Has Christianity brainwashed black people?

I was born into a Christian family and spent my whole life in the Church. I was taught that the Bible was the Word of God and if I disobeyed it I would go to hell and if I followed it I will go to heaven. To be honest I initially didn't question it. However as I did get older,  I started to think critically and researched a lot more.

The images of Jesus I saw growing up was a white man that looked like the above. I had believed as a child that Jesus was white. My mum has a similar image in her bedroom. The Jesus image that we see is based on Cesare Borgia , a 15th century Italian politician and cardinal. This image is very damaging to the psyche of Black people as it makes you believe that a white man is your God and saviour. This has brainwashed many African/black people globally. Unfortunately, all over Africa you will see this image of white Jesus, and there are many black people who see white people as superior to them. Some Africans believe that white people will save them from poverty, this is very ironic since it was the Europeans that caused Africa to be underdeveloped in the first place. My mum told me of a saying in Ghana that says "if you see a white man, you have seen God". This is really sad and is a narrative that needs to change.

The oldest form of Christianity is found in Egypt and Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Coptic church has existed since the 4th Century and Ethiopia was one of the first Christian nations in the world. The image on the right shows Jesus, Mary and others as black. In the majority of cultures across the world people worship God's that look like them. I think it is important to see yourself in the God you worship. The Ethiopian bible contains 80+ books whilst the modern bible that we have only contains 66 Books. The question is why does the modern bible have less books? what happened to the other books? why were there taken out? what was their agenda behind this? 

The "missing" books of the bible are called the Apocrypha. You are able to find some of these books online, these include, the Book of Judas, The book of Enoch, the Maccabees, The Gospel of Thomas etc. Further to the research I had done, I found that the missing books cover the missing parts of the bible. For example what happened to Jesus during the ages of 12-30? what happened to Adam and Even when their were exiled? these are covered in these texts. 

When Europeans brought Christianity to other parts of Africa they had used it as a tool to control Africans. The Europeans wanted others to follow their way of life, and wanted to "civilise" Africans by forcing their lifestyle and religion on them. They convinced Africans that their own spiritual belief systems were evil and demonic (which unfortunately many Africans still believe till this day).  They gave many Africans "Christian names" to basically replace their native names.

Christianity was used to justify slavery against Africans during the trans-atlantic slave trade. In the bible (Genesis 9:20-27) there is a story of Noah, where he drank wine, became drunk and was naked. His son Ham (the father of Canaan) saw him naked and told his two brothers Shem and Japeth. They then covered their dad but kept their faces turned away so they didn't see him naked. When Noah woke up he cursed Ham and his son "“Cursed be Canaan!, The lowest of slaves, will he be to his brothers.”. There was this belief that as a result of the curse Ham's skin became black, and that all black people descended from Canaan and therefore were destined to be slaves.

Also during slavery, there were Africans who committed suicide as a form of resistance. To combat this slave masters used to tell enslaved Africans that committing suicide was a sin and they would go to hell for that. They also used the following bible verse to control Africans -Ephesians 6:5-8:

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

However slave masters will purposely leave out the next verse "9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

That is a reason why enslaved Africans were not allowed to read. While I was in Ghana last December I visited cape coast castle which was a slave castle. The tour guide informed us that the very first church in Ghana was built on a slave dungeon.

Christianity was used to make Africans docile. Historically, Africans have always been warriors and fighters, such as the Zulu's, the Dahomey, the Massai etc. They fought their enemies. Europeans knew they couldn't physically control Africans as they would always fight back, so they controlled them mentally and used Christianity to do this. They convinced Africans that they should be forgiving and always "turn the other cheek" so  that they don't attack their white oppressors. They also brainwashed Africans to accept  and endure suffering on earth so that they will be rewarded in heaven. We only get one life, so why should some people suffer while those preaching this message are being rewarded on earth? The remnants of this brainwashing still exists today and keeps many black people in the position they are in today.

There are some black people who believe that if all they do is fast, pray and give offering, all of their problems would be solved instead of taking action to fix their problems. The bible clearly states that "Faith without WORKS is dead"  (James 2:26). Being a Christian doesn't mean you shouldn't use logic, common sense and critical thinking. God gave all of us a brain for a reason. I'm sure many of you would have come across the over religious Christian who you try to explain a practical concept to but they just end up unnecessarily over spiritualising it, instead of using simple logic.

I do not believe Christianity itself is bad, I believe the way it has been used by some has been very detrimental to many Africans and their descendants. On the flip side Christianity has also helped people overcome difficult situations and create positive outcomes in their life. I think it is important that Christians read and study the bible for themselves, not just believe something because someone told them about it. Always do your own research. Christianity should be used in the right way to make your situation better and not worse.