The Doctrine of Discovery
Pope Nicholas of the Catholic Church made it official in 1452 when in a Papal Bull he announced to the world that people living outside of Europe who were non Christians were sub humans and that the European Monarchs
had a God given right to conquer and enslave the people in non Christian nations. The Pope asserted that the white Europeans were superior all of the non-Christians.
This doctrine promoted white supremacy and was accepted by the British colonists in the New World. This doctrine justified the institution of slavery and was embraced by the churches in early America.
The white Christians had God given rights and the non- Christians only had privileges granted to them by the white masters.
The Doctrine of Discovery gave Christians the right to kill and enslave millions of people in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Christians considered them to be God's chosen people. The Bible indicates that slavery is only acceptable as long as you treat your slaves with love and kindness.
In the early days of our history we embraced this doctrine and used it to steal the land from the indigenous people living in North America and to enslave millions of Africans to serve as slaves on southern plantations.
Contrary to what most Religions believed and acted upon in the past, God does NOT have a chosen people. I believe that all people have the same rights and responsibilities. Our nation was built upon the soil that was stolen from the indigenous people of North America,
The formation of virtually all nation states came about when an indigenous people were unable to successfully defend their territory against the Doctrine of Discovery by a "more advanced" civilization. This premise is based on the idea that a nation only has a right to exist as long as they have the means and the will to defend their soil. This is an example of the "might makes right" philosophy.
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