My name is B.L. Conway. I am a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Kentucky and a 1986 graduate of its law school. I reside in Abingdon Virginia where I enjoy the practice of law. I am a history buff and a Christian that was trained in a Purpose Driven Church (the fastest growing Christian Movement in the world that was given to us by Pastor Rick Warren) here in tiny Abingdon, Virginia. My purpose is to serve others gladly and freely, which is what I am trying to do here.
Let me address first point of the title because as to it there can be little argument. He was born Yeshua Ben Yoseph in the town of Bethlehem. Yeshua means salvation or “Lord who is salvation” in Hebrew while the remainder of his name refers to his lineage from his earthly father. Jesus was born into a poor Hebrew family, but one that was provided for very well by God through the Wise Men.
His parents were from Nazareth, a poor Jewish enclave in the province of Galilee. Nazareth was located near the Gentile cities of Tiberias and Sepphoris on the Sea of Galilee that lies in Israel along the ancient “Via Maris” which linked Egypt to Mesopotamia. This region was essentially and eastern extension of Africa due to the interaction of these peoples as has been shown by archeology and linguistic evidence.
Second, Jesus’ genealogy is stated clearly in the Bible and demonstrates that he was a man of color. First, Matthew 1.2-17 sets out Jesus’ lineage to King David and beyond, which interestingly contains many flawed human beings (sinners like me), but also contains at least four Afroasiatic women: Rahab, Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba. There was also a substantial general Afroasiatic influence in Jesus’ DNA as the Hebrew in Jesus genealogy were a subjugated people that spent hundreds of years in Africa. Putting aside the sexual exploitation of slaves that with which we are familiar from American and Mexican history, Moses for example had a Cushite or Ethiopian wife and Phineas, which in Egyptian means “the Nubian”, was the son of Aaron and the father of a priestly Hebrew line.
Third, Jesus spent his early years in Egypt where he and his family apparently blended in quite well. Matthew reports the flight of Jesus’ family to Egypt to escape Herod’s infanticide designed to kill Jesus. Thus, Jesus spent his formative years in Africa and was exposed to Egyptian mysticism. This is confirmed by non biblical resources as early Jewish critics of Christianity argued that Jesus learned his magic in Egypt. Matthew also documents that God called his son out of Egypt.
For all these reasons, it is clear that Jesus was a man of color. He was of mixed blood known as Afroasiatic. He like his parents was much like the darker Palestinian, Egyptian or Yemenite of today: More chocolate brown than Caucasian in appearance. Id.
What is in a name? Today in America our names have little meaning other than to identify us. This was and is not so in Middle Eastern cultures. The name Hussein which is being used to demagogue Barrack Obama because it was also the shortened name of Saddam Hussein does not actually have any evil connotation. In Arabic it means “to be good” or “to be handsome or beautiful”.
So as with most demagoguery, we find that there is no basis in fact for it, nor is there any thing for us Caucasian Americans to fear from the use of this name.
Jesus was crucified because he was a liberal, indeed a radical against the religious and political leaders in Jerusalem. Immediately, after the triumphal entry with the crowd shouting Hosanna (God Save us), Jesus proceeded to the temple where he made a whip of cords and drove out the money changers and those selling sacrifices together with their animals screaming “you have turned my father’s house into a den of thieves”. This was done in full sight of the Roman Garrisons which were situated on each end of the Temple Square and the Hebrew religious leaders that no doubt had an interest in the commerce.
Jesus, as he had many times before, then called these religious leaders hypocrites to their face because they misused their wealth, power and position to glorify and satisfy themselves rather than to take care of the poor, the widowed and orphaned. This was consistent with Jesus’ prior ministry as he taught that we are stewards of God’s blessings and we should use them to help those less fortunate and to expand the kingdom. These are liberal principals, but it does not end there.
Jesus was against the Death Penalty. He taught that thou shall not kill and that if one is sinless; let him cast the first stone, as he bent down and wrote symbolically. Jesus also changed a murderer named Saul into the most prolific apostle of them all. Peter was the rock upon which the God’s church was built, but Paul spread the Gospel further (he wrote most of the New Testament) and planted more churches than he. This belief in the goodness and potential of all men is a liberal principal.
Jesus is a Peace maker and believed in and taught Peace. He said “blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called children of god”. He taught that we should love and pray for our enemies.
You see, Jesus knew that love was the most powerful force in the world and that it will conquer in the end. We have seen this proven in our times. Just think about three of the most influential leaders of the last century: Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King and compare their effectiveness to the Arab terrorist. These were men of color on three separate continents in entirely different cultures who used love and non violence in the face of powerful entrenched government leaders and evil and hate to effect remarkable change. They were acting out liberal biblical principals in faith.
I could go on and on from Jesus’ rejection of strict enforcement of religious law to separation of church and state, but I think the point is made. Jesus was a liberal: Thank God for his grace.
So, West Virginia, please see that you need not fear Mr. Barack Obama because of his color or his liberalism and progressive thinking. He is less liberal than Jesus. Senator Obama has already told us that he does not want our guns and will enforce the death penalty.
You, West Virginia, were part of Virginia at the beginning of the Revolution. Your residents considered themselves Virginians because most of them had come to settle your beautiful Mountains from the Potomac watershed territory of Virginia. Your ancestors were rebels for sure, as shown by the many Pension and Land Bounty Warrants that they filed post Victory.
We like to think of Virginia as the birth place of freedom through the leadership of her sons, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. They were liberals, indeed radicals declared criminals worthy of hanging by King George. Patrick Henry declared “give me liberty of give me death”. Thomas Jefferson wrote our Declaration of Independence, the most liberal document of declared rights of it’s time.
West Virginia, so many of your brave sons fought and died for the liberal freedoms of America. Join us to make history once again. We must show the world that the truth and peace still matter to the Citizens of these United States and that we have progressed past petty prejudices.
I think it not a coincidence that Mr. Barack Obama, a Christian and a man of mixed black and white blood, has rose up to us as he has with such a strong belief that we can come together. We must do this. We must realize Dr. King’s dream for America. We will be better for it.
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