-Caveat Lector-
In a message dated 1/8/99 6:23:50 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Sometimes people
> would rather "be taken care of" than face life's uncertainties armed only
> with
> their own skills and decision-making abilities.
Welcome back, Hawk. Many of us missed hearing your arguments however we
disagreed because your supporting evidence offered something to get one's
teeth into.
I'm not sure what to say regarding your remarks concerning the scriptures
since, apparently, some are grievously offended by any mention of spiritual or
moral matters - at least they are offended when scriptures are referenced as
opposed to, say, Urantia channeled baloney. I will only point out that we are
directed away from legalism and toward general principles so i am puzzled by
your statement that the principles cannot be applied in the specific. It
seems to me that they could then never be applied.
I am reminded of something a priest said at a class for the general public on
biblical exegesis. The priest was British and supposedly a scholar of
considerable talent. (Incidentally, this class was free, a not uncommon event
in those days of the 60s.) He sarcastically said that whenever the
bureaucrats or politicians of Britain commented on the golden rule and other
such, they would say, "Well, that's all well and good but one cannot run an
empire on ideals." Of course, at this time the empire had already dissolved.
You speak of the slave mentality and i know that it lives in many people.
However, IMO the root of it is in oppression. When folks get so frustrated
and despair of being allowed to do, they sometimes sort of give up and go
along with the notion that if something good is going to happen, it must come
from massah (the corporation, government, church, et al). Of course this is
not confined to actual ex-slaves.
You ask about what state had the removal of thumbs as punishment for learning
to read. The plantations were in the bush. The law was massah and vice
versa. When you read the narratives of the ex-slaves your eyes are opened.
The law is irrelevant when it is not available and when the entire economy
depended upon supporting massah's heroic efforts to keep everyone in their
place.
Literate thinking slaves are an obvious threat. Why do you think our own news
media is so carefully controlled? The weak spot in the plantation was the
owner's children, their eagerness to share what they know and show off at the
same time. When a slave learned to read, he taught others. When a plantation
had more than, say, a score of slaves, they would meet at night in culverts or
ditches with the overhead covered with branches and twigs. They told each
other about what was going on, 10 pair of eyes in different places could see a
lot. With good fortune, one would teach reading. When a slave stopped
overnight attached to plantation visitors, they could hear about things far
away and give information in return. These underground schools were vital to
the encouragement that comes from camaraderie.
The above remark applies to prayer also. Bear in mind that each plantation
had its own way to deal with issues in the slave community, namely massah's
way. A few, especially the large plantations with hundreds of slaves, were
relatively liberal and followed their own house rules fairly consistently.
Jefferson Davis ran one of these operations. Most plantation owners were
rather harsh. Economics led the most intelligent owners to give their slaves
just enough sustenance and rest to maintain the work. The photographs of the
slaves tell the story by their faces.
Jerry
Apparently, many of the owners were as ignorant as the slaves about prayer.
It was common for owners to forbid prayer, possibly because they did not want
their slaves to have either hope or comfort or maybe because the owners really
were nervous about the slaves communicating with the living god. The slaves,
who like the owners apparently never heard of silent prayer or believed it
ineffective, would speak their prayers into a tub of water to muffle it.
Jerry
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
