It is how my mother is introducing it to me... I am african american. And she makes it out to seem like Christianty was created by white people and it is for them. And they stole a lot of their ideas from "our people." I'm sorry if I cam across as racist. I was trying to get my conflicted ideas and feelings across.
1. I would highly recommend resisting the concept of "white people/black people" in your mind. The concept reinforces unhealthy Tribalism, which can potentially lead to disasters. (I know it can be hard; I live in a fairly homogenous town, so it's something I've been struggling with for quite some time; not so much the terms themselves, but the idea that African-Americans, among some others, are somehow "different".)
2. Christianity is NOT a European religion. It has its origins in the Middle East, and gained popularity in Europe for a variety of historical reasons. European religions include Asatru, Hellenism, Druidry, Religio Romana, etc, and regional Euro-Christianity still retains many elements of these(there are some Christian groups trying to remove them, though).
3. Africa is a BIG place. Having ancestry there doesn't necessarily mean you have ancestral ties to the Egyptians. I understand that most African Americans are descended from Sub-Saharan Africans, though I could be wrong.
4. Skin color is incredibly arbitrary. Until about 6,000 years ago, Europeans were as dark-skinned as Egyptians; the reason we have lighter skin now is because that's better for absorbing vitamin D in the low-sunlight conditions of Northern Europe(long Winter nights combined with lots and lots of rain and fog throughout the year). It's a bad measure of who one's "people" are, especially since there's a lot of people with different ancestries. My "people", that is, my ethnic ancestors, are three: the Irish, British, and Greeks: all European, but all very distinct.
5. Just because a religion has its origins in a region you don't have ancestry in doesn't mean it's something you shouldn't follow. I followed Hinduism for a few years back, and I don't have a drop of Indian blood in me. Plenty of the Hindus on this forum are the same way. I don't anymore for personal reasons, but the fact that I'm not ethnically Indian had nothing to do with it. I recommend looking up information about the Ethiopian Christian Church if you've never heard of it.
To close, I will present two hypothetical people, one European and one African. Both identify as Christian. (This example is a modified form of something I heard from an Asatruar once, here applied to Christianity, instead.)
The European goes to Church on Sunday, recites the Lord's Prayer every night, but other than that, spends most of the time preaching about how Christianity is for the White Man.
The African also goes to Church on Sunday and recites the Lord's Prayer every night, but also spends a lot of time giving to charity, working hard to keep a homeless shelter running, and doesn't retaliate against insults.
Now, you tell me: which of these two people is doing a better job of following Christ's teachings?
