A few years ago, a friend of the family came over to visit. She asked if she could gain my viewpoint on a particular situation.
She told me that she was previously in a relationship with a Jehovah’s witness. Although he had not been practicing as an adult and was not regularly attending services, nevertheless he had grown up and been raised as a Jehovah’s witness. Also, he still held strongly to many areas of the doctrine taught by the Jehovah’s witnesses.

She said previously they had been sexually active and knew that was wrong, but because of the duration of the relationship and the fun times they had shared, she had fallen in love with him. She later went on to tell me that she stopped the relationship because of the guilt she sensed and over time has reconsidered beginning to date him again only if they remain abstinent.

Her question then to me was:

“Gavilan, if we remain abstinent, do you feel that it is ok to date and possibly marry a Jehovah’s witness?

Now to say that I was surprised by the question would have been an understatement primarily because she attends a Southern Baptist Church REGULARLY. I myself having spent 8 years attending Southern Baptist American and Hispanic churches, am very familiar with the style of teaching which is labeled by many in Christian circles as “fundamentalism” which is the direct opposite versus “Liberalism”.
Because of this and her background, it was difficult for me to formulate an answer without saying something harsh immediately.
Then on the other hand, I thought about the state of many churches I have been apart of or have seen and can attest to the large amount of women attendee’s in comparison with their men counterpart.

According to USA Today, “Women outnumber men in attendance in every major Christian denomination, and they are 20% to 25% more likely to attend worship at least weekly.” The 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS) confirms those statistics. Their survey revealed that an average American congregation is roughly 61% female and 39% male.
Finding a Christian man can be challenging for many women, especially a Christian man who is active in his faith with Jesus.

Thinking about these things, I could understand why she was considering this. I mentioned to her certain scriptures that are very straight to the point like for instance 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (Message Translation)

Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple?

She was familiar with the passage, but quickly brought up that he is not a total rejecter of God.

That’s actually not true….

Jehovah’s Witnesses do in fact reject that Jesus was God in flesh.
John 1:1 in every orthodox translation I have ever read, reads something along the lines of:
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word WAS God”.
Verse 14 ends up revealing that the Word in fact was Jesus.
But in the New World Bible, the Jehovah Witness’s translation, has one changed Word that alters the ENTIRE meaning of “their New Testament”.
Theirs reads:
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was A god.
Subtle difference, but huge ramifications…

In the book published by the Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society and distributed by Jehovah’s Witnesses is basically their additional bible which actually lays out all of their teachings. The book is called “What does the Bible REALLY teach?”

On page 41, Jesus is listed as a “Spirit Creature“. On pages 98-100, Satan and other demons are also listed as Spirit Creatures.
On pages 218-219, Jesus is taught to be Michael the Archangel which makes him a Spirit Creature!

This view is totally different from what we read not only in John 1:1, but also other passages of scripture where the divinity of Jesus is so clearly displayed that an Unbeliever could at least agree that that is what the bible is saying.

Scriptures like Philippians 2:5-7:

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, becoming human!

Talking to religious leaders of his day Jesus said this in John 8,
Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad”. The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM! At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.”
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New testament rhetorically asked his audience a list of questions in his opening chapter:
For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.[a]”
God also said,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”[b]
6 And when he brought his supreme[c] Son into the world, God said,[d]
“Let all of God’s angels worship him.”[e]
7 Regarding the angels, he says,
“He sends his angels like the winds,
his servants like flames of fire.”[f]
8 But to the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God (referring to Jesus), endures forever and ever.
You rule with a scepter of justice.
9 You love justice and hate evil.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”[g]
10 He also says to the Son,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain forever.
They will wear out like old clothing.
12 You will fold them up like a cloak
and discard them like old clothing.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.”[h]
13 And God never said to any of the angels,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”[i]

From just a few passages it is very clear that Jesus is not portrayed in the bible as some regular individual or just another angel, but in fact the bible REALLY teaches He is the Son of God. This a very big deal.

Although we have focused on Jehovah’s witnesses, God in actuality does not want us marrying anyone whose faith is not in Jesus Christ. We can’t marry people who belong to other religions and expect them to “Change Later”.

Many people have fallen into this trap and think that if they live a godly life, it will cause the man or woman to want Christ. While this is a possibility, you don’t enter into a marriage under God with this in mind. It doesn’t matter how nice, courteous, catering, sweet-talking, how many Abs he can fit into 1 chest, nor her shape and figure, marrying a non-believer is dangerous.
Solomon, the son of David and the Wisest Man to ever live, was given his wisdom by God. People from all over the known world came to see and observe him. His wisdom poured out into the book of proverbs is so mind blowing, I know unbelievers today who read and discuss it!

Yet in 1 Kings 11, the writer records that Solomon had a change in circumstances that not only changed the direction of his life but affected the state of Israel for years to come.

He started marrying women outside of Israel. His first mistake was marrying an Egyptian woman then he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and etc.
You’re probably saying “what’s wrong with Solomon marrying women from nations outside of Israel. Well when you marry someone you don’t just take on the person, but you take on everything that comes along with them. Not only did Solomon receive these wives, but these wives also brought their customs, religions, practices with them.

Solomon may have thought “surely I can be an influence over them and they will serve the God of Israel”, but in actuality according to verse 3 his wives turned his heart away from God.

Solomon would go on to do unfathomable things. He abandoned all the practices that were instituted by Moses and now was fully committed to serving the false idol gods from these other countries. Not just for himself, but he turned Israel on to these practices as well.
All because he thought he could change these women…

See we can’t change people spiritually, only God can do that. A person might be able to conform their actions for a “period of time”, but eventually they will revert back to who they truly are unless the Spirit of the Living God comes in and changes their Stony heart into a Heart of Flesh (Ezekiel 36:26, 2 Corinthians 8:10)

Not only can we not date people from other religions, but we can’t even date every Christian!
Reading this right now you might be thinking what?!?
Let me further explain…

My former pastor Dr. Rick V. Layton about 15 years ago taught a series of messages on Relationships for about a span of 2 months. Two of his messages within that series was dedicated to people who were single titled “21 Questions to ask a potential Spouse”. Now I don’t still have the notes readily accessible, but I will never forget the first 2 questions.

Question #1 was “Are you a Christian”?

I remember him stating that if they say no to this question there is no need to continue with the other 20 questions and this is not a potential mate.

Question #2 “What kind of Christian are you”?

He went on to expound that If you are a Christian who for example studies the word diligently, spends time with God every day, attends church not just on Sunday but during the week, believes in giving a portion of your finances consistently, serves regularly in different capacities within your ministry and etc. and you go marry a person who only reads their bible when directed during the Sunday Sermon by the pastor, doesn’t spend any of their personal time with God, never attends during the week and if they do attend on Sundays they act totally disinterested, sees themselves as the one in need and doesn’t see a need to give anything, goes to their current church because the services are over in about an hour and has no desire to serve in any capacity in the ministry.
This person might be a born-again believer, they might have their name written in the lamb’s book of life, they might already be seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, but much like Solomon they have allowed this fallen World to have more influence on their thinking than the Word of God and because of that, they’re living like a Christian Atheist! Believing in God, but living as if He doesn’t exist!

Marrying somebody who is not on the same level in your walk with Christ or anywhere remotely close is not a good idea. Trust me, this is going to cause problems further down the road. Before marrying, you should want to eliminate as many red flags as possible. Marriage is already challenging because 2 people from different backgrounds have come together and are in the lifelong process of becoming one through the help of the Holy Spirit. Don’t allow their attractiveness to overshadow what Holy Spirit is trying to communicate with you.
You might be saying:

But Brother Gavilan “My options are limited. All the men/women who are dedicated to God are ALREADY MARRIED. My whole life is going to pass away before I find a spouse who meets all the criteria you mentioned”!
Many people today in the body who are single focus on what they do NOT have and don’t focus what they do have:

Having the freedom to serve God in any capacity that they choose.

Paul once wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35:

“I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”

The Apostle Paul was in no way discouraging Christians from marrying, but he wanted to give them another perspective that sometimes for a duration of our earthly life, it might be best to wait and do all what God has in your heart before the Husband/wife, the 1,2,3,4 children and etc. come along.

Once you get married, there are many responsibilities that come with this union. Your wife isn’t going to be trying to hear
“I got to go to the church because we got X, Y, and Z going on”,
but the electricity off in the house because you aren’t working a job. Likewise, that husband isn’t going to want to hear about you serving at the rescue mission by feeding the homeless and cleaning up their facility and your house is a mess and the words “home cooked meal” is a forgotten phrase.
Be thankful for whatever situation you are currently in and trust God. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 6:33 to
“Seek first the kingdom of God ABOVE everything and everything else you need will be provided for you.”

Trust God that in His timing, He will provide the kind of mate that not only you desire, but one that he desires for you.
If God could make water come forth from a Rock to nourish the Children of Israel while in the desert, then surely, he can provide a spouse that will not only love you, but ABOVE all LOVE his son Jesus.

Have you ever been so surprised by a statement that upon hearing it you were literally at a loss for words???

One morning a while back, I noticed that the rear driver side tire was just about completely flat on one of my cars. I aired it up temporarily, but knew it was going to need servicing later.

After getting finished with my work for that day, I headed to a tire shop I was familiar with in a neighborhood that I lived in for a long time. While I was waiting on the tire work to be completed, I noticed a rather large milk truck pulling in to the shop. This wasn’t just any milk truck.

It was a FULLY customized milk truck with religious wording on every side. Across the driver and passenger side printed in huge letters was “Truth Seekers“. A black man gets out the truck and is dressed in ALL black. He’s got a t-shirt on that says “Holy Ghost Power”. Across his belt says “Tool of God”. The hat he was wearing even had religious wording on it.

I have to admit I was impressed lol.

So I asked what form of ministry he was in? He paused, gave me a funny look, and then went into “educating me” in this long spill using BIG words making him sound super intellectual in a spiritual way.

I felt like I was listening to a “Religious Version” of Stephen A. Smith.

Nothing he said really ever made sense even though on the surface it “sounded cool”. We went on like this for a little while and I’m thinking to myself he’s just one of those “super deep” Christians lol.

Midway through the conversation I sensed Holy Spirit wanting me to ask

“What he believed happens after we die?”

Which in my mind was ridiculous to ask because I’m looking at his appearance and his vehicle and hearing him talk and I figured that would be a ridiculous question.
But I yielded and asked him anyway and He says

“Nothing”

So I responded

“Are you saying you don’t believe in a Heaven and Hell”?

He responds

“No such thing. No such thing. This life we living right now is either your Heaven or Hell”.

At this point I was in UTTER SHOCK to say the least and was at a loss of words for about 10 seconds.

Just in case you forgot his t-shirt said HOLY GHOST POWER for goodness sake!?! I was NOT expecting him to say that!

So by this time I felt the need to share the gospel. Everything I “assumed” about his beliefs went out the door. “Assuming” he was familiar with the bible I asked his thoughts on John 3:16.

He ends up telling me that the scripture is about Jesus saving us from perishing without knowledge of who we really are as “BLACK MEN”.

He finishes up by telling me he was God (my eyebrows touched my hairline when he said that) and that his job is going out to awaken other young black brothers depraved of TRUE knowledge “such as myself” that we are Gods as well and that he hopes to see us liberated from the “White Man’s RELIGION“.

Which leads me to my topic question…

Is Christianity actually the “White Man’s Religion”?

Have I been deceived all my life?

If you are of African descent, have you been deceived as well?

Now this was not the first nor the last time I heard something along these lines from someone which is one of the primary reasons I decided to delve into this topic because if this is true, hundreds of millions of people have been conned into something that is a flat out lie.

I remember reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X and him being quoted as saying:

“Christianity is a religion DESIGNED for SLAVES and Negro Preachers are a CURSE to the Black Man“.

Just like Malcolm, EVERY person that I’ve spoken to over the last decade who hold to this line of thinking at some point in the conversation refer to the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade that took place over the course of several hundred years. I honestly don’t have the best words to describe that period, but it was ATROCIOUS.

According to Phillip Curtin’s book “The Atlantic Slave trade: A Census“, for about 400 years of operation, the Atlantic Slave trade removed approximately 11.7 million people from West and Central Africa with the intention of making them slaves in Europe, the Americas, or on islands off the coast of Africa. Only about 10 million according to him made it to their destination. The rest died while in port, during the sea voyage, or upon arrival in a new land. Other historians for example John Henrik Clark in his book “Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust” have thrown out numbers as large as 100 million Africans were taken! Whether it was 10 or 100 million, The Atlantic Slave Trade was one of the most devastating events in WORLD HISTORY.

People were ripped away from there families and communities and taken to some foreign land where they were treated like ANIMALS/PROPERTY which is why some refer to that period of time as Chattel Slavery.

To be honest in my opinion, animals were treated FAR BETTER than them.

Conditions on board of the ship were appalling. The men were packed together below deck and were secured by leg irons. The space was so cramped they were forced to crouch or lie down. Women and children were kept in separate quarters, sometimes on deck, allowing them limited freedom of movement, but this also exposed them to violence and sexual abuse from the crew.
Below is a picture of the Slave ship “Brooks” circulated by some Abolitionists in the 18th century

The air in those quarters was foul and disgusting. Usually because of dead bodies and especially Feces (Poop) EVERYWHERE. Seasickness was common and the heat was oppressive. The lack of sanitation and suffocating conditions meant there was a constant threat of disease. Epidemics of fever and smallpox were frequent. Captives endured these conditions for about two months, sometimes longer!
The combination of disease, inadequate food, and punishment took a heavy toll on the slaves. Surviving records suggest that until the 1750’s one in five Africans on board the ship died before arrival. Many Africans, if having the opportunity, jumped into the ocean to their death. Seeing that as BETTER than living out the rest of their life as a slave to the White man.

So for many African Americans this is still to this day a VERY sensitive issue including myself about what took place to our ancestors and rightfully so.

Regardless of what our current president believes, America was NOT GREAT during this time.

White Americans wanted to strip these newly transported Africans of everything they once knew. They were FORCED to take on new names, FORCED to learn and talk in a new language, and also FORCED away from any of their “Heathen Religions” of old into believing the teachings from the BIBLE. White Americans saw this as a means to help bring the slaves into a form of mental bondage which they felt would keep the Slaves from revolting which was always at their UTMOST CONCERN.

Many White American Preachers particularly in the South would use SPECIALLY SELECTED SCRIPTURES from the bible to keep the slaves in submission. Despite well-known incidences such as the Slave Revolt in Haiti (1791) the unfulfilled revolts of Gabriel Prosser (1800) and Denmark Vessey (1822), Nat Turner’s Revolt (1831), and a myriad of others, this strategy was very successful in large part by the Slave Owners. Many slaves at FIRST saw embracing this religion as a way to please their slave masters hopefully diverting further punishment against themselves.
As some slaves began to learn to read, they learned that much of what Slave Masters taught was NOT ACCURATE and they were MISLEADING them by incorrectly teaching the bible e.g. Nat Turner. Also many of the events recorded in both the Old and New testament of the bible brought a sense of peace and hope to the slaves. According to E.E. Cleveland in his book “Free at Last”, The hope for the African was that one day just like the children of Israel suffered under the hands of the Egyptians, they too would escape the suffering from the White Europeans/Americans and eventually make it to Heaven.

And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7-11

Now even though African slaves found peace and hope in passages such as these in what they read and heard within the pages of the bible, it doesn’t mean necessarily we should be wasting our time with it in Christianity today.

If Christianity was some “clever scheme” developed by White Europeans/Americans to keep African Slaves in bondage and from revolting then we are currently and have been wasting our time for hundreds of years.

But here is the thing that every single time people who hold to this line of thinking have failed to either bring up knowingly during my conversations with them or on many occasions quite frankly just didn’t know.

Christianity is NOT a religion founded by White Europeans.

Christianity did not START in the 1500’s as a means to give African slaves false hope during their time of captivity.

On the contrary, Christianity had been going on BEFORE the “Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade”.

Christianity actually began during the reign of one of the greatest and most known empires of the world:

The Roman Empire (330 B.C- A.D. 410)

Historians both Religious & Secular (Non-Christian) date the beginning of Christianity around the year A.D. 30.

This is almost 1600 years BEFORE the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.

Also

Christianity is the most DOCUMENTED WORLD Religion by far.

It’s not even close.

The ridiculous assertion from Black critics such as Yosef Ben Jochannan in his book ” A Chronology of the Bible” and a myriad of other popular Afrocentrists over the last century and a half that the bible was ALTERED by “Whites” to condone slavery and deceive blacks up to present day is completely UNFACTUAL and down right DECEPTIVE.

In order to know the truth of what was originally written BEFORE the African Slave Trade all you have to do is be willing to learn a new language…

KOINE (Common) Greek

Koine Greek was the language that the 27 letters in the New Testament were originally written.

You might be thinking right now…

“Why would the New Testament be written in Greek if Jesus and his disciples spoke and knew Hebrew and Aramaic and the Old Testament was written in these languages as well?

Because during the time these letters were written (A.D. 50-90), Greek was the common language in the Known World. Even for most Hebrews, the MOST popularly read “Old Testament” during this time was the Greek Septuagint. Also since Jesus commanded his followers to go into ALL the World and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), What language made the most sense to write letters in???

The one most COMMON: KOINE GREEK

There are over 5,700 Greek manuscripts housed in museums around the World. The oldest manuscript to date is a fragment from the Gospel of John identified as P52 (Papyrus 52- Papryus is a type of material that was used by scribes to make copies of the scriptures on during this time).

It can be located in the Rylands Museum in Manchester, United Kingdom.

CRITICS: I mentioned that just in case you wanted to take some vacation time off and travel there to verify it 🙂

It is 2 sided with the front containing John 18:31-33 and the back containing John 18: 37-38. Secular (Non- Christian) Critics such as Bart Erhman have even conceded the date of this fragment from within the MID SECOND CENTURY (A. D. 160).
As I stated earlier, it is definitely TRUE that Whites mislead and deceived African slaves by taking certain passages out of context from the bible, but completely FALSE that they made changes to the bible because of the evidence of the Greek manuscripts from over a 1500 years prior.

Now I would like to mention this FACT:

No matter who you are or where you live, we are ALL biased towards something. Our present thinking has been shaped in many ways by where we were born, our parents and the environment of our upbringing, the religious backgrounds to which we have been introduced and raised in, friends, teachers, professors, television, social media and etc.

Why do I mention this you say?

Because one important factor to properly understand many of the things that are said within the bible is to understand the context with which is was written in.

It’s going to be pretty hard to understand any of it if you’re attempting to read a

1st CENTURY text through “21st CENTURY EYES”.

For example, When you come across scriptures such as 1 Peter 2:18-20 and PETER is giving instructions to SLAVES who have converted to Christianity, you have to keep in mind this was during the Roman Empire NOT THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE.
There is a huge difference between the two when talking about SLAVERY. According to Roman-Greco Historian Mark Cartwright during the Roman Empire:

1. Slavery was NOT based on SKIN COLOR but was a CLASS-BASED SYSTEM.
2. A lot of slaves were captured during war against other countries.
3. Some even sold themselves into Slavery for instance if they were very impoverished.
4. As much as one third of the Roman population were slaves, and another third had been slaves earlier in life. It was common for freeborn men and women to work side-by-side with slaves as street sweepers, dockworkers, households, agriculture, mines, the military, manufacturing workshops, construction and a wide range of services within the city.
5. A lot of Slaves were WELL-EDUCATED and held what we consider today very prestigious positions e.g. Accountants, Physicians and Teachers.
6. Roman Slave Owners freed their slaves outright sometimes or in some cases allowed the Slaves to buy their freedom. After buying their freedom, some even became Roman Citizens and in some cases became SLAVES OWNERS THEMSELVES. One famous example was the freedman C. Caecilius Isidorus who would eventually own over 4,000 slaves!

NONE of previous statements I just made sound anything like what was experienced in the Americas during the TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE.

Christianity on the other hand has been EMBRACED by Africans since the PHYSICAL (not mental) Resurrection of Christ.

One of the FIRST Gentile (Non-Jewish) converts mentioned after the ascension of Jesus into heaven is from:

AFRICA

In Acts of the Apostles 8: 26-40, We find the account of the ETHIOPIAN Eunuch and Phillip crossing paths:

And there was an Ethiopian, eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this (Isaiah 53):

Critics: If White Christians during slavery crafted/ twisted the scripture texts (as some have asserted to me), why would they have a Black African riding in AUTHORITY, on a CHARIOT, in charge of TREASURE with a scroll and then show the Jewish Christian Phillip walking on foot?!?

Makes no sense!

Critics: “Well, that’s just stuff out of the Bible, I do NOT TRUST/BELIEVE the Bible. Unless there’s evidence outside of the Bible I do NOT believe it.

 Did you know that….

Three of the most famous Theologians and Apologists from Early Christian Church history are from AFRICA:

Origen (182-254 A.D.) was the second leader at the Famous School of Alexandria in Egypt.

Tertullian (160-220 A.D.) Great author and apologist who defended the the Doctrine of the Trinity. He also made the famous statement,

“What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”

He was referring to the difference between “Man’s thoughts” (Philosophy) and God’s Word (Theology).

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.)

He was a major figure in bringing Christianity to dominance in the previously pagan Roman Empire.

*NONE of these AFRICANS were Slaves by the way*

ALSO

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Powerful African Kingdoms such as Wakanda (I’m Kidding)

Being Serious now…

Powerful African Kingdoms for example in Ethiopia embraced Christianity when Ancestral worship was very common in neighboring countries.

One of the most famous African Kingdoms was led by…

KING EZANA

The 4th century King of Aksum, which was a powerful nation within Ethiopia, was converted to Christianity.

*King Ezana was NOT FORCED into Christianity, on the contrary He EMBRACED it*

So much so that afterwards he declared Aksum as a Christian Nation!

We have archaeological evidence of this because King Ezana inscribed on several stones such as these about his conversion to Christianity and also recorded his victorious conquests.

Coins made also by the Aksumites bear a cross behind King Ezana were discovered throughout the 20th Century.

Some of these coins are being housed currently at the British Museum in London, England.

CRITICS: Just in case you wanted to use some of your vacation time and go there 🙂

What is it that these few Africans from long ago mentioned above could see in the beauty of the Christian Gospel?

The same PERSON I saw over a decade ago which is WHO I hope you can see right now…

JESUS

Every human being who has ever lived has something in common:

We are all DISEASED.

A quick study of some of the world’s largest religions such as Islam (5 pillars), Hinduism (read the Bhagavad Gita), Buddhism (8 Fold Path) will show that they all attempt at trying to deal with this disease known as : SIN

Many people around the World believe by trying to OVERCOME SIN THEMSELVES that they might be able to achieve PARADISE (Islam), MOKSHA (Hinduism), or NIRVANA (Buddhism).

but herein lies the Problem

NO ONE can be justified by their works and good deeds (Romans 3:10, Psalms 14:3, Acts 4:12).

God, the creator of the Universe, is Holy and Righteous.

No amount of good works can be done to satisfy the debt owed by mankind.

The only way Man can satisfy this debt is by God performing an act of GRACE doing something for mankind that they could never do for themselves. 

What “Act of Grace” did God perform for you and I?

The Apostle Paul makes it very clear in Ephesians 2:1-9

“At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience.  At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else.

 However, God is rich in mercy. He BROUGHT us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us.  And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus.  God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.

You are saved by God’s grace because of your FAITH. This salvation is God’s gift.

It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of”.

What’s is God’s gift?

Jesus

Jesus never says “What can you do to EARN my love”

rather Jesus says

“Look at what I have ALREADY DONE because of MY LOVE FOR YOU”.

From the World’s viewpoint, Christianity is just “another religion“.

On the contrary for the Follower of Jesus   

  It’s a RELATIONSHIP we experience with Him EVERYDAY.

The brother I mentioned at the beginning stated that in John 3:16, this scripture is referring to Black people.

This is FAR FROM THE TRUTH.

Neither is it only for White People!

John 3:16 applies to ANYONE!

NO MATTER WHAT YOUR SKIN PIGMENTATION IS!

Jesus died to redeem the lives of people from

ALL ETHNICITIES

                                       so that one day we will experience what the Apostle John saw (Revelation 7:9-10):

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from EVERY nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

As of now, It has been 19 years since I started following Christ. Man times flies. Highs and lows along the way. Times that bring about a smile and other times I’m ashamed of. If I could go back and give advice to myself at the age of 21 it would probably be along these lines:

1. Don’t get caught up in making prayer some sort of “super spiritualized” ritual. Drop the king James accent bro. God knows you weren’t born in the 1600’s. Don’t try to focus on making prayer a certain time length. Just pray whenever and however for how long ever. Jesus is always listening and he wants to tell you some things too.

2. Don’t make the first place you start reading the bible be in the book of Leviticus lol. Go through and through the new testament and work your way back through the old testament. Might make more sense that way.

3. Always remember when studying the bible that the New testament in particular contains 27 LETTERS. It’s not a “quote book”. Steer away from taking the approach “what does this mean to me” but instead ” what is God WHO inspired the author of this letter trying to get across”. NEVER base a complete MAJOR bible belief based on an “isolated scripture” you find somewhere. Also NEVER FORGET that EVERY letter is written to CHRISTIANS and NOT people in the world.

4. Don’t get upset, sad, and confused when people tell you you’re taking Christianity too SERIOUS. MANY MANY people throughout the centuries since Christ’s ascension have been KILLED because of this, so you can never take it serious enough. Preachers aren’t the only ones who are supposed to take this serious.

5. When sharing the gospel, you might not want to mention Hell within the first 5 words of a Conversation. They might not talk with you very long lol. So it would be best to maybe wait until the 6th word 😉

6. Be patient with yourself and others. The Apostle Paul didn’t get to the level we saw him at the end of his life over night. The Christian life is a life of stages. Just like you have grown physically since you were born, you will see spiritual growth over time as well.

7. Find other believers who you can confide your struggles with temptations, sins or whatever else. Never be to afraid to share what your struggling with no matter how long you’ve been following Christ. This is one of the main reasons God has commanded us “to not forsake gathering with other Christians on a regular basis (Hebrews 10:24-25)”

8. Respect Christian leaders and what God has and is doing in their lives but NEVER elevate them to such a level where you have more reverence for them and their teachings than God.

9. Whatever you see very popular in the world, even if you see professing Christians going that direction too, use God’s word and the Holy Spirit as the determining factor and not your feelings.

10. Never look down on people who choose to not follow Christ and remain in a life of sin because you too were once like that and could care less about Jesus or anything pertaining to Christianity.

11. Not if but when things start to get rough and you find yourself going through the “why me?” Syndrome. Always remember that there are Christians all over the world who would gladly switch to be in your shoes. Experiencing far more SEVERE persecution, lack of food or water, health issues, horribly bad living conditions compared to “American Standards” and many other things.

12. Lastly, Always remember the Christian Life is a race. Jesus got you started and He’s at the end waiting. Don’t allow anything this world has to offer keep you from finishing. After its all over, you’ll look back with Jesus and know without a doubt it was so worth it.

10 most common reasons I’ve been given over the last 12 years in no particular order from people not believing in God or choosing not to become a Christian:

1. I believe in science and evolution which contain FACTS. God and the bible is just a bunch of fairy tales and myths.
2. Jesus didn’t rise from the dead and neither do people. There is no afterlife. This life is it.
3. There’s a bunch of religions. All of them lead to God
4. White man religion
5. I can’t serve a God who would allow so much evil and suffering in the world.
6. I don’t do “organized religion”. All these churches want is your money.
7. As soon as I get myself together then I’ll become a christian.
8. Churches are full of hypocrites
9. The bible is full of contradictions and error.
10. I believe in a Higher Power/energy source that created everything, but not in the sense of it being concerned about humans and what they’re doing.

I’ve heard a lot more, but these objections seem to get brought up more frequently than others. One thing I’ve learned over time is that if you’re a follower of Christ and desire to see people enter into a saving relationship with Jesus, you don’t have to know everything there is to know about God and the bible to share your faith with someone. Jesus doesn’t require that you and I first go to seminary and then become a expert theologian before we talk about Him with others. If that were the case, He would never have given the command first to 12 “low-classed” and “unlearned Jews”(Acts 4:13). Now by no means am I advocating that you should remain “spiritual dummies”. Just like we invest a lot of effort into being experts in our various career fields, hobbies, and sports to name a few, we should also put AT LEAST the same effort into growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Something else to consider, the person you’re talking to doesn’t know everything there is to know about what they claim to believe. They might try to act like they do, but they don’t. If they did, they’d be God. Our goal is NOT to win an argument/debate but to win a soul to Christ. Never Forget forget this:

Ultimately, God is the one that is doing the work in bringing them into a relationship anyway. You’re just the tool, He’s the Mechanic (John 6:44, Acts 16:14).

That might have been a BAD analogy, but I think you get the point lol.

Furthermore, If you’re talking with a person and they express a different belief system and have objections, my advice would be to allow them to talk without interrupting.

Ask questions like:

“Who and where did you get that information from?” or “What do you believe happens when we die?”.

These questions can lead to more dialogue. Ask OPEN-ENDED questions that make them EXPLAIN what they believe. In many conversations over the years when I ask “What do you mean by that exactly” in response to something they said (Sometimes I say that every time they make a statement), it becomes apparent to both of us that they really don’t know what they believe or talking about. I’ve come to learn over time

A lot of times people aren’t looking for reasons to believe the truth, but in actuality they are looking for reasons NOT to believe truth. Its called a “hardened heart” (Ephesians 4:18, Proverbs 28:14, Hebrews 3:8).

Don’t get sad if they don’t come to know Lord at that moment. Depending on where you live in the World you might here a lot of rejection. We are NOT just trying to get someone to PRAY A SPECIAL PRAYER, MAKE A DECISION, or ACCEPT JESUS INTO THEIR HEARTS. Such things are WIDELY POPULAR in many christian circles, but we see no evidence of the apostles or anyone throughout the New Testament trying to get people to do this. We’ve been commanded to make DISCIPLES (Matthew 28:19). Just commit to pray for that person that Holy Spirit will continue to send people their way, working to break up that “stony hard heart”.

Just like He did it for us, He’ll do it for them too…

For 10 years of my life I followed and was in love with “My” Jesus and until recently in the last couple of years my thoughts have always remained the same about Him. “My” Jesus is totally in love with me and pleased with my life. I remember saying the “special prayer” to invite Him in My life and “My” Jesus has ONLY been concerned with making this earthly life as great as possible for me. “My” Jesus is so awesome because He doesn’t infringe on my daily life. As long as I attend a weekly church service and put some money in the bucket, “My” Jesus gets totally excited and looks to bless me beyond my “wildest dreams”.

“My” Jesus isn’t concerned for me reaching out to take care of the needy because quite frankly “My” Jesus recognizes that I’m the one in need. In need of more money, a bigger house, fancier cars and more electronic gadgets. “My” Jesus isn’t really concerned about me telling others about Him for 2 reasons. One reason is the fact that “My” Jesus has plenty of preachers and Hyper Christians who already do this and two “My” Jesus doesn’t want MY POPULARITY to be compromised with others. “My” Jesus knows I’m shy when it comes to things like this and would NEVER want me to do anything outside of MY comfort zone.

“My” Jesus doesn’t want me to focus on Heaven, but ONLY on this earthly life and the everyday issues that come along with it. “My” Jesus doesn’t really care if I spend time with Him on a daily basis in communication and bible study. “My” Jesus is totally aware that my day is FULL of obligations which include work, family life, hobbies, and my favorite television shows. Just as long as when things go “totally bad in my life” I spend enough quality time with him so “My” Jesus can get things back on track and then once everything is okay resume my normal activity. “My” Jesus isn’t concerned with sin because He already died for it a long time ago. “My” Jesus just doesn’t want my sin to become aware to the public to where I look like a hypocrite.

I could go on and on about “My” Jesus up until the day when I started reading the BIBLE IN CONTEXT and not just the parts that made me “feel good” and then I shockingly realized that “My” Jesus and probably the Jesus for MANY other people…

DOESN’T EXIST