A story is told of the astronauts who had just landed on earth back from space. Everyone was so excited that the astronauts were safely back on earth but the philosophers were more excited because they had one burning question to ask the astronauts.
“So, did you see God?” Asked the philosophers to the astronauts.
“Yes. She is black.” Replied the astronauts.
I grew up bowing to an image of a white male God in the chapel. My prayers have always begun with “Our Father Who Art in Heaven…”
If God was a black female, do you really think that black women would be the most marginalized group? The minority of minorities?
How could this great black lady above allow those she created in her own image to serve four hundred years in slavery and reward them with institutionalized racism, police brutality, and a fair share of economic injustice?
Do you mean to tell me that this all-powerful black deity, who created the galaxy and all the marvels of the universe, was unable to give an equal amount of political, economic, and social privilege to all the continents and countries alike? Why would she make one country greater than the other? Why would she leave Africa to the mercies of the European colonialists?
It is written that God created man in his own image in Genesis 1:27 in the bible. I take this statement literally. If God were a black woman, she would never tolerate the highly increasing rates of sexual abuse perpetrated against women despite all measures to fight crimes against women.
Ooh, black Goddess, if your eminence and splendor are too great for the human brain to comprehend and if you are truly supreme and invincible, how could you put the African continent at the bottom of the food chain in the global economic and political arena?
There is no way God is a black woman. Looking at the world today and all the injustices happening to black people, the racism, and the way women are marginalized; I insist that there is no way God is a black woman.
Hi Emmy,
An interesting and challenging post. I would like to pose another thought for you to consider.
If God were human, would he have allowed the people whom he created in his own image to murder and kill one another, sometimes millions at a time? To watch as thousands upon thousands of innocent people faced death at the hands of their neighbors in a number of genocides? To see brutal states rise up that care nothing for their subjects or citizens except for as means to their own political supremacy and the luxury of the classes?
You reject that God is a black woman, saying “no” to the above reasoning. But I would say yes––for Jesus was a human, who suffered much for no just reason, lived without a home or family that could allow him to settle, and finally suffocated on a crucifix that declared that all authority yielded to the might of Rome.
In sum: if I read you correctly, it seems that you say God could not be a black woman because he obviously doesn’t care for black women; meanwhile, he could be (if he exists) a white man because he seems obviously (if he exists) to care for white males. And I don’t think that logic follows if Christianity is true.
Some thoughts for you to chew on and respond to if you’d like.
Best,
Taylor
Hie Emmy,
Thanks for a thought-provoking post. I am curious to know why you would think of God having a human form? I know the bible says he created men in his own image but I was taught that man is spirit and flesh and that spirit was created after God’s own image, hence God is a Spirit. Although I do agree with you that God is not a black woman, my opinion does not end there, he is not a man either, he is a supreme being than is bigger than anything we have ever seen. And besides men’s deeds are so unjust I would never picture God functioning withing similar unrighteous parameters.No human is like God.
Hi Emmy,
I really loved the way you poured your heart into this blog and created a beautiful piece surrounding racial injustice in the context of religion. I think this is an extremely important topic that should be talked about more and especially in the context of the church. Colonizers were often missionaries looking to spread their faith to native communities in which they often devastated. Religious groups and their churches have spewed hateful and racists messages. So if the church is the body of Christ which is made of his followers, then the church is responsible for the racial injustice that we have seen and continue to see today. It shouldn’t matter which institutions have done so, but rather that this truth is acknowledged in the church so that it is mindful of how we are called to be. I loved that you also mentioned suffering because my ministry just recently had a service on suffering and why God allows for it in our world. I would to meet with you and talk about it sometime. We also are doing a sermon on race and gender this Wednesday if you would like to come! Please feel free to message me on groupme or send me an email (njg5310@psu.edu) if you would like to come.
-Norma Garcia