Christians have still not repented from abusing Natives

On January 23, 2009 - a Minnesota county newspaper, the Anoka County Union, published the following letter to the editor of mine. The population of Anoka County is 320,000.

http://abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5687&Itemid=43

And, Indgenous Peoples Literature, an award winning website about indigenous people's issues that has been accessed over 10,000,000 times, published this letter, as has also the Mille Lacs Messenger, another Minnesota county newspaper.​

Theodore Roosevelt wrote in a best-selling book about the history of the American West, "Many of the best of the backwoodsmen were Bible-readers. They looked at their foes as the Hebrew prophets looked at the enemies of Israel. What were the abominations because of which the Canaanites were destroyed before Joshua, when compared with the abominations of the red savages whose lands they, another chosen people, should in their turn inherit?"​

Americans found the idea that they were God's new Israel so attractive because it helped justify their partial destruction and total subjugation of the indigenous peoples of the New World.​

In Deuteronomy 20: 16-17 the ancient Israelites were given the directive: "But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You shall annihilate them - the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites...; as the Lord your God has commanded thee."​

President George W. Bush told an audience of his: "When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of [the Hebrew prophet] Jeremiah 51:10: 'Come let us declare in Zion the word of God.'" Bush also said: "The founders of my country saw a new promised land and bestowed upon their towns names like Bethlehem and New Canaan."​

In other words, the indigenous peoples of the New World were viewed by the founders of the United States as new Canaanites of the new Land of Canaan, a promised inheritance and everlasting possession, for some new "chosen people" - white Euro-American Christians, who were to treat (to some extent) the new Canaanites (this lands indigenous peoples) the way the Israelites treated the Canaanites when they invaded and took possession of their homelands.​

The mental model of a chosen people and a promised land provides a convenient rationalization whereby one people feels entitled and justified, by divine right, to take over, possess, and profit from the lands of other peoples.​

In Matthew 5:38-39 Jesus is quoted as saying, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.​

In the New Testament, Jesus gave his followers some new principles to follow.​

White European Christian colonists, and then (later) white Euro-American Christians, followed (to some extent) the Old Testament principle "kill every thing that breaths" when they invaded and took possession of the Native Americans' homelands.​

And most white Euro-American Christians still have not repented. Are they asking that the Natives' lands and sovereign rights be returned to them?​

They are still following a nullified Old Testament principle and wrongly justify their and their ancestors evil war-mongering ways by comparing them with what the ancient Israelites did to the Canaanites, while following an Old Testament principle.​

 

I would repent, however, i have never harmed a native american. I'm sorry that the majority of religous leaders (not just christianity) have abused their powers and used script from the bible (and other texts pertaining to their religon)that does not have any significance today. In truth, good christians (rare) understand that after the birth and death and resurrection of Christ, there is no longer need for barbaric way of "Purifying" the world of "Pagans" or whatever. Through the death of Christ, man kind was given free will to choose the lifestyle they want to follow. Unfortunatley a lot of Christians forget this and become extremists (much like extremists in other religons) and ruin the good name of Christ by spouting quotes they themselves don't fully understand. Again i'm sorry that you feel that christians everywhere should repent for something they weren't apart of. Instead of repentance, they need to learn from the folly of their ways and actually read the bible like i have. Jesus Christ wouldn't have condoned the way the vast majority of Christians have acted in the past 2,000 years. Truly there are tears in heaven. "God's Children" have indeed fallen, but not all of them. I love my neighbors and treat others as i want to be treated. I do my best to actually follow Christs teachings. And last time i checked, Jesus Christ loved everyone no matter who you were or what you had done. Maybe one day my brothers and sisters will get it right. I wish my apology to you could be enough, but i know its no where near what is truly needed. Unfortuantley we can not go back in time, but we can always move forward in a positive light. I know i'm not the only Christian who feels this way. So please Don't let the words of extremists ruin your take on christians, as i don't let muslim extremists ruin my take on my muslim neighbors.

 

fuck anoka county. Harsh drug laws, alot of meth and idiots. im in ramsey, its a bit better.
Anyway I as well never harmed an indian. Was it wrong, sure, But thats the times.... deal with it its done

 

1) "Christians" is also a pretty broad stroke to be demanding an apology/repentence from.

2) I have not harmed an Aboriginal. I don't need to say sorry for it.

3) Do the living conditions of Aboriginals on and off reserves (speaking as a Canadian) suck? Yes. Will whining about the past solve anything? No. Will education and social betterment programs help? Yes.

 

First, people keep forgetting that Jesus himself said that there would be two groups of people that would call themselves Christian and Jesus said he would call one group workers of lawlessness and only the other group would he call his brothers. Guess which one did the things you speak of?

Second, you ask; “Are they asking that the Natives' lands and sovereign rights be returned to them?”

Okay, what are your plans for the people who now live in North and South America who are not “Native”? What about those who are only part “Native”? What about “non-natives” those whose families have lived here over 200 years, doesn’t that kind of make them native? Scientists say that there were people living here that were dispossessed, when what you call the “Natives” got here, what about them? How long does one have to live somewhere before you call them native?

Just wondering?

 

It's a shame. This has happened all over the world...over and over again. Some kind of "ethnic cleansing" I guess they call it. The English did it to the Irish, the Whites to the Blacks, Europeans to Natives...look at Sarejevo back in the '80s-'90s? the list goes on. Ethnic freakin' cleansing. Heartbreaking. What to do?? ...I'm french, algonquin and irish...what side shall I take? to whom should I apologize...the evil deed is done...assimilation...

 

I'm in the same boat mostly German with a bit of Welsh and just a touch of Black Foot. So if they try to send us home what are they going to do with us?

 

Christendom strikes again!

 

Group persecution, reminds me of that show on "Animal Planet, Meerkat Manor".

 

Oh hell, I'm sorry. There, ya happy? Or was it another Christian you wanted an apology from?
I'm sorry, I don't have the authority to give you your land back.
Generalize some more, will ya? And divide rather than recruit. That's helpful.

 

Hope I don't get anybody here riled by saying this, but ALOT of Christianity today has nothing to do with Christ...

 

Well...lol...I'd kinda like to go to Ireland

 

Jesus himself said that would be the case.

 

http://www.cccb.ca/site/content/view/2686/1214/lang,eng/

 

Christians get off on this stuff, it's the whole reason they want to get into heaven:
The blessed in the heavenly kingdom will see the torment of the damned so that they may even more thoroughly enjoy their blessedness.
-St Thomas Aquinas

 

Personally, I would say anyone who believes this is more than likely not a true Christian.

 

That's the problem when you put it in writing, it stays forever.

Even Saints said some pretty stupid stuff.

St Augustine said women were the weaker sex, but he also said some good stuff.
"There are some details of the body which are there for simply aesthetic reasons, and for no practical purpose—for instance, the nipples on a man's chest, and the beard on his face, the latter being clearly for a masculine ornament, not for protection. This is shown by the fact that women's faces are hairless, and since women are the weaker sex, it would surely be more appropriate for them to be given such a protection." City of God (c. 410) book 22, chapter 24


versus


Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

 

Almost all of them, unfortunately.

While the early history of christianity was one of suffering, the same christians soon turned to making others suffer.