faith, and perceptions

I wanted to jot down some thoughts similar to some of the things that I have written about in the past. Namely concerning my faith.

Lately I have been reflecting on how the faith of one man, thousands of years ago, made it possible for me to embrace a faith and life in the God of all creation. Abraham's faith, Israel's covenant relationship with God, and the atoning work of the Savior have shaped my very being, lifestyle and line of thought.

I am very grateful.

One aspect of this reflection that has been on my mind as of late is regarding the circumstances and ideologies that have been apart of my journey since embracing this faith.


I am an African American, and it is no secret that we have a rich and enduring legacy of triumph over oppression and resilience in various hardships. Our history, coupled with the history of our brothers and sisters who are apart of our greater diaspora, has deeps roots in various cultures throughout nearly every continent.

The lands in which the captives of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade were taken, birthed among these African peoples a single identity;. (at first "slave" and in time "black") given to a people who once were part of heritages that were comprised of over 250 different ethnicities. (one day, Lord Willing I plan to shell out the $349 bucks to have my paternal lineage dna test so that I can hopefully confirm and identify my ancestors place amongst such diversity)

This single identity, forged through common bondage, erased for a time the tribal distinctions and the bitter history across seas of war between one another, and the transgressions of captors and captives.

For many of the slaves, the introduction of the Bible, caused them to embrace commonality between themselves and the ancient Israelites they were taught and read about, as evidenced by such negro spirituals as "Go Down Moses" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". For many of the slaves the themes of "bondage", "redemption" and a "promised land" mirrored their own hopes of struggle and freedom, rather in their present lives or in the life to come. On a deeper level, there were slaves who embraced a lifestyle patterned after the laws given in the covenants of ancient Israel. There is documentation of slaves who were owned by Jewish masters who adopted the customs of their masters, (i.e. sabbath observance, kosher diets, etc.); these very same slaves would carry these traditions and it would be passed on to their own descendants, only to be recognized by later generations who would not necessarily have a pin point for why they had such life practices.

There were also groups of slaves who had pastors who were professed prophets who told them that, beyond embracing the metaphoric similarities between themselves and ancient Israel was their actual descent from the ancient people of Israel. People such as William Saunders Crowdy taught his flock of African Americans that they were in fact Israelites.

Decades later after Crowdy other men, such as Wentworth Arthur Matthew, among many others began to establish doctrines along similar lines, establishing the foundations of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement in major cities across the nation.

This movement as a whole, with its various origins, (and present- many denominations) was the vehicle by which I came into the faith of the God of Abraham. I too embraced an identity as a literal descendant of Israel. This was part of my "circumstances and ideologies" that I spoke of up above. As I have written in previous blogs I have been apart of two home congregations within the past 10 years, and in both these congregations I not only nourished my faith as a believer and follower of the Savior, but I also strengthened my identity as an Israelite. For the majority of my years in this walk of faith, up until very recently I have held this particular ideology.

Interestingly enough because of this belief, I was closed to African culture, as well as the greater culture of the Jewish people in their respective diaspora. I was caught up in a world of its own, of people who embraced the same beliefs that I did, of those who believed they were descended from the great people of the bible, of those who were a persecuted and down trodden people seeking repentance and reconciliation with the God of their forefathers, by trying to live a biblical life as best they knew how.

As time passed however and I began to meet other believers who lived bibically led lives as well; I began to be exposed to different points of view and schools of thought. One of which was the acknowledgment of the Jewish people as the actual biblical descendants of ancient Israel; something that in many black hebrew israelite schools of thought was shunned and denounced. (Quick side note, many of the earlier pioneers of the BHI movement such as Wentworth Arthur Matthew taught that the Jewish people and African Americans were in fact brothers, and that they were both sons of the patriach Jacob, but in time I suppose this view was changed).

Recently I met and became friends with a Jewish believer in the Messiah, and was exposed for the first time in my life, to life with actual Jewish people.... I began to reevaluate past prejudices and notions, and in a desire to be rid of such prejudices I denounced my own line of thought that they were not who they said and believed they were. I began to reconsider the emphasis I put on the importance of being an actual descendant of Israel; greater than that I began to reconsider the importance of such a belief in itself. I examined the promise made to Abraham that through his Seed (i.e. Christ, Israel's Messiah) that all families of the earth would be blessed. Such a promise given by the Almighty himself, (for me at least) was good enough, so I embraced the reality that I could in fact be, "one of the nations, and not of Israel" but that it was ok because I, through faith, held on to the promised seed by which all people would be blessed; and as I said that was good enough for me.

I began to look at my walk of in this faith thus far and realized that on a deeper level I still,all along took hold of Israel's eternal covenants....yet at this present time, the only difference is that I believe myself to be a stranger, not actually of Israel,but grafted into Israel by my faith in Israel's Savior..which is THE greater reality..... rather I am an actual descendant of Israel or not, something that I have resolved in myself that I will not possibly know for certain in this lifetime.

I will however,not forget the striking parallels that my people have with Israel...the themes of bondage to many nations, persecution, oppression and diaspora is very real,and a blind eye can never be turned to such truths....and rather or not the claims of the movement that I once was apart of are true, only time, and the Heavenly Father can tell. For now I will take my place amongst Israel, (whoever and wherever they may be, physical and spiritual) by faith in Israel's Messiah.



As of late I have been blessed to be amongst Jewish people who are believers in the Messiah, and have grown to love them and appreciate their diverse heritage as a people. This change in perspective has added a deeper portion in my faith, and reinforced my belief in placing my identity in the Messiah alone, and not in my blood line. I am grateful to be apart of this faith, and grateful for Abraham, for God's covenants with Israel, and for the atoning work of the Savior who bridges all mankind back to the Heavenly Father....I am grateful...



I will leave off with scripture...shalom to whomever reads this...


Galatians 3:7-9;28-29

7Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,"In you shall all the nations be blessed." 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.


28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring,heirs according to promise.,M