St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) once said; “that which is called the Christian religion existed amongst the ancients, and never did not exist. From the beginning of the human race until Christ came in the flesh, at which point the true religion which already existed began to be called Christianity.” –
The debate surrounding the true origins of the Christian religion has raged on via diverse platforms and viewpoints. Christianity, as it is popularly called, is one of the major religious bodies organized around the life and teachings of the man called; Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
‘The World Book Encyclopedia has reported that; as of the year 2002, Christians formed 40% of the Afrikan continent’s population. This represents a significant number of Afrikans and persons of Afrikan descent exchanging their indigenous religious beliefs for a more ‘evolved’ religious body so to speak.
All things; including beliefs, ideas, initiatives and customs have a history that explains their origin. The facts leading to the formation of that history may not always be clear, and some may be lost in the sands of time but there always is an account of some sort concerning the origin of things…
The Christian religion as an organized system of beliefs, customs and practices takes its source from the ancient Kingdom of Egypt; Kher Sesheta is an Egyptian concept that signifies; ‘he who watches over the mysteries’.
Christ, the divine concept that forms one of the fundamental basis of Christianity has been associated with this ancient Egyptian concept of Kher Sesheta as deriving from it. And the relationship existing between Christ and Kher Sesheta is the common function they both serve.
Christ means; ‘The Anointed One’. One who is anointed is made pure by virtue of the anointing, and it was only the pure who were worthy of watching over the mysteries within the ancient Egyptian organized system of beliefs, thus the individual in question was entitled; Kher Sesheta.
Some scholars have also reported that the Greek word; ‘Christos’ has its root in the ancient Egyptian concept of Kher Sesheta.
From the beginning of their civilization up until the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BC) ancient Egypt did not have a standing army, and this is because the Kingdom was ruled by Pharaohs who were also viewed as demi-gods; acting between the masses and Ra (The Sun-God of Egypt).
Order and harmony were therefore ensured through religious means and using spiritual sanctions during the glory days of ancient Egypt. One of these Pharaohs was the black ancient Egyptian called Tut-Ankh-Amen.
Gadalla, in ‘The Ancient Egyptian Roots of Christianity, p65’ makes mention of Tut-Ankh-Amen as the Jesus of history because he was said to be the son of a virgin mother, thus born of immaculate conception and worthy to be called; ‘The Messiah’ or ‘The Christ’.
The ancient Egyptians according to Dr. Joseph A. Bailey in; ‘Very Ancient Africans’ Origin of Christianity I’ thought in terms of the coming of a messiah who will free them from their mortal bondage, and this was most probably because of their advanced insight in spiritual matters.
This Messiah was thus sought after in the rise of every other Pharaoh.
The Romans declared ancient Egypt a province in 30 BC, seeking to retain the mode by which the ancient Egyptians followed their ‘Christ’ or ‘Anointed Messiah’ and governed their kingdom, they developed their own organized system of beliefs similar to that organized system of beliefs used by the ancient Egyptians except with characters resembling the Romans.
This agenda was solidified during the Nicaea Council of 325 AD. Thus the ‘Pharaonic Christ’ and his organized system of beliefs as well as his ‘Christian’ following were all drafted into the Roman Christianity.
This rebranded system of beliefs was later reintroduced to Afrika as the ‘Christian Religion’ and as the way through which persons seeking spiritual redemption can reach it.
All things serve their place in the space of time, and as all things evolve, so does the customs, traditions, beliefs and conventions that move the human race.
Some have found their peace within the confines of religion, others found a home in religion. Can we, therefore, query another for their belief or unbelief and objective of life? Just as the concept of suffering cannot be generalized as each person’s experience is uniquely different, the path by which men and women pursue happiness cannot also be generalized.
History must however be uncovered, for it is with the understanding we gather from the past that we as a race of humans can well-equip ourselves to explore the future.
