Abstract
The stories of Ham and Nimrod have been used to oppress black people in South Africa. This chapter seeks to reclaim the value and honor of the figure of Nimrod. This will be done in the following three stages. First, a brief description of how Ham’s curse has been negatively interpreted throughout history to include the curse of black people will be provided. Second, there will be a discussion of how the law has been used to curse black people in South Africa. Third, there will be an examination of how the law has been used to restore the honor and dignity of black people in South Africa.
Dr. Elelwani Farisani’s assistance with accessing and understanding relevant theological literature is acknowledged.
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Notes
St. Augustine, City of God, XVI:3 in A Selected Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 8 vols., ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1955).
Stephen Haynes, Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of Anmerican Slavery (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 46.
Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis, in Martin Luther’s Works, 55 vols., ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 1955), ch. IX, 175.
J. W. Sandell, The United States in Scripture. The Union against the States. God in Government (Magnolia, MS: Tucker Printing House 1907), 41ff.
G. T. Gillespie, A Christian View of Segregation. An Address Made before the Synod of Mississippi of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S., November 4, 1954 (Greenwood, IN: Association of Citizens’ Councils of Mississippi, 1954).
Genesis 9:25–27; D. Williams, An End to This Strife: The Politics of Gender in African American Churches (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2004).
Bekker et al., Criminal Procedure Handbook (Capetown, South Africa: Juta, 2003), 10.
Visser et al., Gibson South African Mercantile and Company Law, 8th edition (Cape Town, MA: Juta, 2003), 590.
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© 2008 Anthony B. Pinn and Allen Dwight Callahan
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Farisani, D.M. (2008). Nimrod and the South African Context. In: Pinn, A.B., Callahan, A.D. (eds) African American Religious Life and the Story of Nimrod. Black Religion/Womanist Thought/Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230610507_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230610507_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-53050-2
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