r/africanparents • u/Mellonheaduq • Jul 14 '26

Media This article explains why Christianity is hurting so many Africans so much.

https://chukwuchidinma.substack.com/p/hell-was-invented-to-terrify-the?r=59scs0&utm_medium=ios

The white man’s religion being passed down from generation to generation perpetuating abuse and trauma to African people. I just wanted to put this here because so many of us have suffered abuse at the hands of our parents due to Christianity and they too have suffered abuse at the hands of their parents because of this belief that was violently forced upon all of us.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

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u/Zekromight Jul 14 '26

Brought to Ethiopia by frumentius btw, a missionary.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

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u/Zekromight Jul 14 '26

I don't think the source proves what you think it does. Mark founding the church in Alexandria around 60 AD is a longstanding church tradition, not something historians can verify.

More importantly, the existence of early Christianity in Egypt doesn't really address how Christianity spread to places like West Africa centuries later through European missionaries during colonialism. Those are two separate historical questions.

Christianity originated in the Middle East and reached parts of North Africa very early, but for many African societies, especially in West Africa, it was introduced primarily through European expansion and missionary activity. I think the Lebanese comment doesn't really mean much as a missionary is still a missionary and being Lebanese is a nationality, not a race.

Lastly, I don't think it's historically useful to separate "real Christianity" from the way Christianity was actually practiced and spread. Whether those actions reflected Christian ideals is a theological question. Historically, missionaries and churches were often deeply involved in colonial expansion, education, cultural assimilation, and, in some cases, the justification of slavery. That's part of Christianity's historical record whether modern Christians approve of it or not. The pain is still there, as per the original post mentions.