Slavery and Religion

I don’t want to be one of those people—the anti-religious who think there are absolutely no redeeming qualities in religion, but reading things like this only help to alienate me from faith in general.

To make my position clear, I’ll first start by saying that I don’t believe that any religions are inspired. People create religions for primarily three reasons:

1.  To get answers about things they do not understand, such as why the world works the way it does and were people go after they die
2.  To promote their own agenda and to control the masses
3. To gain inner peace and tranquility

Reasons one and two are the ones with which I have a problem; however, I will be focusing on two today. But, I probably should just start by saying what motivated this topic before post loses any sense of order.

What caused me to think about this topic today was Phillis Wheatley (1754?-1784), a talented Senegalese woman who was kidnapped and sold to John Wheatley when she was seven. He taught her to read and write. She used her knowledge to create poems that astonished Americans at the time. They didn’t believe that an African girl could be brilliant. She published Poems on Various Subjects; Religious and Moral in 1773, which was praised in both Europe and North America. With her prominence, it would be marvelous if she used her talents and influence to move others to understand the barbarism of slavery, helping to liberate her brothers and sisters, as Olaudah Equiano did for example. Instead, she created poetry like this. (I highlighted the most notable parts.)

‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour is a diabolic die." 
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin'd and join the' angelic train.

Two things are notable about this poem. The first is Wheatley’s praising slavery as an act of divine providence. The fact that anyone, especially someone whose race is a victim of it, could think that such cruelty and brutality is a gift from God is astonished me.  Being someone’s slave is worth it in the end because you will die and spend eternity worshiping a God who put you in that position to begin with?

The second piece of this poem that I found disturbing is the apologetic way that she refers to our race. If we are cleaned up and civilized, we can too can be permitted into heaven behind the Europeans. Oh, joy.

In addition, her reference to Cain is also interesting. Christians have long used the myth that Cain was cursed with black skin by God to advocate racism against Africans. She actually believes this lie, and thinks that we should be tolerated in spite of this fault. But, before I go on, I want to clarify I’m not blaming Wheatley personally for this. She was a victim of a society that has used religion as a medium of control. It disgusts me that not only did Americans use this reasoning to justify slavery, but also they were able to integrate it so much in our psyche that we even accepted inferiority—even to the point where we were grateful for slavery. However, what is important is that this thinking still motivates our actions to this day.

How much does myth and superstition control African-Americans? Do you know someone who routinely wastes her money by throwing it away to preachers or and churches expecting God to “multiply her seed” so that she can “reap her harvest?” What about someone who continues to make foolish mistakes because “God will make a way” or will provide? Have you heard songs like this?

“Faithful Is Our God”

I'm reaping the harvest God promised me
Take back what the devil stole from me
And I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all

“The Blessing of Abraham”

You are the seed by faith receive

The blessing of Abraham

Wherever you are, where er' you go

Whatever you touch is anointed to grow



"God Will Make a Way"

God will make a way

Where there seems to be no way

He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me

From: http://www.musicbabylon.com

It’s about time that we learned that neither God nor prayer nor magic beans will grant prosperity. There is no force that trails  you, allows good things to  happen to you, or that mops up your messes up when things go wrong. Your life is entirely in your hands. If you seek opulence, then it will have to be through your hard work, determination, and education—not because you gave a seed of a hundred bucks to your preacher. This is just one example, but I look forward to when religion stops holding us back.

Minorities are the Borg

A great disadvantage of being a member of a minority is constantly being seen as only a part of a collective. For example, European-Americans are regarded as individuals, while a minority is just seen as a member of the racial or religious group to which he or she belongs. If John is EA, his actions are only seen as a representation of himself, and he is not expected to conform to any racial standard. However, as a minority, his every action would be evaluated on how closely he fit into a stereotypical mold, and if he did not, he would just be deemed an exception. I call this perception of minorities the "Borg Effect." We aren't expected to have our own voice, and the actions of a few are seen as the responsibility of all.

I saw the Borg Effect at work today after reading Sarah Palin's objections to a mosque being built two blocks away from Ground Zero. She tweets:

Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing

First, it's interesting that she addresses them as "peace-seeking," as if they by nature they are uncharacteristic. She must distinguish good Muslims from the supposed normal, violent Muslims. Secondly, she, and apparently many Americans, expect all Muslims to take responsibility for the attacks of 9/11. As one narrator said:

On Sept. 11, they declared war against us. And to celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans [as if Muslims aren't Americans too and none were victims of 9/11], they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at ground zero.

So, the responsibility of 9/11 does not rest on the suicide boomers head, or on the terrorist organizations, but on every single one of the one billion Muslims of the world. By this logic, should we forbid any European-Americans from operating near the location where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed? Lovely.

The Colour of Beauty

I can't say that I was surprised by anything in this documentary, but there are interesting things that I would like to note.

"We want white girls dipped in chocolate"

I appreciate that they were honest and frank about that matter. There was no need to hide such an obvious truth. However, what got me was how the man described African features compared to European ones. To him ours are harsh, while Europeans' are "elegant." It was if the discrimination against African decent models was understandable because we are not naturally as lovely as European decent models. It is the discrimination against African decent models with European features that is the shame! Throughout the media, we have seen that AA women are accepted on the condition that we show our African ancestry to only a limited degree. If you don't pass the paper bag test, you aren't let through the door. This conditional permitted isn't true acceptance at all, and is designed to maintain the facade of diversity. We should not mistaken it as such. We also should not embrace tokenism. As one woman said, you see the same minority women over and over in the fashion industry. This is not progress, although the media attempts to use it to delude us into thinking that it is such.

We have to give 110%

My mother always told me that I have two strikes against me. 1. I am African-American. 2. I am a woman. Therefore, I have to do better than everyone else. This video pointed this principle out once again. As the models said, Euro women can make due with a few flaws, but Afro women have to be absolutely flawless to get a job. I think this is an important lesson that our community must keep in mind. Since we face greater opposition, working half-heartedly isn't acceptable. We can't simply be good or adequate. We must strive to be better.

How to end the discrimination?
The objective of any documentary is to bring attention to a problem so we can find a solution. The best way, I believe, that we can open doors for our sisters in the fashion industry is to be the leaders of it ourselves. We have to be the producers, directors, and the casting agents--the one's making decisions. If we were, we wouldn't have to beg the European-Americans to give us a chance.

Woman Sues Church For Performing Gay Unions

It is not enough that she draws her morality from a book that contradicts itself a 1,000 times on basic moral concepts (Matthew 26:52; 1 Samuel 15:3) and over half of which some how doesn't count anymore, she feels as if she has the duty to force everyone else to share these beliefs as well. Why must Christians incessantly impose their personal beliefs on others? If you fell that it is wrong to be a homosexual, fine, but what gives you the right to dictate to others what their lives should be? People think that by just claiming that God mandates that something wrong, they are justified in denying people the right to make own choices. However, a nation cannot be run on people's opinions on what is the word of God.

What if the United States was suddenly a country made predominately of Jews and Muslims? What if Christians were the minority? Both of the previous religions believe that God commanded that they do not eat pork; however, Christians still do eat pork readily. Would the Jewish and Muslim majorities have the right to make the sale and consumption of pork illegal in the United States on the basis that "God said so?"

There are almost 40,000 denominations and countless of independent religions all serving as emissaries, telling us different messages of what God says. However, until God actually comes and gives an order himself, God's word remains man's opinion, and therefore cannot be forced upon rothers.

Should We Celebrate African-Americans' Independence Day?

Growing up, Independence Day was never a holiday that I was really able to get into. In the back of my mind, I always felt a bit foolish commemorating a holiday that celebrated my supposed freedom when I would have been enslaved and not even recognized as human at the time. The Fourth of July always left me feeling a bit left out.

Today, I am rather disappointed that the freedom of African-Americans is not celebrated. It's unfortunate that America still does not recognize the day when all Americans were officially declared free on December 6th, and I know that many people would censure the holiday as merely an attempt to placate African-Americans. However, the thirteenth amendment was a major civil rights victory that helped to end many atrocities in our country and brought us a major step forward to the dream where liberty and justice are available to all citizens, the dream that nation claimed to stand for. In short, because the thirteenth amendment was a triumph for human rights, I hope it would be seen as a holiday for all Americans as the 4th is now. Of course, considering the climate of our country right now, I think we are a bit away for that happening, but I wish that at least that we would recognize the day, if no one else does.

How you can support other African-Americans with cancer

Our community has a terrible shortage of bone marrow donors. Seven million people in total have registered as donors, but we make up only approximately 500,000 of that number. Because of the lack of minority donors, we have less than a 30 percent chance of finding someone who is a suitable match. If you would like to help a brother or sister with leukemia or another illness, please visit icla.org or marrow.org and join the bone marrow registry.

American Evangelicals Promote Hate in Uganda

I saw this documentary a couple of days ago, and decided to post it here. It concerns American Evangelicals encouraging an anti-gay sentiment among Ugandans and the effects if their actions.

There are so many disappointing things about this video. First, the Americans should have taken some responsibility for the flaring of hatred against in Uganda. I can understand why they would feel betrayed. As usual, the Evangelicals portrayed homosexuality as one of the worst possible sins ever, and then they backpedal when they try to implement a crackdown in response. Interestingly, from many American Evangelicals' view point, their actions seem extreme; however, it is light in comparison to the Bible they follow (Leviticus 20:13; Leviticus 18:22; 1 Corinthians 6:9). In their hearts, I believe that most American evangelicals know that most biblical practices are antiquated and do not coexist well with modern values. Unfortunately, regions outside the West continue to take these ancient beliefs and practices seriously because they are repeatedly told that that these spiritual text are the direct word of God. (But I am unfairly implying that this is just an Eastern problem. Americans are just as guilty of trying to govern from an obsolete perspective, but fortunately, we have a greater tendency to just ignore the nasty parts of our holy book.) In addition, another problem lies in that the Ugandans don't see hate and intolerance against homosexuals as a problem. In fact, they are proud of it, so the abhorrence with which Bible views homosexuals wouldn't bother them. In the US, we are expected to be more tolerant and homophobia is relatively looked down upon, so these, in addition to the other verses in which God calls for the stoning of people for minor infractions, have served to embarrass evangelicals here. As a result, the anti-gay message in the Bible would do more harm in Uganda, which is why evangelicals should have been more cautious with caustic message.

Another thing that stuck out to me was an Ugandan preacher's claim that if you had a problem with what he said, you were disagreeing with God, which brings up an interesting observation.

So far, I've only heard preacher's talking, people from the Middle East thousands of years ago talking, but no God talking. I'm sure if God had something to say, he would say it himself, in a more efficient manner no less. That way, we wouldn't have almost 40,000 denominations of Christianity and innumerable other religions all telling us what "God says." He himself would certainly clarify all of this confusion. However, as he has not, the world runs guessing the will of "the Picard. " (Reference to an episode of TNG where a race of people, assuming Picard was a god, were willing to do anything an desperate attempt to fulfill his will.) In any case, it is always dangerous when people believe that they must hate because a god told them to, and the Bible certainly can justify this. It can only be stopped when people understand that they cannot turn to their religious leaders or even their holy books to hear what God says. Religion may provide a useful moral guide, but when it is dogmatic, rigid, and absolute, it is dangerous. I hope Uganda does not allow their attempt to decipher the will of God to erode the rights of their citizens