CCC - ENewsletter

Race, Religion & Racism, Vol. One
BOOK REVIEW

By Stanley O. Williford
Director of Publications

In his Race, Religion & Racism trilogy, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price has written a collection of the most important books on the issue of racism in modern times. He first taught on the subject for 76 weeks at Crenshaw Christian Center, the Los Angeles church he founded, and later published the teachings in a three-volume set.

If those teachings were relevant when they were taught on the Ever Increasing Faith television broadcast in late 1997 until early 1999, they are just as relevant today, especially as we read of the recent burnings of Black churches in Louisiana, or the killing of the nine Black church-goers during a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, or the on-going killings of Blacks by police, and the protestations of such groups as Black Lives Matter.

Apostle Price shares that his earliest initiation into the Gospel had been “twisted and distorted” when a White minister told him that God meant for the races to be separated. He asks early on, “How many generations of Blacks have believed that they are cursed and inferior to the rest because of the so-called curse of Ham, a corrupted teaching of the Bible that has been traditionally propounded by certain Christians?”

He explains that the thinking is a deeply ingrained notion in the psyche of many Whites in America that Black blood is inferior to White blood.

Here are two paragraphs from Chapter 3 of volume one that are crucial to the understanding of the problem:

“It all started when the preachers got into league with the slave owners, and the Church sanctioned slavery. That is the reason slavery could exist – because the Church gave its approval for slave owners to practice slavery and call themselves Christians. That is a major reason why people of color have called Christianity the slave owners’ or the white man’s religion and have wanted nothing to do with it.”

“There were of course genuine Christians who spoke out against slavery. But slavery persisted in America for 246 years, because the Church as a whole never committed itself to a positive program to end it.”

Like many American Whites, the Apostle Peter had a problem with prejudice, as we learn in Chapter 4, because he thought the Gospel was only for Jews and not for gentiles. But Peter quickly learned that God’s attitude to other ethnic groups was not what he thought, and he came to this realization:

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”

Apostle Price quotes this portion of Acts 17:26:

“And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth . . . . “

“The Bible says that there is only one blood; biologically, there is no such thing as black blood or white, red, yellow or brown blood,” he writes. “There is only one blood.”

In Galatians 3:28, Apostle takes the thought it a step further:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Apostle Price explains his view in Chapter 5:

“To me, racism is evil because it is an affront to God. In fact, racism is telling God that He is a blithering idiot because He did not know that when He created black people, He was creating an inferior product. If you are a racist, in essence that is what you are saying.

“Of course, racists are not only calling God a fool, they are also flying in the face of all logic: How could God create all men out of one blood and only the black part of those He created be inferior?”

Apostle Price recounts in this chapter the incident that catalyzed him to begin working on the Race, Religion & Racism series.

“The incident began for me when a group of black ministers gave me a tape of a Sunday morning sermon delivered in 1992 by a prominent white charismatic minister whom I knew well. My fellow black ministers were disturbed by the sermon, which was heard by thousands of people worldwide.”

A portion of the sermon reads this way:

“. . . I can’t tell your kids who to go with and who not to date. Not my responsibility. If you don’t want your kids dating somebody, then you control it. But you control it a long time before they ever get to dating age. You talk about we’re friends. We can be friends with everybody; we are not prejudiced, but we are not going to date this group of people; it’s not in our culture to do it. We’re not going to do it. If you want to, there’s no problem with that; that’s fine. You’re not a racist, and you’re not prejudiced just because you set down those kinds of rules.

“If you want, if you want, if you want mixed, fine. That’s if you want it, that’s fine! But if you don’t want it, then you control it. And you don’t have to be a racist about it. And I’m not afraid to talk about it because I’ve got thirty percent of a different, of black, in this congregation. And I’ve talked to many of them, talked to the men about it; I’ve talked to a lot of these people about it, and they all understand where I’m coming from. We got some beautiful mixed marriages in our congregation, but I have talked to them also and they have not been without their problems.”

The quote goes on for quite a bit longer, but let’s skip to these two lines:

“I don’t mean that wrong. I don’t think that we ought to mix any of the races . . . .”

In that chapter, Apostle Price explains how the tape affected him.

“I was as disturbed by the tape [recording] as many of my colleagues were. What was in the heart of the minister who delivered this sermon? And why was it there?”

In chapter 6, he writes:

“On hearing the taped sermon, I knew I had to respond to it.”

As to why he didn’t just leave the issue alone, and let it die, Apostle Price says:

“My answer is that I have an assignment from God and I have to deal with it. I do not really like it; I wish it had been dealt with before I got here, but I am committed to do the job God assigned me.”

This volume includes several more chapters, each as strong as the first.

Part 2, of Volume One deals with, among other subjects, Man’s Origin: A Scientific View; Man’s Origin: A Biblical View; Africa, the Birthplace of Humanity; Adam, Eve and Genetics; Deprogramming the Brainwashing of Slavery.

Volume One, as are the other two volumes, are scholarly in their research. For the student and for those who are simply interested in the role of the Church in the promotion of slavery, it will be harder to find a better source.

What a wonderful gift or reference tool for any student of black or American history! It is annotated, with an extensive bibliography, appendix and index.



*Race, Religion & Racism, Vol. One* BOOK REVIEW By Stanley O. Williford Director of Publications In his Race, Religion & Racism trilogy, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price has written a collection of the most important books on the issue of racism in modern times. He first taught on the subject for 76 weeks at Crenshaw Christian Center, the Los Angeles church he founded, and later published the teachings in a three-volume set. If those teachings were relevant when they were taught on the Ever Increasing Faith television broadcast in late 1997 until early 1999, they are just as relevant today, especially as we read of the recent burnings of Black churches in Louisiana, or the killing of the nine Black church-goers during a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, or the on-going killings of Blacks by police, and the protestations of such groups as Black Lives Matter. Apostle Price shares that his earliest initiation into the Gospel had been “twisted and distorted” when a White minister told him that God meant for the races to be separated. He asks early on, “How many generations of Blacks have believed that they are cursed and inferior to the rest because of the so-called curse of Ham, a corrupted teaching of the Bible that has been traditionally propounded by certain Christians?” He explains that the thinking is a deeply ingrained notion in the psyche of many Whites in America that Black blood is inferior to White blood. Here are two paragraphs from Chapter 3 of volume one that are crucial to the understanding of the problem: “It all started when the preachers got into league with the slave owners, and the Church sanctioned slavery. That is the reason slavery could exist – because the Church gave its approval for slave owners to practice slavery and call themselves Christians. That is a major reason why people of color have called Christianity the slave owners’ or the white man’s religion and have wanted nothing to do with it.” “There were of course genuine Christians who spoke out against slavery. But slavery persisted in America for 246 years, because the Church as a whole never committed itself to a positive program to end it.” Like many American Whites, the Apostle Peter had a problem with prejudice, as we learn in Chapter 4, because he thought the Gospel was only for Jews and not for gentiles. But Peter quickly learned that God’s attitude to other ethnic groups was not what he thought, and he came to this realization: Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” Apostle Price quotes this portion of Acts 17:26: “And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth . . . . “ “The Bible says that there is only one blood; biologically, there is no such thing as black blood or white, red, yellow or brown blood,” he writes. “There is only one blood.” In Galatians 3:28, Apostle takes the thought it a step further: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Apostle Price explains his view in Chapter 5: “To me, racism is evil because it is an affront to God. In fact, racism is telling God that He is a blithering idiot because He did not know that when He created black people, He was creating an inferior product. If you are a racist, in essence that is what you are saying. “Of course, racists are not only calling God a fool, they are also flying in the face of all logic: How could God create all men out of one blood and only the black part of those He created be inferior?” Apostle Price recounts in this chapter the incident that catalyzed him to begin working on the Race, Religion & Racism series. “The incident began for me when a group of black ministers gave me a tape of a Sunday morning sermon delivered in 1992 by a prominent white charismatic minister whom I knew well. My fellow black ministers were disturbed by the sermon, which was heard by thousands of people worldwide.” A portion of the sermon reads this way: “. . . I can’t tell your kids who to go with and who not to date. Not my responsibility. If you don’t want your kids dating somebody, then you control it. But you control it a long time before they ever get to dating age. You talk about we’re friends. We can be friends with everybody; we are not prejudiced, but we are not going to date this group of people; it’s not in our culture to do it. We’re not going to do it. If you want to, there’s no problem with that; that’s fine. You’re not a racist, and you’re not prejudiced just because you set down those kinds of rules. “If you want, if you want, if you want mixed, fine. That’s if you want it, that’s fine! But if you don’t want it, then you control it. And you don’t have to be a racist about it. And I’m not afraid to talk about it because I’ve got thirty percent of a different, of black, in this congregation. And I’ve talked to many of them, talked to the men about it; I’ve talked to a lot of these people about it, and they all understand where I’m coming from. We got some beautiful mixed marriages in our congregation, but I have talked to them also and they have not been without their problems.” The quote goes on for quite a bit longer, but let’s skip to these two lines: “I don’t mean that wrong. I don’t think that we ought to mix any of the races . . . .” In that chapter, Apostle Price explains how the tape affected him. “I was as disturbed by the tape [recording] as many of my colleagues were. What was in the heart of the minister who delivered this sermon? And why was it there?” In chapter 6, he writes: “On hearing the taped sermon, I knew I had to respond to it.” As to why he didn’t just leave the issue alone, and let it die, Apostle Price says: “My answer is that I have an assignment from God and I have to deal with it. I do not really like it; I wish it had been dealt with before I got here, but I am committed to do the job God assigned me.” This volume includes several more chapters, each as strong as the first. Part 2, of Volume One deals with, among other subjects, Man’s Origin: A Scientific View; Man’s Origin: A Biblical View; Africa, the Birthplace of Humanity; Adam, Eve and Genetics; Deprogramming the Brainwashing of Slavery. Volume One, as are the other two volumes, are scholarly in their research. For the student and for those who are simply interested in the role of the Church in the promotion of slavery, it will be harder to find a better source. What a wonderful gift or reference tool for any student of black or American history! It is annotated, with an extensive bibliography, appendix and index.

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