The Bible And The 500 Years Of Conquest Analysis

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The Bible and the 500 Years of Conquest, written by Elsa Tamez, articulates the varying treatments of the Bible in the past centuries. The five treatments include use of the Bible for conquest, rejection of the Bible, the "popular" reading of the bible and Indigenous hermeneutics. In this first treatment, the Biblical narrative from Exodus is used to justify the conquest and genocide of non-Christians throughout history. Stating that just as the Israelites took the land of Canaan, so should the conquerors take other land, said to be theirs by the Pope. The second treatment is rejection, tells the response of the Indigenous people of South America. These people rejected the Bible, associating it with exploitation, tribute, and cruelty; an enemy of indigenous life. The next treatment is called the popular reading of the Bible; talking of the loving God of peace and justice. This reading has become popular in many cultures and among many people. It comes from a …show more content…
Now the church is trying to help the Native Americans with political action. However, he goes to say this may not be that simple. Whenever people try to help the Natives they always try with their own ways, thinking they know better than the Natives. No one has stopped to think maybe the Native Americans can solve their own problems. Warrior then discusses the fact that many minorities have used the Exodus story as a hope for a better life, and then makes the point that Native Americans cannot read this story with hopes of liberation. Instead the Native American 's read this story through the eyes of the Canaanites. They as the Canaanites already lived in the promise land, and they were drove from the land and massacred. The rest of this article goes on to paralleling the stories of the Native Americans and the

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