Philosophy
Trying to determine some of the root causes of contemporary racism against Black people is a worth-while exploration. And it is something that I have pondered for some time.
I currently believe that modern and contemporary racism against Black people is being greatly influenced by those who promote Charles Dawin’s theory of evolution. Case-in-point, consider the following quote from the July 23, 1904, edition of Scientific American:
They are small, ape-like, elfish creatures . . . they live in absolute savagery, and while they exhibit many ape-like features in their bodies, they possess a certain alertness which appears to make them more intelligent than other Negroes . . . the existence of the pygmies is of the rudest; they do not practice agriculture, and keep no domestic animals. They live by means of hunting and snaring, eking this out by means of thieving from the big Negroes, on the outskirts of whose tribes they usually establish their little colonies, though they are as unstable as water, and range far and wide through the forests. They have seemingly become acquainted with metal only through contact with superior beings.
Found this out on the internet and thought it was interesting.
Cardinals, Bishops Sign Appeal Against Coronavirus Restrictions. The signatories are said to include prelates, physicians, lawyers, journalists and academics.
Here below is the full text of the appeal and the initial full list of signatories. Anyone sympathetic to the appeal is invited to sign it.
APPEAL
FOR THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD
to Catholics and all people of good will
Veritas liberabit vos.
Jn 8:32
In this time of great crisis, we Pastors of the Catholic Church, by virtue of our mandate, consider it our sacred duty to make an Appeal to our Brothers in the Episcopate, to the Clergy, to Religious, to the holy People of God and to all men and women of good will. This Appeal has also been undersigned by intellectuals, doctors, lawyers, journalists and professionals who agree with its content, and may be undersigned by those who wish to make it their own.
Read more: Cardinals, Bishops Sign Appeal Against Coronavirus Restrictions
I saw a video online of a guy, known as the Bald Explorer, in England. In the video, and others of his that I watched thereafter, he visited several old and mostly rural churches that appear to be falling into disrepair and nearly abandoned. He contemplated what could be done in order to help reinvigorate such churches.
Various polls have been conducted to determine the reasons why people leave the Church. A recent Pew Research poll was conducted of why young people leave the Church. Many of the reasons given could have been answered with additional reading and studying. The cause of young people being unaware of answers to challenges of their faith could be, as some believe, due to a lack of Apologetical teaching in the Church environment. The avatars of secularism, as is there job, will attack religion, yet if the Church is not providing apologetical teaching and instruction, then when those of faith, who have limited knowledge and understanding when dealing with secularism, may walk away with secular reasonings that are answerable. Part of the failure to teach apologetics is that teachers and leaders in the church have not risen to the need of task at hand. If the church wants to keep their young people, then the intellectual challenges must be answered.
Many disbelieve in God for a variety of reasons. The French existentialist Jean-Paul Sarte and Albert Camus were at the forefront of modern atheism and some suggest more atheist than the new atheists. These two, and others, strongly disbelieved and argued against God. They were, some claim, more serious at their craft than the modern new atheism. They were not merely playing with atheism but rather sought to the bottom of it.