The White Jesus Problem… and Why God is Probably Black
Before I begin, let me first address something: by my own admission, the two points to be discussed in my title are theologically moot. God has no race. He sits outside of both time and physical space as we know it, existing as an entity unto himself, in a realm that transcends anything we could ever understand. And seeing as I’ve probably lost a large portion of my audience with that last bit, I’ll proceed to my next point; Jesus was, in fact, both culturally and ethnically Jewish. His mother was a Jewish woman and, depending on who you ask, so was his stepfather. Nevertheless, God is almost definitely a black dude.
I do not claim to be a theologian, nor do I claim to understand much about the Nation of Islam. Yet the aforementioned sermon sparked a thought, an idea that resonated with me, if not simply for the novelty of it. As a follower of Christ, I find myself often latching onto the idea that perhaps black people, specifically black Americans, are the children of Israel. A people chosen by God, even during their enslavement. Chosen because of their enslavement. After their Exodus struggling to fulfill His will, a partnership with mankind to rule this planet with peace and harmony. Hearing Him through prophets and teachers, their voices rising from amongst the crowd. And, in the end, making it to the promised land where He could keep them safe. I mean to a black person in a world like this… that’s almost like a fairytale. The embodiment of our history, told with cinematic brilliance, as if “writing history with lightning.”
I know from my studies that this is only partially true. In Christian theology God’s will is to unite Heaven and Earth under his reign, us acting as his proxies in the world. To me, Israel was only an example of such a partnership. God shows at times the beauty of relationship with him and at others the loss of being without him. In the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion, now all are welcome to share in covenant with God. Jew or Gentile. In fact, that was Jesus’ whole purpose on this planet. To live a perfect life, one day sacrificing himself just as animals were sacrificed throughout the Old Testament. Yet, being half divinity and half man, he served as the perfect sacrificial lamb, allowing, through him, even those not born Jewish to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. So then black people aren’t the true children of Israel, because there aren’t any true children of Israel. At least not in New Testament Christian theology anyway. Jesus saves anyone, especially those being taken advantage of or enslaved. For anyone who accepts Christ, the story of Israel becomes their own. That becomes their inheritance.
Yet Christianity in the United States is somehow very different from that unifying vision. A theology foundationally built on loving your neighbor has transmogrified into a political stance taken by the self-righteous. Somehow the racial solidarity discussed in Acts 10, verses 28–45 specifically, means nothing when a “like believer” does not align with the Republican Party. And as someone who knows the beauty of what the Christian faith, the true Christian faith, is meant to be… it’s hard to watch.
Perhaps the problem is in fact white Jesus. The attempt of white America to take a belief system and shape it to fit whatever hole needs to be plugged in order to propagate their empire. I’ve heard it said that Christianity is the white man’s religion, given to miserable slaves and continued by their foolish progeny, serving no purpose other than to suppress them. Teaching black people to “turn the other cheek” in the face of oppression and to allow egregious wrongs to take place. Yet how could a belief system with liberation and freedom as a central theme serve that end? Or better yet, it makes even less sense that someone who truly loved their neighbor would allow human rights to be stripped from anyone. Thus, the problem is not inherent, rather the problem is the misrepresentation and appropriation of Christianity to serve a white political agenda. The problem is the idea of a white savior. The problem is white Jesus.
Finally, I’ve always thought that perhaps my mother, as well as other black parents around the world, know what God felt more than anyone else. To send your child out into the world with their destiny seeming to be only martyrdom. The sins of the world somehow being worthy of their sacrifice. To cry as they bleed out, sentenced to death by a hypocritical regime. No trial. No mercy. Knowing all the gifts they brought to the Earth have been dashed all at once. I’ve heard it said that no one could understand the pain God felt sending Jesus to the cross. But I think black parents struggle with that pain every day. That’s why, albeit secretly, sometimes I think God must be black. He sure knows the struggle too well not to be.
