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Christianity and American slavery
The Relationship Between Slavery And Christianity
The importance of religion to slaves
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Recommended: Christianity and American slavery
Thesis: Paul subtle hints that he does not condone slavery, but it does not outright defy the practice. He uses it many times as a helpful analogy for Christian life, and he encourages believer to stay enslaved it if will help their witness. Paul encourages believers to view everyone as equal, and to stay in whatever position will help them spread the gospel.
Because of the time Paul lived in his view on slavery would be different than what his view on modern slavery might be, additionally it is difficult to obtain information about the plight of slaves in the first century because many of the resources written about them we written by the slave owners instead of the slaves. (Harrill 1, 2000) This could have skewed the information available today. Scholars either believe that slavery was a moral and ethical practice or it was inhuman as it is in modern times. (Bartchy, 1997)
However, biblical scholars do agree that slaves were able to complete the same types of jobs that other freemen could do as well. They were able to be a part of any economic group, and they could have any job from physician to shopkeepers
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Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” In this verse it may see that Paul is contradicting the other things he has said about slavery, but he is actually lining up with them. His wants to show that every slave should have a positive witness to those who are not
Paul Finkelman takes on the role of devil’s advocate in his book “Defending Slavery”. Within the first section of the book, Finkelman explains the background of slavery both in America and around the world, past, post-American Revolution, and around the world. He then goes on to explain the revelations which prompted the South to develop a course of action to defend slavery. In detail and chronological order, he describes the various means of defense used by those in favor of slavery in America. Their justifications for slavery and resistance against its abolishment were rooted in religion, politics, economics and other aspects that drive society.
And Jesus is letting them know to remember that you were once slaves and He covered and protected them now they do the same for others that are in the same position as them. Telling them don’t turn their hearts hard or give them their back. And he places this in the article to try to paint the view of blacks where enslaved , had everything taken , and still not giving the right treatment or acknowledgement , so now it’s time for the right return according to what he pulled out of the word. But the scripture from the bible actually in my eyes have nothing to don’t with white supremacy, yes if you pull words of the bile and put it together to fit the situation you need, then yes it will work. But the overall about the scripture from Deuteronomy 15 is Jesus talking and giving a teaching to the former slaves of
Plans are revealed to, “hold a separate service on Sundays for [the slaves’] benefit,” in which pointed sermons were to be delivered to the slaves (Jacobs 57-58). One such sermon is inherently accusatory and meant to instill fear in its slave audience. Statements such as “God is angry with you,” “You tell lies”. God hears you,” and “God sees you and will punish you” serve to foster a sense of guilt and fear within the slaves, casting disobedience in any form as an affront against God, one that merits divine punishment (Jacobs 58). The sermon creates an emotional tie to profitable slave behavior – obedience stemming from fear – which it goes on to enforce as the will of God: “If you disobey your earthly Master,” the preacher claims, “you offend your heavenly Master” (Jacobs 58).
Slavery was a dominant part of the political and social arenas of 1800’s America. However, it was not homogenous as it divided America into two distinct groups: those who supported it and those who did not. Traditionally, the states in the north had been anti-slavery while the states in the south had been pro-slavery. Southern life and economy depended on slavery and therefore staunchly supported the continued legal status of slavery. The northern states on the other hand recognized the inhumane nature of slavery and campaigned to establish equality for all citizens. In order to establish solid reasoning for their stance, both pro-slave and anti-slave groups turned to theological inspiration for their actions. The Bible inspired both pro-slavery advocates and anti-slavery abolitionists alike. Religion was used in order to justify slavery and also to condemn it.
For a male slave in Arabia, there were limited options, if already castrated (which was a familiar practice), they were used as eunuchs, mostly in the service of the mosques or for the protection of harems. A system of plantation labour, developed early, but with such terrible consequences, these were relatively rare and often reduced. The need for agricultural labour, in Islam with large peasant populations, was nowhere near as critical as in the Americas, so this didn’t really succeed and slaves in general, were mainly directed at the service sector, the men being cooks, porters and/or soldiers. While slaves were sometimes employed for manual labour during the Arab slave trade, this was usually the exception rather than the norm. In America, slaves were guaranteed hard labour designed exclusively for males like ditch men, ploughme...
Because it offers them the possibility of community and identity, many slaves find themselves strongly attached to religion. They cannot build a family structure and they cannot be identified by family name, but through the church, they can build a community and identify themselves as Christians. This comfort becomes virtually non-existent for it too is controlled by the slaveowners who “came to the conclusion that it would be well to give the slaves enough of religious instruction to keep them from murdering their masters” (57). The fact that one person could have the ability to control the amount of religion another person has and his purpose for having it diminishes any sense of community or identity that it may have initially provided.
...ing the general public to view their fellow men, as less than what they truly are, their equals. The institution of slavery has blinded the clergy and churches of America, causing them to sit idly by as an injustice is being brought upon God’s people, a god that all men share. Christianity has become a tool in which the separation of whom receives liberties and whom does not becomes its clearest. As Douglass says “ At the very moment that they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty […] they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance, and makes it utterly useless to a world lying in wickedness.” Christianity has become a tool of oppression for the elite; used to deny unalienable rights to their fellow man, the same rights their own fathers had fought so valiantly for during the founding of America.
was a better life awaiting them. "The Spirit of the Lord allowed black slaves to
Douglass continues to describe the severity of the manipulation of Christianity. Slave owners use generations of slavery and mental control to convert slaves to the belief God sanctions and supports slavery. They teach that, “ man may properly be a slave; that the relation of master and slave is ordained by God” (Douglass 13). In order to justify their own wrongdoings, slaveowners convert the slaves themselves to Christianity, either by force or gentle coercion over generations. The slaves are therefore under the impression that slavery is a necessary evil. With no other source of information other than their slave owners, and no other supernatural explanation for the horrors they face other than the ones provided by Christianity, generations of slaves cannot escape from under the canopy of Christianity. Christianity molded so deeply to the ideals of slavery that it becomes a postmark of America and a shield of steel for American slave owners. Douglass exposes the blatant misuse of the religion. By using Christianity as a vessel of exploitation, they forever modify the connotations of Christianity to that of tyrannical rule and
The fact that he used the Bible to condemn their actions is important for a few reasons: 1.) these people claimed to be Christian men and women, 2.) the Bible was the premier book of history in those times, and 3.) while the slaveholders and the oppressive race might not have feared the consequences of their actions here on Earth, they surely would have feared the consequences for their actions in the afterlife. Asking “ Have we any other Master but Jesus Christ alone? Is he not their Master as well as ours? -- What right then, have we to obey and call any other Master, but Himself?” (Walker) is asking a loaded question. He’s saying to these men “surely you’re not placing yourself about Jesus Christ, are you?” These people may have been slaveholders, but they never would have considered themselves to be
“...this religion is saying that every person, man, woman, child, slave, barbarian, no matter who, is made in the image of God and is therefore of enormous value in the eyes of God…”(Document C). “Now the Christian community, as we have it particularly in the letters of Paul, … says in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male or female, neither slave nor free… . Here is a community that invites you, which makes you an equal with all other members of that community,” (Document D). This was beneficial to a wide range of people, especially peasants because they could have a part in society and be equal to their Christian peers.
By 1860, nearly 3,950,528 slaves resided in the United States (1860 census). Contrary to popular belief, not all slaves worked in hot and humid fields. Some slaves worked as skilled laborers in cities or towns. The slaves belonged to different social or slave classes depending on their location. The treatment of the slaves was also a variable that changed greatly, depending on the following locations: city, town or rural.
Slave-owners forced a perverse form of Christianity, one that condoned slavery, upon slaves. According to this false Christianity the enslavement of “black Africans is justified because they are the descendants of Ham, one of Noah's sons; in one Biblical story, Noah cursed Ham's descendants to be slaves” (Tolson 272). Slavery was further validated by the numerous examples of it within the bible. It was reasoned that these examples were confirmation that God condoned slavery. Douglass’s master...
Slavery goes against god. The slaves should not give in to slavery. “ It is your
The most common use of a slave was to have the around the house to do common tasks such as cleaning the house, washing the clothing, cooking, and taking care of the infants with supervision from the mother. Although these were the major uses of a slave there were a few that also educated and were allowed to teach others what they have learned. Plutarch told a story of a man named Cato that had born a son, but he did not wish that his son to be taught by a lowly servant. He wanted his son to have a good education and to not have to owe respect to a slave. Cato wrote many books for his son so that he may never leave the house and encounter false teachings from others. He also taught his son everything that he needed to know about grammar and law. He not only showed his son about the exercise of the mind, he also showed him the exercise of the body also. Cato showed his son how to box, how to stay in shape and get ready for war. Cato wanted none of these things were to be learned from a slave, and none of them were. Slaves were teachers and house hold workers but also since they co...