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Quote by Miriam Toews

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A Complicated Kindness

The story follows a young girl's journey as she navigates the complexities of her family life and her own sense of self in a small Canadian town. more

Author

Miriam Toews
Miriam Toews

Miriam Toews is a Canadian writer known for her unique narrative style and profound insights into social issues. Her works often focus on religion, family, and social change, and have won her a wide readership. more

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“They set about reversing all the changes that had been made since the break with Rome . . . The only thing that wasn't put back was the monasteries - this was deemed unworkable as the aristocracy, catholic and Protestant alike, had bought those lands from the crown, were really enjoying them and, if it came down to it, gave much more of a shit about their vast new properties than they did about the difference between the mass and holy communion. Weird, isn't it? People were willing to die for these religious differences, but they wouldn't sacrifice real estate.”

GreedMartyrdomTudorsReligious HypocrisyCatholics Vs ProtestantsWars Of Religion
Book:Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
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“That was his father's way---beloved, tough old Preacher Jackson: hellfire and fear. That had always been his way, and Llewellyn had no use for it. He had no use for his father or the kind of people who listened to him, holding fast to his every damning word; finding assurance in being better. I'm better than...At least I'm not...I'm better than... Llewellyn had no use for it.”

HypocrisyReligious Hypocrisy
Book:Children of Promise
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“[T]he debate between Orson Pratt and Brigham Young continued long after the legislative session ended. The two men gave life to the two competing explanations for the racial priesthood restrictions in the Church... Both explanations were grounded in an underlying assumption that Black people were inferior to white people and that white skin was normal and black skin was somehow cursed---a deterioration away from whiteness. Rather than trusting Jesus Christ when He told Joseph Smith, 'All flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons,' these various explanations favored white flesh over other shades of flesh and implied that Jesus Christ was in fact a respecter of persons.”

RacismReligious Hypocrisy
Book:Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood
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“[Orson Pratt] argued that only God could administer curses and that they were specific to a given time and place. In his estimation, enslavers who suggested that biblical curses were still in force had taken it upon themselves 'to execute the curse of Almighty upon that race without being commanded to do it and they will have to be punished for rising up and inflicting this curse upon [the] descendants of Adam.' Even if God did curse Ham or Canaan or Cain in the Bible, Pratt did not believe that such curses passed down to anyone else. He rejected the notion that nineteenth-century enslavers, including Latter-Day Saints, had any authority from God to enslave Black people. 'Shall we assume the right without the voice of [the] Lord speaking to us and commanding us to [introduce] slavery into our territory?' Pratt queried. He was dismayed by such a prospect... People of African descent were not guilty of some premortal sin for which slavery was the penalty, Pratt said. 'Shall we take then the innocent African that has committed no sin and damn him to slavery and bondage without receiving any authority from heaven to do [so]? That they and their children shall be servants to us and our children? The idea is preposterous in my mind,' he demanded. 'For us to bind the African because he is different from us in color [is] enough to cause the angels in heaven to blush![']... 'We have no proof that the Africans are the descendants of old Cain who was cursed, and even if we had that evidence we have not been ordered to inflict that [curse] upon that race.”

RacismReligious Hypocrisy
Book:Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood
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“In John Taylor's assessment, Joseph Smith had erred in allowing Able [a member of African descent] the priesthood, and Brigham Young had revealed God's will when he declared Black people to be cursed descendants of Cain. With each new decision, the racial restrictions hardened in place, especially as each succeeding generation became reluctant to violate the precedent established under Brigham Young, even though Brigham Young's precedent violated the open priesthood and temple policies put in place under Joseph Smith.”

RacismReligious Hypocrisy
Book:Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood
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