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There is a singular issue that serves as an obstacle preventing people of African descent from solving our individual and collective problems. We have simply forgotten we are a subjugated people in America. As a result of this oversight, while simple, it has had the greatest impact on how we view African culture, our selves, and each other. The bottom line is that we have been condition to be afraid of knowing!

Now, I am not saying anything that is not generally known by many people of color. Yet, we are still confronted by what appear as insurmountable issues and problems. These problems are also generally well-known, so I will not list them, or go into any detail regarding them, and since they all stem from the same root of being a subjugated people.

Anyway you examine it, the term ‘subjugation’ implies suffering, or to endure some type of unpleasant, injurious, or negative experience. And, in order to contend with or survive such an experience, people have always turned to some form of religion. Strange as it may seem, religion does not refer to a set of organized beliefs as commonly understood. Instead, in its original sense, the word ‘religion’ identified a person who continually studied cultural “myths” to extract from them their ‘coded’ and scientific knowledge.

As a consequence, the ‘faith’ a person has regarding overcoming their suffering, or achieving ‘salvation’, was originally based upon a process of ‘seeking knowledge.’ In other words, ‘knowledge’ was the foundation of ‘faith.’ Now, this brings us back to the importance of the reason for studying ‘myths’, since they reveal a coded ‘science.’ As a term, ‘science’ essentially mean “to know”, and ‘knowing’ is the foundation of ‘knowledge.’ As such, if faith is based upon knowledge, then, I can’t be referring to what is call ‘blind faith’, i.e., “unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 2nd Ed.).

This situation makes clear two conditions that are faced by subjugated people. One is a situation where knowledge is used as the foundation of their faith, and the other is where an individual’s faith is the basis of their knowledge. What are the pro and cons of each of these positions for our selves and for others? To answer this question, it is first necessary to understand the words faith’ and ‘belief.’ I contend that ‘faith’ is an intrinsic ‘knowing’, while ‘belief’ refers to an ‘innate desire’, or something wished or longed for. I shall use the following paragraph to highlight these two conditions.

“A pull exists between a sense that there is an intelligence guiding the universe, and that nagging feeling of doubt when we are confronted with the unknown. Both feelings directly challenge our ‘sense of certainty’, so circumstances may cause may cause what we believe to be our faith to waiver. When it does, is this indicative that what we term faith is essentially belief? In the history of world religions, the individuals who have had religions created in their names, have spoken or alluded to the idea that a ‘certainty’ regarding life could be had. Thus, is true faith ‘something more intrinsic’ than a mere assumption, or belief? Does faith require only the acceptance of belief, or does it require that we experience something more . . . whatever that something more may be?”

Now, if ‘true faith’ is held up by knowledge, which is different than one’s belief supporting knowledge, what type of knowledge am I referring to here? Again, we have to return our attention to myths. The knowledge I am referring to is that which reveal “principles”, or a natural law that explains an action. This is considerably different from believing something because we were told, or have accepted without question from a source of authority, or because of habituation through tradition.

This latter situation, “belief supporting knowledge”, I see as the result of generations of subjugation. Thus, in order for this situation to be overcome, it is imperative that “knowledge supports our faith.” This orientation is the basis of the sacred sciences of antiquity. However, the aim was not to simply accumulate facts through the exercise of reason, but instead to develop “intuition” and which was used to guide one's life. This is achieved through the study of myths, which are a form of ‘symbolic’ language, and encompass all world religions, alchemy, Hermeticism, Gnosticism . . . or all forms of so-called esoteric knowledge.

What is truly ironic is that in the societies of our origin, so-call ‘secret societies’ were an open affair, and still is! In fact, in West Africa, by the time a member of the society was seven years of age, he or she began their rites of passage into these orders, and which were completed by the time they were 56 years old. In the western world, where African descendants were forced into servitude, the whole of the culture conspired to distract our ancestors from “knowing.” Thus, ‘White Magic’ was used to accomplish this feat mentally, emotionally, and physically. The overall effect has been the loss of ‘knowing’, and that was replaced with imposed ‘beliefs’, or subjugation . . . our fundamental problem.