Julian Mitchell

Is It Time to Reconsider the Bible's Role in Black America?

Julian Mitchell is a content marketer who worked with Sean "Diddy" Combs to launch REVOLT Media & TV. Mitchell says that he shaped the network's voice as its Editorial Director. Now, he wants to reshape your beliefs about Christianity, the Bible, and the church.

In Huffington Post's Black Voices segment, Mitchell published a column entitled, "God Over Everything: Black Spirituality and the Paradox of Religion". The crux of his argument is that "Spirituality should be about embracing who you are, developing your own sense of belief, and walking boldly in the fullness of your potential." While much of his article talks about the black journey with and alongside evangelical Christianity, in the end he encourages

"Enduring extreme persecution and exploitation, black people took a template of Christianity and customized it to reflect their own interpretation of its teachings."

Using their own adaptations of Biblical Christianity, black Americans became very spiritual, Mitchell contends. It is this spirituality that runs deep in the souls of black Americans and not necessarily the words of the Bible. "As a result, spirituality became the soul of our artistry, the language of our existence, and the backbone of our communities. It instilled a sense of power and purpose within a race of people who were deemed powerless."

Mitchell believes that is it the "pre-existing concepts of religion" that are the underpinnings of race issues, inequality, and much of the violence that takes place in our country. In his mind, the Bible is not a source of divine knowledge and wisdom, and Jesus is not "the" way to peace. Quite to the contrary, "Effectively eliminating issues of race and equality in this country requires unraveling pre-existing concepts of religion, faith and