Don’t Blame The White Man. Blame Satan.

Personal accountability is hard to find these days. Believing in the devil has been detrimental to the African-American community as a whole. I refuse to pass on this mythical nonsense to my young children. Before, it was the white man holding a nation of millions back, now it’s Satan. Enough already with the excuses. Break this psychological bondage perpetuated generation after generation.

Each time I hear Satan blamed for something I cringe. The black church has taken the phrase, “The devil is a liar!” to another level. Effectively making this character a scapegoat for an entire race of people. One of the rules of playing church is to authenticate your faith with clichés. The enemy is attacking me. My marriage is under attack. The devil is using you. Satan doesn’t want you to hear this message, that’s why you were late getting to church today. Satan wants to prevent your financial breakthrough because he knows you’ll start praising God. The last one is often used when the speaker is encouraging the audience to “sow a seed” (i.e., give money).

Pastors of black congregations are usually quite skillful in making Satan the fall guy. In fact, when black Christians say, “Service was good today” they probably mean: “The devil was blamed for something, everyone nodded and shouted in agreement, and each of us gave a high five to someone and told them they’re coming out of whatever situation they’re in.” If you can master the art of story telling with Satan as the antagonist, then you’ll attract more people who want to play church. More folks signing up. More money coming in.

It’s not politically correct for African-Americans to publicly blame “Whitey” for the ills in their community as done in the past. Many find that term offensive and that belief outdated. Pointing an accusatory finger at Satan appears to be an acceptable way to invoke empathy from whites. Yet, it also invites apathy, underachievement, hopelessness, and self-hate within the black community. As black Christians continue to proclaim the power of Satan they do a disservice to their children by giving legitimacy to a spiritual Boogieman.

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Does The Black Church Have A Future? A Debate Continues

The vibrancy and viability of America’s black churches have suddenly become matters of intense debate among African-American religious leaders. The debate was sparked by a Huffington Post “obituary” for the black church, which prompted numerous responses about the fate of one of America’s most important and enduring religious institutions.

The genesis of the controversy was the Feb. 24, 2010, essay, “The Black Church Is Dead,” by Eddie S. Glaude Jr., the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University.

Glaude noted that while nearly 90 percent of African-Americans identify with a religious group and blacks are one of the most religious communities in American society, “the idea of this venerable institution [the black church] as central to black life and as a repository for the social and moral conscience of the nation has all but disappeared.”

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The Failure Of The Black Church

Steve Cole: “Since a peoples belief system is strongly influenced by their religion, then our religion has failed us. Since the Black Church is the instrument of these teachings, the Black Church is essentially the root of the problems of the Black community.”