Why Are We Afraid To Look To Afrika For Religion/Spirituality?

HatHaruhotep · (#1 (**permalink**))

Im Hotep Kmt Nu,

I see many conversations here about the Bible and the Quran. It seems that many of us are extremely well-versed in Scripture from non-Afrikan cultures, but why haven't we embraced our own cosmology, our own morality, and our own spirituality? If it is true that much of the Quran and Bible are taken from Ancient Kmt, why not cut out the middle man and let your own people nurture your soul?

The King James version of the Bible was written...when? At the height of the slave trade (1611). Those pious, moral scribes who collected and compiled the Bible were fed off of the rape of Black women, the molestation of our babies, and the brutal treatment of our brothers. They adulterated the Message with stains of their own racist, sexist, cruel, bizzare "culture" and we have suffered immensely as a result of it. The Quran follows the Wisdom more closely than the Bible, but it too is colored with Arab culture, which is also racist and unapologetically sexist.

Where are the Rastafarians on this board? Where are the practicioners of Ifa? Where are the Kemetic Priests, Priestesses, initiates, and students? Why are we arguing over the white man's book? When you quote the Bible or the Quran, what you are really saying is, "The people who beat us for over 300 years and raped our women said that God said..." We trust our eternal souls to whites and arabs, and that is why we continue to be exploited and tormented to this day. Do the people from India practice the white man's religion? No! And they own their own homes and businesses, too. Their cosmology is centered, quite correctly, on their own people. Do the Arabs follow the white man's religion? No! And they own every other store in the hood, too. What about the Chinese? No, they tend to their ancestral shrines and follow Buddha. None of these cultures is perfect. No culture is. But when you are bowing down to another culture's vision of Existence, you are automatically limiting yourself.

Please, beloveds- do not turn this into an angry exchange wherein you disrespect and insult me in defense of Massa. My question is simply, when will our discussions on religion include our own??

(Kemetic Priest in training and very excited!)

Sa Kheperu

Adrian7 · (#2 (**permalink**))

HatHaruhotep wrote:

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Im Hotep Kmt Nu,

I see many conversations here about the Bible and the Quran. It seems that many of us are extremely well-versed in Scripture from non-Afrikan cultures, but why haven't we embraced our own cosmology, our own morality, and our own spirituality? If it is true that much of the Quran and Bible are taken from Ancient Kmt, why not cut out the middle man and let your own people nurture your soul?

The King James version of the Bible was written...when? At the height of the slave trade (1611). Those pious, moral scribes who collected and compiled the Bible were fed off of the rape of Black women, the molestation of our babies, and the brutal treatment of our brothers. They adulterated the Message with stains of their own racist, sexist, cruel, bizzare "culture" and we have suffered immensely as a result of it. The Quran follows the Wisdom more closely than the Bible, but it too is colored with Arab culture, which is also racist and unapologetically sexist.

Where are the Rastafarians on this board? Where are the practicioners of Ifa? Where are the Kemetic Priests, Priestesses, initiates, and students? Why are we arguing over the white man's book? When you quote the Bible or the Quran, what you are really saying is, "The people who beat us for over 300 years and raped our women said that God said..." We trust our eternal souls to whites and arabs, and that is why we continue to be exploited and tormented to this day. Do the people from India practice the white man's religion? No! And they own their own homes and businesses, too. Their cosmology is centered, quite correctly, on their own people. Do the Arabs follow the white man's religion? No! And they own every other store in the hood, too. What about the Chinese? No, they tend to their ancestral shrines and follow Buddha. None of these cultures is perfect. No culture is. But when you are bowing down to another culture's vision of Existence, you are automatically limiting yourself.

Please, beloveds- do not turn this into an angry exchange wherein you disrespect and insult me in defense of Massa. My question is simply, when will our discussions on religion include our own??

(Kemetic Priest in training and very excited!)

Sa Kheperu

Hello HatHaruhotep, I have to ask first on what basis do you determine what the Truth is? Please forgive me if I seem aggressive but it seems that for you as long as a belief or culture is African in origin and character then it automatically constitutes the truth and not even for all people but for those that are also African in origin and/or culture. You indicated that because Buddha is a Chinese "creation"(actually Buddhism is originally from India but China will do for argument's sake) that it isthe truthfor the Chinese and that because Islam is derived from Arabs that it is the truth for Arabs but if this is the system by which we determine the truth then what kind of flaws can we expect to run in to? Well for one theEuropean culture and their practices and motivations for imperialism and enslavement of others was a European creation so if the truth is what a race or culture creates then how can we condemn the actions of the Europeans? Our independently developed African beliefs and culture may not approve of such practices but that is only the truth for us right? If European cultures develop beliefs or have traditional beliefsof conquering others then who are we to stop or condemn them? After all it is the truth for them, isnt it? They came up with it.

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Now speaking realistically, I do not believe that such a system is the correct one to use(too much relativity), I believe in absolutes for all people, slavery and imperialismare wrong for us and for them even though they might have a different culture and set of beliefs than us. I believe that Christianity is the correct faith for all and this faith and its teachings were given by a creator God responsible for the origins of all and with equal love for all. The standards for a religion's truth should not bebased onwhich race created it because, as I tried to explain in the previous paragraph, we thenleave ourselves open to the exact treatmentthat you condemned in your post and a race or culture engaging in such behavior could justify their actions because it is based on the original teachings of their traditional beliefs. And with such standards by which to choose the truth who could blame them? After all that is what you are suggesting for us simply on the basis that we are Black and our ancestors were originally from Africa. As far as the Bible goes, it is not at all a white man's book as history and scripture shows us. I will provide a link at the bottom of my post if you would like to read more concerning this matter.

It is very difficult tounderstand how anyone could treat another human being as cruelly as many European colonists did to enslaved Africans, such crimes are indeed horrific and not to be forgotten so that they arenot repeated. But despite how you may feel about this matter I myself find it hard to believe how these samepeople could also be Christians as you will find no justification for such actions and treatment of others in the Bible.

For a good article addressing the idea of the Bible being a "white man's book" check out this site: leaderu.com/everystudent/black/truth/truth2.html

To see information regarding the reliability of the Bible(not corrupted by Europeans or others) visit here: trustbible.com/testament.htm

Finally, to see the other side of the "Christianity is based off of older Kemetic beliefs" claim, visit here: tektonics.org/copycat/osy.html

East_African · (#3 (**permalink**))

HatHaruhotep wrote:

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I see many conversations here about the Bible and the Quran. It seems that many of us are extremely well-versed in Scripture from non-Afrikan cultures, but why haven't we embraced our own cosmology, our own morality, and our own spirituality? If it is true that much of the Quran and Bible are taken from Ancient Kmt, why not cut out the middle man and let your own people nurture your soul?
What is your definition of "african spirtuality " ?If you travel around africa than spirituality will differ from place to place.Some will say "spirits" are their guidance others will say "the bible" and so forth. So really it is a matter of faith.As adrian 7 pointed outbuddhism is thought to have orignated in India. I have also read hinduism was brought to india by "aryan" invaders. So again it is matter of choice it ais duty for every person to search for the truth but when you say "african sprituality" is superior to everything else than you are limiting yourself.
The King James version of the Bible was written...when? At the height of the slave trade (1611). Those pious, moral scribes who collected and compiled the Bible were fed off of the rape of Black women, the molestation of our babies, and the brutal treatment of our brothers. They adulterated the Message with stains of their own racist, sexist, cruel, bizzare "culture" and we have suffered immensely as a result of it. The Quran follows the Wisdom more closely than the Bible, but it too is colored with Arab culture, which is also racist and unapologetically sexist.
What about those that kidnapped their own people to sell them to foriegners. I dont want to get into a big debate about this but werent they are africans? Was their spiritituality superior to those they where sellingthe slaves to idont know to be honest. What itreally comes down to be honest is what your belief. The ethiopia used to rule over southern arabia and the egyptians when to war with cush. The pharoah used to own slaves to. So by your argument one can find flaws in every culture no matter which they claim to follow. I coem from somalia where so many live shave been lsot to "tribal warfare". This is a tradition which goes back thousands of years. But should i say it is right beacuse it is of "African origin".
ing over the white man's book? When you quote the Bible or the Quran, what you are really saying is, "The people who beat us for over 300 years and raped our women said that God said..." We trust our eternal souls to whites and arabs, and that is why we continue to be exploited and tormented to this day. Do the people from India practice the white man's religion? No! And they own their own homes and businesses, too. Their cosmology is centered, quite correctly, on their own people. Do the Arabs follow the white man's religion? No! And they own every other store in the hood, too. What about the Chinese? No, they tend to their ancestral shrines and follow Buddha. None of these cultures is perfect. No culture is. But when you are bowing down to another culture's vision of Existence, you are automatically limiting yourself.
No one is bowing down to someone else culture. Personally as muslim i bow down to God the almighty. you might say that is an arab religion. But that is an opinion nobody can prove it. Millions of people around the world love listening "black music. Should they stop listening to it because it is not of their own culture? Islam and Christianty are followed by millions of peole from different countires world wide. Where as judaism. which is centred around the chosen people look at the hatred they have got over the years. If religion becomes centered around your skin colour or your country than surelt it will be labelled as supemacist ideology especially as we live in a more global world. Just beacuse rastaafrians say that the bible was written for and by black people does it mean that they are correct? just beacuse mr Nation of islam say "white peole are the devil". It doesnt mean they are superior to other forms of spirituality is is what they feel to be truth. So weall shoukd reasearch upon these ideas and decid eupon which we feel is the truth as inviduals.
lease, beloveds- do not turn this into an angry exchange wherein you disrespect and insult me in defense of Massa. My question is simply, when will our discussions on religion include our own??
This depends on what your definition of "our own is" . Freemasonry uses spirituality derived from ancient egypt. if am not mistaken the majority of there followers are white and wealthy. Should african join this justbeacuse it is of africanspiritualty.As i have said before it really comes to what your personal beliefs are.I am an african muslim and proud!
(Kemetic Priest in training and very excited!)

Sa Kheperu

Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects Taghut (evil) and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trust worthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. " (Qur'an 2:256)]

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#4 (**permalink**))

HatHaruhotep wrote:

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Im Hotep Kmt Nu,

I see many conversations here about the Bible and the Quran. It seems that many of us are extremely well-versed in Scripture from non-Afrikan cultures, but why haven't we embraced our own cosmology, our own morality, and our own spirituality? If it is true that much of the Quran and Bible are taken from Ancient Kmt, why not cut out the middle man and let your own people nurture your soul?

........................

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My question is simply, when will our discussions on religion include our own??

(Kemetic Priest in training and very excited!)

Sa Kheperu

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Indeed my brother. I have been making my rounds on the invalidity ofChristianity, Islam, and Judaism with respect to Kemetic spirituality because I have been leading up to the verysame premise ofthis thread(but you beat me here

).

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One of the things that I think is that if Africans actually practiced African spirituality (of whatever form an individual chooses), then most of the superficial boundaries between Black Christians and Muslims (even amongst themselves) would disappear...which would be a cultural, economic, and political renaissance for the African on the continent and throughout the Diaspora.

I must admit that I am not as strong in spirituality as I would wish, but I have learned much about it just from studying Kemetic and Nile Valley civilizations from an archaeological perspective. My current focus is not so much on spirituality, but largely encompasses it given everything in Kemet had a spiritual significance (although trivialized in Museums around the world and by the Euro-centric poisonous perspective). Anyhow, I am curious if the Christians and Muslims will come out in this thread in defense or accord.

P.S. Have you read any of the work by Ra Un Nefer Amen or Moustafa Gadalla in terms of Kemetic spirituality? Do you have anythingyou would suggest picking up to read/study?

East_African · (#5 (**permalink**))

Thoth B3 wrote:

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One of the things that I think is that if Africans actually practiced African spirituality (of whatever form an individual chooses), then most of the superficial boundaries between Black Christians and Muslims (even amongst themselves) would disappear...

If this "superficial boundary" as you call it disappears then how would it solve the problem of africans lining up against each other due to their particualr tribe. Most of africans on the continent attach great importance to the particular tribe they are born into which results in most of the civil wars in africa. Priests took part in the genocide in ruanda regardless of the religion.Inmuslim countries sucha s somalia tribal backing wasput before the religion.

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so the question am putting forward to you is " If in certain cases africans are willing to puttheir tribe before religion,skin colour,or nationality than how do you think that african spirituality can unite them and lead to an economic revival as you call it?

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Shemsi en Tehuti · (#6 (**permalink**))

East_African wrote:

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so the question am putting forward to you is " If in certain cases africans are willing to puttheir tribe before religion,skin colour,or nationality than how do you think that african spirituality can unite them and lead to an economic revival as you call it?

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Ithink thattrue spiritualityteaches us not to create divisiveness for unwarranted reasons. It doesn't mean that certain groups won't continue proudly in their ethnic group or tribalisms, but a mutual respect for each other is understood in Africanspirituality.

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For instance,although Punt,Kush/Nubia, Kemet/Egypt, and Ethiopia were all there own distinct groups in antiquity, theyall came together for the better good of the region wheninvaded by Arabs/Semites and Whites. Nearly every time Egypt was invaded, they recouperated with Ethiopia, Kush, and surrounding African nations.

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Another example is how it was written in both Kemetic and Ethiopian records that Egypt was a colony of Ethiopia. Yet, they hadtheir own distinct cultures that didn't impose on the other because they were both spiritual.In fact, before the Assyrians invadedEgyptabout 600 BCE, the Egyptians allowed the Ethiopians to rule under the agreement of security.The Ethiopianshad a signed treaty with the Palestinians (Hebrews, Arabs,etc)then that if anyone were aggressors on Egypt, that they would defend this frontier until they could arrive with reinforcements. The Palestinians reneged on their part of the deal and let the Assyrians walk right inEgypt's borders. There was no power strugglein Egypt between the Egyptians and Ethiopians; the Ethiopians simply agreed to leave the country since they failed to provide security for the lower Nile.

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Likewise, when there were nomadic or semi-nomadic factions in Nubia that were causing unrest, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Kush, and other surrounding peoples dealt with them (with military)because it was causing incivility in this region of Africa. All of these African nations comprehended this because they were all spiritual and steered away from the dogmatic ideologies of nomadic peoples thatoccurred in some Africans, and as what is notorious of Arabs/Semites and Indo-Europeans.

Bredder Tukoma · (#7 (**permalink**))

Adrian7 wrote:

Sorry but had to butt in here:

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Now speaking realistically, I do not believe that such a system is the correct one to use(too much relativity), I believe in absolutes for all people, slavery and imperialismare wrong for us and for them even though they might have a different culture and set of beliefs than us. I believe that Christianity is the correct faith for all and this faith and its teachings were given by a creator God responsible for the origins of all and with equal love for all.

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So what about the man who lives outside the influence of Western civilisation (which in small pockets of the Earth is a reality) who lives a "good" life.. lives good with his fellow man etc etc.

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Who is a Christian to say that his faith/ or knowledgeis not correct. The position is as preposterous as saying that one sytem of physical medicine is correct for all/ so we can discount acupunture/ spiritual healing etc in light of their success. If its one thing I cannot take about the Christian or Islamic position is this overiding wish/duty that everybody in the world should follow one partiular belief.

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you also said:

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The standards for a religion's truth should not bebased onwhich race created it

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How about the motivation of the race that created it? Or that current form that is followed?

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You have already mentioned that different cultures suchas "European culture and their practices and motivations for imperialism and enslavement of others was a European creation"

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Should notChristianity and its current interpretation / presentation/ omisssions and additions be judged according to the standard of the race who created it. After all they never created theKings James Bible in a vacuum. The same King James that Africans worldwide follow.It would of been in accordance with their needs. Just like the Chinese have done in transfiguring Budda into one of their own.

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Every race on this Earth has their saviour/sage expressed as a representation of themselves. Whether indigenous or an imported religion. Why has the African failed to do the same.. or are we somehow exempt from that normal and statiscally common human trait? Why is the African seemingly afraid to put a black Jesus in his church/ when he will quite willingly bow before a white/ blond haired phenotypical fraud native to Palestine..and say colour doesnt matter?

HatHaruhotep · (#8 (**permalink**))

East_African wrote:

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HatHaruhotep wrote:

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INo one is bowing down to someone else culture. Personally as muslim i bow down to God the almighty. you might say that is an arab religion. But that is an opinion nobody can prove it. Millions of people around the world love listening "black music. Should they stop listening to it because it is not of their own culture? Islam and Christianty are followed by millions of peole from different countires world wide. Where as judaism. which is centred around the chosen people look at the hatred they have got over the years. If religion becomes centered around your skin colour or your country than surelt it will be labelled as supemacist ideology especially as we live in a more global world. Just beacuse rastaafrians say that the bible was written for and by black people does it mean that they are correct? just beacuse mr Nation of islam say "white peole are the devil". It doesnt mean they are superior to other forms of spirituality is is what they feel to be truth. So weall shoukd reasearch upon these ideas and decid eupon which we feel is the truth as inviduals.

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The point of Islam is to live the Sunna. That means TO IMITATE AN ARAB (MOHAMMED). Can you do your prayers (Salat) in English?You mean you can't even go to a mosque and talk to God inyour own language???But I thought Islam was universal!!

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Whose cultural laws concerning inheritance, divorce, and marriage do you follow? THE ARABS. If your wife wants to go to the mosque, whose garb does she have to put on? THE ARABS. And finally, you had to use THE ARAB'S BOOK to prove your point, which was exactly my point.

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Finally, someone should have told THE ARABS that there should be no compulsion in religion, and then perhaps they would not have SPREAD ISLAM BY THE SWORD throughout Afrika and Asia. Isn't it also interesting that THE ARABS choose to sell, of all people, AFRIKANS into slavery in Yemen and Saudi Arabia? But I thought Islam was universal!

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