Dr. Karl Robinson has asked me to write the Introduction to his new blog titled, Black Biblical Timeline which I consented to do being a preacher of the gospel.
His blog entries originally were intended for his next book, but social media advancements compelled him to share with us his entry notes as author of Being Church Behind Prison Walls: Survival Theology, Prisoners and Policymakers. This blog is really an extention of Chapter One in his this book. A biblical timeline exists in many religious books and journals, but a Black Biblical Timelime must be created alongside what White religious editorialist and so-called scholars are putting out in the public domain. This blog is a fuller biblical witness to historical facts, not overexeraggerated Biblical sentimentality. I think most people will appreciate the peeling away of the separation between biblical witness and historical facts. As the first Guest Blogger on Dr. Robinson’s website, and as a History major in college, I gladly said Ok when Karl asked me to lead off this blog discussion beginning with you, the peoples of God. To blog a religious timeline is admittedly both controversial and time consuming. There have been many books on Blacks in the Bible, but not a strict chronological order and up to date, credible and researchable historical descriptions which the Information Age provides. Dr. Karl is about to change the trajectory of religious Church History which will shape how we see and experience God—regardless of your Faith. Karl has allowed us to peek into his biblical notes so we may become better students of Holy Writ. He is pushing a sesimic shift in how we become better stewards our of Faiths. This is what the Black Biblical Timeline is all about.
History is the battleground of ideals where Dr. Robinson is putting the readers in a front row seat with this blog series. And because it is ongoing for the next 52 weeks, everyone can get on board with these entries and discussions. By putting you in the driver’s seat to these unfolding biblical sacred and secular historical events, you can begin to reinvent what the Bible means in a more personal way. Malcolm X famously said that of all the areas of human inquiry, history is best in rewarding those who seek knowledge and understanding. You can find yourself on the map of human geography and revisit lost events located in biblical text and secular history. Karl is laying the first academic attempt in this media modality; he needs our input so we all can be enlightened and transformed as Paul says “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.”
As a History major in both undergraduate with additional work in Church History in seminary, and having a front row seat alongside my late father, Horace Sheffield, Jr., I witnessed first hand the backdoor discussions and organizational nuances of the historic civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was my father along with others in the Trade Union leadership that brought Dr. King to Detroit where he first spoke of his dream for world peace; but more than this, my father’s papers which are digitized and archived for posterity adds value to these historical times….Karl’s blog along with readers such as yourself can now begin to see with fresh eyes current and past historical meanings in a new way, a new context. That is why these blogs are significant.
I have preached from the pulpit and taught and presented ample evidence about Black presence in the Bible; now Karl has put this evidence in chronological order to the benefit peoples of all Faiths.
Most people are still unaware of the Black Fathers of the Church such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, Athanansius, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyprian and St. Augustine. And there’s more when you consider the Black martrys and Saints of the Church such as Perpetua and Felicity; two Black women who pioneered the Sunday School. There is Saint Maurice and his Black religious military regiment. And there’s more with the early Black martyrs of the Church which are conveniently left out of history or not told by religious scholars that they were Black. And nothing is more egregious than the little known fact about the early African popes of the Church such as Victor 1 (189-99 AD), Miltiades (311-314 AD), and Gelasius (492-496 AD). All of these popes were North African Black men.
This blog, tagged by Author Karl Robinson as the “Black Biblical Timeline” is something new, different and fresh in the blog world; it’s disjointed, but chronologically ordered series of events in both the sacred (Biblical) and secular (World) which intersects with all the major World Religions: Judaism, Christian, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. What stands out most however, are the dates Karl throws out which are researchable by the readers.
The religious propaganda against people of Black faith communities is astounding. The religious propagandist have their sway with untruths and falsehoods. Dr. Karl has informed me that this Black Biblical blog will cover at least 52 week entries, therefore to assist in this initial completion I am asking you to push the donate button on this website to ensure that the work which is before us can continue uninterupted. With sufficient grassroot support, we can chip away at the untruths and falsehoods and reconstruct a timeline which will serve the peoples of God and their holy religions and impact the worship experience grounded in love, peace and justice.