Last week I talked about how Christianity had a firm footing in Africa and Asia and what we now call the Middle East way before it took hold in Europe. So what happened? How come the church has vanished from most of these lands? How come this information is not known-not even by many of the people who currently live there?
What happened? Islam and White Culturally Constructed Christianity
First Islam came on the scene during a time when the church in the East and in North Africa was very divided. Many of the bishops fought over different doctrinal matters. The church was also wedded to the state. Once Islam defeated many of the Christian (or at least favorable to Christian) rulers the church was put into subordinate status. Most of the areas where there was a strong church were along trade routes and soon these trade routes became obsolete. New city centers emerged and Islam held the most political and religious sway in these cities.
At the same time Christianity began to be aligned with the state in Europe. These alliances shaped and transformed the West and gave the faith the European feel that we know of today. So Christianity soon became known as the White Man’s Religion. This version of the faith was adapted to the culture of the people who lived there. This version of the faith was much more aggressive and militaristic. As a result of this cultural adaptation and the greed of a church aligned with worldly power the Roman Catholic Church sent Crusaders to take back the Holy Land. Once this happened the remaining Christians in the East received the backlash of Muslim persecution. Over the years these persecutions increased in intensity until a tiny minority of Christians remained.
These events created the religious landscape we know today. This is why we consider Christianity as a White Man’s religion. As different European nations began to scramble for power overseas and build up colonies they also transported their brand of Christianity. The first Christian face most people would see would be that of a white man or woman. This would be the religion of the people who divided up Africa and traded in slaves. It would be the religion of the people who slaughtered First Nations people for the right to claim the New World. It would be the religion of the people who profited from opium trade in China. It became known as the way to make the native people passive and weak in order for them to be conquered and exploited. As one Ethiopian man said “the missionaries came to give us Bibles so they could take our land”
At the same time there has always been a witness for the true faith. It is not aggressive or militaristic. It was not designed as a tool for colonization and exploitation. Throughout the ages God has always had a remnant of folk who instead of building their own kingdom came under the rule and reign of God’s kingdom. I think of the Moravians who held a prayer meeting that lasted over one hundred years. Their motto was “Our Lamb has conquered, Let us follow him” and follow him they did. They followed him to Greenland, South America, and even to the Caribbean where some of them sold themselves into slavery. They did this to show the world Christianity is not a white man’s religion. It’s something much more than that. Jesus is for Everybody!
Next week I’ll conclude with some closing thoughts on Global Christianity in the 21st Century
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photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/vgm8383/2545329768/”>vgm8383</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>cc</a>
