I’m almost done with my third reading of 1 Samuel and I had to get my thoughts down about King Saul, the first King of Israel.
There’s so many lessons here that we can apply to our own lives, in today’s modern world. Mainly, the importance of patience and obeying God’s commandments even in the face of overwhelming pressure and anxiety.
Points Discussed: Modern-Day Christians Want God to Help Them Right Away? Why Some Humans Prefer Human Leadership over God’s Leadership – @1:20 Lack of Patience Under Intense Pressure – @3:48 Saul Failed with the Amalekites – @5:22 Obeying God’s Commandments is Better than Sacrifices – @7:18 If God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayers, Will You Reject God? – @8:32 Saul Relied on Mediums – @10:10
Is it true that Black Men have “abandoned the church”? Clearly, there are still black men going to church. It’s not like you’ll walk into one and NOT see a black guy.
But from watching the pastors on Jason Whitlock’s show and hearing Kevin Samuels over the past few years, there does seem to be this perception that “black men have given up on the churches”. I thought this was strange. And personally, I’d have no way of knowing whether any of this is true…because *chuckles nervously* as a black guy, I don’t go to church.
First off, I want to make it clear that I don’t think churches, religious assemblies, and congregations are bad. I truly believe church and congregations are great and amazing events. The Old Testament taught that God loves assemblies. So, being that I’m a Christian…why don’t I go to one?
The issues I’m going to bring up may be reasons why other men have stopped going and we’re just too embarrassed to admit it. I haven’t seen anyone else address or mention the MAIN reason why I personally don’t go…So here goes…
THE CHURCH HAS CAVED TO MODERN WOKE IDEOLOGY –
Let’s begin by addressing the common reasons I heard about why Black Men have stopped going to the church. Mainly, the sentiment is that the message, the pastors and ministers, have stopped preaching the Truth. Instead, the “Truth” is being watered down to walk lock-step with today’s woke ideologies. And in turn, they’re catering to women, telling women what they want to hear, instead of what the Bible actually says.
For this one, I had to get my thoughts down about Will Smith. I didn’t speak up or publish any essays about the Will Smith/Chris Rock slap when it first happened because everyone was talking about it. But for this, I want to focus on the perspective of young black men “like myself” (not ALL black men) and why we were especially upset/disappointed with Will Smith.
Just a heads up, I’m very critical of Black Culture in this video and I talk about Christianity towards the end.
Recently, Jason Whitlock received a letter from a woman where she criticized him for talking about the problems in the Black Community, but not coming up with solutions. So, I had to get some thoughts down. Because I don’t believe for one second that she’s actually looking for solutions. She’s looking to shame Jason into silence so wickedness can continue.
What I’m going to say is going to sound shameful by today’s standards. People will think that I’m an awful person or I’m a self-hating Black. But I’ve been holding it in for a long time. So here goes.
I’m not a fan of today’s Black Culture…and by Black Culture, I’m talking about the stereotypes, the mainstream lifestyles, behaviors, and mindsets promoted by today’s black entertainers and cultural leaders.
When I heard the lady’s criticism of Jason Whitlock, I literally stopped everything while getting ready for work to record a video about it. I had to.
Kevin Samuels used to say, “Y’all want a Boaz, but y’all not Ruth!” After reading the Book of Ruth for the 3rd time and taking the criticism into consideration, I had some thoughts here.
Points Discussed:
What Happens when People Do What’s Good in their Own Eyes
The Levite’s Concubine (Gibeah’s Crime) and how Women were Treated
Boaz as a Role Model for Men
Ruth as a Role Model for Women
Marriage and Divorce
A Biblical High-Value Man
Ruth MADE THE FIRST MOVE!
As always, I encourage everyone to read the Bible for themselves. Don’t just rely on the pastor or what someone told you the Bible says. Go to the source. Read it for yourself. Use your own mind to make conclusions about what you believe. God bless!
For those who don’t know, I’m Rock Kitaro (Tennie) an author, essayist and a good-natured provoker of thoughts. I’m the unpopular opinion, currently publishing essays at StageInTheSky.com.
This was from my first live stream. It started out as me just testing the studio equipment…but rolled into a beautiful sermon of sorts. I honestly felt the Holy Spirit wash over me with this one. None of it was planned. None of it was written out. I usually mess up my words, which is why I edit them in videos of my essays, but for this Live Stream…it was incredible. I had to be careful because it’s the first time I spoke my honest thoughts about subjects that could get me in trouble while showing my actual face speaking the words. But that just goes to speak of how wicked this world has become…when saying the right thing, doing the right thing, and doing what’s good in God’s eyes can get you fired.
Topics Discussed:
Going all-in in Christianity
Do Christians Today Know what Christ Taught?
How I went from Rejecting Religion to Reading the Entire Bible
How the World’s Ideologies (Feminism, Leftism) Conflicts with Bible Principles
Strong and Independent, Trying to Find a Wife
Attacking Popular Movements (BelieveAllWomen, Submission)
I’d Rather Get Something Done than Hang Out with Friends
In the wake of Roe v Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court, many Youtubers were asking their followers (mostly black men) what they think. And sadly…what I’ve been seeing is this notion of “we gotta stay silent.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard such sentiments. Comedians have been preaching it to their audiences for years. “When it comes to abortion, we men need to shut the eff up” I believe Chappelle said, which was followed by raucous applause.
This was the comment from a Youtuber on the topic of Roe v Wade being overturned, “I’ve noticed when it comes to black women bodies and their sisterhood it’s best to say quiet fellas . All we can do is wrap it up and avoid a 18-year problem.”
Honestly, after seeing what’s been going on and recognizing the need for Men to actually step up and lead…I had to respond with this: “We can’t stay silent, bro. Unchecked immoral behavior is what’s led to the decline of our culture, society, and the increase of black children being born out of wedlock. We need to speak up. Some women need to be told something other than what stupid ideologues have been feeding them. We need to step up!”
Long story short, they don’t. It’s a trick. Ever since I was a kid, I simply nodded along to the cliché that good girls fall for the bad boys. Even after learning about the Red Pill and observing the dating culture, on the surface there does seem to be some truth to it. It wasn’t until recently that I started to question, “If you fall for a bad boy, are you really good?”
There’s important reasons as to why I’m writing this. 1) It’s insulting to the women who really are good. 2) It encourages men to be “bad boys”. 3) “Boring” is being used as a label, more than an adjective, which I think is a deceptive trick to pressure men into prioritizing what women want over being responsible and 4) I think it’s just one more thing people use to justify their bad behavior and foolish choices. As in…“Hey! It’s out of my hands. I’m good so I got no control over myself but to fall for the bad boy!”
You see it in movies and TV shows. There’s the good, honest, wholesome girl who ends up being enticed, manipulated, and turned away from her virtuous values by the Bad Boy. Sometimes, it’s depicted as a good thing. Often, the girl is being oppressed by her religiously strict parents or their rigid traditions that were always holding her back from what she really wanted.
“Nah-uh, Rock! Don’t even start! Alladin was not a bad boy! He was a good guy with a heart of gold! He only stole to survive. He only lied about being a prince because he really wanted to get with Jasmine! That doesn’t make him a ‘bad boy’.”
To love someone, you must first love yourself. Because if you don’t love yourself, how could you ever love someone else? Sounds like a profound question. In fact, the notion of loving yourself sounds all good and proper. And yet, through mere observation…something seems off.
The first time I heard about this notion of “loving yourself” was when I was 23-years-old, back in January 2010. It was by a Scientologist from my acting class, an older Venezuelan singer in his mid-30s. I remember that night. He spotted me on the treadmill while driving by the gym. I ended my work-out and we talked for hours about philosophy, love, and life. I remember his name. Jessy Leros!
This guy, who was signed by Sony and went on to star in NCIS New Orleans, was kind enough to school me, turning on my critical thinking skills, teaching me that just because two ways are presented to you, it doesn’t mean you can’t create a third. And it was him who told me, “in order to love someone, you must first love yourself.”
He said this because, back then…I was still about 312lbs and had a crush on one of the girls in our acting class. I confided in him about my lack of confidence. She was gorgeous and I really was this big, fat, ugly black dude. You can tell just by looking at Jessy that it’s hard to believe he ever had that problem. But still, he insisted the key was for me to focus on myself. To love myself. Be confident in myself. To have greater respect for myself.
Even before talking to Jessy, there were other Scientologists in the class imparting a similar philosophy. The emphasis on “self” was one of their main talking points. They had a very enticing concept that was, “What’s true for you is true for you…” which is tantamount to self-acceptance. It’s a shortened quote from L.Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who says, “What is true for you is what you have observed yourself. And when you lose that, you have lost everything.”
Is it bad that I wish we could go back to the Old Testament laws? One of the things I like to say about the Bible is the New Testament teaches us the Gospels (Greek for good news), but the Old Testament teaches us about God’s character.
This is my 3rd reading of Deuteronomy and I confess…it’s getting really difficult to see what’s happening in the world and not harbor all kinds of hate and resentment in my heart. It’s tough because, as Christ said, we as Christians should be the light of the world. I want to be an example of shining optimism, fully believing in the hope of everlasting life beyond this world…but lately, I’ve been this guy.
For those who don’t know, Deuteronomy is the 5th Book of the Bible penned by Moses as God’s Word. Aside from the recap of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and their blunder that resulted in most of a generation perishing in the wilderness, Deuteronomy is essentially a book of laws, of traditions, of warnings, of blessings and curses. It’s the ultimate book of “cause and effect.” The answer to the question of, “WHY ARE THINGS SO BAD!?”
As I’m going through, I’m reminded of the brutal punishments God laid out for specific crimes and…i know this sounds bad, but I kinda wish we could go back to that. Part of me wishes we could go back to capital punishment for things like rape and adultery.
“But Rock! If those old laws were put in place, there’d be no one left alive!”
Stage In The Sky 