—A Milestone Doctrinal Change!7/94DFO 2928

1. I FOUND OUT something very interesting today when I was studying a letter that Peter & Apollos wrote me about the Blacks. Their letter included some theological research that Apollos & his helpers had done on Genesis 9:24-27. What they found out was shocking—Peter was shocked, Apollos was shocked & I was shocked!—And I think you'll be shocked too!

2. They researched what a number of eminent theologians, Bible scholars & various famous literary lights had to say about these verses in Genesis 9 about Noah's sons. They then compiled a number of different commentaries that these men had written giving their interpretations of this passage in Genesis.

3. The verses say, "And Noah awoke from his wine, & knew what his younger son (Ham) had done unto him. And he said, 'Cursed be Canaan (Ham's youngest son); a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.' And he said, 'Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; & Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth‚ & he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; & Canaan shall be his servant'" (Gen.9:24–27).

4. When I was young I was taught, & have therefore always believed, that this meant that since Ham was apparently black (the word "Ham" is frequently translated as "black" or "dark")‚ & God cursed his son Canaan, that all unsaved Blacks were under this same curse. What I didn't realise, & what Apollos discovered in his research, is that Ham's three older sons were not cursed‚ that only Canaan, the fourth son, was specifically cursed.

Ham's Sons Who Were Not Cursed!

5. I'll read you what Apollos wrote: "It was news to me to see how most of these authors & scholars believe that the curse pronounced upon Canaan does not apply directly to Ham's other three sons, Mizraim (who founded Egypt), Cush (who they say founded Ethiopia) & Phut (who apparently settled elsewhere in Africa). It's also of interest to note that according to Genesis Chapter 10‚ where it describes just where the descendants of the sons of Noah went & what they did, that the son who was specifically cursed, Canaan, did not go to Africa, but to Palestine, which is why it became known as the 'Land of Canaan'."

6. This means that Ham's three older sons, who presumably were black, since their father was named black & is considered by many scholars to have been black‚ were not cursed at all‚ only Canaan & his descendants were cursed. The un-cursed black sons of Ham populated Egypt & all of Africa. In fact, their descendants became the first World power, the kingdom of Egypt.

7. It never dawned on me before that the rest of the sons of Ham, although they were black, were not cursed. I was shocked to realise this as, since I was young, I had been taught that because Ham's son Canaan was cursed, all Blacks were cursed. But I see now that this is not so! So I'm still learning! How about that! (Maria: That's what people admire a lot about you, that you're willing to admit that you're still learning new things, & you're humble enough to change when the Lord shows you something different.)

Dad's Willingness to Change!

8. So I'm making a confession to you about this! I'm still learning, still discovering "treasures old & new" from God's Word! I had accepted something that I had been taught, but I didn't carefully examine all the details of history on this, so I was wrong about that. The Bible doesn't say all Blacks are under the curse, just the Canaanites, & who they are today, we don't even know!

9. This interpretation of Scripture that the boys discovered about the Blacks is a milestone in our history! It just never occurred to me that the other sons of Ham were black but uncursed. It shows you how dumb I am sometimes & how mistaken I can be. I just accepted the philosophy & the teachings of the church I was raised in, that since Canaan was cursed, all Blacks were cursed. But the thing that struck me when I read this research & what dear Apollos brought out‚ was that Ham had three other black sons who weren't cursed.—Three other sons who were very important, who built cities & countries & were tremendous & powerful & became some of the earliest great powers, like Egypt.

10. I really prayed about it & I thought, "Well, Lord, have I been mistaken all these years, taking it for granted that all Blacks were sons of Canaan?" I now know they're not, thanks to Apollos' good study & his bringing out the point that not all Blacks are sons of Canaan & they're not all under that "servants of servants" curse.

Forget Our Old Interpretation! All Blacks Are Not Under Canaan's Curse!

11. In the past we've simply followed the accepted teaching of a good many of the church teachers of old who taught that all Blacks were under the curse because Canaan was under the curse. But now that we know that this is not so, it is no longer part of our doctrine! We should no longer teach this! Lord forgive us for teaching it before. Let's just expunge it & wipe it out!

12. I was wrong, all Blacks are not sons of Canaan, they are not all cursed. Ham had three other strong sons who became great nations. So we've got to recognise the fact that most Blacks are not under the curse of Canaan. We can look at things in a new light. (Maria: Perhaps the Blacks who were under the curse have died out by now, because of the curse.) Maybe so.

13. It's obvious that the vast majority of Blacks are not under that curse. We no longer believe that they are all under the curse of Canaan.

14. I'm willing to admit my mistakes when I make them. I was just following the teaching of other church leaders & doctrinaires. They held that same doctrine & a lot of them harped on it. But I am now persuaded by what the Bible itself says, that Ham had three other powerful sons who established nations, countries & cities, & they were not under that curse that Noah pronounced against Canaan! (Maria: Yes, they were rulers, not servants.) Yes‚ they were rulers & they were great & powerful.

15. What a difference! We can now more easily work with & minister to the Blacks & take it as an accepted fact that most of them are not under the curse of Canaan. It's even possible that those cursed Canaanites are all gone by this time. Who knows?

16. (Maria: So when our enemies bring up our past lit on the subject‚ we can say that doesn't have any relevance to our present-day doctrine.) Right! We can just explain that we've had a change of heart‚ we've discovered the Truth in the Bible, that Ham had three other very great sons who were kings‚ who were builders of cities & established powerful nations, etc.‚ & that most of the Blacks alive today are probably descendants of Ham through those other three sons—not Canaan! Therefore we don't consider every unsaved Black under the curse of Canaan. That's the wrong interpretation. I was wrong, & I admit it. Thank God for Apollos & Peter who brought this to my attention.

Dad's "Love Without Partiality" for All People—Regardless of Their Race!

17. (Maria: But you know, Honey, even though you adhered to the doctrine that you had been taught about all unsaved Blacks being cursed‚ it didn't really affect your interaction with individual Blacks that you'd meet. You've always been very sweet to them, you've treated them like anyone else, with respect, & you've been loving & kind & haven't shown any animosity or prejudice towards them in any way.) Yes, of course, why should I treat them any other way, any differently from anyone else?

18. (Maria: I don't think a lot of the people in the Family realise that's the way you have always treated Blacks.—Or Jews or even Sodomites for that matter. I think our people would be shocked if they heard that you witnessed to those Sodomite actors in such an understanding way, that you gave them the message of God's Love, just as you would to anyone else, that you didn't condemn them or preach against the evils of Sodomy‚ but that you were interested in giving them the simple message of Salvation.

19. (That's how you always were with our Jewish friends in England & Tenerife too. You loved them & witnessed to them. You never cursed them for being Jews or said anything derogatory to them or about them. But I think that it's probably the furthest thing from some of our people's minds that you would conduct yourself in that way, especially in the minds of some of our younger people who tend to be so letter of the law in their thinking. Some of our people probably think that if you ever witnessed to any unsaved Black person that you would have blasted them or immediately condemned them to Hell for being a cursed Canaanite. They don't know that even though you may speak out forcefully against some things, on an individual basis you have constantly shown love to others.)

20. Well, they should know now, because you've just told'm. Ha! I thought they'd get the point about that when they read your Letter, "God Is No Respecter of Persons!" (ML #2909, GN 583). I put my "Amen" at the end of it to reinforce it.

21. I often make strong, sweeping statements about evil, about the sins of Mankind, like abortion, Sodomy‚ the AC Jews & all kinds of other things. It's my job to expose the Devil's work, to preach the Truth, to condemn the sin, but that does not mean that I condemn the sinner. I love people & I want to bring them Salvation, God's Love, His Son Jesus! I certainly hope that our Family Members haven't gotten the wrong impression & haven't been prejudiced against any group of people. I hope that they've been able to differentiate between hating the sin & loving the sinner.

If You Have Prejudiced Attitudes, Forsake Them Now!—They're Ungodly!

22. (Maria: Apparently some of our children in Australia had a bad attitude about the Aborigines, which is why I wrote that Letter). Well, I hope your Letter cleared it up. If not, this Letter should make it very clear to the Family! I would be ashamed of any Family Member who showed anything but love to people of races other than their own, who looked down on people just because of the colour of their skin.

23. Goodness, we have all kinds of people in the Family who are darker skinned!—Including Blacks, Asians, Indians, etc. I certainly hope that no one in the Family has looked down upon or belittled our brethren of colour! If they have, they have been wrong & unloving, ungodly! I mean it! I made it very clear from the earliest days that there is no difference when it comes to race in the Family. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus!"—Gal.3:28.—And no black nor white! (See "Who Are the Racists?—To My Sons of All Colours," ML #105, 9/71.)

24. We're all one Family, brothers & sisters‚ no matter what colour our skin is. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."—1Sam.16:7. If you're looking at the colour of your brother's skin, you're looking as Man looks at things, not as God, Who sees their heart. And if you've been guilty of looking down on any Family Member because of the colour of their skin, you need to ask God & your brethren to forgive you!

25. Remember, folks‚ we're a Family of Love! "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another!"—Jn.13:35. And not only are we supposed to love one another, but we are supposed to love the lost as well, & we're to show them love by being loving & kind to them, not derogatory or belittling. And love for all people, regardless of their race or colour, is certainly what we should be teaching our children! For God's sake‚ & for their sake‚ let's be known for our love!—His Love! Amen? God bless you‚ I love you!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family