Genesis 9 - NIV Bible - Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them...
By: biblestudytools. com
Are Black People the Result of the Curse of Ham? (Genesis 9) |
The operative question: How is it possible for HAM to give birth to "children of color"?
As it is sometimes uttered: How is Ham being cursed by Noah indicative of Ham being 'cursed black'?
There is something profound to be considered in the biblical telling of Noah cursing his son Ham.
God's Covenant With Noah
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
The Sons of Noah
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. 20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." 26 He also said, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. 27 May God extend Japheth's[b] territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth." 28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
"The whole continent of Africa was peopled mostly by the descendants of Ham." Does this make sense? How is this possible? How has the Church been complicit in allowing this 'understanding' to offend Black people for so long?!
While it is certainly my belief that God can do anything God desires with the world and its people? This. . . 'curse' is uttered by Noah. Why and how is it honored by the world to a perpetual detriment of Ham's (supposed) descendants?
Lastly, is this narrative a 'construct,' a concoction, or to be accepted on belief?
If there is a misunderstanding on Genesis 9: 24-29 relating to Africans/blacks-who is responsible for this?
Pretty sure conservatives will receive the blame, somehow or other.
So... You have 2 lions, 2 zebras, 2 gazelles, and 2 impalas. You go to sea for 40 days and 40 nights and afterwards you still have the zebras, gazelles, and impalas? What did the lions eat?
This (time) this is not about that.
This can be a really informative discussion for some; why don't you give it another try?
The most retarded story in world history.
What a fascinating lecture. Thank you for this.
It is really "attentive" to details, the 'drill down on name 'drops,' and I love the mention of "textual gaps" as it is a great term of phrase!
Yeah, I think a lot of people ”know” there are things in scripture that just aren’t there. We’re all in danger of doing that, I suppose.
After he’d gone through much of his discussion of Palmer, you know the people in that room had to be like, “how can we endure having this building - or anything else - named for him a moment longer?”
Rhodes College Board of Trustees Retires the Name Palmer Hall college building
April 12, 2019
The following message was delivered to the Rhodes College community.
Dear Members of the Rhodes Community,
We are writing to let you know the Rhodes College Board of Trustees has voted to retire the name Palmer Hall and to rename the college’s oldest building Southwestern Hall, effective today.
In doing so, the board accepted the unanimous recommendation of the Palmer Hall Discernment Committee.
“This recommendation is based on the committee’s detailed investigation of the principal legacy of Benjamin Palmer, which was found to be fundamentally at odds with our college Vision. At the same time, the committee recommends that appropriate measures are taken by the administration to ensure that the college’s history is not forgotten.” –Palmer Hall Discernment Committee.
In keeping with the committee’s recommendation, the college will establish an annual event focused on Rhodes history. Additionally, we will commission a new plaque to be placed in Southwestern Hall to add additional context to Palmer’s legacy and ties to Rhodes. The plaque in the cloister will remain.
The Palmer Hall Discernment Committee was composed of alumni, faculty members, students, trustees, and friends of the college. It was chaired by former Chair of the Board of Trustees Bill Michaelcheck '69, the founder, partner, and chief investment officer of Mariner Investment Group, LLC, and trustee Meri Armour P'16, president and CEO of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
The committee worked for months studying the historical record related to Palmer, and they reviewed every comment received from an online submission form and emails received by the college. Multiple educational events were held on campus.
The committee was guided by a set of principles for renaming, which were adopted by the Board of Trustees a year ago. One of those principles stands out as particularly relevant. It pertains to the principal legacy of the individual in question.
History books record Palmer as the most nationally prominent, most ardent, and most effective proponent of the purported Biblical justification for slavery, a position he never disavowed, but continued to espouse and promote until his death in 1902.
The process considering this issue at Rhodes was exhaustive, lasting nearly three years. The board has formally adopted the position that renaming a building should be a rare event. The discernment committee underscored this point in its report to the board.
Southwestern Hall honors and restores a name with a rich tradition and history. With these changes we elaborate, rather than replace, history. Rhodes is a liberal arts college. We encourage critical, nuanced, contextualized thinking when we look at history and when we make judgments about human beings. We take pride in the process that led to a dispassionate, informed, and principle-driven decision, because it is through that process that you can see the college’s true values in practice.
Sincerely,
Cary Fowler '71
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Marjorie Hass
President
According to the video (discussion) at the top of this article, "Are Black People the Result of the Curse of Ham? (Genesis 9)" Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan to be a "the lowest of slaves," if that cursed properly 'executed' how is it that Ham's son, Cush, children in Africa suffered as the lowest of slaves historically in ? Inquiring minds wish to know!
Tackle the question!
It is sad when some people want to hold on to their biases about some other group but do not want to confront their biases head on in discussion. Oh well, it won't go away. It will come up again, and again, and again, and again, . . . .