 9:20-26. | | | | since 1999. He also does a great deal of IM and eMail |
| Though we've all heard of Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya, | | | | pastoral counseling. |
| strange how there's no Canaan today. Note: Contrary | | | | |