The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine

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Spirituality, Religious Wisdom, and the Care of the Patient

African American Christian Spirituality in the Face of Illness

Michelle D. White, Ph.D., is licensed gospel minister for Universal Baptist Church in Brooklyn. She holds a Ph.D. in urban education from Fordham and will be obtaining her Master of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary in May 2002. She also serves as Executive Director of the Universal Samaritan Development Corporation and is a Brooklyn Board member of Habitat for Humanity.

There are three pillars of African American spirituality that mediate in substantial ways the experience of illness: they are saving faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God as One who is able to deliver and heal, the Bible which is the word of God, and prayer.

African American Christian spirituality as it regards illness and healing has its foundation in the power of Jesus Christ to save and to "heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people" (Matt 4.23). It is also important to understand that a persistent drive toward liberation and wholeness colors our understanding of present challenges and ultimate victory over pain and suffering. Ours is a spirituality of victory over oppression and death. It is a spirituality of the indomitable, unquenchable celebration of life in the face of impossibility. Ours is the spirituality of appropriation, the appropriation of Hebrew Scriptures as a tool for fashioning an acceptable present and a promising future. It is faith in Jesus Christ and His preferential option for the weak, sick, and despised that has transcended time, and has secured our future in spite of the current situation. This is not avoidance or delusion; this is faith in the power of Jesus Christ.

African American Christian spirituality allows the believer to accept suffering, in so many instances, knowing that Jesus Christ has already made preparation for if not present, then ultimate deliverance, even in the face of insurmountable odds. The doctor may offer a bleak diagnosis but God is the Healer. The tests may seem to verify the diagnosis, but the God we serve sees all and can heal all. African American Christian spirituality expects healing and not necessarily a cure. Cure is a physiological phenomenon while healing is a spiritual one. In either case, though, God is responsible for either outcome and while the patient may be grateful to the medical professionals for their efforts, you are regarded in many instances as well meaning but unaware of the True Power. You may be unaware of the fact that you are practicing while our God needs no practice.

The Incarnate God, Jesus Christ is the source of eternal life and the focus of African American spirituality. Faith in Jesus Christ as the resurrected Son of God Christ and in His ability to save and to heal is a formidable weapon against fear, discouragement, and resignation. Jesus Christ is the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Pro 18.24). The suffering and triumph of Christ are the constant reflection for many who struggle with illness; the promises of Christ, eternal life in glory with Him is the hope. The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has promised that He will never "leave or forsake" the one who is suffering. "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb 13.5-6).

Faith then in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus assure the African American believer that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Ps 30.5); although we suffer, Jesus has suffered and He understands all that we're going through. As Job declared, "and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19.26). The suffering that health professionals see in a clinical and technical way are perceived in entirely different terms by, than many African American Christians.

The primary weapon of African American Christian life is the Bible (Eph 6.17). The Bible is the collection of sacred texts that attest to the existence of God, catalogues God's victories on behalf of the weak, and gives clear statements of God's loving intentions toward humankind. This is the fundamental African American reading. The Old Testament provides the great accounts of God's victory over evil. American slaves appropriated the story of Pharaoh and the children of Israel in their emotional and spiritual battles against vicious slave owners. The three Hebrew boys overcame because God was present with them in their fiery trial. In the New Testament Jesus assures women of their worth, opens blind eyes and reorients dead hopes and misguided expectations. Jesus desires to heal the sick and return those who are incomplete to full functioning. It is this promise that counters despair for so many African American patients.

Medical personnel may find that many members the African American community will keep a Bible prominently displayed on their nightstands. For the African American, the Bible serves at least three purposes. It is a tool. The scriptures, especially the Psalms (which patient may have memorized) empower and invigorate and possibly do the job well enough to sustain the patient through the next series of horrifying tests and examinations when she, like David may have to encourage herself. The scriptures give the patient courage to press on in spite of what the report may be. Just like the four lepers of II Kings 7.3, she may as well get up and go into the city where she may die, because if she remains in her current state of despair she will certainly die. As a tool, the Biblical scriptures help the patient to dig her way out of despair.

As a mirror, we see ourselves in the person of Naomi, otherwise known as "bitterness" but we also see ourselves in Mary, honored by God. So much of who we are when we are vulnerable and ill is reflected in the life of Hagar, but in spite of the struggles, Esther and Ruth shine through. We go ahead in Jesus name because we are more than conquerors. We are as David, adulterous, conniving and still beloved of God, a complicated spiritual paradox. We suffer and we triumph, we win more and sometimes win less..

Finally, the Bible is a lens that turns a critical eye on us in our situations, as difficult as they may be to accept. We see ourselves in context, see ourselves as responsible actors, not those under the capricious will of an overbearing God. We come at some point, to see what is truth for each of us: God is sovereign and in spite of all our efforts God is providing and will continue to provide, simply because God is good.

The third 'pillar' is prayer. Prayer is the constant and vital activity of maintaining connection with God who is our source of strength and power. Those patients who belong to communities of faith may be found praying or surrounded by visitors who are praying. As we go through our day, or as we lie in a hospital bed surrounded by strangers making their rounds, we pray. As we submit to technical scrutiny, we pray and the medical professional may hear the believer call on the name of Jesus, often. This is also prayer. In approaching God in prayer, the believer is demonstrating faith in the God who hears and answers prayer; faith in the God who is the believer's strength (Ps 61.1; 18.1-6)."

The African American perspective on faith as it relates to healing is that faith in the power of God, of Jesus Christ to heal and deliver is vital and utile. Although this faith may not be a matter of current practice for all African Americans who consider themselves Christians, I would suggest that many African Americans have had some grounding or early experience with the symbols and culture of Christianity and when challenged by suffering and illness, those long dormant beliefs may be called upon to provide strength. When mother sends the deacon from her church to pray with her dying son, please honor the tradition of faith. When father stands reading Biblical text for hours by the bedside of a terminally ill wife, please understand the sanctity and importance of this act. Please understand how encouraging and strengthening the mere mention of Christ centered encouragement can be.

This saving faith in Jesus Christ is not the exclusive domain of African American Christian by any means. What is distinctive though is the traditional and cultural perspective on God's promise of deliverance from the oppression and the importance of Jesus' concern for the oppressed and excluded of the world. This is the faith that sustains us.

Faiz Khan, "Faith and Care of the Patient: An Islamic Perspective on Critical Illness"
Faith: Introduction
Table of Contents

Published: May 9, 2002