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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Scripture: Psalm 68:31
By Joseph W. Henderson
KingdomView, Vol. II, Issue 8
In the 1967 movie “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner,” Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a couple whose attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black. There are some prominent biblical characters in Scripture that are of African descent, and if we could invite them home for dinner we would be in for a big surprise, too! In his book “The Black Presence in the Bible, Discovering the Black and African Identity of Biblical Persons and Nations, vol. 1” the Reverend W.A. McCray gives this definition:
“When we affirm that there is a Black presence in the Bible, we are affirming a definition of Blackness which includes the following: First, actual “black” skin color; second, so-called “Negroid” characteristics; and third, traceable Black or African ancestry (“Black blood”). If a Biblical person is identified as Black, he/she will possess these characteristics.”
Old Testament Characters of African Descent:
· Hagar and Ishmael the son of Abraham, Genesis 16:1
· Asenath, the wife of Joseph, Genesis 41:45
· Jethro, the Midianite, Exodus 3:1
· The Cushite wife of Moses, Numbers 12:1
· Rahab, the harlot, Joshua 2:1
· Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, Zephaniah 1:1 (an author of the O.T. book in the Bible bears his name)
· Nimrod, Genesis 10:6-12
New Testament Characters of African Descent:
· The Wise Men, Matthew 2:1-12
· Simon of Cyrene, Mark 15:21
· Alexander & Rufus, Mark 15:21
· The man of Ethiopia, Acts 8:26-40
· Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, Acts 8:27
· Simeon called Niger, Acts 13:1-3
· Lucius of Cyrene, Acts 13:1-3
· Black nations represented at Pentecost, Acts 2:7-11 (Elamites, Egypt, Libya, and Cyrene)
Notable Church Fathers of African Descent
· Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullian of Carthage (c. 160 c. 225)
· St. Augustine of Hippo (c. 354 - c. 430); Augustine’s ancestry was of Berber stock. The Berbers were a group of dark skinned people belonging to the vicinity of Carthage
· Athanasius of Alexandria (birth, c. 276); his enemies referred to him as the “Black dwarf,” which was a derogatory term. From all historical indications, he was a man of humble upbringing among the Copts of Egypt. If you are interested in continued research and studies of this four-week topic, please refer to the attached bibliography page; may God continue to richly bless you is my prayer!
Selected Bibliography
Books by African American Authors on people of African Descent in the Bible and the Ancient World
Dillard, William LaRue, Biblical Ancestry Voyage: Revealing Facts of Significant Black Characters, Aaron Press, Morristown, NJ, 1989.
Diop, Cheihk Anta, The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality, ed. & translated by Mercer Cook, Lawrence Hill & Company, Wesport, 1974.
Drake, St. Clair, Black Folk Here and There: An Essay in History and Anthropology, vol. 1, Center for Afro-American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, 1987, 3rd printing, 1991.
Edwards, Jeffery, Chosen . . . Not Cursed! – Destiny of the Spiritual Ethiopian, Vincom, Inc., Tulsa, OK, 1989.
Evans, Anthony T., Are Blacks Spiritually Inferior to Whites?: The Dispelling of an American Myth, Renaissance Productions, Inc., Wenonah, NJ, 1992.
Fowler, Jackie, My People Are Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge: A Biblical Account in Chart Form, Fowler Enterprises, Tulsa, OK, 1991.
Harris, Joseph E. (ed.), Pillars in Ethiopian History: The William Leo Hansberry African History Notebook, vol. 1, Howard University Press, Washington, D.C., 1981.
Johnson, John L., The Black Biblical Heritage: Four Thousand Years of Black Biblical History, Winston-Derek Publishers, Inc., Nashville, TN, rev. ed. 1993.
McCray, Walter Arthur. The Black Presence in the Bible. Chicago: Black Light Fellowship, 1990.
The Black Presence in the Bible and the Table of Nations. Chicago: Black Light Fellowship, 1990
McKissic, William Dwight, Sr. Beyond Roots: In Search of Blacks in the Bible. Wenonah, NJ: Renaissance Productions, 1990.
Mosely, William, What Color Was Jesus?, American Images, Chicago, 1987.
Perryman, Wayne, Thought Provoking Bible Studies of the 90’s, Consultants Confidential, Mercer Island, Washington, 1992, reprinted 1993.
Snowdon, Frank M., Jr., Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1983.
Snowden, Frank M. Jr., Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1970.
Van Sertima, Ivan, (ed.), Nile Valley Civilizations, Journal of African Civilizations, Rutgers University, New Brunsswick, NJ, 1986.
Van Sertima and Rashidi, Runoko (ed.), African Presence in Early Asia, Transaction Books, New Brunswick, rev. ed. 1988.
Van Sertima (ed.), African Presence in Early Europe, Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1985, 4th printing 1988.
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