I saw this great program on Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (PBS), discussing a church in Chicago that links modern black xianity to Christians from the bible. The pastor argues that
- blacks were Christians in many places before American slavery
- blacks should embrace their African and Christian roots in Africa
What was missing from this report was any distinguishing of African rituals and culture that black Christians could embrace, vs. those rooted in pagan worship. But it still all looked like a good thing.
What was really interesting were the Swahili coming-of-age rituals for men and girls – Xianity has lost this type of confirmation of adulthood – I mean, what happened to Barmitzvah?