44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
See other: Often Ignored Bible Verses
Helena
I would argue that one of the greatest challenges facing civilization in the twenty first century is for human beings to learn to speak about their deepest personal concerns—about ethics, spiritual experience, and the inevitability of human suffering—in ways that are not flagrantly irrational.
Sappho
Absolutely. We desperately need a public discourse that encourages critical thinking and intellectual honesty! Unfortunately, it is probably true to say that nothing stands in the way of this project more than the respect we accord religious faith.
Zoe
Surely, you would be the first to admit that the prospects for eradicating religion in our time do not seem good? Continue reading
There is a community in Ontario, Canada, called Moose Factory. It is located on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River.
Between 1934 and 1968, the Catholic censorship guidelines that had led to the Motion Picture Production Code forbade Hollywood films to show innuendo, infidelity, nudity, sexual hygiene, prostitution, homosexuality, drugs, interracial relations, white slavery, and ridicule of the clergy.
An excerpt of Sir Roger Moore’s Twitter account description once read 007. Saint. UNICEF Ambassador.
Over 25,000 people died on the First Day of the Somme.
In The Simpsons (Season 5, Episode 5) “Treehouse of Horror IV”, Homer Simpson is put on trial by the Devil. The jury consists of Benedict Arnold, Lizzy Borden, Richard Nixon, John Wilkes Booth, Blackbeard the Pirate, John Herbert Dillinger, and the starting line-up of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers.
See other: Quite Interesting Facts
‘One of the greatest challenges facing civilization in the twenty first century is for human beings to learn to speak about their deepest personal concerns—about ethics, spiritual experience, and the inevitability of human suffering—in ways that are not flagrantly irrational. We desperately need a public discourse that encourages critical thinking and intellectual honesty. Nothing stands in the way of this project more than the respect we accord religious faith.
I would be the first to admit that the prospects for eradicating religion in our time do not seem good. Still, the same could have been said about efforts to abolish slavery at the end of the eighteenth century. Anyone who spoke with confidence about eradicating slavery in the United States in the year 1775 surely appeared to be wasting his time, and wasting it dangerously.
The analogy is not perfect, but it is suggestive. If we ever do transcend our religious bewilderment, we will look back upon this period in human history with horror and amazement. How could it have been possible for people to believe such things in the twenty first century? How could it be that they allowed their societies to become so dangerously fragmented by empty notions about God and Paradise? The truth is, some of your most cherished beliefs are as embarrassing as those that sent the last slave ship sailing to America as late as 1859 (the same year that Darwin published The Origin of Species).’
– Harris. S. 2006. Letter To A Christian Nation p. 28
Thankfully, phrenology has been thoroughly debunked: the idea that the shape of the skull can be used to infer mental characteristics. Nevertheless, it was extremely popular all over the world during the 19th century, finding converts among reform-minded Bengalis in Kolkata, India, and colonial settlers in Australia.
Phrenology
Charles Caldwell, for instance, a doctor from Kentucky who revelled in both phrenology and slave ownership. He became one of the earliest “experts” in phrenology in the United States.
In 1837 he wrote to a friend claiming that “tameableness” explained the apparent ease with which Africans could be enslaved. This was a standard phrenological argument. Areas located towards the top and back of the skull, such as “Veneration” and “Cautiousness”, were routinely claimed to be large in Africans. A correspondent of Caldwell concurred, writing: “They are slaves because they are tameable.” Clearly enjoying himself, Caldwell replied: “Depend upon it my good friend, the Africans must have a master.”
The fact that phrenology was used to justify slavery is perhaps unsurprising. What would one expect from such an overtly racist science? But it wasn’t just the slavers. Some of the most vocal anti-slavery campaigners of the 19th century were also advocates of phrenology, and used it to justify their stance. If anything, the majority of phrenologists were against slavery.
For abolitionists, the apparent weakness and timidity of the Africans served two purposes. It countered fears that they would take revenge on their masters if set free. It also provided a moral argument: if Africans were innately weak, society should help them, not enslave them.
In present western society, it is fair to say that racism has become less and less of a problem, but it would be impossible to deny that it still lingers in the far-right corners of the political spectrum.
“Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.”
Knowledge Guild 