The Curse of Ham. It sounds like something from Game of Thrones, but it is actually a mis-reading of an Old Testament scripture that has been used for hundreds of years to justify racism and slavery. This week we take a look inside the Southern Baptist Convention's controversial 2017 meeting and interview pastor Charles Hedman from Capitol Hills Baptist Church (http://www.capitolhillbaptist.org).

The “curse” comes from Genesis 9. Noah (yes, the guy from the flood) is back on dry land. He gets drunk and his boys cover him up out of shame. Enraged by their behavior, Noah places a curse on one of his family members: his descendants will be in service to the others. Trouble is, despite the Bible saying that Canaan is cursed, many people pretend that Ham is in order to oppress his descendants: those of African descent. This obvious fallacy has been used for decades to justify terrible acts-- and all because we refuse to see what's so clearly there.

Truce is a listener-supported podcast. Leave us a comment on iTunes and be sure to visit us at www.trucepodcast.com. You can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/trucepodcast) and Twitter (@trucepodcast). Our host is Chris Staron, author of Cradle Robber and writer/ director of the films Bringing up Bobby and Between the Walls.

Artwork by @andrewjohnhuff.

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The Curse of Ham and the Southern Baptist Convention