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SLAVE RELIGION/


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A  BOOK  CALLED  SLAVE  RELIGION,INVISIBLE INSTITUTION OF THE ANTEBELLUM   SOUTH/BOOK IS  ABOUT  THE  FORCED  TRANSFORMATION  OF   THE  CAPTIVE  AFRICAN  PLANTATION SLAVES,THEIR  AFRICAN  RELIGION   TO   WHITE  AMERICAN PLANTATION  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION//SLAVES  COULD  NOT     WORSHIP  WITHOUT  WHITE  SUPERVISION....THIS  GOES   ON   AS  I  SPEAK///BLACK  CHURCHES  CONTROLLED  BY ,CAMOUFLAGED,  WHITE  POLITICIANS   AND  CLOAKED   WHITE  CHRISTIANS.BLACK  PREACHERS  ARE  PLANTATION  OVERSEER'S....BLACK  PEOPLE  REMAIN   SPIRITUALLY  ENSLAVED......IF  THEY  REALLY  READ  THE   BIBLE  IT  DOES  NOT  SAY  GOD  AND  CHRIST  IS WHITE.//////DO  BLACK   PREACHERS    SPEAK   OF   ANCIENT  AFRICAN  RELIGION.,  BESIDES   HONORABLE  MINISTER   LOUIS FARRAKHAN/I  DOUBT  IT/////..///BOOK SLAVE  RELIGION,INVISIBLE  INSTITUITION OF THE ANTEBELLUM  SOUTH,BU    ALBERT  J.  RABOTEAU///

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You cannot reverse black people's attachment to Christianity.  These god-forsaven people are grateful and beholden to it for providing them with something to cling to as they struggle to survive in a world that mistreats and abuses them.  The idea that the "son of god" loves them, altho the bible helped to justify their being enslaved for centuries and devalued to this day, is what pacifies the faithful. And the empty promise that they will get their reward in the hereafter continues to sustain them. Similarly, Islam is just a haven for African Americans who overlook its slave trade history, and become black Muslims drawn to exotic names and the garb and ritual that distracts them from the idea that Allah don't give a damn about them either.     

 

But, - that's the function of religion.  And it works because people need something to believe in and something to hope for.  Black people refuse to take credit for the inner strength and guile which is what's really responsible for their ability to endure. They prefer to attribute this to an imaginary old man in the sky who they worship in spite of how "he" has never shown them any favoritism. The idea of "god" being an "impersonal almighty force of nature" is not something they can wrap their minds around.  They need the impact of myth. So be it.   

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Sure religion gives people something to believe in which sustains them, but that is not all.

 

Religion, perhaps more importantly, gives people a code of ethics and standards of behavior which are crucial to the success of the individual, the family and our  community.  Now those standards of behavior are unlikely to be achieved by anyone, but they set a bar for which we strove.

 

Today we really don't seem to have any code of ethics.  Seemingly anything goes.  We use any language we want anywhere, we dress any way we want and we don't seem to be able to form and maintain cohesive families.  We struggle in terms of education, employment and business creation. 

 

Harry I believe your rants against religion are misdirected.  Religion is not the problem.  Evil, greedy people are they problem.  They will pervert any an everything to enrich themselves.  Religion and our culture are the casualties.

 

The book you recommended is indeed a classic.

 

slave-religion.JPG

 

Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South

 

Originally Published 1978
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Pages: 416

Twenty-five years after its original publication, Slave Religion remains a classic in the study of African American history and religion. In a new chapter in this anniversary edition, author Albert J. Raboteau reflects upon the origins of the book, the reactions to it over the past twenty-five years, and how he would write it differently today. Using a variety of first and second-hand sources-- some objective, some personal, all riveting-- Raboteau analyzes the transformation of the African religions into evangelical Christianity. He presents the narratives of the slaves themselves, as well as missionary reports, travel accounts, folklore, black autobiographies, and the journals of white observers to describe the day-to-day religious life in the slave communities. Slave Religion is a must-read for anyone wanting a full picture of this "invisible institution."

I The African heritage     

1 The African diaspora     
2 Death of the gods     

II "The invisible institution"     

3 Catechesis and conversion     
4 The rule of gospel order     
5 Religious life in the slave community
6 Religion, rebellion, and docility
    
Conclusion: Canaan land   

 

Read a Free Preview

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

"But, - that's the function of religion. And it works because people need something to believe in and something to hope for. Black people refuse to take credit for the inner strength and guile which is what's really responsible for their ability to endure. They prefer to attribute this to an imaginary old man in the sky who they worship in spite of how "he" has never shown them any favoritism. The idea of "god" being an "impersonal almighty force of nature" is not something they can wrap their minds around. They need the impact of myth. So be it."

This is so true. Negroes love to attribute anything positive to their invisible master and will blame anything bad on his evil nemesis (the devil). It's amazing how they cherry pick what god does and what he does not do. I respect and admire a number of things about Christianity but I feel these same things can be achieved and enacted minus the mysticism and the rationalization of, "...well...you just have to have faith and believe...". The subject of religion is an explosive one with pyrotechnic emotions and irrationality dominating the debate when discussed with those who fervently believe. It's a waste of time (especially with Negroes and hard core white Christian fundamentalists) and I side step it whenever possible. I feel no need to trample on someone’s fantasies and delusions. I knew of a black woman who told me God talks to her. She told me God told her to move from San Diego to Texas. Then he told her to move to Virginia. And now she is back in California. Go figure.... She also told me the devil made someone wreck her car. Why debate someone like this. It's pointless.....

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