There is the Ethiopian version, forget what its called (coptic?) but for the most part our churches seem to letting the side down when it comes to saving the youths/community from crime and violence on the streets let alone helping to safe guard against exploitation regarding the cause in general.

First it was the white blonde blue eyed jesus probably still a feature in many homes but the core issue has to be with the translation of the texts themselves, no avoiding the ''out of heathen africa'' story implied within I guess but as the English felt no way about translating the bible into something that suited them theres no reason why we on the continent and in the diaspora shouldn't have our own version, even the Americans have their own translation to suit their needs.

What would christians on board think or feel about an AFRICAN BIBLICAL TRANSLATION?

i have no problem as long as it comes from the original texts. I do not want a european or an african version. the bible precept is that it is from God. So with God being prefect there context of what is said should not conflict.

men take religions and make them support their agendas. "If" there is a God, then He will of course make sure that His Word is true. Man's word will not survive unless it concurs with the eternal God.

If there were no God then no man would rule me without much effort.

The NEED for a Black Bible Is Paramount and Imperative.

what is a black bible...?

I think coptics are on top of it. they are more orthodox than the majority of American or european christians. descendents of the queen of sheba i believe....
jamaicans (rastas) added the emperor as the Savior....

i would rather my bible be coour blind, or even more so be led by HIS spirit to the truth rather than depend on just one thing

a wing and a prayer

I think I agree with you LadyDay.

I came into Christianity doubting and trying to prove that God did not exist. As I read and began to see beyond what is seen into the spiritual realm. I began to see that their is Divine providence.

I was a skeptic and sought after the more attractive 'religions' especially from the dark regions. I loved meditation and yoga. Out of body experiences were awesome. American Indian mysticism and peyote was eerie but powerful.

Being from Louisiana voodoo and hoodoo were always something to stay away from. I have seen the results of hexes and wanted no part of that. Louisiana women are known for their way with food and drink. The only food I trusted was my mother's and grandmothers' cooking.

God has not failed me yet.

I am just bewildered at how a forum that is supposed to be pronouncedly African can discuss translating the Bible (of all books) into an African version, when the Bible itself is a distortion of original African texts in the first place. What seems the most logical (and self-respecting), would be to analyze how the Bible has been distorted from its original meanings amongst our African ancestors.

Analyze the book of Proverbs to the Instructions of Amenhotep (most strikingly), Instructions of Ptah, Instructions of Pianhke, as well as the "Instructions" of many different Pharaohs collected by the royal scribes of Nubia, Kush, and Egypt.

Analyze the creation story of Genesis with the creation story in the Nile Valley with the beginning was the Nun (formlessness), where the first perfect man was the Atum (which directly translates to "Adam" in Hebrew). Furthermore, the "Tree of Life" was central to African mythos where the tree with the serpent Nebkha (with legs) hands a red fruit to the woman under the tree. This image is painted in several Egyptian tombs and engraved on the sarcophogus of many Pharaohs including Pepi II, and many of the Ramesside kings (Ramses IV, V, etc.) which predate the writing of the Biblical Genesis story by over 1,000 years.

If you can read Hebrew, then analyze how everytime the Bible says "my LORD" in its English translation it is actually translating the Hebrew word Adonai. If you transliterated Adonai to the ancient Egyptian, it means the Aten, which was the principle aspect of God worshipped by Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) where his "Hym to the Aten" seems to find itself copied into Psalms 104.

If you further study the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, you will find that his two high priests were Pinhas and Merari, where you will find these to be the high priests of Moses (Akhenaten) in the Bible, Phineas and Meryre. Looking at writings attributed to them also turn up being copied into the Bible, although again with a distorted meaning from hundreds of years of Indo-European/Semitic culturation.

You will find these things all the way upto and including Jesus Christ, where he resurrected a man by the name Lazarus, but in its Semitic language it is "El Azar" which means "the God Ausar". Jesus is said to be a king in the Bible, yet the resurrection of Ausar was a principle ceremony of Egyptian kings to validate their spiritual ascendency to the throne.

I could go on and on here, but I just have to ask one question in the midst of all this talk that is totally neglectful of our own heritage...where is the self-love, self-respect, and dignity? Perhaps we have none, but just humor ourselves now.

Shemsi en Tehuti:

Brother you have a zeal that I admire to be sure. You are very articulate and knowledgable especially about our heritage. I admire that and only wish that at your age I was all the more into that rather than the things I was.

I know that we grind against each other so often (iron sharpeneth iron) and I have no misconception that I am looked upon as a out of date old *&^%$$#(&^$@#@ black man. I have no problem with that as you can see. Friend I am closer to your train of thought than you think.

But in the study of strategy I also learn that you can not close your mind even to the corruption of the world and bury down in your reality. Life is not that simple. You do not go to way withthought first counting the cost.

Shemsi, we are not ready for war even of the mind as a people. I certainly have groups of conscious blacks that I know as do you, but the majority are only struggling for the baser things and wil not even give ear let alone time to work for the betterment of our race and the human race in particular.

Where we differ is in how we do this very needed thing of raising our people up. I do not think we need to call every thing unafrican corrupt. I do agree though that it is worth a look into the spiritual mind of Africa and see what prophesies were true and which may still loom ahead.

I would like to cool our adversarial relationship and begin one where we can dialogue. If my being a Christian is threatening to you then show me where and I will be glad to show you the misgivings of that concept. And if it is merely a fictional mindset that I have been drawn into humor me and show me the errors of my thinking more so that just telling me that I am a slave brainwashed by white people. If believing in Jesus is worst that believing in imhotep or writings on the pyramids etc. then show me.

Belief is a personal thing. You don't win me to your's by putting mine down. One thing that is not good that I see is that our intelligencia is missing the chance to begin the drawing in but being aloof. I have learned to be humble and have a much greater ability to reach people that many academes that I know of any race. I have but another 20 + years and I hope to begin to publish.

I know that I don't show a lot of promise as a writer to you guys, but I promise you that I can strut with the best and have works pending. My writing style is for effect more than affect or visa versa.

I am not pulling your leg about the admiration I have for you...as I said I really don't care if you like me or not. Peace...

Bro. Shemsi En-Tehuti. THIS IS THE VERY REASON WHY WE NEED A BLACK BIBLE.
Exactly and Especially for the reasons you have mentioned. This is not a New Idea.
BOTH Hons. Prof Cheikh Anta Diop AND Josef Ben-Jochanan Have stated time and time again that WE need a Black Bible based on Our Historical perspective
and taught by using Anthropology, Archaeology, Ethnology And Linguistics.!!!
This is especially in reference to Native Black Americans here In The Western
Hemisphere.
Shalom El-Hetep, My Brother and Group Members.!!!

I agree that we need a spiritual/historical book from a Pan-African perspective, and if you want to call it "Bible" then so be it (although I'd prefer another name, as it comes from the Greek term byblos meaning "papyrus"). However, what people are talking about here is translating the garbage already there (eg. the Bible) into an African version. If anyone has done even remedial computer programming, they know the concept of GIGO; garbage in, garbage out. Nothing spiritually or culturally fruitful could possibly come from such a witless exercise.

One problem with people who are muslim and non christian calling for a "black" or "chinese" or "russian" bible is how would you prepose that it be written, who would write it and what would perspective would they employ in bringing it together?

I would think that muslims and non christians would rather expouse their believe or non belief. I don't worry about what the koran says or any other books says. My book simply is the bible and what it says. As I have stated many times I entered Christianity as a skeptic looking to find away to be rid of it with most of the same arguments that most use on here. the more I searched the more I found just what you are saying that what Jesus taught and God spoke through Moses and the prophets was not new. Man has a heart for what is right and as the bible says, we basically are inexcusable. We know that murder is not right. I know before I steal your wallet that it is not right but yet I make the decision and choice to do so. God spoke to men in sundry times the bible says.

God sent His will to men by men through the heart of men at all different times. A great story to me was the one about the Assyrian General that had leposy and there was a young israeli made who had been taken as a spoil of war who worked in his house hold. How even knowing the commanders actions against her people she still told him of a man of God in a villiage who was able to cure him. He ended up giving glory to the God of Elisha even being a heathen. And let's not forget the Nebuchadezza and what he said after the three boys were come from the furnace without even the scent of fire on them.

Again I would not think a muslim or non christian would even want to do anything to promote christianity. Unless of course the "black bible" has an alterior motive...

The Bible and Qur'an are intrinsically anti-African, therefore any perspective of promoting Christianity or Islam, whether from a so called "Black" perspective or not, is self-negating.