Although today we commemorate and celebrate the day that General George Granger told enslaved persons I Galveston, Texas, that they were now free persons under the Emancipation Proclamation, silvery did not end in those states that did not become part of the Confederacy. That occurred with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Slavery takes many forms, including of the mind. A good case in point is the Southern Baptist Church, organized originally to defend slavery of mind and body. This year’s Convention maintains its unfortunate power of the mind, expelling a Virginia church because it believes women can serve as pastors.
What is most amazing is the fact that women fall into this mindset, a bit like women who tell you that “he only beat me because…” The cognitive dissonance on IVF is another example of slavery of the mind, not to mention the fact that scientific truth is eschewed. No, Virginia, dinosaurs did not roam the earth with Adam and Eve. Sad, truly sad.
Prayer for the Day
Afraid that our worlds of belief will crumble,
We hold onto fantasy and myths of the mind;
Fearful of new ways to look at the world,
We shut our minds to new possibilities.
But you, O God, call us to view the world in a new light,
One that is open and unafraid where it leads us.
In the name of the One unafraid to seek new truths,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Remember, we see the world not as it is, but as we are. Most of us see through our fears and our limiting beliefs and our false assumptions.
Robin S. Sharma, Canadian author
It’s not the things that you don’t know that trip you up. It’s the things you think you know but you don’t. You fail to ask a certain question because you think you know the answer. Separating your information from your assumptions can be a very tricky business.
Claudia Gray, pseudonym of Amy Vincent, American writer
Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
Proverbs 4: 5-7