Question of the Week: Who are the Hebrew Israelites?
IUIC, or Israel United Under Christ, are commonly referred to as the Black Hebrew Israelites. They were founded in Harlem, New York on 1 West Street in 1969. The founder of the Israelite Universal School of Practical Knowledge developed the “12 Tribes Chart” identifying racial minorities in America as the True Descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their core claims are that God elects people for salvation based on their skin color, salvation is by obeying the Law of Moses properly interpreted by their documents, and that all ethnicities that participated in the Trans-Atlantic Salve Trade were and are under God’s Judgment. They have developed their own version of the Hebrew Language, a large social media presence, and a notoriously racist rhetoric towards anyone against their group. There are various sects and groups within these doctrinal foundations that vary from street protestors to anti-white terrorist groups. They are able to avoid negative attention and exposure of their group under the guise of political correctness, but the rapid growth of their group has made this increasingly difficult. If you want to know more about where they are coming from as a cult, the book “Barack Obama vs The Black Hebrew Israelites” by Vocab Malone is an excellent resource. The reason we as Christians should stand against this movement has nothing to do with their ethnic identity. They make truth claims against the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whom they refer to as Yahawashai, as well as claims of racial superiority in direct contradiction to scripture. When people claim the God of the Bible hates all non-black people, whom they refer to as Esau by mishandling Malachi 1:3, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 1:16 would disagree with their claim that non-Jewish people even as they define it are cut off from a relationship with God. When people claim an angel appeared to their founder in his apartment in a white suit and a perfectly round afro explaining the Christian gospel wasn’t true, Galatians 1:6-9 would clarify that kind of deception should be expected and ignored. When people claim that knowing whether or not Jesus was ethnically dark or light skinned in order to have a real relationship with Him, you know that this is more about politically charged rhetoric rather than a genuine pursuit of God. When racism in history is answered by racism in the present, you have simply created another group of people that have missed the point of what makes people valuable. The moment that value system becomes so charged with anger that it disqualifies everyone for salvation who isn’t a part of your specific ethnic group and belief system, you’ve become a cult.
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