In this passage, Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome. Rome was the capital of the empire and consisted of a diverse population made up of Romans, foreign merchants, slaves, and conquered peoples. In such a cosmopolitan center there were followers of Jesus from various cultural backgrounds in house churches throughout the city. This inevitably made Rome a seedbed for controversy. Well into the 4th century Christians from the East and the West struggled over the correct date for celebrating Easter. Here in this passage the debate surrounds food. Paul is letting them know that what we eat and whether it is right or wrong is a matter of conscience. It is something that is between the believer and his Lord.

You may say to yourself “Food! How trivial! What a petty thing to argue about?” But I think if you focus on what they are arguing about then you are missing the point. The emphasis should be on the phrase “destroy the work of God”. What does it mean to destroy the work of God? The answer can be found in verse 13: To put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister to cause them to stumble in their faith. It’s about more than just food. It is about the precious faith of our brother and sister in comparison to our so called “rights”. We have to make a decision about whether we will follow the ways of this world or the ways of the Kingdom of God. You can insert just about any thing in that is non essential to life and to your faith and it works the same.

For the sake of “politics” do not destroy the work of God

For the sake of my “cultural tradition” do not destroy the work of God

The list can go on and on and on but the point is this. All of these things we hold up as important pale in comparison to the work of God in the life of another follower of Jesus. To put a stumbling block in the way of their faith and cause them to sin is just not worth it. For the sake of the work of God destroy your entrenched positions and strong opinions in order to promote peace and building up others.

As Augustine said “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity”

Strength and honor!

1. St Patrick’s Day is fun. You get to run around in green. Drink beer. Eat corn beef, cabbage, and potatoes.

2. St. Patrick’s Day is short. It’s only a day as opposed to a month.

3. St. Patrick’s Day is accessible. Any jerk with a green t shirt can participate. As the saying goes “Everybody’s Irish on St. Patty’s Day!”

4. St. Patrick’s Day is concentrated on one person as opposed to digging deep into all the stories and facts of Irish history

5. St. Patrick’s Day celebrates an ethnic minority that has been included in the narrative of whiteness. No dis to the Irish because theirs is a rich history. In fact in the 19th century the Irish and African American population were equally oppressed and worked and lived in close proximity. But still the powers that be found that they could include the Irish in the narrative. This narrative focuses on America as a haven for immigrants and outcasts while ignoring the sins of a nation that killed off the indigenous inhabitants and built its wealth through enslaving black bodies. To put it simply St. Patrick’s day is easier to celebrate than black history month because black history month points to White America’s sinful past.

Black history month is a prophetic time that speaks to America like the bleating of sheep in the ears of Saul (1 Samuel 15:14). It says wrong has been committed and there must be repentance and restitution. It says that halfway obedience is not enough. It says that yes progress has been made but God will not be pleased until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)

Why else do you think it’s easier to celebrate St. Patrick’s day?

The History Channel’s Bible mini series has helped to bring “The greatest story ever told” to a new generation and has certainly gained a lot of buzz due to its incredible production quality and endorsement from high profile pastors such as T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen.

Of course trying to fit a huge narrative like the biblical story which spans multiple centuries and cultures is a daunting task even when you break it up into multiple episodes. Inevitably you get multiple scholars and armchair theologians criticizing the accuracy of the plot line and the omission and revision of different bible verses.

Why is “for himself” omitted from Abraham’s line “The Lord will provide a sacrifice”?

How come Moses strikes his staff on the ground instead of stretching it towards the sea?

All of these are valid questions and I have an equally valid one “Where are the people of African descent?” You may reply “They are in the series. There are some.” But my question is not “how come there is no one of African descent in the series?”. My question is “Where are the people of African descent? Where are they socially and culturally located?”

Yes the narrator Keith David is black. The angel that rescues Lot’s wife is of African descent. Balthazar one of the three wise men is black and Samson and his family are of African descent as well. So….What’s my beef?

Here is what I see in the casting of people of African descent. All of the black characters are either invisible, exotic “others”, or in the case of the one major role of Samson depraved, flawed, and deficient. Let’s break it down like this:

Narrator=invisible
Angel=exotic “other”
Balthazar=exotic “other”
Samson=screwed up!!!

Now don’t get me wrong. I believe this movie is very accurate. Accurate of the perceptions we have of people of African descent in the 21st century. We are either off people’s radar; seen as exotic “others” with a strange culture; or morally depraved like Samson who screwed his life up through sex and violence.

I do not believe the creators of the series Mark Burnett and Roma Downey intended this to be the case. This is not a judgment on them. They are just part of our society and culture. I applaud their efforts to bring the Bible to the public square ad adding diversity into the cast of characters. This is not a push to make all the characters black but a critique of our society’s already established racial perceptions.

Why does this even matter? It matters because pastors all across America were endorsing and promoting this before their congregations and it reinforces stereotypes and assumptions. It lets kids of African descent know that even if they are in the story they are on the outside. It matters because I get tired of having to prove to young African American adults that following Jesus is not following a white man’s religion. It matters because people of African descent were not marginal to the world of the ancient near east but major players and my children need to know that as I raise them up to consider the Bible and its teachings.

Shouldn’t it disturb us that Adam and Eve are portrayed as a white couple when the discoveries of anthropology and genetics say this cannot be the case. Shouldn’t it disturb us that Jesus the hope of every nation looks like a Vidal Sassoon model? I’m disturbed and I hope you are too.

Strength and honor!!!

Paul is talking about his financial status and the financial support that has been renewed by the Philippians church. He says that whether they gave to him or not it didn’t matter. He wasn’t rejoicing about this because of his dire need (Philippians 4:11). Paul then goes on to explain that he has learned the secret of contentment. This contentment has come in the best of times and the worst of times. Paul was strengthened by Christ when he was broke and when he was paid (v.12). It was not about changing his circumstances but about the power that Christ gave him to live in any circumstance he found himself in. The power to do all things was the power to deal with all things with contentment.

Contrary to popular belief and usage this verse is not a claim to self interested superhuman ability. It is not a mantra for modern American definitions of success and ambition. No! It is a mantra for contentment. It runs totally against our cultural desire for more and bigger and better. This verse says it doesn’t matter if I have more or bigger or better. Christ is enough and Christ is the best. Christ is all I need. It is a claim to the supernatural strength to endure whatever life throws at you. Whether you win or lose, whether you get the job or don’t get the job, whether you got paper or you’re broke. Don’t just “do you”. Do Christ. He’ll empower you to be content.

Coming soon: My thoughts on the Bible TV series

Strength and honor!

These differences govern not only how our body functions but they also give us different experiences and outlooks. There is nothing that shapes and defines us in the core of our being more than our sexuality. The fact of whether on an application or form we write an “m” or an “f” next to the word sex speaks volumes on how we approach life and see the world around us. It is more than just biology. Because of this biology we acquire a different psyche, a different perspective. This biology has over thousands of years given rise to certain roles and ways of relating in our society and culture. Irregardless of whether the society or culture conditions us to act in these ways the biology was there first and gave birth to it. The first instance of diversity set us on a trajectory that has been adventurous, exciting, and….full of conflict. Patriarchy, misogyny, polygamy, female mutilation, pornography and a whole host of other evils has sprung from the fact that men and women are different and need reconciliation. For the most part is has been men who have initiated the oppression and violence against women and this is something that still needs to be remedied even in our modern times of women’s liberation.

As an advocate for diversity I seek to be an advocate of women. This month is women’s history month and to honor that I will be exploring the perspectives of women through reading from the vantage point of my two prominent identities as black and Christian. The books on my list are:

Women, leaders, and the church by Linda L. Belleville
The Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
Words on Fire: An Anthology of African American Feminist Thought by Beverly Guy-Sheftall
The Word According to Eve by Cullen Murphy (Male author but a survey of women scholars involved in Biblical studies)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

I am already knee deep in a couple of these and they are already readjusting my lens and perspective. Do you have any other suggestions?

The Black Hermeneutical school’s emphasis on scripture and revelation make black theology more than just a human project but one that is also divine. The valuing of scripture is necessary for black theology to be a truly Christian theology. This is because scripture is the “Primary source of theological language and determines how other sources are used in black theology”1 This valuing of scripture also gives black theology its necessary emphasis on liberation as it can be seen in the pages of the Bible through the Exodus stories and the life of Jesus Christ. The source of revelation gives black theology a way to identify what God is doing among African Americans today. This is because revelation is not just a past memory but is a present reality in Jesus Christ and what he is doing to liberate those who are oppressed. This is definitely something that needs to be explored further considering the huge popularity of hip hop music with both its positive and negative aspects as well as the recent election of Barack Obama as America’s first black president.

The sources of black theology are the cultural and religious roots of Africa, the faith tradition of African Americans, the Black Hermeneutical school’s emphasis on scripture and revelation, and the social analytical tools and political praxis of prophetic Christian thought. All of these sources combined inform the definition of black theology which is a multifaceted interpretation of Christianity as a black struggle against oppression and an unwavering faith in the liberating activity of God. First, the sources of black theology and their purpose will be explained. Next, the definition of black theology will be given in light of its sources. Lastly, an agenda shaped by black theology will be given for Christian ministry.

The first sources of black theology are its African cultural and religious roots. These sources of black theology help to correct culturally constructed Western Christianity with its blind spots and biases. In Tribal Talk, Will Coleman digs into the West African roots of slave religion especially how the ancestral memory of the Vodun influenced the cosmology, epistemology, mythology, and ontology of African American spirituality. This approach shows that African slaves did not come to the United States as blank slates but had their own religion, theology, and spirituality. Going back even further in history than Coleman, Oden’s book, How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind challenges the assumption that Christianity is a Western religion that is foreign to African soil. In reaching back to the patristic period he provides a link between Africa and Christianity that has previously been muffled. One of the important concepts that stand out in Oden’s book is that the early Christian church of Africa was a church of the persecuted and martyred who were influenced and energized by a unique understanding of the Hebrew and Christian stories of oppression and liberation. In this light, early African Christianity can be seen as a “countercultural, risk-laden, sacrificial, pre-Constantinian struggle for integrity in the face of overwhelming political power.”1 Although the relationship of West African traditional religion to early African Christianity and Early African Christianity’s relationship to the rest of the African Diaspora remains to be investigated; the sources given by Coleman and Oden are a much needed contribution to Black Theology. To be continued……..