Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

African Americans

2007-07-27T03:00:41Z

Terrycarya:

"African American" is the term used to describe the ethnic background of Americans with African ancestry. Because many African Americans are descended from Africans brought to America as slaves beginning four centuries ago, the vast majority of African Americans today have [[European]] and [[American Indian]] ancestry as well as African{{fact}}.

==History==

[[Black people]] were originally brought to America to serve as slaves for [[white people]] in southeastern states where large-scale agriculture was predominant. During the [[Civil War]], the slaves in states in "open rebellion" were freed by the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], which was signed by President [[Abraham Lincoln]]. Freedom, however, did not necessarily bring an improvement in conditions, as the system of [[sharecropping]] instituted after the end of the war left many ex-slaves in a continuing cycle of poverty. In large part as a result, many African Americans migrated in the early twentieth century to the northeastern and midwestern states, where they could find wage-paying jobs.

==Religion==

The majority of African Americans are members of Christian congregations, with [[Baptist]], [[Pentecostal]], and [[Methodist]] affiliations being among the most common. Some also belong to [[Islamic]] organizations, including the [[Nation of Islam]] founded by [[Elijah Muhammed]], to which group [[Malcolm X]] belonged to until the last years of his life.

==References==
* [http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html National Survey of Religious Identification (NSRI]
[[category:United States]]

Don Imus

2007-07-27T02:53:27Z

Terrycarya: perspectives on controversy

[[Image:Imus don standard.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
'''Don Imus''' is an [[American]] radio talk-show host, known for his "shock jock" speaking manner. Many prominent Republican and Democrat politicians have appeared on his show.

==Controversy==

An organization called [[Media Matters for America]]<ref>[http://www.aim.org/special_report/5390_0_8_0_C/ How Hillary's Hit Man Got Imus], Cliff Kincaid, April 17, 2007. </ref> publicized some offensive comments<ref>http://mediamatters.org/items/200704040011</ref> from his show about the appearance of the [[Rutgers]] and [[Tennessee]] female basketball team players that some people perceived as playing on gender and racial stereotypes. Liberal black activists Al Sharpton and [[Jesse Jackson]] joined in, and said that the comments were offensive. On April 12th 2007, [[CBS]] canceled Don Imus's show.

Many commentators have noted that far more offensive language is often used in reference to black women in [[hip hop]] and [[rap]] music.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/04/14/fire_hip_hop_offenders_too/</ref> For example, the [[Ying Yang Twins]]' song "Salt Shaker" contains the following verse:

''Shawty crunk, on the floor wide open
 ''Skeet so much, they call her Billy ocean
 ''Roll, like a 18 wheeler (whomp whomp)
 ''That ho fine, but this ho a killa''

The word "ho" is used 25 times in this song, which runs four minutes and forty-eight seconds. In contrast, Imus spoke the word only once during his controversial remarks.

Don Imus was also an outspoken critic of [[Hillary Clinton]].

==References==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT: Imus, Don}}
[[Category:Broadcasters]]

Hagar

2007-07-27T02:10:38Z

Terrycarya: see also

'''Hagar''' was the [[Egyptian]] handmaid of [[Sarah]], the wife of [[Abraham]]. The story is told in the [[Bible]] in the book of [[Genesis]].

When Sarah could not conceive, she gave her handmaid Hagar to Abraham to have children. Hagar become pregnant and gave birth to [[Ishmael]]. (Genesis 16:1-9). In time Sarah also conceived and had her son [[Isaac]]. She became upset at Hagar and her son Ishmael and had Abraham banish them. Hagar feared for her life, but God told her not to worry, that he would make a great nation from her son Ishmael as well. (Genesis 21: 1-18)

==See also==

*[[Sammy Hagar]]

[[Category: Biblical persons]]

Moral relativism

2007-07-27T02:07:08Z

Terrycarya:

Moral relativism is the philosophy that moral standards should vary from society to society, and from time to time in history. Under this theory, ethical principles are not universal and are merely social products. This theory teaches that there is no objective moral order or absolute [[truth]]. It has been linked to both [[Communist]] and [[Nazi]] ideology.

Moral relativism

2007-07-27T02:06:52Z

Terrycarya: historical impact

Cthulhu

2007-07-27T02:00:45Z

Terrycarya:

[[Image:Cthulu.png|thumb|right]]
'''Cthulhu''' (pronounced "Khlûl'hloo" or "Kathooloo") (Other spellings: Kutulu, Ktulu, Cthulu, Kthulhut, Thu Thu, Tulu) is a fictional Pre-Judeo-Christian deity/demon variously described as a "sleeping" or "dreaming" in the works of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. Cthulhu sleeps in the sunken city of R'lyeh and when the stars are right, will reawaken ushering in the destruction of humanity.

As of 2005 some correlation has been proposed<ref>Kepler and Yard ''Lovecraft and Christianity: a hidden message?'' (2005)</ref> between the symbology of the mythos and both the Christian devil [[Satan]] and [[creation science]] in Christianity: in the stories the being Cthulhu corrupts creatures from God and turns their worship inward, on their own bodies, with horrific results<ref>H. P. Lovecraft ''The Shadow over Innsmouth'' (1941)</ref>; furthermore, many of the tales in the mythos feature the triumph of the supernatural over established science<ref>H. P. Lovecraft ''At the Mountains of Madness'', ''The Dream Quest for Unknown Kadath'' (various).</ref>. It should be recognized, however, that Lovecraft was an virulent atheist and that the symbology is likely coincidental.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Fantasy]]

John Maynard Keynes

2007-07-27T01:55:32Z

Terrycarya: lifestyle

'''John Maynard Keynes''' (5 June 1883 - 21 April 1946) was a [[homosexual]] [[United Kingdom|British]] economist. His ideas were highly influential leading to him generally being credited as being one of the founding fathers of modern theoretical [[macroeconomics]]. Breaking with the [[Neo-classical Economics|neoclassical]] orthodoxy of his era, Keynes argued that macroeconomic relationships differ from their [[Microeconomics|microeconomic]] counterparts. He went on to advocate government intervention into markets and proposed a demand-driven model for money. His theories formed the basis of what came to be known as [[Keynesian economics]].

==Biography==

Keynes was born in [[Cambridge]], and went on to attend [[Eton College]] where he displayed an aptitude in a number of subjects, notably [[mathematics]], [[classics]], and [[history]]. In 1902 he entered [[King's College, Cambridge]] to read for a degree in mathematics, however, due to his interest in politics he found himself increasingly drawn toward economics. It was at Cambridge that he found himself under the tutelage of [[Alfred Marshall]] and [[A.C. Pigou]]. Keynes accepted an economics lectureship at Cambridge funded personally by Marshall. Soon thereafter he took a leave of absence to work for the British Treasury, an institution in which his expertise was frequently called upon during the [[First World War]]. Indeed, at the end of the war, Keynes was selected to be the Treasury's principal representative at the [[Paris Peace Conference]] of 1919. The subsequent [[Treaty of Versailles]] precipitated Keynes' resignation from the Treasury, as he felt it was draconian in its treatment of Germany.

He returned to Cambridge and resumed teaching, however, the publication of ''The Economic Consequences of Peace'' in 1920, elevated him to a new level of fame. He furthered these ideas in 1922's ''A Revision of the Treaty'', in which he argued that the reparations that Germany was being forced to pay would lead to the collapse of the German economy. In 1923, the German economy entered a period of [[hyperinflation]], in the eyes of many validating Keynes' critique. As the decade progressed, Keynes found himself becoming increasingly involved in the political process. First supporting the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party's]] 1929 Election Manifesto, and later as an advisor to [[Ramsay MacDonald]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government.

Keynes' ''magnum opus'', however, would not come until 1936 with the publication of ''The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money''. Largely a reaction to the high unemployment that had characterised post-war Britain, the book is widely seen as being among the most revolutionary works of modern economics, signalling a paradigm shift within modern economic thought. As the era went on his prestige and celebrity grew, in 1942 he was made a lord, and was Britain's representative at the 1944 [[Bretton Woods Conference]]. He died of [[myocardial infarction]] (heart attack) in 1946.

==Keynesian Economics==

Keynesianism centres around the concept of total spending within an economy, what Keynes terms [[aggregate demand]] and its effect upon output and inflation. In the eyes of Keynesians, the [[free market]] does not necessarily tend toward [[full employment]]. Periods such as this were witnessed in the 1930's during the [[Great Depression]], and in the eyes of Keynes could only be solved by increasing the level of expenditure within the economy. In order to do this Keynes advocated increasing government expenditure, frequently in the form of deficit spending, in order to extricate the economy from recession. At the same time Keynes argued that if expenditure within the economy was too high and the economy was at full employment then this would inevitably lead to inflation, as such in periods such as this Keynes advocated tax increases, and a reduction in government expenditure in order to "deflate" the economy.

As is evident, Keynesian thinking went on to influence the fiscal policy of many governments, as well as influencing a generation of economists. That being said, Keynes was not without his critics, most notably [[Friedrich von Hayek]], whose critiques of Keynesian theory went on to form the basis of the [[Supply-side economics|Supply-side]], [[Monetarism|monetarist]], and [[Austrian School|Austrian School's]] objections to Keynesianism.

==External Links==
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html John Maynard Keynes Biography] from ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics''
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Keynes/kynsCP.html J.M. Keynes, ''The Economic Consequences of Peace'']
*[http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/keynes/general-theory/ J.M. Keynes ''The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money'']

{{DEFAULTSORT: Keynes, John Maynard}}
[[Category: Economists|Keynes, John Maynard]]

Homo sapiens

2007-07-27T01:43:47Z

Terrycarya: /* Longevity */

{{Taxonomy
|name=Human
|image=Billy_sunday.jpg
|kingdom=Animalia
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrate
|class=Mammalia
|order=Primate
|family=Hominidae
|genus=homo
|species=sapiens
}}
'''Humans''', or '''human beings''', are classified by biologists as '''''homo sapiens''''', from the [[Latin]] ''homo'' meaning "man", and ''sapiens'' meaning "wise",<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Homo+sapiens&searchmode=term Online Etymology Dictionary]</ref>.
Modern humans are more specifically classified as homo sapiens sapiens.

Humans inhabit every continent including [[Antarctica]], with a total population of over 6.5 billion as of 2007.

Evolutionists believe that "modern" humans have been around for approximately 130,000 years<ref>Alemseged Z, Coppens Y, Geraads D (2002). "Hominid cranium from Omo: Description and taxonomy of Omo-323-1976-896". Am J Phys Anthropol 117 (2): 103-12.</ref>.
Creationists believe that humans have been around since the sixth day of creation.

== Characteristics ==

Humans are characterized by a highly developed [[brain]] capable of abstract reasoning, [[language]], and introspection. This mental capability, combined with a body suitable for standing erect such that their upper limbs are free to manipulating objects, allows humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species.
The design of the [[larynx]] gives a physiological capacity for speech. Consciousness is of unknown source; speculations include being an emergent property of a complex brain and the mind existing independently of the body.

Humans have more [[hair]] follicles than chimpanzees, one of the next most similar species, but shorter finer hair in most body areas makes this hard to see. Hair and skin colour varies according to the amount of melanin, a pigment that helps protect skin from the sun. Originally an adaptation to climate, pigment variation is now found globally.

==Tool use==
Because humans are bipeds with opposable thumbs, they can create tools more skillfully than other species. Humans inhabit almost all areas of the planet, using technology to overcome inhospitable environments. They are the only species to deliberately control fire to cook food.

Human thirst for knowledge and tool-building capacity has led to many ways of investigating and exploring the universe and culture. These include the scientific method, philosophy, art, and literature.

==Social organization==
Human self-expression has led to complex competitive and co-operative social groups. Some groups are based around abstract symbols or arbitrary land divisions associated with group history, others around perceived genetic or philosophical differences. Humans may belong to several groups simultaneously. Competition for resources plus greed leads to wars, and the human capacity for tool-building to improved technology with which to fight them.

== Longevity ==
Humans in modern times have been known to live to ages of just over 100 years, although much greater ages have been recorded in the distant past.
According to the [[Bible]], pre-[[great flood|flood]] people sometimes lived for over 900 years, although this was a a massive reduction on the intention that people would not die.
According to certain Creationist and Jewish views, God subsequently limited the lifespan of man to 120 years. ({{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=3}} and the lifespan of [[Moses]] in {{Bible ref|book=Deuteronomy|chap=34|verses=7}}), although other creationists believe that Genesis 6:3 is not referring to an age limit for humans.

The oldest human ever documented in modern times was [[Jeanne Calment]] who allegedly lived to be 122.

== The Origins of Man according to Creationists ==

A large number of [[Christian|Christians]], Jews, Muslims and [[Creationism|Creationists]] have postulated that Homo sapiens were created in [[God|God's]] image on day 6 of [[creation]].[http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2313]
:''And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.'' ([[Genesis]] 1:26-27)

:''And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.'' (Genesis 2:7)

The first man was [[Adam]].
:''And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.'' (Genesis 2:15)
The first woman, [[Eve]], was made from one of his ribs.
:''And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.'' (Genesis 2:22)

Because of the sinful nature of man [[God]] sent a [[Great Flood]] which annihilated all the people on Earth except for the then 600 year old [[Noah]] and his family. All people alive today are descendants of [[Family of Noah|Noah and his family]].

==The Origins of Man according to Evolutionary Biologists and Anthropologists==

In more recent times rationalists, [[Theory of evolution|evolutionists]] and scientists in the fields of biology and more specifically, anthropology, have postulated that humans have been around in anatomically modern form for approximately 130,000 years<ref>Alemseged Z, Coppens Y, Geraads D (2002). "Hominid cranium from Omo: Description and taxonomy of Omo-323-1976-896". Am J Phys Anthropol 117 (2): 103-12.</ref>. One version of the this theory maintains that ''homo sapiens'' evolved from ''[[homo ergaster]]'' or ''[[Homo erectus|erectus]]'', and from other earlier primates. Humans' closest living relative is the [[chimpanzee]]. However, despite sharing 98.4% of their DNA sequence and a common ancestor six million years ago, the genetic difference between chimpanzees and humans is 10 times greater than between unrelated humans. <ref> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/238852_chimp01.html</ref>

==The origins of Man according to non-Abrahamic religions==
Myths about the creation of mankind are an important method by which anthropologists may discover more about the societies they are studying, as they show the important facets of human life to that culture. A list of creation myths in various cultures can be found at <ref>http://www.plesiosaur.com/creationism/creationmyths/index.php</ref>. Some notable myths are presented below.

===Hindu===
According to Hindus, humans were created from a part of the cut up body of Purusha.

===Iroquois===
According to the Iroquois, humans came about fully formed in the Sky World before descending through a hole caused by the uprooting of a tree into a lower world, originally a sea, which the humans manipulated by sending creatures to dive to the sea bottom and bring up mud for the creation of earth on which they could dwell.

===China===
Various creation myths exist in China, the most popular being the story of Nuwa. Nuwa was a lonely goddess, who one day looked in a pool and decided to create figures from mud based on her image in the water; creating many figures of grown ups, children, males and females (where the inspiration for males and children came from is not explained) and blowing on them to give them life (the idea here being that breath is the most important thing to all humans), Nuwa saw that the world became much livelier, and she appreciated it. She decided, too, that creating humans one-by-one was too slow, so she picked up a rope and whipped it into the mud, and many figures tumbled out, which she again blew on to give them life. This kind of creation of humans is common in cultures that have a strong pottery tradition. In the pre-modern Chinese scientific tradition, no creator is ascribed to creation - simply, one became two, two became three, and three generated all things in the universe, and this includes humans.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Anthropology]]
[[Category:Creations of God]]
[[Category:Hominid]]

Slavery

2007-07-27T01:34:04Z

Terrycarya: caps ("Latin American")

'''Slavery''' reduces a person to the status of [[chattel]] who can be owned by another person. The value of a slave was typically about the same as that of a [[race horse]], although Biblical injunctions existed granting certain rights and prohibitions, such as the right of the slave to go free after a certain amount of time or the prohibition against the master of putting a slave's eye out{{fact}}. The master controls and commands the slave, either through property-like ownership of the slave or by right to command him.

Slavery is best known to Americans as a peculiar institution of the Southern states before the US Civil War, although it is found in some  [[civilization]]s. Slavery still exists today in many parts of the world including China, Africa and some Latin American countries. In particular, even today, people are enslaved in the [[Sudan]].
Slave owners in the Southern states cited Ephesians 6:5, “slaves, obey your masters” in arguments for the Christian endorsement of slavery. Another Bible verse states that thieves should be sold into slavery.<ref>Exodus 22:3 "He should make a full restitution; and if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.</ref> Under the [[Mosaic Law]], slaves could be kept for six years. <ref>Exodus 21:1-4 "If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing."</ref> (See [[#"Slavery"_in_the_Bible|"Slavery" in the Bible]], below.)

The slavery system diminished a person to the point where they would be regarded as a thing or an object to be owned. Christian [[abolitionists]] disagreed with this valuation, and advanced an interpretation of the Bible which presented human value in terms of God's parental love for all people as His children (see [[human rights]]).

== Ancient History ==
[[Image:Ruslavery.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Painting of a slave market in early medieval Eastern Europe.]]
Slavery has existed at least since ancient [[Greece]] and ancient [[Egypt]], where, according to the Bible, Hebrews were slaves. The primary slave market in ancient Greece was on an island in the Aegean sea known as "Delos". From there slaves were traded and used throughout the Greek city-states.

Often prisoners of wars in ancient history were used as slaves, particularly during the [[Roman Empire]]. [[Christianity]] helped lessen the harshness by which Romans treated slaves; however, later Christian nations like Spain, England, and the Netherlands would continue in the use of slaves. Slavery was also pervasive among [[Arabs]] into the twentieth century.

==Recent History==

In 1455, a "papal bull" (formal letter by the [[pope]]) justified a "right" of Christian nations to enslave any non-Christian in the name of exploration. The [[Spain|Spanish]] had already been enslaving [[South America|South American]] natives on a limited basis, but with the rise of sugar plantations the need for a larger slave force arose. Millions of [[Africa|African]] slaves were brought by the Spanish and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] to [[Mexico]], [[Peru]], the [[Caribbean]] and [[Brazil]]. The growth of [[sugar]]—which had first been introduced to [[Europe]] when the [[Muslims]] ruled Spain—was exploding in popularity throughout the entire western world. Soon [[France]], the Netherlands and Great Britain were also establishing profitable sugar plantations in the new world. The plantation system began in Brazil, where rich white plantation owners were the highest rung in the social hierarchy and black slaves were at the bottom. Obviously life on a sugar plantation was very hard work for a slave.

Slavery was widespread within Africa itself, and the richest in Africa were not those owning the most land, but those who owned the most slaves. In the Sahara Desert, slaves worked in caravans and were used in gold and salt mining. Slaves were usually prisoners of war from other areas of Africa, or debtors, or enemies or the king, but many women outside of those three categories were also enslaved in African societies. Polygamy—the practice of having more than one wife—was common in Africa, as was the existence of harems, from which African women were often sold to join Arabian or Middle Eastern harems.

The trading of slaves with other countries was encouraged in Africa, and was considered an important component of the African economy. Slave trade across the Atlantic (the Trans-Atlantic slave trade) became a booming business for Europeans and Africans alike, by which African rulers sold their people to Europeans for goods such as iron, alcohol, tobacco and most importantly, guns. Trans-Atlantic trade led to the degrading use of "chattel" slaves, whereby the slaves were treated purely as property of the owner. The slaves served as sailors, skilled craftsmen or farmers. The journey across the Atlantic, known as the Middle Passage, led to the death of 10-20% of the African slaves. But an even higher percentage lost their lives in the journey from their homes in Africa to the African coast, where they were to board the slave ships.

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was one component in a system of routes known as the "Triangular Trade" between South America, New England, and the West Coast of Africa. The three main items that were exchanged were sugar, rum and slaves. European goods, mainly guns, were used to buy slaves from Africa. The slaves were then shipped to the Americas. Then, from America, sugar, rum and tobacco were brought back to Europe, completing the "triangle" of trade. Slavery is one of the less noble aspects of American history.

Between 1530 and 1780, Europeans including Britons and even some Americans were frequently taken captive and enslaved by privateers from the [[Barbary States]]. Estimates of so-called "white slavery" vary from as little as 50,000 to in the millions <ref>http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/whtslav.htm</ref>. Generally Europeans enslaved by the [[corsairs]] were usually poorer sea merchants and city dwellers whose families were unable to pay the ransom necessary to free them. Often the [[Pasha]] would purchase the female captives into his harem. Many were forced to "go turk" or convert to "mohammadism" in order to stay with their children who were raised as Muslims. Occasionally slaves would convert in order to escape harsher labors such as tending the oars in the corsairs <ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_print.html</ref>.

==End of European and American Slavery==

The end of slavery in Europe was not to come until the beginning of the 1800s, when abolitionists such as [[William Wilberforce]] and [[John Wesley]] began speaking out against the evils of the system. Wilberforce was supported in his efforts by [[John Newton]], a slave trader who became a Christian and then opposed the slave trade. The slave trade was abolished in the [[British Empire]] in 1807, however slavery was not abolished in the Empire until 1832.

The British ban on the slave trade enforced by the British navy did undermine the slave trade globally. This led to the United States banning the slave trade in the early 1800s. However, slavery itself was not abolished until decades later in 1865 when the U.S. government passed the [[13th Amendment]], after the secessionist Confederacy sought to defend its right to retain slaves and failed, and in [[South America]] when it was ended in Brazil in 1888.

=="Slavery" in the Bible ==
[[Image:Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rudolphe The Slave Market.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rudolphe's painting ''The Slave Market'']]
"Slavery" is also referenced, permitted and regulated in the Bible. The Hebrew word ''ebed'' is translated as "slave" or "servant", but the concept is not the same as the modern understanding of "slave". It included "persons in subordinate positions"<ref name="ctt">[http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslave.html Does God condone slavery in the Bible?] (Christian ThinkTank)</ref> Therefore "all the subjects of Israel and Judah are called '''slaves''' of their '''kings'''".<ref name="ctt" />

Additionally, the Bible teaches that all property belongs to God, with mankind responsible for looking after it for God.

Some biblical passages mentioning slavery are:

* "A father can sell a daughter into slavery to pay a debt. A daughter sold into slavery is not released at the end of six years as is an ordinary male slave." -- Exodus 21:7-11

* "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant." -- Genesis 17:12-13, showing that slaves were considered subject to the Old Covenant.

* "A slave owner is to be punished if he strikes his slave and the slave dies shortly thereafter. If the slave lives a day or to and then dies, the slave owner is not to be punished. A slave is the same as money to his owner." -- Exodus 21:20-21

* "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever." -- Exodus 21:2-6. Hebrews may be slaves for a maximum of seven years, then must be freed. Any children produced during the period of slavery shall however remain the property of his owner.

* "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. 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. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour." -- Leviticus 25:44-46 (Leviticus 25 contains more detailed rules regarding who may or may not be enslaved)

* "And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice (slavery) unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen." -- I Kings 9:20-22

* "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant (slave)? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather." -- I Corinthians 7:20-21

* "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward." -- 1 Peter 2:18

* "Let as many servants (slaves) as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort." -- I Timothy 6:1-2

* The book of Philemon is a record of Paul sending a slave back to his master "no longer as a slave but more than a slave-- a beloved brother." (Philemon 1: 16)

The Old Testament alone, prior to New Testament considerations, broadly prohibits the permanent enslavement of the native inhabitants of Israel but permits the enslavement of immigrants and the occupants of other countries. Depending on the precise circumstances, ethnicity, nationality and any enslaved relatives of a slave, some must be freed after a specified time, while others remain slaves for life. Though physical violence to slaves is permitted, murder is not.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.pogledi.co.yu/english/78.php Islam and Slavery:The Concealed Truth], Excerpts from a Lecture by Srdja Trifkovic, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, November 14, 2003.

[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Sociology]]

Other gods

2007-07-27T01:32:52Z

Terrycarya:

As opposed to [[God]], people have worshiped other '''gods''' throughout the history of humankind. While the word "god" refers in a general sense to any deity that is or has been worshiped as part of a theistic belief system, when spelled with an upper-case "G," the term is normally referring to the God of the [[Abrahamic]] religions, the One True God.

== Other gods in the Bible ==

The [[Old Testament|Jewish]] and [[New Testament|Christian Bible]]s contain references to more than just the Jewish and Christian God, but these gods are seen as false and having no real power, whether it be the [[golden calf]] or the images of [[Baal]].

== Genesis ==

God in the Garden of Eden often uses the plural when referring to Himself:
*'And God said, let us make man in our image.', (Genesis 1:26)
*'And the Lord God said, Behold, then man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.' (Genesis 3:22)
*'Let us go down, and there confound their language.'. (Genesis 11:7)
This is occasionally explained as use of the 'Royal We' in [[Judaism]] or foreshadowing of [[The Trinity]] in [[Christianity]].

== Exodus ==

The Bible refers to Egyptian gods several times, but they are never presented as having real form or power. For instance, no god is ever discussed taking an action, having a thought, speaking, etc. There are references to collective worship of other gods, but God always takes out His wrath on the Egyptian people themselves and the consequences of that wrath are seen, since they are real and exist.
*'And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.' (Exodus 12:12)
*'Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?' (Exodus 15:11)
*'Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods.' (Exodus 18:11).
* The Magi of Egypt are able to produce plagues of their own, but it is never stated this is due to the power of a god.

The First Commandment makes it clear that God will not tolerate the worship of these other deities:
*'Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.' (Exodus 20:3, 5)

Other laws express the same idea:
*'He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.' (Exodus 22:20)
*'Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.' (Exodus 23:13)
*'Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.' (Exodus 23:24)
*'Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.' (Exodus 23:32)
*'For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.' (Exodus 34:14)

There is also this section on multiple gods: 'Thou shalt not revile the gods.' (Exodus 22:28) This follows from simple logic - how can one revile that wich does not exist?

== Psalms ==

*'God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods.' (Psalm 82:1)
*'Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord.' (Psalm 86:8)
*'For the Lord ... is to be feared above all gods.' (Psalm 96:4)
*'Worship him, all ye gods.' (Psalm 97:7)

The Psalms are considered to be the poetic writings of [[King David|David]]. In the near east culture of the time, kings and other men of renown could be called "gods." There is no indication in any of the discussions of David or Israel's kings over almost 500 years where any god was ever considered to be real. For instance, no other god was ever said to have caused a storm or shown any other sign of actually existing.

== The rest of the Bible ==

None of the 66 Biblical books written over 1500 years of history have any mention of any other gods at all in any form that would grant them living qualities.

==Short Story==

Horror writer [[H.P. Lovecraft]] once wrote a short story called "The Other Gods."

==Historical==

Other gods worshiped historically include [[Zeus]], [[Vishnu]], [[Aphrodite]], and others.

==References==
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[[Category:Religion]]