A question regarding Chrstianity?

Question

Do you think it's right that Blacks, Latinos, and Asians to follow Christainity after their ancestors were forced to follow the religion by the Europeans? I choose not to follow Christainity because I feel that it's not my true religion and I've beem forced to follow it. I decided to be a agnostic because I feel that it shames my Native American and African ancestors because they were forced to give up their customs and traditions.

First of all, Africans who were brought to the Americas for slavery were forced to believe in Christainity. And the Native Americans were also forced to adapt to the Christian beliefs.

Answer 1

I totally agree with you on this topic. And don't you believe if we were praying to the correct God, we wouldn't have had to suffer 439 years of captivity and oppression. And we are still fighting!

Answer 2

That's your choice, by all means!! But have you ever considered that your ancestors were never exposed to Christianity because of geographical restraints? I mean, it has taken centuries for the word of God to spread around the world and it took years longer for it to reach some sectors of the world's population than it did for others. OK, so the Europeans and the Middle Eastern countries got to know of it first, so they got lucky. Christ could have just as easily been born in , oh I don't know, Timbuktu. ( I hope I spelled that correctly...?) But the Jews, Jehovah's Chosen people that he was sending a savior for ( primarily , at the time ) were centrally located in the Middle East. So, that is where he was born. OK, so they got a head start on Christianity over the rest of the world. That doesn't mean that God did this to alienate any of the other races or anything like that. He also Certainly did NOT intend for slave owners or missionaries to cram it down the throats of Africans,Native Americans, Aborigines , Pacific Islanders or any other race that they came across and forced their beliefs upon.
Now, putting the fact aside that christianity has been pushed down the throat of so many peoples' throats, doesn't mean that - after studying it - you couldn't find it to be a true and loving religion. I am not saying that ALL 'christian' churches are honest, true, loving or even 'christian'. I am saying that maybe if you gave the BIBLE a chance and learned it from people who knew the truth of it, you might find you like it. But, * shrug * , that decision is up to you. You sound a little hung up on the fact it was forced on your ancestors and I can respect THAT aspect. I just wish you, YOU, would give it a fair shake for your own sake. Contact a Jehovah's Witness. Theyare the only true students of the Bible that I know of and the only ones that live by it without hypocracy. ( sp? spell check isn't working...lol )

Answer 3

What may shock a lot of people is that despite the fact that many people of African or Native American descent were mistreated by Europeans in this country, that is NOT God's fault.

Africans and Native American's were not forced to follow Christianity. To this date, you can still go down on the bayou in Louisiana and find people of African descent practicing variations of faiths brought over from their native land.

Historically though, many slaves acknowledged the existence of a higher power and adapted to/accepted Christianity on their own (as some of them learned to read the Bible, at great peril to themselves).

The fact that there are those in this country who still insist that God is white and defends only white anglo-saxon protestant ideals should make evident that they're ancestors didn't force Christianity on their slaves... if anything, they would have tried to keep Christianity AWAY from African Americans and Native Americans, as they believed that they were not even worthy of God's attention (for the uninitiated, we're talking about the KKK).

Answer 4

I totally agree with you. I am 3rd generation Canadian, and my family are almost all Roman Catholic. But, after reading about all that the church has done, INCluding forcing tribes and villages and such to believe as they do (missionaries). It's like a huge brainwashing machine. Even today. I do believe in Jesus, that he existed and was a son of God, but I also do not refuse any other explination of the history of humankind. All prophets /messiah's could have walked this earth at one time or another. The question is WHO KNOWS?? No one on this planet, that's for sure. You don't know until you're dead, so live a good life, love God (whomever that may be for you), and I think you'll be fine. Any God who'd have it any other way is not one that I would want to follow. Bless Us All!!

Answer 5

What a load of crap. Follow Christianity if you think Christ's plan of salvation is the right way to go. The argument you are making is politicizing the issue. English people died when they would not leave Catholicism and convert to the Church of England, it is not exclusive to racial identities or America.
You most likely don't even know the ancestors you are talking about. Don't blame Christianity, blame the people masquerading as Christians who used it a tool of control. They will get theirs in the next life. It is the same with Muslims in this day and age.

Answer 6

Christianity has a very bad history. It started right from the apostles. But there is a message of love and peace and grace and oneness in there. Unfortunately the writings that were left for us are scant and have been manipulated by religious men.

But Jesus is not about religion. I am hesitant to call myself a Christian. And because I believe I am free to not believe, I don't care.

http://www.gospelogic.com Someone has gone outside the mainstream fanatical religion to find the truth Paul was trying to get across.

Answer 7

Tempted to Touch,
It all depends what you think is more important. If when you were Chirstian, you only did what they did because they did it, then you were doing what a lot of people raised in the church do. They learn what to say, and how to act.

If the relationship that you had with our Lord Jesus Christ was built on nothing, then your decision is understandable. He didn't choose you and you didn't choose Him. If you deny Him to others, He will deny you to the Father (Matthew 10:33).

As long as you are alive, the choice will still be yours. But none come to the Father except those He draws to Him (John 6:44).

Is He, or isn't He?

Answer 8

I'm sure that some christians will try to explain to you how the Europeans were doing your ancestors a favor by introducing them to christianity, as well as slaughter, famine and disease. To be honest I can't believe anyone would believe in christianity if they had enough time to consider it objectively. But to answer your question, religion shouldn't be forced upon anyone so you shouldn't feel obligated to practice one where that has been the case.

Answer 9

The blood shed in the name of Christianity was not mandated by God. People made those mistakes. Choosing your faith should be done by what you think, feel, and know. I am a Christian not because I am Irish descent, I am a Christian because God loves me enough to sacrifice His Son so I can have eternal life. He did the same for you, but that is not your question. Please do not judge God by the followers who were wrong and wronged your ancestors.

Answer 10

From the time Christianity came into being, it's been forced on many people including Europeans. My ancestors had it forced upon them, too.

If you feel that Christianity isn't right for you personally, then by all means, don't follow it. Only you can make that decision for yourself. You can't make it for others.

For what it's worth, many people are trying to get in touch with their pre-Christian roots. I'm one of them.

Answer 11

You cannot force anyone to believe anything. Christianity is not something you can force someone to believe. The Catholic church may have done this, forcing Catholicism on some people, but that is not the whole of Christendom. Look at it this way, you can look up and see the sky is blue, I say it is green. Can I force you to believe it is green, even though you know it is blue? How about if I threaten to harm you if you do not believe it is green? Would you then believe it? Of course not, you may say you believe it, but only to save your life, but deep down, you know it is blue.