Does the Bible Encourage Slavery and Male Dominance?

Fact #1: Slave owners used a modified Bible to keep their slaves imprisoned. The “Slave Bible” had entire passages, chapters, and even books missing from it so that literate slave might only read the parts that would keep them enslaved.

Fact #2: The Bible has been misinterpreted many times by both men and women to suggest that God does not favor women. This is untrue. God is no respecter of persons. (cf. Acts 10:34-35)

For those of you who are just now learning about this, welcome to part of the truth. There are a lot of ways people have shown the evil in their hearts…and we all have a seed of evil in ours. If you don’t, then good for you. You don’t need Christ because you’re every bit as good as the son of God.

While many people of African are strong believers in God, there are also many who refuse to accept the Bible as truth because they believe it to be a white man’s book. This is false. It is also not a man’s book. There is a reason THAT particular book is the center of conflict. It’s NOT because it’s a collection of books that support slavery. It has been misused by racists, misogynists, imperialists, and those who the Bible would call workers of iniquity.

Many people have false ideas when it comes to the Bible, simply because they witnessed the misinterpretation of the Holy scriptures and even hypocrisy among those who claimed to be believers. Certain women and men who harken to are angered when the Bible is brought up. They feel it is a collection of books about male dominance. Scripture has been used against women. Most women to whom this applies couldn’t give me a single example of how the Buble empowers women (and it’s sad) because most Christian men know can give more examples of how the Bible empowers women than those who claimed to have read through it and decided it was a book that celebrates masculinity.

Let’s make something absolutely clear. The Bible is not a collection of books intended to to encourage hate. In fact, it teaches true love in many passages (too many to count). Nevertheless, it has been used and even made to seem as a book that incites hate. While we’re tuned in, let me explain a few things.

#1) The Bible was written by Hebrews (who were dark skinned) and a people who were much closer spiritually to God than any spiritualist today can ever claim to be. You can’t be more spiritual in this day and age with all the heavy distractions of work, technology, …etc. To even consider yourself spiritual is a confession that you are more than just a body with a brain that’s evolved to make all your decisions.

#2) Times have changed and people have. Modern Jews look different from ancient Hebrews, which makes many black people wonder if the Bible has ever included them. Modern Jews are part of the 12 tribes of Israel (Israel, who was first a curly haired and relatively dark skinned guy named Jacob before he reproduced to became a father of many Nations). Israel today is different from Biblical Israel. The Jews who get mainstream attention are the lighter skinned variants living in that country. There are also Jews who live in places like Ethiopia, who have never been to Israel, but have kept their way of life since Biblical times.

3) You’re living in a false reality. I’m glad this video shocks you. It shouldn’t, but you won’t wake up from the illusions you live in until you’ve been shocked enough by its evils and horrors. To this day, things that relate to the Bible are being corrupted to keep people distracted. For instance, the Hebrew calendar, a complex, but effective one was replaced by the Gregorian calendar (which led us to forget our special holidays and feasts). It seems like a small thing to change how people observe the passage of time, but think about it. First our months were replaced and our chronology was thrown off balance. Then we forgot our celebrations and adopted other holidays. We joined a new world whose citizens are kept disoriented because the enemy of our souls does not want us to reconnect with God. So don’t just row your boat down the same stream the vast majority of people are on. Wake up! It’s time to realize that something sinister has been happening under our noses since before we were born.

I remember as a kid, there was an African country called Zaire. Try to find that country on the map today. It’s not there. The name has changed! Most millenials wouldn’t know that because history can be rewritten in time for a new generation to be clueless about certain things. The Bible speaks about many places whose names have changed throughout history. One such place is Ethiopia, mentioned many more times in the Bible than you probably were aware, often under the names Midian, or Cush (which, like Zaire, existed on ancient maps). Much of history has changed to destroy the trail that would help us connect to our past.

Some slaves who read the Bible learned about the LORD. Some loved the LORD, but learned to fear their masters as they feared the LORD and without doubt, their experience of the LORD’s goodness was negatively affected by trauma.

On the other hand, many slaves did not give the Bible a chance because it had been misrepresented. I believe many women are traumatized by how it has been used as well, but I’m here to tell you that the Bible never encourages you to be powerless. The Bible does not want black men to ever feel inferior to a white man. The Bible does not want women to feel inferior to men. The Bible wants us to recognize that God’s original plans for us were to shine brightly on earth as His created image. The B in blue says “In the image of God He created them (human beings), male and female, He created them.”

If the Bible only wanted to elevate men, it would suggest that only we were created in God’s image, but this isn’t so. There are many more examples I can give you, but it’s time to wrap this up. Rest assured, I will post more insightful blogs to help us better understand the Bible and its message to the world.

Our Underlying Problem is Sin

In light of the mass shootings that have taken place in recent weeks, months, years, and decades, my heart goes out to every family affected. But once we get past the moments of silence, it’s time to embark on the quest for truth. The underlying problem is not surface level mental illness. It is SIN!

Times have changed and humans have become increasingly desensitized, a bit less loving, and a bit more morally bankrupt (collectively). I guarantee the immediate response to mass shootings, race based killings, and unmerited violence will always be laced with fear and distrust which has only increased within us.

We find ourselves in these perpetual, recycled, and rebranded wars like the one on terror, wars that are truly spiritual in nature. However, the spirit of hate isn’t killed when a hateful person kills many, then takes her or his life. It doesn’t die when its host is killed or isolated from society. That spirit merely spreads to others. It has no physical form or body that can be attacked or arrested. The spirit of greed doesn’t stop when a glutton dies. The spirit of jealousy doesn’t die when envious people do, nor does the spirit of deceit when a habitual liar dies.

Our wars should be against sin. Behind the scenes the war on sin is fought upon the knees of prayerful and humble warriors. That’s a war fought against the spirits that dare to influence this world. The powers and principalities that rule. The very same which even non-believers refer to as “the powers that be”. Most people don’t care to see the truth because they prefer to deal with what they can see. They only perceive and believe with their eyes. Family, many of us have been seeing symptoms and our eyes remain fixated on those symptoms. Many among us regard the symptom as the problem when the problem is in fact much deeper.

I know the answer I share is unpopular. Notwithstanding this, “unpopular” answers should not be withheld when they’re true and need to be heard by everyone (self included). I strike an increasing lot as one without common sense when I touch upon these sensitve topics. For other topics, I’m often considered highly intelligent. This concept baffles me, but I’ve begun to gladly accept it.

I admit I know very little about anything at all, and virtually nothing of the grand scheme (which God knows fully). There is no shame in this confession, only abject humility regarding my own understanding. Anything less would undermine God and I refuse to be arrogant like those who deny God because they hate His ways. God is God. He should not be conformed to fit our ways, we should change and conform to His.

Human beings may be intelligent in our own ways, but we all should beware of the “Common sense”. There are times when it is (in fact) the better sense and times when it isn’t; for you see, it doesn’t have to be right…only popular (hence “common”).

Those who not only share with me the perspective that humankind is sinful, but boldly stand by it are increasingly rejected. We are considered weirdos, zealots, and even idiots, by those who favor more TV channels, more products, music, games, and distractions. All we do is speak an unwelcomed truth. People wish to understand the invisible drama at work, the battle among spirits, powers, and principalities, but when they realize the subject will take a “religious” tone, they stiffen up and become dismissive. They’re not ready for the real truth. We need only one channel for occasions like this. “God radio” (the spirit frequency).

I’ve told you these things, not to be annoying, negative, or intentionally controversial, but because everyone should prepare. The frightening truth is the Bible predicted all of this and its prophecies are very accurate…even when false prophets would make many think otherwise. Trust me, even the false prophets were predicted.

I tell you these things because even though one might still dream of better lives on earth as I still seek a better life for my family, this world will end at an unknown date. If you have F.O.M.O. (the fear of missing out), you should be afraid to miss out on a relationship with God. If you have FOMO, you already miss out on thousands of choices every second, so why not give up the sinful habits that take us no where good. Our ultimate hope lies in Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation. He died so we wouldn’t have to be addicted to the pleasures and sins of the world.

While we were yet sinners, walking in darkness, Christ, knowing our natures and tendencies, our wicked thoughts, lusts, greed, jealousies, and insecurities…etc., died for us. Jesus, who history acknowledges as a real man was the son of God, prophesied in the scriptures that now constitute the “The Old Testament”. Throughout His life, He performed countless miracles, documented even in non-biblical sources.

The greatest act that He performed was the laying of His mortal life. God had chosen to manifest Himself as a mortal man so that the wages of sin would be recompensed upon one man. The wages of sin is death. Christ died so that we could all have a more abundant and fulfilling life and more life after this one. Therefore those who say “YOLO!” (You only live once” are wrong. For those who are “born again” in Christ shall live forever.

Please prepare for God. He’s so REAL, both beautiful and terrifying, loving yet stern…the perfect parent, one who gives authority, but ultimately possesses all of it. The breath you’ve taken and released isn’t even yours. It is by His grace that your next heartbeat has come. While we are alive and free to make choices, let’s make the right ones. God allows us freedom, but He will not allow anyone with the seed of darkness, who doesn’t seek His salvation to make it past this stage.

Would you like to know the difference between one who commits a heinous act and you? Only life experiences, choices, and grace. Some might argue genetic predisposition, and mental illness are to blame, but they’re seeing symptoms. They may even be perceiving the symptoms of symptoms just as a sore throat may be a symptom of excessive coughing which in turn is also a symptom of an underlying illness, but it isn’t the ultimate cause.

What if we could examine the life of the criminal with unbiased eyes (unaffected by anger, fear, trauma…etc.)? We might find that many deplorable people might have wrestled with anger from verbal and physical abuse, beem the victim of bullying, harassment, rejection, etc. There is always a cause and ultimately sin is at the heart of all wickedness.

The Bible is different from EVERY other collection of religious texts. It has a stronger focus on history than any other, and it is scientific. It does not agree with many scientific theories, but all science that has been proven true is supported by the Bible and also supports the Bible. I highly encourage everyone to read it, not so they can scoff at it, or say they’ve read it, but to try to find understanding and obtain wisdom.

The capacity for a human being to manifest evil is not surprising. While his or her actions might shock and traumatize, the Bible speaks of our capacity to act on evil urges. There is virtually no sin the Bible does not mention and condemn. So prepare yourself with its wisdom. The underlying problem is not mental illness, or predispositions. Those are merely symptoms of the problem of sin.

Nobody is Going to Heaven

Nobody is going to Heaven and if you were ever told this, you were lied to. Many people think after death, those who are “saved” will go to Heaven. This is the result of a common misinterpretation of scripture.

Jesus said in John 14:3 that He would prepare a place for us so that where He is, there we might also be. We know Christ ascended into the Heavens after He was resurrected. He is the only being in history who not only promised to die and come back to life, but successively did it!

Jesus isn’t done with salvation. His death on the cross made it possible for humankind to spiritually approach our Heavenly Father. However, salvation is not merely an instantly available gift (upon the acceptance of Christ as our Lord and savior). It is an ongoing process as we work out our salvation. We’re still unravelling the gift in a sense with God who not only began the good work in us but continues to perfect it. Furthermore, salvation is ongoing because we await Christ’s return and establishment of His kingdom on earth.

If you thought you were going to Heaven, you thought wrong. The Bible does not say we are going to Heaven. Many have inferred Heaven to be our final destination based on John 14:3, Christ’s ascension, and 1 Thessalonians 4:17, but that is incorrect.

Why then did Jesus tell us that in His Father’s house were many mansions? Why did He tell us in John 14:3 He was going to prepare a place for us so that we could be where He is? Why did He ascend to be where He is and lead many to think we will also join Him there? Why is it written in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 that those who are saved will be caught up to meet Him in the air?

Jesus told us that in His father’s abode or dwelling place, there are many places to inhabit. In other words, in the Heavens , which are the Lord’s (according to Psalms 115:16 and Isaiah 66:1), there are other heavens, districts, sectors, etc. We can count on this because according to John 1:1, not only was Jesus with God in the beginning, but was God. As both God and the son of God (because He was born into a body that would die for sinners) Jesus knew Heaven and when He describes the many mansions, He says “If it were not so, I would have told you.” In other words, Jesus, who tapped into the knowledge of the Infinite God who indwelled Him was reminding His followers that though He was a man (by planned birth), He was also God who does not lie (cf. Numbers 23:19)

Jesus ascended to prepare a place for those who put their trust in Him. That place is currently in Heaven, but it will not stay there. Instead, it will be brought down to earth. Revelations 21:2-3 says “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”

This place which Jesus went to prepare for us (referred to as “the New Jerusalem”) will be lowered from Heaven and for one thousand years, Christ will show the world what His leadership and perfect government are like. During that time, Satan and all of His demonic followers will be locked away while mankind enjoys peace and security, purity, virtue, and fellowship with God…but nobody is going to Heaven.

After Satan is released one last time to tempt the world, those who reject Christ will go to a place that was never intended for mankind. As for this earth, it will be completely destroyed (Isaiah 24, Isaiah 65:17, Hebrews 1:12) and replaced with a new earth. So again, who is going to Heaven? Anyone? Nope. No one. Heaven on earth is a more accurate description of what we should expect this world has seen its last day.

Answers for Skeptics: Were humans created before or after the other animals?

Mankind was created after animals. Genesis does not contradict itself in ths either.

It is written in Genesis 1:25-26:

25And God made the beasts of the earth after their kinds, and cattle after their kinds, and every thing that creeps upon the earth after its kind: and God saw that it was good.

26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

Genesis 2:7 states that God formed man out of the dust of the earth, breathed the breath of life into him and man became a living soul. In my book, “The Serpent’s Lie”, I explain that God “breathed” into us by filling us with what we call our spirit. A human being (or human consciousness) is nothing more than a spirit dwelling in flesh. Our bodies are mechanical exteriors that help us interact with our physical world in specific ways. Genesis 2:7 does NOT contradict Genesis 1:25-26. I do not know why the skeptics included it with the 10th question.

Their inclusion of Genesis 2:18-20, however, provides a good challenge and opportunity to test our reading comprehension. The passage may in fact appear to contradict the animal first then human order of creation. Could they be on to something? Let’s see. Genesis 2:18-20 reads as follows:

18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.

19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was its name.

20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

Here’s the explanation. God had created all animals, male and female to reproduce after their own kind. As for humankind, He created Adam first, and knew it was not good for Adam to be alone. Out of the ground, God (had) made the animals, just as he then made Adam and He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Adam did not call a single one his lifelong companion. Not one of them was a suitable mate despite the origin they all shared (having been made from the ground). When God made Eve, it was only then Adam that Adam called her his companion saying “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” – Gen 2:23

Love is NOT Acceptance

Most parents love their children, but great parents don’t just accept all aspects of them. Children are impressionable and malleable. As they grow, they acquire certain mentalities, make life changing decisions, lifestyle choices, and they form both good and bad habits. Ultimately, human beings are flawed and will make wrong choices. Regardless of whether we are known for our good deeds or our bad ones, most of us still have a desire to be accepted. That’s because we all were born with a desire to love and be loved. Acceptance often makes us feel loved, but acceptance isn’t love.

In Genesis 4:7, God tells Cain he will be accepted if he does what is right, but if he does the opposite, sin would crouch at his door with a predatory desire for him. Cain was supposed to master the sin, in order to be accepted by God.

God gave him parental advice, but Cain did not listen. He was as stubborn as we, human beings can be. When God says something we don’t want to hear, we often react by sucking our teeth and thinking “Great…more rules…”, “How can God be loving if…?”, “How can any one live like this?”, “How can I marry someone if He doesn’t want me to test drive her first?” …etc.

The message of this blog applies to everyone, though not everyone will enjoy it and accept the truth in it. God loves EVERY single person, but He does not discriminate. Therefore, He will not accept all who choose to do wrong in His eyes…myself included. I’m not inherently worthy of His acceptance. No one is. Furthermore, God will not accept those who don’t understand they can’t outlove Him, nor those who seek to redefine what He has established.

However, God will accept those who follow His commands. He will also accept those who understand that He alone is God (we do not share Divinity with Him), as well as those who recognize morality was first established by Him, not a barbaric neanderthal. The Bible says God loved us before we even existed.

The reason we witness and even participate in moral decline which started before our generation (mind you), is because we have kept pushing God farther and farther away. Everyone who is against God feels they have some bone to pick with him. “God took a parent from me”, “God allowed me to be a victim of…(you name it)”, “God didn’t stop X,Y,Z from happening”. Almost all of us (believers and skeptics alike) have a story in which God seems to have allowed us to undergo trials and hardships. If He didn’t “spare” or “rescue” us the way we had hoped, it was perhaps due to one of the following:

1) He’s God. He knows the end from the beginning. Therefore, He knows the best way to help us grow spiritually (if we desire that kind of growth).

2) Someone else was exercising the same free will we also possess (and God does not interfere with the will of a fully committed heart) except if the person’s will would interfere with His own. The strongest wills always win in the spiritual places.

3) He wants us all to have stories and testimonies, not of how we’re victims of circumstance, but victors despite circumstance.

4) He wants us to see how He did, in fact, protect us from worse situations. Sadly some prefer to focus on the darkness of their clouds instead of silver linings. For instance, it isn’t surprising for people who total their cars in a crash to be angry. In fact, some are more bitter against God for taking away their $30,000+ vehicle than others who have lost limbs and or mobility, but still ciar to see how God saved their lives.

God loves us even if we can’t always feel it. He demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ (the historical Jesus) died for us and rose again. He did this so that even when we fall short (while hopefully making progress in our spiritual growth), those who accept Him as LORD and savior will always be free from the guilt and shame of their past sins. (See Romans 5:8)

God loves us and does not hold sins we committed in ignorance, or even ignorant defiance against us. Remember, Christ told His Father above to forgive those who were spitting upon Him, cursing at Him, ridiculing Him, and throwing things at Him, for they knew not what they were doing. Sure, they knew they were spitting, cursing, and throwing things at Him, but they didn’t know they were doing it to one who loved them beyond measure. They didn’t know they were feeding darkness and hate. They didn’t know that the one who was dying for them wasn’t dying because He wasn’t divine, but because He had taken up mortal flesh so that He could demonstrate the ultimate form of love, self-sacrifice to the point of death.

Love is not acceptance. It can often involve acceptance, but it is not. God loves us despite our flaws and sin. He does not accept sin and welcome it. How can He accept something that separates the human creature He loves from Him?

Sin has a symbiotic relationship with its host and it rewards its host with instant gratification. The host’s conscience tries to reprimend and correct the soul to whom it pertains, but sin is seductive. It feeds on intense desire, then traps its prey through memories of excitement before a sinful act, satisfaction during the act, or even shame after the act. Sin either makes the host believe it can replace the need for God, or that its soul is condemned. Resultantly, the host feeds it with more of himself (or herself).

We share ourselves with sin and when there is no more self to go around, we have left nothing for God. Selfishness is born from the desire to feed the flesh. When we feed into the cycle of self indulgence, sin (if we should personify it) absolutely loves it!

Only in daring to love Christ, does our love for Him also become an acceptance of everything He stands for. He hates sin. Christ didn’t deviate from the righteousness of God. There is no sin in Christ for us to reject. He walked a path no one else could. For everyone has lied, stolen, cheated, and sinned somehow except Him. Therefore, all but Christ have fallen short of God’s glory. Jesus lived as the single best example of how human beings should live their lives. Jesus doesn’t have to accept everything that is wrong about someone’s life in order to love that person. One day, He will return to fix everything that is wrong with the world because He doesn’t accept everything about it. There is so much beauty in it and yet so many snares. Even so, God still loves the world (its people), but if you’re still convinced that love is acceptance, you’ll be disappointed. God will not accept everyone especially when sin and soul have formed an unbreakable bond.

If love is not acceptance, then what is it?

Let’s hear what the original source (and I don’t mean a Hallmark card) says about it:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Answers for Skeptics: From what were the fowls and animals created?

I can see how the wording of in Genesis Chapters 1:20 and 2:19 might throw many readers off. I can also see how an all-knowing God would test our hearts by making scripture something one has to put some effort into understanding. Those who are not interested in something tend to give up on it quickly. Those who truly seek something continue to turn over stones and shells until their treasure is found.

I admire the dedication it took to organize the skeptics annotated Bible. This was the eighth question it asked to highlight a contradiction that seems to exist at first glance. However, when we take a closer look, the find no contradiction, only errors in our own interpretation.

It is written in Genesis 2:19:

“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air…”

That is our answer! He formed every beast of the field and foul of the air out of the ground! 🙂

Genesis 2:19 does not contradict Genesis 1: 20-21 which says, “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”

It doesn’t say “let the waters create these creatures”; God created everything. The phrase “bring forth abundantly” is translated from the Hebrew word (שָׁרַץ sharats) which means teem or swarm with. Essentially, God was saying “Let the waters swarm with marine life, and birds that may fly above the earth”. This language is specific but misleading if we aren’t careful. The oceans don’t swarm with every type of bird that exists, but there are birds that swarm near, in, and above the waters (bodies of water). Among such birds are sea gulls, ducks, geese, seabirds, penguins…etc.

“And God created great sea creatures, and every living thing that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly (or swarmed with), after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind: and God saw that it was good.” – Genesis 2:20

Accordong to Genesis, animals were also created from earth. Every animal body is biodegradable and upon death nourishes the soil from which it was originally made. There is not a single aspect of their biochemical composition that cannot be composed from elements found in earth, nor decomposed into elements that nourish the earth.

Answers for Skeptics: When were the stars made?

The stars were made on the fourth day of creation, after the earth was created. Genesis Chapter 1 verses 1-19 recap the first four days of creation. In the interest of time and brevity, let’s refer to Chapter 1:1 and Chapter 1:16-19 for this particular discussion.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1

…

He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven…. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. Genesis 1:16-19

However, skeptics attempt to use Job 38 to demonstrate a contradiction that doesn’t exist. They believe that Job Chapter 38 contains a passage of scripture that suggests the stars were created before the earth. Let’s visit this passage.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? … When the morning stars sang together. Job 38:4-7

And now, let us interpret. Always remember scriptures must be read with absolute care and attention to detail. Genesis 1:1 says “In the Beginning, God (who existed before time) created the heaven and the earth”. The following verse says “And the earth was without form and void”. Imagine any process of creation whether it’s art or construction. They all begin as formless and void.

All drawings start off as one indistinguishable scratch made by a writing instrument upon a surface. A complete drawing is one in which desired form has replaced a surface’s prior void or blankness. Construction projects begin with the laying of foundations.

Now…when we hear “In the beginning” we should immediately think about the six day time frame. The stars were made towards the end of that span. By then, God had already laid down the earth’s foundations. After making the stars, He set them in the firmament. At that time, mankind had not yet been created, let alone Job. So…when God asks Job in Job 38:4-7 “Where were you (my dear little man) when I laid the foundations of the earth?…when the morning stars sang together…” He is not suggesting that He made the stars on any other day than day four. On the first day when God began creating, there were no stars. There was a formless earth for which foundations were being laid. However, God did not ask Job “Where were you on the first day…”. Instead, He refers to the beginning (a week long time frame) during which He laid the foundations of the earth and set the stars that He made in the firmament of the heaven. With that said, any good question deserves a proper answer. In this case, the answer is implicit. Job hadn’t even been born yet!