My name is pastor Dale Huntington of City Life Church in Mt Hope. I would like to respond to your opinion article “Unlearning White Supremacy” by Fawn Walker-Montgomery of the New Pittsburgh Courier.
The article stated how Christianity was practiced “as survival,” as if Christian practice had forced itself upon African Americans within the last few hundred years.
While, regretably, people in power misused the text in order to oppress those they enslaved, I believe Ms Walker-Montgomery is leaving out a context most important: Christianity IS an African religion. Christianity was in Africa 1,000 years before the camel.
Many of our great theologians in the history of our faith hail from Africa. Tertullian, Origen and the revered Augustine of Hippo hailed from this great continent. The great Athanasius hailed from Alexandria and is one of the most influential voices in the History of Christianity. Our ideas of the Trinity and orthodox Christianity were worked out and defended by this brilliant African mind. He was not a tall man in stature and was dubbed the “black dwarf.” But despite his diminutive size, he still looms large over all Christian faith. Dismissing Christian faith because of the terrible white enslavers of early America is actually allowing them to control the history of Black Americans. Let us not forget the great African Christians who went before us 2,000 years ago!
Dale Huntington
City Life Church, San Diego