Black History is Our History: An Unlikely Conversion
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Introduction: The Curse of Ham
Introduction: The Curse of Ham
Today we are continuing our series Black History is Our History as we celebrate black history month. When we use the phrase “our history” we are saying the church’s history. Black history is the church’s history, because black people are in the Bible and are all over the pages of church history.
However, we do know by our general understanding of history that black people and people of color in general are not always respected and valued as the humans they are. This is uniquely difficult to accept because the Bible is filled with ethnic groups/ people of color. Yet, there has been a deep attempt to marginalize people of color, particularly black people.
In 1837 the painter and theorist Jacques Nicolas Paillot de Montabert wrote:
White is the symbol of Divinity or God;
Black is the symbol of the evil spirit or the demon.
White is the symbol of light . . .
Black is the symbol of darkness and darkness expresses all evils.
White is the emblem of harmony;
Black is the emblem of chaos.
White signifies supreme beauty;
Black ugliness.
White signifies perfection;
Black signifies vice.
White is the symbol of innocence;
Black, that of guilt, sin, and moral degradation.
White, a positive color, indicates happiness;
Black, a negative color, indicates misfortune.
The battle between good and evil is symbolically expressed
By the opposition of white and black.
This explanation or theory was used to guide other artist into the dynamics of depicting people in their art. The question is: why would an artist and theorist come up with these kind of ideas?
Many people have felt that these ideas are confirmed and validated by the Bible. The contrast of light and darkness is a clear suggestion of the negative connotations that follow dark-skinned people. Others have alluded to the curse of Ham that, in their mind, clearly point to the natural enslavement of dark-skinned people.
However, the truth is, the Bible says nothing about dark-skinned people and their inevitable relationship with slavery or any other negative living condition. So where does it come from?
Slavery and the supposed natural relationship to black people is man’s attempt to separate one another on the basis of economic, political, and cultural dynamics—and it unique people groups that determine the subjugation of a particular group of people based on their skin color, ethnicity, and poverty.
In the first and second century, philosophers like Philo of Alexandria began forming philosophical and theological ideas about the relationship between dark-skinned (Ethiopians) and lighter-skinned individuals—creating the allusion that darkness is evil and light is divine and godly. So, we now see that the ideas of the 19th century poet is not his own, but that of ancient Greek philosophers. Other opinions concerning Ethiopians as being barbaric and uncivilized or less civilized were common as well. As a result, the church fathers followed suit in depicting black people as immoral, uncivilized, and without courage though intelligent and sometimes, attractive.
Again we must emphasize—none of these ideas originate from the Bible. Rather, they are a result of man’s fallen nature and his attempt to dominate what cannot be dominated—man’s dominance of other men. And such a gross attempt to disrupt God’s harmonious creation is a sin issue. Again, racism is a sin issue we must combat with the gospel.
So, if anyone asks you, why is your church talking about racism? Shouldn’t we move past that? Your response, “Racism is an issue in the world, and has been for a long time. As a disciple-making, gospel sharing church, we must confront this issue with the message of Jesus Christ.”
The Ethiopian Eunuch
The Ethiopian Eunuch
BLACK MAN. All of this is important to our text today, because we are studying an Ethiopian eunuch. Ethiopia was the place of the dark-skinned. And this place is referenced throughout Scripture. At times, the Hebrew word Cush is used, and at times, the Greek Ethiopia is used. However, the group is prevalent throughout Scripture and is a reference to black Africans. Cushites were known as being powerful in the ancient world and their dominance ranges for over 2,000 years.
Yet, by this time, the negative stereotypes concerning Ethiopians were enormous. Luke is obviously aware of these ideas and makes a point to let the audience know, this eunuch was Ethiopian. He was a black man, and because of his blackness his salvation and place in the family of God would have been questionable.
AUTHORITY. The text is clear about demonstrating this black man’s authority. He was a treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia. He had status, reputation, and responsibility. I cannot neglect mentioning how dignified this man appears in the text, which I feel is Luke’s way of addressing the negative stereotypes of Ethiopians during this time.
EUNUCH. Lastly, we find that this man is a eunuch, which creates serious problems for his current situation. He was a worshipper of Yahweh. Yet, he was not fully accepted by the people of Yaweh.
In Deuteronomy 23:1 and Leviticus 21:18-21 eunuchs were prohibited from worshipping before God and serving in the temple as priests. Yet this man is traveling back home from worshipping in Jersualem. With the odds stacked against him, what did this man see? What was the conviction and the matter of provocation for him?
I see the Ethiopian eunuch as the individual who has been pursuing something that seems to be hopeless. He’s been counted out, avoided, and discredited. Yet, he cannot allow himself to give up.
There are a few things we gather from this text:
He is courageous.The black eunuch is not afraid to pursue what others have said is not his to have.
He is a learner. He is engaging in self-learning as he reads the book of Isaiah.
He is humble. He is able to be taught.
The Gospel: Hope for a Black Eunuch
The Gospel: Hope for a Black Eunuch
We asked the question earlier about what could possibly keep this man going. The answer is in the book he’s reading. You see, Luke is not accidental in including the salvation of this eunuch. The point is that black eunuchs are included in the family of God (Isaiah 56:3-5; Matthew19:12)