Five Percent Biblical Answers

Biblical answers to Five Percent Beliefs

The Five Percent or Nation of Gods and Earths do not believe the bible to be authoritative. They share the sentiments of Nation of Islam adherents that the God of the bible is a "spook". They also utilize atheist arguments that accuse Christianity of being an outright myth.

Soon there will be links added to this page that will highlight the scholarship of the Bible and why, after careful observation and examination, the originals can be found to be inspired of God. These links will further show that subsequent manusripts are very good, accurate and were meticulously and reverently handled.

Until then please see the biblical responses to some of the tenets and basic beliefs of the Five Percent. (Christian response in blue):

That black people are the original people of the planet earth
Adam and Eve were God's first creation and the bible does not reveal what the pigmentation of their skin was. [Genesis 2] Galatians 3:28 states: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Acts 17:26 says "from one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
Because the bible is silent on the issue of Adam and Eve's race does not mean that we should not study the rich African culture/contributions that are woven into its history. It does mean that we should not use race to elevate ourselves over any other race. No matter how the world feels about it, there is ultimately one race - the human race.

That black people are the fathers and mothers of civilization
(See number 1)

That the science of Supreme Mathematics is the key to understanding man's relationship to the universe God's Word that is revealed through the Holy Bible is the key to understanding man's relationship to the universe John 3:16; Ephesians 2:10 -
The bible warns us against making the principles of the world superior to Christ. Colossians 2:8 says: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Islam is a natural way of life, not a religion.
Islam is indeed a religion. It has the criteria of all other world religions in that there are works involved in "salvation" or "right standing" with god or gods. The five pillars of Islam must be considered: (1) The Shahada is the Islamic proclamation that "There is no true God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." (2) The daily ritual prayers (Salat) which are usually done 5 times daily between sunrise and sunset. (3) Fasting (Saum) is fasting which there is no drinking, eating, use of nicotine or sexual relations during the daylight hours for the entire month of Ramadan. (4) Alms-giving (Zakat) is a sort of tithe that Muslims are encouraged to partake in. (5) Pilgrimage (Hajj) is the pilgrimage to Mecca. If Muslims are financially able they are encouraged to take this trip.

Of course when a Five Percenter uses the term “Islam” it can certainly mean a form of Islam that they find acceptable. Black Muslims who follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad or both the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan will most likely reject or ignore some of the five pillars of Orthodox Islam. Go here to see more information about the actual doctrine of the Nation of Islam.

In any case there is no indication that Islam is a natural way of life and not a religion. There is sufficient evidence to reveal Islam as a world religion. There are a multitude of non-Christian authors who will agree with this assessment. According to Muslim's own writings, a non-Muslim is considered an “infidel” and worthy of death. Killing another person for not ascribing to your worldview doesn’t sound like a “natural way of life” it sounds like an oppressive belief system that promotes savagery and murder.

That education should be fashioned to enable us to be self sufficient as a people.
This is dangerous because it appears to be a harmless statement. The concern here is the kind of education is being promoted. Educating blacks that they are a superior race? That the black man is god? As a black Christian I agree that a detailed examination of our heritage is necessary for ourselves as well as the generations coming after us. However, when that examination utilizes twisted/liberal scholarship that yields questionable conclusions then this tenet has to be flatly rejected.

That each one should teach one according to their knowledge.
Again, not all knowledge is good knowledge. This statement hints at a premise that assumes everyone’s knowledge is equally legitimate. This is not true. We have to be able to rationally and logically examine “knowledge” before we accept any teaching.

That the blackman is god and his proper name is ALLAH. Arm, Leg, Leg, Arm, Head
What is amazing about this unverified assertion and adoption of this acronym is that it is accepted as fact. A direct quote from a “god” taken from this website says: “We know that the Original Man (Black, Brown, Red and Yellow) is God, the Supreme Being, Allah. We do not subscribe to a mystery (unknown) God in heaven, supernatural or superhuman powers.” I don’t believe that this quote misrepresents what a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths believes. I see this statement over and over again in dialogues and on various websites. I find it hard to believe that there is a denial that the above is indeed a belief and not fact. Any rational thinking person can conclude that believing in the Nation of Gods and Earths ideology certainly takes a degree of faith.

The statement that there is no God is not a logical position to hold since to know there is no God means the person would have to know ALL things to know there is no God. Since he [she] cannot know all things (if he did he would be God [of course the 5% ARE claiming to be god, but not God in the sense that they are omnipresent and omnipotent]), then he [she] cannot logically say there is no God. [1]

Stating that the "black man is god" can be categorized as taking the Lord's Name in vain, which we are commanded not to do Exodus 20:7. However, by their own admission, the "god" that the black man is referring to is not the Almighty Jehovah God of the Bible...

Again, similar to the above quote, I have heard many Five Percenters deny God’s existence altogether and refer to Him as a “spook”. I can only preclude that this is an atheist/humanist position that is masked by rhetoric that elevates the black man to a “god-like” position. In any case, the black man certainly is not taking credit for creating the world and all that is in it. Therefore, the “god” that they refer to themselves as is not God as Christians would define Him.

That our children are our link to the future and they must be nurtured, respected, loved, protected and educated.

That the unified black family is the vital building block of the nation.

Slick, Matt online article: Answers to Positions Held By Atheists www.carm.org