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Re: Bantu : how does that take us forward as a rac

I find this to be a very interesting perspective, which I agree with in parts although we differ fundamentally on the core point.

I agree wholeheartedly that historical real life experiences and needs must be incorporated into spirituality. A people can only see themselves in God and God reflected in themselves when they can first see themselves and whole, divine and inherently powerful. As African people in the Diaspora our idea of God has never been one of our own creation or one that has reflected us. This is why I can understand perfectly the importance of Selassie to some Africans. A significant number of Africans in the Diaspora recognized the importance of Selassie although they did not worship him as god. They recognized the importance of a black king as a powerful historical figure, indeed as a powerful symbol of African power. As a matter of fact there are many other African leaders that we can look to as well, that achieved great things and cemented African civilizations as the foremost in the world. There is no contradiction there. The cosmic/ spiritual and the historical/real world blended seamlessly with each other, which is as it should be.

“For I SPIRITUALITY to be effective must be embedded in the historical experience and relity of the people, as such we canot afford to have cosmic god . We need an anthropological god , A BLACK AFRICAN GOD . a God who is anti colonial , revolutionary ,who works for unity of our people ,who works for our upliftment.”

Honestly I see no reason why understanding the cosmic nature of our existences and seeing god in the eternal essence of all things seems to detract from the real life issues of African people. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, the cosmic is what drives our lives. The cycles of nature, the rhythm of planets the energy in the core universe is what IS! Everything obeys these cosmic laws and whether we choose to see it or not is irrelevant. I can agree with you that we must have an African focus and fight continually against the evils of racism and colonialism in all its many manifestations, however choosing to worship a man over the laws of the universe is unacceptable to me. They must work in tandem, the earth bound and the universal. This does not make us any less committed to fighting against the ills of the world or from taking African people forward, I fact I find it a powerful liberating force to follow ancient African teachings and spiritual principles which also see god as cosmic force and recognize the multiplicity of divinity. This to me is more powerful than any man-god whose fitness as leader has been questioned by so many and found wanting. There are several on this board who share this spiritual belief and are working tirelessly to uplift African people and demolish the Euroccentric status quo. To me that is evidence that these principles CAN take us forward.

Messages In This Thread

Creation Of The Negro *LINK*
Re: Creation Of The Negro
Re: Creation Of The Negro
Re: JAH is Cosmic force, that's MY belief!
Bantu : how does that take us forward as a race
Re: Bantu : how does that take us forward as a rac
Re: Bantu : how does that take us forward as a rac


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