The African American Guide to the Bible

The African

American

Guide to the

Bible

The Second Edition

Dr. H.C. Felder

ISBN 978-1-64114-007-2 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64114-008-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2018 by Dr. H.C. Felder

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks to several significant people who contributed to the inspiration , motivation, and support to The African American Guide to the Bible . Rose Ling for taking on the immense challenge of proofing my original dissertation and helping me avoid many grammatical and spelling mistakes . Special thanks to Dr. Floyd Elmore of Southern Evangelical Seminary and Jason Cummings for their valuable insight and recommendations. Bishop Joey, for the valuable feedback regarding my theological and sociological arguments. To my pastor, Rev. Dr. Michael L. Henderson of New Beginnings Church in Matthews, North Carolina, for providing me a platform for teaching apologetics and for being a vocal advocate of this project. Dr. Norman Geisler for equipping me with the apologetic background to pose my arguments, which gave me reserve to write. A significant portion of Part I was due to Dr. Geisler’s teachings and publications.

Last, but certainly not least, to my wife, Tina, for giving her support and maintaining our household, which gave me the freedom to write. Her encouragement and compassionate words kept me in prayer. She allowed me to miss family trips and the attention that she so deserves so that I could write uninterrupted. This book is a credit to her as my helpmate and lifelong partner.

Preface

Ilive in the beautiful city of Charlotte , North Carolina, with my lovely wife, Tina, our four children, and four grandchildren. Life in Charlotte is pleasant, but my journey here was a process.

When I was a little boy, my parents coerced me into attending church every Sunday. Therefore, growing up, the name Jesus was embedded in my mind. However, His name was nominal and used in a common way. Therefore, Jesus seemed like a mere man who lived a long time ago. He was important, but I was not sure why He was so important. I remembered very little when I attended church. Nevertheless, there was one thing I do remember very well.

One Sunday morning, there was an incident that occurred when I was in Mrs. Young’s Sunday school class. I was acting up as usual when she walked up to me and pointed her old bony finger in my face. She said, If you sin, you are going to hell. I quickly assumed that I would bust hell wide open, so why even worry about heaven. That was the beginning of my downward spiral.

I drifted further away from God toward a lifestyle of rebellion and debauchery. My teenage years were a blur of marijuana and alcohol. I remember being hospitalized for three days because of alcohol poisoning. A stranger actually found me lying in the gutter. He lifted me out of that gutter and took me home. Then in an attempt to remove me from negative influences, my parents sent me away to Georgia to live with my grandparents. I lived with them for the last two years of high school.

After graduating from high school, I returned home to Washington, DC. I remember stealing my brother Benjamin’s car when I was around nineteen. He had the car for only three days when I took his keys and decided to drive from Washington, DC, to New York City on a tank of gas and a case of beer. I wrecked his car before I made it out of Washington. Thank God for His providence because the accident, by all reasoning, should have killed me.

Soon afterward, I joined the navy and saw the world. As a young man in Asia, I participated in every type of vice you can imagine. I became an alcoholic and, worse, a professing atheist. I just didn’t turn away from God, I was openly hostile to anything Christian. My alcohol habit increased as well as my insatiable appetite for the pleasures of sin.

Many years later, when I ended my navy tenure, I met a young woman who invited me to church. I went not because I wanted anything to do with the church but because I wanted something to do with her. I went for her, not for Christ or me! My whole world came to a head that night. While sitting in that service, I experienced the power of God’s presence. That same evening, October 3, 1997, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior. Since then, my life has never been the same. God delivered me from alcoholism by removing the desire to drink.

Soon after my conversion, I decided to investigate the historical claims of Christianity to see if my faith was rooted in fact. It amazed me when I discovered evidence for the claims of the Bible and Christianity. I was shocked and disappointed that no one ever shared with me the evidence for his or her faith. I then decided to dedicate my life to sharing this information with others. My inner conviction was to reach those who were as lost as I once was.

In 2003, I made a major decision to follow my Lord full time. I resigned from my job as a software engineer at NASA, sold my house, and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I became a full-time seminary student. In May of 2005, I graduated from Southern Evangelical Seminary with a master’s degree in apologetics. My ardent desire was to defend the Christian faith. In May 2015, I graduated from Southern Evangelical Seminary with a doctorate in ministry in apologetics. All my educational achievements serve as a basis for defending the Christian faith and becoming a source for this book.

God has given me a platform to teach apologetics at my home church, New Beginnings Church, in Matthews, North Carolina. My faith objective is to create opportunity and exposure to the truth for those who struggle with doubt and unbelief as I did. To aid that purpose, I founded Giving An Answer ministry. As part of the ministry, I host a weekly talk show where I interview guests on various apologetic topics. The show has aired on some radio stations across the nation as well as XM Radio. Speaking engagements and conferences add to the platform and means of getting the truth of God’s word out.

I often think back to my childhood and the man who pulled me out of the gutter when I was a mere youth. He later said that he initially walked past me after hearing my cries for help. But for some reason, he could not leave me there, so he came back and lifted me out of the gutter. My past circumstances in life resound the story of the prodigal son. I am grateful to that man, but eternally grateful to the man Christ Jesus, who lifted me out of a spiritual gutter. He rescued and restored me, cleansed me and called me His son. Therefore, The African American Guide to the Bible is the story of His love and redemption of broken, hurting humanity and the answer to every question we have. I owe Christ everything!

Due to the complexity of the urban crisis and the disparaging issues of race relations in the country, The African American Guide to the Bible is a treatise that gives godly biblical answers. For more information:

Website: www.GivingAnAnswer.org

Facebook: facebook.com/GivingAnAnswer

YouTube: YouTube.com/GivingAnAnswer

Twitter: @hcfelder

—Dr. H. C. Felder

Introduction

While gazing out the window of the diner, I thought about what I just heard. Nothing else occupied my attention, and I just couldn’t get it off my mind. Trying to process the rationale of the information stirred my emotions and replayed in my mind.

My friend Benjamenhad recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend the same seminary that I attended. As we sat in the diner, he told me about visiting a church in his neighborhood. He said that while approaching the entrance of the church, he stopped to speak with a young man as his wife continued inside. When he made his way into the church, he saw his wife engaged in a friendly conversation with a couple who welcomed her. Benjamen introduced himself. The couple looked at him oddly, got up, and casually found another seat on the other side of the church.

Benjamen was not discouraged or intimidated by their action. He had experienced that kind of resentment before, since marrying a white woman. Nevertheless, Benjamen thought maybe this time it was for a different reason. Perhaps he imagined something untrue. To test his theory, Benjamen, and his wife went over to where the couple was and sat next to them. Once again, they got up and moved. They also motioned for their children to move as well.

As he sipped his coffee, Benjamen continued the conversation and said, God had me join that church even though I knew I was not welcomed. Believe me, I didn’t want to be there, either. I was the first black member of that church in fifty years and half the members left when I joined.

As I ate my breakfast, I replied, Hold on. Didn’t I get an e-mail from you regarding a mission trip you took with them to Haiti ?

As he shook his head, Benjamen said, Yep. Blacks are fine over in Haiti but not in their church. That is a little too close for comfort.

Dismayed by confusion, I could not understand why blacks were okay in Haiti but not in the United States! Maybe it was because of my experience growing up in Washington, DC. I never experienced that kind of rejection because everyone I interacted with was black. I didn’t attend school with white people until the last two years of high school when I moved to Georgia.

I was not naïve and knew that racism and prejudice were still alive and well. I also knew that those attitudes and actions were prevalent in the South. However, what bothered me most was the presence of the same kinds of attitudes and actions in the church! We worship the same God and Lord. How can we then divide by race and justify our actions as Christians?

I started to think about how God and Scripture measured the things that Benjamen told me. Is that kind of attitude and action acceptable to God and the Bible ? I also thought about how it made God feel to have His children treat one another with such disdain and disrespect. Those thoughts nearly brought me to tears, and I imagined the effects towards God. It’s no wonder Mahatma Gandhi said, I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

The events from my story hurt most African Americans. It makes them feel like God does not accept them. Many African Americans in our country have received information about the Bible from a Eurocentric interpretation causing them to believe that white people wrote the Bible exclusively for white people.

Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan have enforced the same message of hate toward blacks with their brand of white Christianity. Even groups like the Nation of Islam have joined the ranks of adopting the idea that the Bible is for white people and not for blacks. They proclaim that if blacks really wanted to know who God is, they would follow their faith system, which supports black supremacy.

These and other views are articulated and summarized in a letter written to my wife, Tina, by her father. Parts 1 to 3 of The African American Guide to the Bible begin with quotes from that letter.

The Main Idea

This book is a response to the notion that the Bible is a book about white people for white people. It is also a disclaimer and answer to the idea that Christianity is the white man’s religion. It answers the historical question that God always intended for African Americans and other ethnicities of color to be a part of His redemption story. This book sections off into four parts to uncover the truth of the Bible with regard to race.

Part 1 deals with a defense of the Bible as the inspired word of God and inerrant in nature. The idea is to introduce the reader to truths of the Bible and provide evidence that the Bible is God’s authoritative word. There is an overview of the structure of the Bible as well as a high-level description of its contents. Through significant events, the reader will see a high-level summary of those events.

The argument for biblical inspiration is supported by manuscripts and historical and archeological evidence. As a major proof of the Bible’s inspiration, a considerable amount of space is devoted to covering biblical prophesies as evidence for its divine origin.

We will examine various prophetic predictions and give proof that they were actually fulfilled. This analysis compares with famous psychic predictions to demonstrate that the Bible alone is 100 percent accurate in its predictions. This section also responds to various charges by critics who call the Bible into question. They make allegations by using examples of alleged contradictory information and conflicts in science. Our examination will demonstrate that it is the critics who are wrong, not the Bible. Once we have established that the Bible is trustworthy, we will turn our attention to ideas that are of particular interest to people of color.

Part 2 deals with the black presence in the Bible. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate that blacks are significant people in the Bible. We will dispel the Hollywood depiction of the peoples and nations of the Bible and begin by defining the concept of race. We cannot talk about black until we explain the etymology (historical origin) of what black means. We will discover that it’s no easy task and any definition is a tedious process. Our study on race will reveal that it is a fabricated concept developed around the time of slavery to dominate darker races of people. Tracing the history of race in America will give a foundational understanding of where race came from and why.

This section will also deal with the scientific evidence surrounding race to demonstrate that race is not a biological concept but merely a social construct. In that section, we will rely on science since race is not a biblical concept. The idea of race does not exist in the Bible. The Bible speaks specifically about nations or ethnic populations.

The Bible affirms from the beginning that all men are equal and created in the image of God. We will turn to the evidence in the Bible to demonstrate that people of color also played a significant role in God’s plan of redemption. Although God never deals with people racially, people make certain racial assumptions about particular groups based on genealogy, archeology, and ancient historical records.

We will then move on and attempt harmonizing biblical data with scientific information regarding the African origins of people. Since both nature and the Bible are revelations of God, they should never conflict. However, there are reoccurring disagreements between scientist and theologians because of interpretations of Scripture and the fact that natural science is speculative. The harmonization between science and Scripture is not perfect. This is because the Bible is silent on the idea of race and science is always evolving with regard to its understanding of nature. Although scientists and theologians have come to an agreement more than in the past, that agreement is not total and gaps still exist.

We will also look at specific peoples and persons who are of interest to African Americans to show that blacks and people of color were not second-class citizens in the Bible. They were major players, shakers, and movers throughout Scripture. They were significant to God’s plan of salvation for all people. In fact, proportionately, they were the people of the Bible.

Part 3 deals with the Bible and racism. This section actually defends the Bible against charges of racism. It also gives enough evidence to reject the idea that the God of the Bible is the God of white persons, which implies that God Himself is a racist. We will discuss whether the Bible condones slavery and then examine the arguments used by the proponents of that idea. The response discusses Scripture in its proper context pointing out that neither God nor the Bible supported or ordained slavery in America.

Moreover, this section will deal with the alleged examples of God-sanctioned racism in the Bible. The response is to such arguments as the infamous curse of Ham because of black skin. The myth of the curse of Ham was justification for enslaving African people. The myth of the tower of Babel used to support the separation of the races is also exposed.

Finally, the section deals with the idea of Christianity being the white man’s religion. We will provide ample evidence that Christianity has never been the white man’s religion. Blacks have been Christians from the very beginning of the Christian faith, which supports the case that there are more non-white Christians than there are white Christians in the world today. Whites are actually the minority in the Christian world. We will conclude by examining Christianity and making a distinction between Christians and Christianity.

Part 4 deals with the Bible and the unity of man. This section will end with the correct biblical idea of humanity and the truth that we are one. We will examine the fact that God called Abraham to father a chosen nation, but this nation was to serve as a nation of priests for all other nations. It was always God’s plan to unify people of all ethnic groups since we have always been one from God’s perspective. We will discover that God’s message of salvation was for all nations and that Israel was the means by which God planned to accomplish this task. We will then examine concrete examples of God calling on African nations to serve Him. God specifically mentions these nations reconciled to Him.

This book is directed toward African Americans, but anyone can benefit from its contents. It is for all people of all colors. White people will find an explanation why racism in the church is a sin. Black people will find their biblical identity, and all ethnicities will rejoice at the diversity of the Creator. Although the title is The African American Guide to the Bible, Americas’ Guide to the Bible works just as well.

Why not All People’s Guide To The Bible ?

The term African American is ambiguous in usage. For example, I have a friend named Dianna who is regularly identified as African American. However, although she is black, she comes from Canada. Consequently, the term African American does not apply to her. I also have another friend named Simon, originally from South Africa. Simon is African American even though he is white.

My decision to call it The African American Guide to the Bible is because the term is often applied to black people regardless of their national origin. Therefore, the phrase has become a catchall phrase for blacks regardless of its original intent. There are also individual experiences that are specifically African American that this book covers. For instance, although racism existed before the first American colony settled, the outworking of racism in America had implications that are unique to African Americans. Applied to race, the history of slavery in the US and the invention of the terms black and white are distinctly American.

It is my desire that African Americans who read this book will have a renewed sense of worth. After all, if God considers us valuable, what greater affirmation could there be? It is also my desire that as a people, we will gain a new respect for the Bible and make the Bible identifiable to black life.

The ultimate reason I wrote this book is to open the eyes of many blacks who were told that Christianity has nothing to offer them. God loves all people and specifies that love to everyone individually. It is my prayer that the words on these pages will tear down walls, which will allow God to speak and let His message transform us into followers of His Son, Jesus, the Christ.

The Second Edition

The second edition contains some major additions, such as the section dealing with the arguments that Christianity in Africa was the result of white Christian missionaries. This is part of the popular idea that Christianity is the white man’s religion. I deal with those arguments and present evidence that proves the exact opposite. Christianity is African at its core.

Unlike black groups that focus on the Old Testament and its relationship to people of color, I expand that idea to the New Testament and Christianity itself by demonstrating that the early church had a significant black presence and that Africans are responsible for systematizing a lot of the doctrines of Christianity. I also included changes to the chapter Responding to General Arguments on Racism. I tweaked it to include a memory device to make is easier to respond to general arguments or racism against the Bible.

Discussion questions were also added at the end of each chapter as a study guide to help learn the material. This is beneficial for the individual who is reading the book to reinforce the key points as well as a small group study as discussion questions.

In addition to the major additions and changes, I made a number of corrections and clarified some points.

The Challenge

You can also take advantage of the "African American Guide to the Bible Challenge" at the end of this book. This tests your knowledge of the key concepts to see how much knowledge you have retained from this book. There is also a more comprehensive and challenging version of the test available online. I encourage everyone to take the challenge before reading the book and again after reading the book to compare how much you have learned by reading the book.

You can also go through the book in an online course as a group. This would be ideal for small group studies. You all start together and end together. Your group can be scattered geographically. You can interact with discussions as a group. Group learning is effective. We learn best from one another.

For more information about the online challenge and online group learning, go to www.GivingAnAnswer.org.

PART I

WHY TRUST THE BIBLE

1

Introduction To Part I

While I think you’re sincere, you’re making a mistake in assuming that you’re superior to me because you simply accepted a bunch of ancient myths that you were taught and told not to question. In an age of science and reason, I find it amazing that some people are still blinded by these false religious teachings. —Excerpt from a letter written to my wife by her father.

The Bible is the best-selling book in the history of mankind. It may also be the most maligned and criticized book as well. It has served as the foundation for laws and governments from ancient time to recent times. The mere word Bible often evokes high emotions. sometimes in reverence, other times in scorn. It has been the source of constant legal battles in the public arena. It has been called God ’s words for all humanity. It has also been called a book of outdated mythology and fabricated stories. People have banned and burned it throughout history. Although most people have never read the Bible, people all around the world have an opinion of the Bible.

There is a commonly held belief that the Bible has been changed throughout history. Virtually every non-Christian religious group believes this. The reasoning is clear. For some religious groups, the Bible becomes untrustworthy because opposing religious beliefs would not stand a chance if they honestly acknowledged that the Bible is the inspired word of God. They claim that the Bible is a fallacy work penned by corrupt hands to take advantage of gullible people. They say people need a newer, purer, fresh revelation from God.

Non-religious groups will dismiss the Bible as fairy tales and mythology. They will ignore it as unscientific and unreliable. Their reasoning here is also clear. If there is no God of the Bible, there can be no revelation from God and no accountability to Him. Furthermore, if there is no God, there can be no miracles. If you reject miracles and God, you must dismiss the Bible as well since it is a book filled with miracles performed by God. If you reject miracles in the Bible, then the greatest miracle in the history of mankind— the redemptive work of Christ —is dismissed. For atheists, agnostics, and other opposing groups, the supernatural must be rejected because it is outside the realm of our physical senses.

Why So Much Attention To One Book?

The answer is simple. The Bible claims authority as the inerrant word of God. This statement alone should explain why some love it while others hate it. Some long to hear the word of the Lord, while others want to silence it.

The expressed question in this section is Why trust the Bible? We will address that issue as we examine the validity of the Bible and explore its content and structure. We will also provide evidence for its reliability and inspiration. Simply stated, the purpose of this section is to give good reasons to trust the Bible as the Word of God.

Structural Overview

The Bible is composed of sixty-six books written by thirty-nine authors over a period of 1,500 years. It is divided into two main sections, called the Old Testament and the New Testament. There have been various ordering and groupings over the years. The focus of this section is the modern Protestant Bible.

Old Testament

The ordering of the books of the Old Testament are topical (subject) rather than chronological (arranged order). The modern Old Testament is divided into four sections. They are the Law, Poetry, History, and Prophets (see table 1.1).

The Law constitutes the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books were written by Moses and are arranged chronologically. They were written between 1300 and 1200 BC.¹

The History books consist of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These books give the history of the nation of Israel in the land of Canaan.

The Poetry books consist of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. They contain both poetry and wisdom. The Psalms are praises to God, while the Proverbs are the words of wisdom.

The final section of the Old Testament is the Prophets. They are a group of seventeen books broken up into two parts. The first five books are the Major Prophets while the remaining twelve books are the Minor Prophets (see table 1.2). The major and minor designations have nothing to do with the significance of the prophet themselves but are about the size of the book. Books by Major Prophets are considerably longer than Minor Prophets.

Table 1.1. Books of the Old Testament