Jupiter Hammon Quotes
If there was no Bible, it would be no matter whether you could read or not. Reading other books would do you no good.
Hammon, Jupiter. An Address to the Negroes in the State of New-York. Carroll and Patterson, 1787, p. 14.
Not all churches at all times have been hostile to science. Here is an example where science is urged as a source of knowledge along with history and prophesy and the word of God.
Unfortunately, much modern Islamic philosophy and religion sees new knowledge and innovation of ideas as heresy. However, this was not at all true at the beginning of Islam. This narrow-mindedness and intolerance began to develop in 1100, hundreds of hears after Mohammad. Contrast Abu Hanifa with an Islamic modern fundamentalist who claims there can be no valid new knowledge: {620307}.
Just prior to this quote he said: "[There is a] widespread belief that there is a conflict between science and religion. But this is not true. There may be a conflict between softminded religionists and toughminded scientists, but not between religion and science."
This view was infuriating to the Rabbis, Priests and Immams of the time. Miracles and Scrip[ture were not determinatve Spinoza taught but the issue was did the docrine of the religion make sense. Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
Jupiter Hammon (1711-ca. 1806) is known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American in North America. He published both poetry and prose after that. In addition, he was a preacher and a commercial clerk on Long Island, New York.
