And God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28
Just when I thought bible study would end after sunday school at my church in Kunia, here God's word has managed to follow me to school. A school which I consider so unbias in terms of religion and beliefs. Sure we have chapel once every cycle but the faith in God or Gods varies like the colors on the robe Jacob gave his favorite son David. Just like that robe Punahou is alot different than other schools on the island. Lately in english class we've started reading the Poisonwood Bible, which by the reading we've done so far, is about a Southern Baptist family who moves from Georgia to the Congo to do missionary work in Africa.
Our questions were, What do you think this quote means; in other words; interpret the quote. Then tell what it implies about how people should behave. Then explain how the quote might frame chapter 1 - based on this quote, what do you think the chapters in Book One will be describing.
Genesis means the beggining. A very fitting title for the beggining of a book. I think the quote is pretty straight forward and obvious in terms of white Southern Baptist missionaries in the middle of the Congo. Nathan Price, the father of this family, has an obligation to mankind and to God himself, to venture into the "heathen" areas of the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. So that they may be saved and too share the kingdom of heaven. God speaks to Nathan in this quote, pretty much giving him divine consent to enter Africa and spread the word of God. "multiply and be fruitful" By spreading the word of God, enlightened Africans are 'reborn', as in Christian belief, and they are cleared of all their sins when they except Jesus Christ and are baptised. You multiply by spreading the word.
God tells Nathan, we are to rule the earth, "and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth". God wants Nathan to control the earth. God says, "replish the earth, and subdue it," subdue? Yea, I guess this can foreshadow some unforgivable act or acts that Orleanna Price, the wife of Nathan, has hinted in the beggining of the first chapter. I presume this was one of the many scriptures in Genesis, and in the bible itself that white supremesists used to justify crimes such as murder of 'heathens' be them African, Indian, Mexican. There are so many good quotes from the bible that showed gods "approval" of the acts of hatred the whites in those days showed towards the Africans. The one that is most prominent in my mind is the famous Ham quote from, I believe Genesis as well. When Noah and his sons just got off the boat after the flood and throw a big party. Noah gets drunk and is running around naked. Ham, his son, laughs at him and does not do anything to help Noah. Noah two other sons see this and immediately jump to help their father. When Noah sobers up he curses Ham, saying that his decendants will be slaves to his brothers decendants for all eternity. It is assumed that the Africans decended from Ham. And the White and Asians from the other two brothers. This is the Christian explanation, excuse, for enslavement of Africans, for the KKK, for Jim Crow laws, for the apartide in Australia, for the hungry and dying children in Africa.
From the Genesis quote and the base information about the book you can assume that Nathan and his family will start the process of 'reforming' heathen Congo, and maybe even all of Africa. I think it will show how forceful the family will be on trying to convert the people. Maybe they will aggitate some of the Congolese.
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