by King Solomon 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hi. I am a civil rights lawyer. My goal in going to school was to become a movement lawyer or work for the Civil Rights Divsion of Justice. I ended up on Wall St. but still do pro bono work.
You gotta be kidding me. Why didn't you ever tell us before?
An example of the slave trade that astounded me when I first read of it was of the English who used to enslave the Welsh, in fact the English word for the Welsh then became synonymous with slave, and the English exported the slaves to Africa !
All this was being done around the mid tenth Century by "Christian" Kings like Ethelred and by their subjects.
It is a great act of immorality to enslave a fellow human, even if the "slavery" can be seen as not overly harsh, as perhaps Paul saw it in the case of Philemon's slave holding, but he is counselling him NOT to be harsh, so the poor slaves were not treated very well even in "Christian" households in Pauls day.
It is to the great shame of the human race that it still goes on in the 21st Century.
An example of the slave trade that astounded me when I first read of it was of the English who used to enslave the Welsh, in fact the English word for the Welsh then became synonymous with slave, and the English exported the slaves to Africa !
...also (unrepealed Law)... Any resident of Chester is allowed to shoot a Welshman with a longbow if he is within the city walls on a Sunday (after sunset..?)
I don't see a lot wrong with that law........ only jokng.
Interesting thread thanks
KING:
n the ironic twist department:
Cyrus the Great conquered the Babylonians in 539 BC, and as the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism strictly and explicitly forbade slavery, the practice was not permitted in all conquered lands (this was the first religion to codify the prohibition of slavery, as well as gave equal rights to women, as the first Human Rights Charter). Thus Cyrus the Great freed the captives of the Babylonians, which included the Jews (who were weeping on the banks of the Euphrates until they got the good news that Babylon The Great had fallen).
So the Jews, God's chosen people, although being amongst the first benefactors of Zoroastrianism's abolitionism, didn't learn from the generosity and mercy shown to them: Jews obviously continued the practice of slavery, and no doubt gaving all the the credit to YHWH for allowing the Zarathushti Cyrus the Great to liberate them.
MP:
You have imho failed to notice the genius move that Cyrus initiated by letting the Jews rebuild their temple and reinstitute the religious elite. He no doubt realise that its easier and cheaper to let the locals worship in peace provided he controlled the puppet strings and let the religous leaders educate the people to do the right thing in his image.
We see the same thing in the Bible. The NT has many strange thoughts. Why exactly are we told to oeby authorities and pay taxes and slaves are told to obey their masters irrespective of any cause. I personally believe the Romans tried their luck with xianity to subdue the masses. Why use armies when you can get the masses to believe. Its so much easier to run a country when some invisible god canscare the people straight than use force. Brainwashing has always been so effective. We see the same in many parts of the world, w/ Iran being a perfect example. Ironically the times may have changed but the principal tools of the ruling class remain the same.
Personally i cant help but wonder if global warming is the same. Governments want to tax, and truth be told they only spend token amounts on programs to combat carbon. They have realised that religion is not as respected as in the past, so know they appeal to our vanity and pretend we all understand the science.
MP said:
You have imho failed to notice the genius move that Cyrus initiated by letting the Jews rebuild their temple and reinstitute the religious elite. He no doubt realise that its easier and cheaper to let the locals worship in peace provided he controlled the puppet strings and let the religous leaders educate the people to do the right thing in his image.
Oh, I dunno: I tried to keep my post on-point, and not write a doctoral thesis. I didn't mention it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't noted. :)
But since you brought it up: Cyrus established a 10% tax in the conquered lands to fund the State-sponsored religion of zoroasterianism. Not exactly a separation of church and state, but I think they deserve credit for the basic human rights stance. Of course, Xoroasterianism was out-performed by those religions which personalized faith, and commanded that the zealots/fanatics engage in prostelizing work (and also was adopted by the Romans, for reasons as you suggest).
King Solomon which early cultures from 1000 B.C to 3000 B.C did not adopt the practice of slave trade? How did slaves fare under the "Law of Moses" versus other laws of relevant cultures at the time.
I think we forget the United States was not a perfect government, neither was the empire of the United Kingdom but they tried to grow from their mistakes. We can point out the evil acts done, but how often do we reflect on the good these cultures did against evil forces throughout their empires?
Slaves were better off in which cultures, Roman or the Christian worldview? Africa shares plenty of guilt, hunting down weaker, less developed tribes and selling them to the Dutch. There are voices who wrote against this kind of evil, greed and gain of money have a tendancy to drown out humanity.
This sounds like American exceptionalism. I feel that both American and Britain are great countries. The Magna Carta, not the Declaration of Indpendence, was the first, tentative step towards defined citizen rights. Common law is very admirable. Other countries, though, clearly have better standards of living and more actual democracy and freedom. These countries are usually comprised of one culture, though. America is amazing in the way that it accomodates so many different cultures.
I could write an endless list of what is right in America.
My answer to your post would be two-fold. First, I am American. My personal interests are here. I want my country to be the best possible. Remarking about ugly facts from our history is not being unpatriotic. The past affects us. Second, when you claim to be .:Christian nation, the best nation on earth, all the lies they tell grade school children, rather than actual historical fact, the hypocrisy critique becomes heightened. Actual history is multi-layered and America is so much greater when viewed through these facts, rather than myths that non Americans find humorous. Another factor is that people should consider the culture of the time rather than exporting today's values on the post.
Thomas Jefferson, the main drafter of the Declaration of INdependence, ambassador to France, Secretary of State, and president, is the perfect example. "All men are created equal>" is a joke when viewed through the facts. Others, such as Washington also had slaves, Jefferson only freed his children when he was blackmailed by Sally Hemmings. He did not subscribe to any gentlemanly notions of slavery, which others such as Washington did. Washington and many others' private writings expressed grave moral doubts about slavery. Jefferson did not.
America has done many great things. We rarely are taught about them in school. Every culture believes its culture is the best.
