In
Search of Roots
I
read your web site and was wanting to initiate dialogue
with you. I work with Dr Sidney Davis in a ministry where
we are researching our Hebrew roots in Africa. We just attended
a seminar in California where he made the presentation for
which I post for you this synopsis:
This
e-mail is being sent to introduce you in order to set up
in hopes of beginning an ongoing dialogue with Dr Sidney
Davis:
http://hometown.aol.com/sabbathmorefully/myhomepage/photo.html
who
is a resident of the USA, President of the Bible Sabbath
Association, of Ethiopian descent, a Knight of the Imperial
House of Sellase, and a champion of the Sabbath Day:
This
is the synopsis of a presentation at the Sabbath Roots Conference,
University of Southern California at Los Angeles, November
8 and 9 2000 by Sidney L Davis, Jnr., President of The Bible
Sabbath Association and Editor of "Proclaiming The
Sabbath More Fully" research journal and newsletter.
INTRODUCTION
Recognition
of the tremendous work of Dr Bradford represented in Sabbath
Roots – The African connection and other scholars who
have contributed substantially in the field; W R Robinson,
Beckele Heye, Kofi Mensa and others. I especially honoured
the legacy my maternal grandfather Arminious Reginald Leslie
Ramsay whose constant rehearsal of my Ethiopian ancestry
and heritage in my ears has since ever been the voice motivating
me to the truth of my Sabbath heritage. My thesis consisted
of six modules.
I.
The Changing Face of Christianity
The
early icons of the Christian church (The Ethiopian Black
Madonna) show a face of Christianity that betrays the dominant
and universal presence of Christianity today. Christianity
is returning back to its roots and its roots are very African
as they are Hebraic. The African presence in Christianity
as represented by the ancient icons of the Christian church
are being reflected in an increasing dominating presence
of the African in Christianity today. It’s as if Christianity
is coming full circle. The origin of these iconastic images
originate from churches who observed the Sabbath.
II.
Evidences of a pre-Sinaitic Observance of the Sabbath In
Africa
This
is from the Biblical perspective. The Sabbath was given
to man (mankind) in Eden (Gen.2:2). The location of the
Garden of Eden is shown to be in Africa. The Biblical boundaries
of Eden presented in Scripture (Gen. 2:10-14), the tradition
of the Hebrew sages, (as documented in the Talmud), and
the consensus of recent scientific research on the origins
of man put Eden in Africa where the Sabbath began. The Sabbath
was reiterated in a covenant to African Hebrews while still
in Africa in Mizr (or Egypt)(Ex.5:5; Ex.16:25;20:8; Ps.81:1-5).
Africa is the home of the Sabbath and a Sabbathkeeping tradition
that has been exported to the world.
III.
The Sabbath In Africa as seen through the Hebraic Dispersion
There
are four major elements contributing to the Hebraic Dispersion
throughout Africa and hence the spread of the Sabbath throughout
the land of Cush. These elements of dispersion were initially
through, (1) Trade. Multiple trade routes, on land and sea
(they were intimately connected with the seafaring Phoenicians
from the 8th century BCE, who were known for their large-scale
maritime trade routes), which were eventually colonized
by the Hebrew Israelites (1Ki.9:27), who according to Jesus
(Matt.23:15) were also involved in (2) Aggressive missionary
activity. These trade and missionary activities resulted
in conversions of whole people groups i.e., the Moors and
Berbers of N. Africa, and subsequently intermarriage with
the local population. (3) Conquest. In his quest to find
the Garden of Eden, Alexander was directed by "the
elders of the South (i.e. Africa) to where he might find
it. He employed Jewish warriors in his conquest of North
Africa and his expanding conquest of lands toward the Indian
subcontinent. At the destruction of both temples in 586
BCE and 70 CE, many Hebrew Israelites attempted to escape
enslavement and death when they migrated with Jeremiah (Jer.43:1-7)
into Africa and thereafter to many African cities where
other Hebrews were already living in prosperity. ( 4) Persecution.
It has been discovered that when Christian and Moslems attempted
to force conversions to their respective faiths, many Hebrews
resisted and fled into the mountains and interior desert
regions of Africa, for which there is much documentation
today, howbeit the majority of which is in foreign languages.
Additionally, the only site other than Jerusalem, where
a temple of the Most High YHVH existed with the very same
rites and ceremonies was in Africa, at the Egyptian colony
of Elephantine. Each of these elements when examined show
powerful evidences of how through the Hebraic dispersion
the Sabbath roots were affirmed in Africa.
IV.
The African roots of Biblical Judaism and Christianity.
The
earliest Biblical evidence of a Hebraic presence in Africa
began with Abraham’s sojourn into Egypt (Gen 26:2),
and later the sons of Israel (Gen.41:41;Ex.1:5). The interaction
between the Hebrews and the sons of Cush on the African
continent is evident in the Hebraisms of many African cultures.
This is been a matter of much documentation and research
for which much has been uncovered and more still remains
to be discovered. Christianity was firmly planted in Africa,
just after the day of Pentecost. We see devout men "out
of every nation under heaven"(Acts 2:5) attending,
with special notation made of men attending from African
cities and regions of Egypt, Libya, Cyrene(Act 2:10). These
areas were vast expanses of territory much greater than
what we see on today’s maps, in fact anciently the
whole continent of Africa before it was known by that name
was called "Libya" by the Romans.These men returned
to Africa, and shared their faith with those in their homelands.
Most certainly, however, Christianity was brought into Africa
with the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:27),
some 50 years before the gospel was proclaimed among "the
Gentiles" by Paul. The New Testament also mentions
African Hebrew prophets in the Christian church (Acts 13:1).
The Christian church in Africa is 2000 years old, as old
as Christianity itself.
Before
the Islamic invasion of Africa, Biblical Judaism and Biblical
Christianity stood side by side and both were more dominant
on the continent of Africa than anywhere else in the world
including the land of Israel. Both groups enjoyed a common
Sabbathkeeping tradition which is attested to by the early
Church documents. The Roman persecution of the Jews in the
first three centuries also included the early Christians
or Nazarenes (Acts 24:5) whose leaders were not only ethnically
Hebrew but whose universal practice where ever the gospel
was preached was that of Sabbath observance (Acts 15:27;
Heb.4:9). Whether ethnically a Jew or religiously a Sabbath
observer these were links that marked one for persecution.
These led to the separation of non Jewish believers not
only from ethnic association with Jewish believers but eventually
from the Sabbath itself. However throughout Northern Africa
and especially Ethiopia because of the relative isolation
and other factors, the Hebraic and Sabbath keeping roots
of the Christian faith were maintained.
V.
The Indigeny of the Sabbath In Africa
The
Sabbath in Africa can clearly be traced and established
from it’s Edenic roots, through the Hebraic dispersion
and its native Hebraic and Christian origins. It is also
evident in the Sabbath legacy of the Ethiopians and many
other African tribes whose link to the Sabbath are established
Biblically, historically, archeologically, (i.e., inscriptions
on ancient tombstones) ethnically and ethnographically,
anthropologically, geographically, scientifically and not
least of all genetically with the phenomenal discoveries
that have confirmed the Hebraic origins of African tribes,
a fact always known and acknowledged by Africans themselves-
especially in many of their oral histories. These all testify
to the primacy of the Sabbath in Africa. This part of the
presentation briefly address those areas in Africa where
such discoveries have been made in the past, recently and
other indications that show promise of an ever expanding
revelation that declare the Sabbath in Africa.
VI.
Conclusion
The
Sabbath in Africa, so what? What does this mean in the context
of the changing face of Christianity? What does this have
to do with our Christian faith and our Judaic orientation?
This part of the presentation attempts to address the meaning
of what the Sabbath In Africa is all about and how these
revelations as Dr. Keith Burton of Oakwood College has said
"could revolutionize the meaning of the Sabbath for
the universal black nation in particular, and the world
at large." That the descendants of slaves in the Americas
are the progeny of an already dispersed Hebrew as well as
Sabbathkeeping Christian presence in Africa is the content
of module VII of this thesis. This will gives the truth
against the lie that Christianity is a "slave religion"
or the white man’s religion, the lie that the Sabbath
was made for the "Jews" only and that the dilemma
of the African is chronicled in the prophetic word of Scriptures
(Deut.28:68). Indeed the face of Christianity is not only
changing, but the legacy and destiny of an African people
is coming full circle bringing the true faith and practice
of the Christian faith to light.
Dr.
Sidney L. Davis, Jr. - President
www.biblesabbath.org
"Proclaiming The Sabbath More Fully"
www.sabbathmorefully.org
e-mail: http://hometown.aol.com/sabbathmorefully/myhomepage/photo.html
Speaker/Lecuturer On the African Roots of Biblical Judiasm
and Christianity
Now Accepting Speaking Engagements for Black History Month
(847) 785-0315
Scribe:
While the origin of Adam of the Bible was in Africa, the
Garden of Eden to which he moved was in Aden, where Adam
discovered the wild wheat and started agriculture which
was the beginning of our present civilisation.
At
that time, 11,000 years ago, Arabia and Africa were still
joint together, and the red sea was merely a lake.
If
you would like to make any comments or contribute to The
Scribe please contact
us.
