*This is part two of a three part post. The three parts are meant to be continuous, as opposed to being a related series, and should be read as such. The post was broken down into separate parts for ease of presentation and commenting.*
It’s not hard to imagine a victim of a system of discrimination and subjugation having thoughts such as: Why the oppression? What evil has been committed to excuse this? What have I done to deserve this?
Well, easy...
For one, man is completely depraved and born in original sin. You are inherently broken, and barely worthy of creation and life without an intermediary to sacrifice on your behalf. A SUPREME proxy at that, so what makes your mere mortal form worthy of pardon? If God’s beloved son – HIMSELF even! – must endure such an unspeakable and unjust hardship for YOU, then how dare you complain!! So little is asked of you in return, and such great and magnificent promise awaits those appreciative and righteous enough to accept – and be thankful for – it.
Add in virtuous portrayals of humility, suffering, and pacifism, a divine example of forgiveness to aspire to, and the New Testament’s thick sense of rooting for the underdog.
All told, you’re informed of your innate worthlessness, instructed to take whatever’s handed out, and promised a final, absolute compensation. Mix in liberal amounts of fear, and you have the ultimate recipe for pacification.
This isn’t specific to racial minorities – we see evidence of this in the inverse relationship between religious convictions and social status – but it is especially pertinent: a pertinence that is compounded when the Old Testament is brought into play.
Part Three »
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