The Bible, Colonialism, and the Question of Control: Can We Be Honest?

There is a conversation that many Christians are afraid to have. It is the conversation that lingers in the quiet moments of doubt. It is the question that rises in the dead of night when the noise of religion fades and the silence demands honesty.

As long as God has not come down to reveal Himself directly, and people are expected to rely solely on stories written by other men, men whose civilizations also brought slavery and terror to many societies, you cannot blame those who choose not to believe.

This is not a statement of rebellion. This is a statement of honesty. It is the voice of a people who have been told what to believe, how to believe, and when to believe, often by the very people who enslaved their ancestors, stole their lands, and erased their cultures.

And if we are truly seekers of truth, we cannot afford to dismiss these questions. We cannot afford to silence those who ask them. We cannot afford to hide behind religious platitudes while ignoring the historical realities that shaped the faith we now call our own.

Belief and Fact: Two Parallel Lines

There is a distinction that must be made. A distinction that is uncomfortable but necessary.

Someone said, "Belief and fact are two parallel lines; they are not the same thing. You cannot reasonably ask someone to accept something without physical evidence and then condemn or punish them for refusing to believe what they see as unproven."

This is the heart of the matter. Faith, by its very nature, is belief in things not seen. It is trust in what is not yet fully proven. It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not visible. And there is nothing wrong with that. Faith is beautiful. Faith is powerful. Faith is what has sustained millions of people through the darkest moments of their lives.

But faith cannot be forced. Faith cannot be coerced. Faith cannot be imposed at the point of a sword or the barrel of a gun. And when faith is used as a tool of control, when it is used to justify oppression, when it is used to silence the voices of the oppressed, it ceases to be faith. It becomes something else entirely. It becomes a weapon.

And that is what many Africans experienced. The Bible was brought to us by people who also brought chains. The Gospel was preached by people who also stole our land. The promise of heaven was offered by people who were busy building their own heaven on earth, often at our expense.

And so, when we ask why some Africans choose not to believe, we must be honest about the answer. It is not because they are stubborn. It is not because they are rebellious. It is not because they are in love with sin. It is because they have seen the disconnect between the message and the messengers. They have seen the hypocrisy. They have seen the violence. They have seen the control.

And they have chosen to walk away.

Who Is Jesus Really?

There is a question that every African must ask for themselves. It is a question that cannot be answered by anyone else. It is a question that demands personal, honest, and courageous reflection.

"Have you ever asked yourself who Jesus really is? Is He a saviour or a fabricated story made up to keep us Africans under their control?"

This is a question that cuts through the noise of religion and demands an answer. And it is a question that deserves a thoughtful response.

Let me offer a perspective. A perspective that is not defensive, but honest. A perspective that acknowledges the pain of the past while still pointing toward the truth.

The Jesus of the Bible is not a European. He was not white. He was not a colonizer. He was a Middle Eastern Jew, a man of colour, born under occupation, raised in poverty, and executed by the very empire that would later use His name to justify its atrocities.

Jesus was not a supporter of empire. He was a critic of empire. He did not align Himself with the powerful. He aligned Himself with the powerless. He did not bless the oppressors. He blessed the oppressed. He did not come to build earthly kingdoms. He came to establish a kingdom that was not of this world.

And here is the beautiful, radical truth that the colonizers forgot. Jesus was not on their side. Jesus was on the side of the enslaved. Jesus was on the side of the colonized. Jesus was on the side of the poor, the broken, the marginalized, and the forgotten.

The colonizers who brought the Bible to Africa did not understand this. They twisted the message to serve their own purposes. They used the Bible to justify slavery. They used the Bible to justify violence. They used the Bible to justify the destruction of African cultures and traditions. And in doing so, they betrayed the very Jesus they claimed to represent.

But their betrayal does not make Jesus false. Their manipulation does not make the Gospel a lie. Their hypocrisy does not erase the truth of who Jesus is.

So, ask yourself the question. Who is Jesus really? And do not let anyone else answer it for you. Read the Gospels for yourself. Not through the lens of the colonizer, but through the lens of your own heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you. And then, make your own decision.

The Early We Do, the Better

There is a call to action in this conversation. A call that demands urgency.

Someone said, "These people must be listened to for complete liberation from religious mental slavery. The early we do, the better."

This is not a call to abandon faith. This is a call to abandon blind faith. This is a call to abandon the faith that was imposed upon us and embrace the faith that sets us free. This is a call to move from religious mental slavery to spiritual conscious liberation.

What does that mean?

It means asking the hard questions. It means examining the history. It means acknowledging the pain. It means separating the Gospel from the colonizer. It means recognising that the message of Jesus is not the same as the religion that was used to control us.

It means reading the Bible for ourselves, with our own eyes, in our own languages, through our own cultural lenses. It means seeing the parallels between the Hebrew people and African people. It means recognising that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is also the God of our ancestors. It means understanding that Jesus was not a foreign God, but a God who came to set all people free, including us.

And it means taking responsibility for our own spiritual journey. It means not outsourcing our faith to anyone else. It means not letting anyone else tell us what to believe without doing the work ourselves. It means being wise, being discerning, and being conscious.

The early we do this, the better. Because the longer we remain in mental slavery, the longer we remain vulnerable to manipulation. The longer we remain in blind faith, the longer we remain powerless. The longer we remain dependent on others to tell us who God is, the longer we remain children in our faith.

But when we wake up, when we become conscious, when we take ownership of our spiritual lives, we become free. And that freedom is the foundation of everything else.

The Heaven They Were Building

There is a painful observation that must be addressed. It is the observation that cuts to the heart of the hypocrisy.

"Ask yourself, while we are carrying the Bible around, fighting to go to heaven, the people who gave us the Bible were busy building their heaven on earth."

This is the uncomfortable truth. While we were being told to be content with our suffering, to wait for our reward in heaven, to endure oppression with patience, the colonizers were building their heaven right here on earth. They were building wealth. They were building infrastructure. They were building empires. They were building systems that would benefit them and their descendants for generations to come.

And we were left behind.

This is not a conspiracy theory. This is history. This is the reality of what happened. And to ignore it is to remain in denial.

But here is the good news. The same Bible that was used to keep us passive contains the power to set us free. The same Bible that was used to justify our oppression contains the message of our liberation. The same Bible that was used to tell us to wait for heaven contains the mandate to build heaven here on earth.

Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." He did not tell us to wait for heaven. He told us to bring heaven to earth. He told us to be the light of the world. He told us to be the salt of the earth. He told us to occupy until He comes.

So, let us stop waiting. Let us stop being passive. Let us stop being content with poverty, with oppression, with injustice. Let us build. Let us create. Let us work. Let us build the kingdom of God here on earth, in our communities, in our nations, in our continent.

And let us do it with wisdom. With discernment. With consciousness. Not as slaves, but as sons and daughters. Not as victims, but as victors. Not as those who are controlled, but as those who are free.

Africans, Be Wise for Once

There is a plea in this conversation. A plea that comes from a place of love, of frustration, of hope.

"Africans, be wise for once."

This is not an insult. This is an invitation. It is an invitation to wake up. It is an invitation to think for ourselves. It is an invitation to examine the things we have been taught and ask if they are true. It is an invitation to reclaim our agency, our identity, and our destiny.

Being wise does not mean rejecting everything we have been taught. It means examining it. It means testing it. It means holding it up to the light of truth and seeing if it holds. It means being willing to let go of what is false and embrace what is true.

Being wise means asking the hard questions. It means not being afraid of the answers. It means being willing to admit when we have been wrong. It means being open to growth, to change, to transformation.

And being wise means taking responsibility for our own spiritual journey. It means not letting anyone else define our faith for us. It means reading, studying, praying, and seeking God for ourselves.

So, let us be wise. Let us be conscious. Let us be free.

A Final Word to the Honest Seekers

If you are reading this and you have doubts, I see you. If you are reading this and you have questions, I understand. If you are reading this and you have been hurt by the church, by religion, by the hypocrisy of those who claimed to speak for God, I feel your pain.

You are not wrong for asking questions. You are not wrong for doubting. You are not wrong for struggling with the faith you inherited. The path to truth is often paved with questions. And the God who created you is not afraid of your questions.

So, keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. And do not let anyone silence you. Do not let anyone shame you. Do not let anyone tell you that your questions are a sign of weak faith. Because the truth is, the person who asks questions is often the one who finds the deepest faith.

And when you find it, when you find the truth that sets you free, hold onto it. Not the religion that was imposed on you, but the faith that is yours. Not the God of the colonizer, but the God of your ancestors. Not the Jesus of the empire, but the Jesus of the oppressed.

Because that Jesus, the real Jesus, is the one who came to set the captives free. And that includes you.

Have you ever struggled with the connection between the Bible and colonialism? Have you ever asked yourself who Jesus really is? What is your journey with faith and doubt? Drop your thoughts below. Let us heal together.

And if you made it this far, thank you for being brave enough to have this honest conversation. Keep seeking. Keep asking. Keep growing. The truth is waiting for you. 🙌