Rev. Bevis Byfield, Contributor
HUMAN history is too complex to reflect in detail all its tangled webs. The spiders of the world have been very clever in weaving these webs. Symbols have been tremendous in helping humankind to shape and perpetuate its memories. Theology and religion have always been in the forefront in seeking to explain and reveal the reality of God and to discuss the implications and effects of colour symbolism in the spirituality of Christians. Some theologians have even been bold enough to assert that oppression in our world has dehumanised persons at both the material and physical levels of their lives.
But one dimension of that oppression, the colour symbolism of black and white found in the western and white theology, has perpetuated the lie which asserts implicitly (sometimes explicitly) that white represents everything that is spiritually good while black represents everything that is spiritually evil.
The effect has been to produce among Christians in especially depressed areas of the world a negative self-image and as a consequence a kind of inferior spirituality and at worst a schizoid personality. Christians as a consequence, need to become aware of the oppressive nature of western theological symbolism of black and white. Such a realisation will go a far way in helping people to liberate themselves from the mental slavery of colour symbolism. Colours do convey meanings and meanings either denotatively or connotatively.
Williams R. Jones in his book, Is God A White Racist? reminds the reader that traditional presupposition of Western theology must be challenged because that theology has lost its adequacy to communicate meaningfully with the oppressed black peoples of our world. The book outlines for us the radical nature of the enterprise to be undertaken if black people in America, and anywhere else for that matter, are to give serious evaluation of their situation in the context of Christian values.
Rather than using the goodness and the justice of God as the first principles or starting point of their theological reflection, Jones says theologians must ask the question, is God a white racist? Some would argue that such a question is presumptuous or even atheistic.
For Jones there is a demand "that we look afresh at God's sovereignty as it relates to human history." For the author the prepositions and conclusions of black suffering in the writings of some theologians make the question and its refutation the necessary point of departure for the construction of alternative systems of theology.
Jones in the epilogue of the book says "My real purpose is not to preclude further debate by providing the truth, but to suggest an interpretative forum in which that debate can occur. It is also the case that in a new discipline, such as black theology, any criticism of the present systems, of necessity, must assume the character of a prolegomenon."
Jones is right, colour symbolism is inadequate to guide humanity towards truth and salvation. If therefore the economic and religious situation in our world is a consequence of our philosophical and theological symbolism, it is not enough to attack oppression just at the economic, political and social levels. One needs to attack it also at the ideological or ideational levels. As long as societies continue to perpetuate the idea that white is good and black is evil, no amount of empirical evidence can persuade people not to believe in the pervading colour symbolism.
Racism of any kind and at any level prejudices human development and liberation for God's skin is neither black, yellow or white.
