| This is from the Mid-June, 1991 issue of News From Indian Country,
| P.O. Box 2900-A, Hayward, WI 54843. Ph: (715) 634-5226.
| ------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| The Women Who Upstaged Columbus
|
| by Michael Kluznik
| The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
|
| ...
|
| Columbus was the first to enslave Native Americans. Early
| European attitudes were reflected by Pope Innocent III: in 1536
| he issued an edict that said while it was possible Indians had
| souls, Indians who did not accept Catholicism did not have souls.
| The military was therefore free to do with them as they wished,
| with God's blessing.
On Wed, 10 Jul 1991 23:08:50 GMT, ssdss3!murthy (Vasudev Murthy) replied:
| While the article was very moving and disturbing, I would like to
| comment that, interestingly, this was an argument put forward recently
| by an earnest young self-appointed missionary hell bent on converting
| me. During the course of a discussion, he explained to me that animals
| did not have souls and that was why it was perfectly acceptable to kill
| them. (He also wanted me to quit this vegetarian nonsense).
|
| Perhaps in time, our sense of compassion will extend out to those who
| are weak and defenseless and with whom we cannot communicate.
|
| Comments?
This is actually more the subject of "hell bent missionaries determined
to convert those of us who are (1) non-catholic, or (2) non-christian.
Suggestions:
1. Ask them to look within themselves for the true reason why they
find it so important that you change your view .... is it because they fear
your damnation, or because they are jealous of your enlightenmight and wish
they could share your feelings.
2. Ask why our creator would want any of us to be more reverent one
day a week that all the others... Isn't everthing he (OR SHE) created equally
deserving of our care, love, devotion, and respect 7 days per week and not
just one? ... or another way to put the question might be: should any one
day deserve LESS respect than any other? Certainly MOST Christians feel (or
at least act) that as long as they go inside this man-made building called a
church on Sunday, they can get away with associations of wrong doing the
other 6 days. Judaism has temples to go to also but stresses that prayer and
study at home are more important, and that every day is more important than
coming together to pray once a week. What I'll call "Earth Religion" for
the sake of this discussion should honor life, the earth, our elders, and
good manners every day.
3. If the Catholic religion feels that animals have no souls and
therefore it is o.k. to kill them, why are there so many pictures of Jesus
in a gardens with animals at his feet, and occasionally you'll even see
birds on his shoulders? ... And then of course there is the Patron Saint
of Animals that you call get in Statue form for your very own garden --
surrounded with animals. Animals with no souls, huh? Where does that
leave the Dove as a symbol of peace for zillions of years? and Where does
that leave Noah and his ark? Would God have cared if any of the species
had died if they were without souls? Can you hear St. Francis of Assici
doing flip flops in his grave even as we "speak"? .... Some men may have
no souls, but certainly not the "innocent" of this earth .... you know,
babes, those cute little kittens, lambs, chickies, bunnies .... Shame upon
this creep's soul!
lyn