Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The Truth about Kwanzaa

Here I go, getting myself in trouble again, but sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do!

I got a few e-mails (the ones from last year know better *snort*) from people who have asked me why I did a post on Christmas but I don't do one on Kwanzaa, and they wanted to know why.

Well here's my answer...

I am a born-again, evangelical Christian. Christmas is the commemoration of the birthday of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Kwanzaa, is a black-oriented holiday invented in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga. On September 17, 1971, this same man was handed one to ten years in prison because of charges filed in 1970 where Karenga and two of his cohorts tortured two women that he accused of trying to kill him.

Karenga beat the women with an electrical cord and a karate baton after ordering them to strip naked. The one woman had a hot soldering iron put in her mouth and placed against her face. That not being sufficient torture, Kurenga also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths.

But ya' know who am I to throw stones...we all make mistakes...rightttttt!

Initially Kwanzaa developed because Karenga held a hostility toward Western religion. He wrote in his 1980 book, Kawaida Theory, "denies and diminishes human worth, capacity, potential and achievement. In Christian and Jewish mythology, humans are born in sin, cursed with mythical ancestors who've sinned and brought the wrath of an angry God on every generation's head."

He similarly opposed belief in God and other "spooks who threaten us if we don't worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives." Thus, Karenga explained in his 1977 Kwanzaa: Origin, Concepts, Practice, "Kwanzaa is not an imitation, but an alternative, in fact, an oppositional alternative to the spookism, mysticism and non-earth based practices which plague us as a people and encourage our withdrawal from social life rather than our bold confrontation with it."

The holiday "was chosen to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."

Since then, the holiday has gained mainstream adherents, and Karenga has altered its justification so as not to alienate practicing Christians: "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday," he writes in Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture, published in 1997.

So, would I as a Christian, American, black woman celebrate this, this Kwanzaa...not with a ten foot pole!

I know there will be people out there who get riled up by my comments.

Too bad...so sad!

11 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    I'm glad Christians are reclaiming Christmas from the Poliitcally Correct world we live in and daring to say, Merry Christmas again.

    Hope yours was just the way you like it. Happy New Year!
    Anonymous said...
    give 'em hell, Bonnie.
    Anonymous said...
    Go sister! You tell them!
    Soul Reflections said...
    Isn't it amazing that most people (un-taught) would say that all religion leads to the same God? They need to look into these matters. There's only one way to God and that's through Jesus Christ. Thanks, Bonnie, for educating those who don't find out for themselves.
    Bernita said...
    Atta Girl!
    Leann said...
    way to go girl.I heard all of this on TV one day.I had not known it before.but it seems people are looking for answers.and if they dont know the truth they will pretty much believe almost anything.one ladys blog I read listons to card readers and the stars.its sad.I always say "why ask the stars when you can ask the one who made the stars!"Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father but by me."cant get any plainer then that.
    Anonymous said...
    That was good to hear. Thank you for shining the light of truth.
    Anonymous said...
    Hey Bonnie - It's amazing that you would write this now. I'm catching all kinds of heck -- but the Lord is redeeming me -- for writing about supporting Ann Coulter in her recent article that exposed the same flawed roots of Kwanzaa. It's great how God speaks to us all at the same time. Take care and happy vacation!
    Bonnie S. Calhoun said...
    Paula, you might want to gather some addition support from a black organization called Bond.....www.bondinfo.org

    The founder and president, the Rev Jesse Lee Peterson said, “Kwanzaa was designed to separate blacks from Christmas and Christianity. Kwanzaa is anti-white and anti-American. Black Americans need to make a choice between the Prince of Peace and the Marxist Karenga.”
    Anonymous said...
    Thanks for posting on my site Bonnie and after reading your post on Kwanzaa all I can say is AMEN SIS!

    I'm always happy whenever fellow Christians do GET IT about Kwanzaa!

    Stay Blessed!
    Bonnie S. Calhoun said...
    For anyone interested in reading more on the subject, Carlotta has a great website, The Truth About Kwanzaa. It is a wealth of resources and information! And she also has a blog about it that you can reach by clicking through to her profile!

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