The Gospel and My Black Skin: Confronting the Past, Reclaiming the Future

Is Christianity really a white man's religion? Is it any good for Black people? Can a faith once used to enslave also empower Black lives?

In The Gospel and My Black Skin, Dr. JP Foster boldly tackles the complex, often unspoken questions many Black people are asking today. As Christian nationalism gains momentum, revisionist history distorts the past, and churches remain complicit--or silent--on matters of justice, a growing number of Black believers are questioning the faith they've inherited while others are walking away. Dr. Foster offers a timely and prophetic response.

With both historical insight and pastoral compassion, he uncovers Christianity's suppressed African roots, exposes how Scripture was gutted to keep Black people in chains, and reclaims the original Christian message as a source of liberation, justice, dignity, and oneness. He directly addresses today's most pressing realities: systemic racism, cultural erasure, and the erosion of truth by those seeking to sanitize the past.

This is not just a critique--it is a spiritual and historical reclamation. Dr. Foster calls on Black Christians to confront painful truths, peel back layers of distortion, recover the essence of Christianity, and reclaim a faith that has long been their own.

This book is both a challenge and a call to confront painful truths, grieve and heal from generational trauma, and boldly walk into a renewed faith that honors God and Black identity.

Whether you are questioning your place in the church, wrestling with religious disillusionment, or seeking a more thorough understanding of Christianity that empowers your faith, The Gospel and My Black Skin is a journey worth taking.

JP Foster serves as Senior Pastor at Faithful Central Bible Church, one of the largest African American churches in Los Angeles. His leadership and Biblical exposition have impacted thousands both in the Los Angeles area and around the world, as he encourages people to build their lives on the foundation of God's word. He also serves as a Ministry Affiliate Faculty at Biola University, teaching courses in Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Formation. He has also led impactful initiatives to improve educational outcomes and the overall well-being of impoverished areas in Kenya and Eswatini.