Mark of Cain

From RationalWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
The touchy subject of

Race

link=:category:
Key concepts
Racism and racists

The Mark of Cain is an old American religious belief-cum-serving of eugenicist woo that creates the foundation of American religious-based racism and also, subtly, the entire Creationist movement.

Contents

[edit] Premise

11: And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 
12: When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 
13: And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 
14: Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 
15: And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Essentially, a literal reading of this passage from Genesis 4 could be easily make clear a science-fictional idea where a certain segment of humanity descended from the lineage of Cain would be cursed with an aberration in skin pigmentation.

[edit] Execution

Basically, the weak attempt to preserve antebellum racism in America worked because Southern Protestant preachers said they read the Bible in a way that included a teaching wherein blacks were inferior due to a descent from Cain's brood. As such, it was a basic violation of the First Amendment to restrict exercise of religiously-approved doctrines regarding interactions with blacks. The Southern Democrats were apt to maintain social order and be seen as quasi-religious by not challenging these precepts.

[edit] Modern iterations in creationism

The hinge of the Creationist movement is that human beings are divinely created by God. However, considering this level of literalism in their doctrine, it is easy to see this view also extends to the later chapters on Genesis. It may not come up alot, but if they believe in Noah's Ark and the Exodus, they probably have to, by default, accept this view. As such, according to Creationists, Cain-ites would still walk the earth marked as a cursed line, damned for eternity to the 7 deadly sins. The fact the Creationist set also tend to be pro-austerity fiscal policy advocates who use blatant and obnoxious stereotypes about Welfare Queens and Dangerous Black Men gives this theory further credence.

[edit] Mormons

The Mark of Cain theology was most blatant in the teachings of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religious movement. Smith tied the Mark with the Curse of Ham, claiming in the Book of Abraham that Ham's wife was a descendant of Cain. It was only in the late 1970's that the President, Prophet, and Seer had a vision that said they should allow black Mormons full participation in the faith. However, ceremonials for the Church still maintain the idea of the Mark of Cain.[citation needed] Now they believe, however, that a prayer and blessing can remove the curse upon Baptism into the Church. They no longer believe that removal of the curse will result in black people becoming white.

Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Tools
support