RELIGION AND LIFE

Useless Black Elites?

Black history month celebrations continue. In the context of these celebrations there are many reasons for us to ask the question, "What is the role of the black elites in the U.S.A. and beyond?" Among the many reasons are some important biblical and theological considerations. We will begin with some general observations and then we will highlight the biblical and theological issues. Statistics from many reliable sources indicate that black people live with unacceptably serious disadvantages allover the world. For example, here in the U.S.A there is a higher percentage of blacks in prison than other races. The percentage of people infected with HIV/AIDS is higher among blacks. There are more blacks who are homeless. And the list goes on.

Prayer has been a vital part of human behavior from earliest times. Although the forms differ among cultures, they share a common reliance on communicating with deity. Some say that prayer results from man’s instinct to worship, of which it is a form. Others argue that man’s sense of his inadequacies and limitations caused him to create a figment of an all-powerful, unlimited entity to which he could communicate. Since definition is indispensable to clear thinking, it is essential to define Prayer. Prayer is communicating with God, whatever you conceive that entity to be – a tree, a statue, a river, a sea, a mountain or the unseen God of established religion. These are the usual assumptions about prayer. However, the other day I came across another most interesting definition. It holds that prayer is an intense desire for something at a moment when the individual rises above the conscious state and becomes a god-man. I am tempted to incorporate these definitions into my discourse. However, I shall only use the definition accepted by established religion, and more particularly, the Christian religion.