An Open Letter to Black Christians Critical of Other Black People

It's not easy being a Black Christian with a revolutionary mindset. You are called a racist by insecure & insensitive white folks on a regular basis. You are called an "agent", "Uncle Tom", "coon", "brainwashed" or worst by other non-Christian Black People. You are criticized for not being enough of a Christian and too Black by other Black Christians. Your choices become either sellout and start buck dancing for white folks, or renounce your faith for Non-Christian black folks, or act like your skin color is "clear" and be willfully blind to the social injustices against Black People in order to please black church folks. Well, I'm not doing any of that so you can forget it. I'm going to be who I am whether you like it or not.

Sometimes on social media I look at the comments on the "shares" along with the direct comments to certain original posts of mine and others out of curiosity. They can be very interesting or disappointing (depending how you look at it); especially when you see a really sanctimonious response by another Black person who claims to be a Christian like myself. I've seen a few in particular make statements of ignorant assumption that terms such as "Black Pride, Black Power, or Black Love" means something ungodly or that those using these terms have displaced their love for Christ. WRONG! These Christian critics are waiting for Jesus to come back and take them to heaven with no real regard for the hell people are already living in on Earth.

Their assumptions are wrong and hypocritical ungodly judgments of another person's character (like mine) which contradicts the supposedly more godly and correct character the accuser portrays themselves as having. It also shows the shallow mindedness and "holier than thou" attitude among many of the "religious" who aren't as "spiritual" minded as they think. I would expect this from an "insensitive" White Christian the more so but that is not always the case in my experiences. Among the "Black religious" in particular it shows their ignorance of "Black culture" and the misguided thinking that somehow using certain terms different from what they're use to makes the idea behind them contrary to their narrow minded religious views and restrictive definitions. 

ROMANS 14:4 (ESV); "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand."  

I've spent a lot of time speaking up for my faith and Black Christians in particular against internal persecution within the Black Community by supposedly "conscious" groups and those who claim to be of another more Afrocentric or Hebraic religious persuasion. I've often confronted their hypocrisy numerous times yet they always approach me as if they know me and automatically stereotype myself and others like me as what they consider stereotypical Christians who celebrate originally pagan holidays, erroneously believes Christ was white, believes in paying tithes, chases celebrity preachers, supports the conventional institutional church, and lays down for anyone to walk over because that's what "they" wrongly believe all Christians do or are about. They never ask or try finding out what you actually believe before they just start rambling and insulting you. As a result, I have very little respect for any of these groups at all and take people on an individual basis apart from these groups I see as being more divisive than white supremacists among us. 

While I'm lumped into a false portrayal of Christianity and called worst names by my own people than by white supremacists via these other groups among us as if they learned a bad script, these same outside critics have the nerve to ask me not to lump them in with others who believe as they do. YOU HYPOCRITE! I just ignore them now. If you're a Christian who happens to be "Black" and believes in the cause of Black People against the historical injustices against us there's no small amount of criticism or cynicism reserved for you, but surprisingly there's a great deal of it coming from our own people of the same religious persuasion who use their religious beliefs to shield their ignorance or hide the fact they're truly sellouts. Thank God Christ was no sellout, and it's from him that we get a good example of how one can love the wonderful God given ethnicity you're born into without restriction or withholding your love unto all people while being revolutionary.

Christ was a Jewish Hebrew who as a man took "godly pride" in being so as did all his apostles. The nation of Israel celebrated their cultural heritage throughout every year by different feasts because they had national pride in who God made them to be, for the love of their people, and they actively sought the empowerment of their people to exist with equality among the other nations in safety as well as being liberated from the yoke of any oppressor such as the Roman Empire during the time of Christ. That's what it means for Black People to have "Black Pride, Black Power, Black Love, and Black Unity." Where Israel's pride became arrogance or prejudice they were corrected on the matter, and loving Israel didn't stop Yeshua from loving everyone else to the point where he sacrificed his life for all. Loving Black People is not going to stop me either. 

Sanctimonious "holier than thou" people are very quick to judge or condemn anyone or anything they don't understand based on their limited self-righteous understanding. Rather than ask questions without trying to draw attention to themselves with an ulterior motive they often just lash out in ignorance not knowing what they're actually talking about. An example of this would be jumping to conclusions about the use of such terms like the word "pride". They are so restrictive in their understanding that a word only means what they know rather than all that it actually does beyond their understanding which is how you get so much error when interpreting Scripture. In most cases in Scripture "pride" carries a negative meaning, but not always. Here's an example of when it doesn't:

PSALM 47:4 (KJV); "He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah." 

Some may say they don't see the word "pride" in that verse but it is there as the word "excellency". The Hebrew word used there is "gaon" which means "pride" as well as excellency and majesty along with arrogant and pompous. In the Hebrew language, of which the verses in the Old Testament of the Bible are originally written, one word can have several different meanings. The term is defined by the context rather than confined to one strict understanding. Let's look at the same verse in a different version other than the King James such as the English Standard Version (ESV):

"He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah." 

As you can see, the meaning of the word "pride" understood in proper context in this scripture is not negative, but is speaking positively about national pride of which God Almighty designated himself for the nation of Israel. It's not about classicism or racism but in being proud of who you are not only spiritually but also naturally. I thank God I'm a Black man, but that does not make me superior to anyone nor means I have an inferiority complex either by saying I have or desire "Black Pride, Black Power, Black Love, and Black Unity." Someone thinking that means they may have an "ignorant complex" and need to learn better while tapering their tongue to speak less about others. If you want to soft-shoe and buck dance behind the Bible then go ahead, but I won't be dancing with you on this issue. Stop nit picking and thumbing your religious noses at those who choose to speak out or get involved while you remain aloof.

Watch your mouth when criticizing others who choose not to buck dance to please others, but celebrate our "Black Excellency" (Black Pride). Be careful how you speak against us when we're moved to put our faith into action in seeking the equal social, political, and economic empowerment of our community that we call "Black Power". Beware that your misguided disapproval for our godly appreciation of  one another is not a fallacious accusation against what we call "Black Love". We know "love is colorblind" and blah blah blah, but we can also love each other without the blinders on because we have things in common that makes our bond historically unique. Be even more careful and quicker to close your mouth in speaking ungodly division against our efforts at "Black Unity" for the betterment of the Black Community. If you're not helping us to come together then please get out of the way and stop helping keep us divided. 

That kind of behavior is not being a true Christian but just being an ignorant critic of other people; especially other fellow Christians who happen to be Black. You need to check yourself or at least be quiet until you actually understand. It's okay to disagree but watch how you do it lest you become guilty of what you accuse others of. If you're a Muslim, Hebrew Israelite, Kemetic, Agnostic, Atheist, or other this is not to you so please keep your criticism and insults of the Christian Community to yourself, or you're just as bad if not worst. Don't jump on the bandwagon to take cheap shots. You can't win me if you're always trying to offend me. Don't make yourself a hypocrite too who just has a different view. I'm not changing my religion or social stance so please leave me alone about it or you'll just make me more of your enemy and less of your brother. That's also contrary to the ideals of Black Pride, Black Power, Black Love, and Black Unity. Peace.  ~ I.J. West 
 

PROVERBS 18:19 (EXB); "A brother who has been insulted [offended] is harder to win back than a walled city, and arguments separate people like the barred gates of a palace."