The UmBlog

In light of the current debates on the definition of marriage in our country these days, I found Samson Occom's marriage sermon to be refreshing, if we forget his opposition to marrying "down" , to Africans that is, but by the pictures in this edition of Love's biography, marrying "up", to whites, seemed frequent enough to make the Brothertown elders in Green Bay , Wisconsin look like my white neighbors today. Regardless, this journal entry of his regards 2 Indians marrying. When I got up, I spoke to them Some Time upon the nature of Marriage, the Honourableness and Lawfulness of it, whereby we are distinguished from Brutal Creation: Said Some of the first marriage in Eden & of the Marrage where Christ and his Disciples were invited and the Honour he did to it by working the first mericle he wrought in the World in turning water into Wine and then we prayed,... p.251 I enjoy the point that marriage is one way we are distinct from "Brutal Creation....

No video this time, but a quote from British columnist and atheist , Matthew Parris of the Times (UK) who writes from his experience of growing up in Malawi and recently revisiting. He's convinced that Christian missionaries are needed in Africa for the well being of Africans. Is he racist? Or is he observing the difference between a theology of pantheism and monotheism? But he isn't calling for Muslim expansion in Africa. So it's not just monotheism that changes the world. Perhaps its the Holy Spirit, something Parris has no language for since he denies a God, moreso a God in three persons, a Triune God, who sends his Spirit to abide with his people. Anxiety - fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things - strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won't tak...

A friend who blogs at Member Care muses on organizational health and lists these 10 qualities of an ideal organization . 1. Mutual respect among staff Is this enforceable? It sure would be nice to be respected by everyone at my job but I'm also guilty of not respecting everyone, especially of those who, I perceive, are cheating the system. 2. Fair pay/compensation My department frequently complains about promotions they don't agree with. 3. Opportunities to make contributions I think I have that 4. Opportunities for advancement and personal growth I think I have that, but it really depends on your supervisor 5. Sense of purpose and meaning This must be hard in retail 6. Management with competence and integrity Dilbert would not be so popular if this were common 7. Safeguards to protect individuals (staff and customers) from injustice Catbert 8. Responsibility for actions: owning mistakes, not blaming others or covering up Now this is where I only see Christians doing this and n...

Samson Occom was a complex man. He was highly accomplished, intelligent, gifted and full of the Holy Spirit. Regarding human rights, opposed slavery but also opposed miscegenation of Indians and Africans. His biographer in 1899, W. DeLoss Love , wrote We may as well just here make record of this Indian's opinion as to slavery. At that time most wealthy families in New England held slaves. The ministers very commonly had one or more lacks as servants in their households, and the servant class being then small they could hardly do without them. Doctor Wheelock himself [Occum's Christian mentor], in 1757, paid ₤50 for a negro, "Ishmael" by name, whom he bought from William Clark of Plymouth, Mass. The Indian of the full blood generally despised the negro and such of his own race as would marry among them. It was Occom's opinion that such marriages wrought degeneracy in both races. At the same time he had a warm sympathy for the slave, whose estate was not always p...

I finished the biography of Samson Occum by Love yesterday and will have a bunch of quotes over the next few days. I was looking for the location of the first Brothertown in New York state and came across a great site of someone else's research into Brothertown from the final home of the Brothertown Indians in Wisconsin. His summary of their history is helpful. He writes , Brothertown was officially founded on November 7, 1785. “We now proceeded to from into a Body Politick-We named our town by the name of Brotherton, in Indian—Eeyamquittoowauconnuck” (Occom 1785). Unfortunately, the Brothertown Indians did not escape some the land issues that they had moved west to avoid. Euroamerican land speculators and settlers placed constant pressure on them to sell or lease their new lands (Love 1899). In an effort to protect the Brothertown Indians from losing their lands, the New York state government appointed commissioners to advise the tribe and passed laws that forbade the sale/lease...