Is Ancestor worship evil?

Is Ancestor worship evil?

Many times when I bring up ancestor Veneration I get the same opposing statements. “I don't worship anything but God.” ( Usually meaning the Abrahamic idea of God) “Isn't Ancestor Worship black magic?” ( Usually because they watch way too much TV) “ I don't like any of my family!” ( A sad product of mental slavery we have been exposed to for generations). Then the golden Ticket… “ Isn't Ancestor worship evil?”

I will address these things in this blog, yet I feel its very important that we gain an understanding of the differences in the words WORSHIP and VENERATION. It is important to understand that when I speak of veneration I am not speaking about worship as we have been exposed to in Christianity. Although, We have all come to this earth through the womb of our mothers and were giving the spark of life through the seed of our Fathers… So how sacrilegious can it be to worship the creators we see as we also worship the creator we don't see… But that is for another Blog.

To Venerate… to Worship…

Venerate and worship have similar context yet are different in the same sense. The webster's dictionary defines Venerate as 

: to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference. 2. : to honor (an icon, a relic, etc.) with a ritual act of devotion. Venerator.

 Webster define Worship as 

: to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power 2: to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion

As we can see there is a great similarity within the meaning of both. I can honestly understand why this gets mixed up. I have learned to say that I venerate my ancestors for in the traditions I adhere to I do not see the ancestors as a God. They are respected and honored as energies that gave me life here on earth. They are seen as the ones who genetically provided the code for me to survive life. This makes them worthy of my honor. 

With this said I do believe, as did my Pre slavery ancestors, in one creator. The name of this creator was the one my ancestors named, Oludumare. I believe that my ancestors have died from this earth plane and now rest with the creator. My Worship goes to the Creator yet in the same breath I venerate the ones who have passed on and sit with Oludumare. 

I don't Worship Anything But God

This statement is usually said with one's whole chest. It comes out as a declaration as if their God is listening attentively and applauding their convictions. It is followed by “Jesus is my shepherd…” Or “There is only one God, Allah, and mohamad is his profit…” If they are really programmed into their religious dogma then there will be bible verses and or Koran verses that will follow. These people have shut down the idea that ancestor veneration is practical.

I say it is practical cause When your grandmother who has passed on was living, she would do anything she could to see you happy. Most people who have grandmothers or even grandfathers remember those Sundays with them… The butterscotch candies in their purses… the laughs… the times you only felt safe in their arms… Yet.. Know that they have transitions. It is these people who believe they don't care about them any longer.. 

Regardless of if there is a heaven or Hell. If you believe love and family are strong forces of nature. Why would death stop the connection that was built by years and years of love? I always ask people that say this, “ You love your children right? Don't you think you will still love your child when you go to heaven?” the answer is usually yes.. If the answer is yes for you who are reading this, I want you to take a minute and realize that your parents and grandparents that have passed away feel the same way.. They still love you and more than likely love you even more than when they were living. There is something about being in Creator energy that brings out purity of love..

Isn't Ancestor Worship Black Magic? I don't like any of my family

As I have said earlier on this Blog. This question is usually asked by someone who has seen way too many scary movies. They have watched too many ghost hunter episodes with charlatans parading around claiming they are mediums. Most of the time when i get this question about ancestors it is because I have already told someone that I practice African Traditional Religions or ATR’s. The person then takes the preconceived ideas that ATR’s are witchcraft and black magic, now anything that I speak on after that is part of a sorcery covenant.. 

I will speak on the term Black magic and its origins in a later Blog. for now lets look at who and why Ancestor veneration would even seem like “Black” Magic. As I have stated before in this blog, how is honoring your deceased loved ones deemed evil. Well to answer this question we have to look at the impact of slavery and the family. One of the major impacts of slavery and the family was the way the slave holders broke up families. This had a huge impact on the lost of culture In the “black” communities up to this point. Culture for West African was passed down orally. This gave the stories life for they could be translated and revised with each telling.. But who tells you the stories of your ancestors when the family is split up? This led to generations and generations of stories never told.

Now we don't know our families' stories. Most people don't know the stories of the deceased grandparents. Because the line of storytelling and communication was severed. Survival took precedence  over preserving a culture, and our culture became surviving. In this Survival mind state we held on to things that were given to us like the bible and christianity. These things told us that our old way of thinking, the way we thought when we were free, was evil. So now when you bring up ancestors, the first thing people think of is. This aint in the bible… and I don't even know or like my family.. We must really start to look at the impact slavery had on the family structure and how it is still tearing us down to this day.

With this we can see how even the understanding of our Genealogy has become lore and myth, if not non-existent. Let alone think of those ancestors who we have no connection to through broken families and trauma. Yet even through this all, we still have ancestors that never went through slavery, and we are still their hopes and dreams. So picking up the broken pieces and finding a way to connect back to them could prove beneficial to our present situation.

Isn't Ancestor Worship Evil?

In this time of new age spirituality it is easy to get caught on a blog talking about witchcraft. There are constant social media threads talking about mystical ghosts and mediums talking to the dead. For the average person this can be way too crazy to even try to understand. I can understand the question of whether ancestors worship evil. So many influencers are trying create Harry Potter it turns the beautiful spirituality of venerating ancestor to a circus show

Ancestor veneration doesn't have to be so extra. You don't need to hear voices or see apparitions to honor your deceased family.Honestly it is better when it is simple. Sitting down and saying a prayer of gratitude can be a great way to start off. Naming the ancestors you remember and telling them you love them can't be evil can it. Remember… Love has no limits.. And as you miss them in this life… They love you beyond explanation in the afterlife!