History

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Fellow Unbelievers,

Evidently, at least one local religious pamphleteer has taken a turn towards racial pandering. Just in time for Black History Month in the U.S.

The other day, someone left a pamphlet on my cash register entitled “The Amazing Dr. Carver!”

It was a full-color, shiny, multi-page pamphlet that basically gave highlights in the life of George Washington Carver, with topical Bible verses on each page.

It especially emphasized that Carver attributed his success as a teacher and scientist to his embracing of Christianity. Also, it emphasized that Carver rejected Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and instead upheld the account of Creation in the Book of Genesis in The Holy Bible.

And at the end of the pamphlet, it said that the Amazing Grace that gave George Washington Carver a successful and full life can be yours too! It then gave the standard Scripture on why and how to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Then it gave the sinner’s prayer to pray so you could not only have Eternal Life, but Be Like George as well!

This pamphlet gave rise to many questions:

One, while George Washington Carver did have many accomplishments in his time, couldn’t he have had more accomplishments if it wasn’t for a society that thought slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and racism were ordained by God in The Holy Bible?

The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible–What The Bible Says About Slavery
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/slavery.html

Two, if George Washington Carver had just studied, researched, and promoted his ideas without embracing Christianity, couldn’t he have achieved his success anyway?

In fact, if George Washington Carver had accepted Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as well as Gregor Mendel’s Theory of Genetics, couldn’t Carver have been the one to discover the connection between the two?

Couldn’t Carver have moved on from there to not only promote new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, soybeans, peas, and plums, but also ways to make them “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” to quote the ouvreture of Daft Punk and Yeezus?

Finally, would you really want to fully be like George Washington Carver?

While he did have three Patents and did find many new uses for novel crops to offset soil exhaustion wrought by the agricultural monoculture of slavery days, Carver’s works are also surrounded by urban legend and even embellishment.

According to Carver’s Wiki Page, it is urban legend that he invented peanut butter, which the Aztecs had for hundreds of years before him.

Also, Carver didn’t deny accomplishments attributed to him which were actually done by others. Is this how “Good Christians” are supposed to behave? Aren’t his legitimate accomplishments good enough?

George Washington Carver–Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

To sum up, this is just another angle to look for from our religious co-tenants on The Big Blue Marble. Be ready to pick it apart whenever you find it.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by  TheEncogitationer. Reason: Italics addendum
• This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by  TheEncogitationer. Reason: Spelling correction. Because real creations usually aren't made in one try
• This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by  TheEncogitationer. Reason: Another spelling correction

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