Monday, November 29, 2010

If You're Thinkin Bout My God, It Don't Matter If You're Black or White

Is it just me or do White and Black people have two totally different concepts of God? I think the overall "jist" of God is the same (loves people, hears prayers, etc) but the physical and intrinsic characteristics draw a stark contrast. Lemme give you some examples:

White God can hear.
Walk by any White church on a Sunday morning and you won't hear a peep from inside.  That's strange too because they tend to have rather large congregations. To the contrary, Black churches can be heard from a block away. Doesn't matter if there are only four members in the church, you can hear a guitar, organ, drums and tambourine as soon as you enter the same zip code. 

This leads me to my theory that Black God suffers from mild hearing loss. You have to shout to get His attention and I'll even go so far as to say that He has a mild case of ADD. That's the best explanation I have for people shouting, dancing, running around the church and perculating. I assume it's to keep Him interested. Meanwhile, White God seems to be cool with a simple (and quiet) "Dear Lord." Some even speculate that you can actually pray to him silently. I'm guessing that prayers come to him on some kind of big screen tv with subtitles/ closed-captioning.

Black God is from the streets.
White God doesn't require you to converse with Him in the King's English, but it seems to be the lexicon of choice for White parishioners. And even if they don't speak perfect English, the way that they talk to God seems more casual and direct. "Lord, please watch over us. Amen."

Talking to Black God is like walking up to Goldie or something. First, you have the signifying. You don't just say, "Hey God, what's up." You have to approach Him and let him know that you know that he knows that he's the man. "Lord, we know that you were there with Daniel in the lion's den. You are an awesome God. When I rose this morning, I didn't have no doubt..." It's almost like you're introducing Him at the Apollo. "He hails from heaven. He is the inspiration behind the best selling book, THE BIBLE. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Father, Son and the Holy Ghooooooost!"

Black God's street cred isn't just fueled by the lingo, it's where Black God lives. White churches tend to be very nice, pristine places. I'm not saying that Black God doesn't have some nice places, but his brand image is diluted by some of the "other" places he lives. Black God is kinda like the dude on Grand Theft Auto. You start out with crappy houses when the game begins, but then you upgrade over time. No different with Black God. He's the original hustler and moves his product in any locale. You have your hole in the wall churches, the store front churches, the shacks that were leftover from the Underground Railroad, basement churches, rec centers and I even saw an old gas station converted into a church.

Now, when he does buy a nice place, he decks that joint out. ATM's, bowling alleys, huge jumbotrons. He lets his people walk around with iPads and s-curls. He takes care of his peoples.

Now I don't mean to say that I think either side is right. Both sides will probably say I'm going to hell for this. I just like to share my observations.

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