April 26, 2006

Churches Call For Reparations – A Proposal For Making It Happen

A number of mainline Protestant churches are calling for reparations to African-Americans for slavery, an institution eliminated in this country 140 years ago.

The Episcopal Church, at its upcoming General Convention in June, will consider whether to endorse reparations for 250 years of American slavery.
The two-million member Episcopal Church is the embodiment of the declining and aging Protestant denominations whose elites prioritize left-wing politics. And, like the other "mainline" denominations, it is largely white and upper-middle class. To compensate for their failure to attract racial minorities, Religious Left prelates often adopt radical race-related causes. It is the perfect issue for anti-American religious elites. Obsess over a social sin of past centuries that will portray the United States and Western Civilization in the most sinister light. Meanwhile, ignore or minimize the personal sins and spiritual needs of leftists. Mainline prelates feel "prophetic" and "relevant" when they adopt causes such as reparations for slavery.
Proposed Episcopal Church Resolution A124 would admit to the “the complicity of the Episcopal Church” in slavery and the church’s “economic benefits” from it. It asks for a study as to how, “as a matter of justice,” the church can “share those benefits with African American Episcopalians.”

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A policy statement of the 8 million member United Methodist Church specifically endorses U.S. House of Representatives bill 40 from Congressman by Michigan Democratic Congressman John Conyers, which advocates slavery reparations.

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The 3 million member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in a more organized fashion, maintains a website dedicated to supporting slavery reparations. Officially, the denomination supports the ConyersÂ’ bill and cites the need for recompense for other victims groups, including Native Americans, Alaskan Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans and Puerto Ricans. But the website admits that a 2003 poll of Presbyterians revealed that 85 percent of church members and 68 percent of pastors oppose federal government reparations for the descendants of slaves. Seven percent supported reparations for descendants of African slaves, while 4 percent supported reparations for the other victim groups.

Reparations for slavery is an absurd notion, rooted in the idea that those who were never slaves should be compensated by those who never owned slaves. It is a notion that I uncategorically reject.

However, if those churches believe in reparations, there is nothing stopping them from acting on the matter. If they believe that their institutions are tainted by the slavery, then they must act.

Liquidate your assets. Give them to those you feel are deserving of them.

And leave the rest of us alone.

After all, wouldnÂ’t forcing the rest of us to pay for crimes we did not commit involve imposing the religious values of the Religious Left on Americans with common sense?

Posted by: Greg at 12:58 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I will gladly support reparations to anyone (still living, that is) who lived in the US as a slave. In fact, I will sell everything I possess to pay reparations to any slave I have ever personally owned. Anyone else will just have to get their money in the same manner as the rest of us: work for it.

Posted by: Vic at Thu Apr 27 03:34:44 2006 (y+kpp)

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