Padre Antonio Vieira's Sermons about "slaveries"

1171 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Persecution a result of the hatred aimed at Jesus

Padre Antonio Vieira became a missionary priest and returned to Brazil in 1652, with very complex messages about slavery. His teachings could be interpreted as being against the Christian religion, but they raised a lot of questions about the slavery of the New World and whether or not the God's name was being used in vain. During his two sermons in Bahia and Sao Luis do Maranhao, he used his own beliefs of universal church to convert non-Christians to the faith. He uses the Bible, as his reference and his faith in God, as his guide to show that the settlers should treat the natives fairly and humanly. Vieira insisted on two main slaveries, that of the body and soul, and emphasizes that there is no forgiveness for selling your soul. Most of his teachings contradicted the Church and as a result, he was later expelled by the colonists and almost charged by the Monarchy. Padre Antonio Vieira tried to find a compromise between the settlers and the slaves and reflected a Biblical image on the sinners of the New World.

During Vieira's first sermon in Salvador, Bahia, which took place during 1633, he describes the slavery as an inhuman business in which the merchandise is men. He shows his grief towards the slaves and describes to them the two transmigrations. The first transmigration is their slavery, which is an opportunity for them to enlighten trough Faith and Christ. The first transmigration is temporal and is a preparation for the second transmigration, which is the internal freedom in Heaven. He believes that every person consists of a body and soul, and the difference between a master and a slave lies only in the master's flesh, not his soul. The body is the only part that can be enslaved, but the sprit is as free as the wind....

... middle of paper ...

...ira's descriptions of the order in the New World are very disturbing, because he compares them to a living Hell by giving crucial examples from the Bible. His main goal remains to build a peaceful society between the settlers and the natives. He believes that the slaves are being mistreated and forced to sin by their masters. This complicated war between the settlers and the natives leads to idolization of the Devil and contradicts God and the Bible. Vieira, being a religious man, wants to fulfill his obligations as a man of God and change the order of the New World. He emphasize the idea that a more fair and human treatment of the slaves would benefit them immensely. Most importantly, Padre Antonio Vieira has a divine wisdom and knowledge of the theological virtue of God and wants to share it with the sinners of the New World, creating a more Christian lifestyle.

Show More
Related

  • Blasphemy And Slavery In New Spain

    150 Words  | 1 Pages

    The article by Villa-Flores provides insight of slavery in New Spain, telling the different kinds of abuse faced by the Spaniards and how slaves tried to earn freedom. Many slaves who were Christian saw the act of renouncing God and their Christian faith was the only way to seek a chance for freedom. Slaves often faced physical, emotional and verbal abuse of their masters. The author of the article is Javier Villa-Flores who compiled the article based on different resources to visibly define blasphemy and slavery in New Spain. He had received a doctorate in Latin American history at the University of California and San Diego. His work focuses on the problems of religion, colonialism, performance studies and social history of language in colonial

    Read More

  • Indentured Servitude and Slavery in the New World

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1600’s people began to look for different types of work in the new world. As cash crops, such as tobacco, indigo, and rice, were growing in the South, there became a need for labor. This got the attention of convicts, debtors, and other people looking for new opportunities and money. Indentured servitude was vastly growing during the 17th and 18th centuries. Approximatively 10 million men, women, and children were moved to the new world. Women during this time found themselves being sold to men for these cash crops. A commonly used term during this time for these women was tobacco brides. Almost 7.7 million of the slaves captured and moved to the new world were African Americans. Slaves and indentured servants had it rough for

    Read More

  • Comparing Slavery Essays by Winthrop Jordan And Eric Williams

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eric Williams starts his essay by telling us about the use of Indians as slaves.  He mentions that it was attempted to only enslave those Indians that didn't give up their heritage for Christianity.  This brings me back to Winthrop Jordan's essay in which we recall the Christians encountering heathenism in Africa which certainly applies here:

    Read More

  • The Devastation of the Indies

    287 Words  | 1 Pages

    The discovery and conquest of American Indians inspired efforts to develop an ideology that could justify why they needed to enslave the Indians. The Spanish monarch wanted an ideal empire. "A universal empire, of which all their subjects were but servants. Charles V remained for them the dominus mundi, the legitimate and God-ordained lord of the world." (Weckmann, The Transit of Civilization, 23) Gold and religious conversion was the two most important inspirations for conquistadors in conquering America. Father Bartolome De Las Casas was a Dominican priest who came to the New World to convert the Indians to become Christians. He spent forty years on Hispanolia and nearby islands, and saw how the Spaniards brutally treated the Indians and sympathized with them. The Devastation of the Indies was an actual eyewitness account of the genocide by Las Casas, and his group of Dominican friars in which he demonizes the Spanish colonists and praises the Indians. Father Las Casas returned to Seville, where he published his book that caused an on going debate on whether the suppression of the Indians corrupted the Spaniards' values. What Las Casas was trying to achieve was the notion of human rights, that human beings are free and cogent by nature without the interference of others.

    Read More

  • Perspective Of Ruirt De Niro

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first perspective to be noted would be that of Rodrigo Mendoza. His character is played by Robert De Niro. Rodrigo Mendoza ultimately decides to fight for the people. He believes this is the best way to accomplish God's purpose, by fighting with and for the people. In the beginning, Mendoza would capture the Guarani Indians and sell them into plantation slavery. After killing his brother Felipe, his penance is to work in the Jesuit missions in South America. He becomes a Jesuit priest. While working there, he befriends the Guarani people, the same people he once captured. Father Altamirano representing the Vatican was sent to South America to close down the missions. On learning this new information, Rodrigo Mendoza becomes angry and decides to renounce his vows as a priest to Father Gabriel. Father Gabriel encourages him that violence was not the answer but it was ultimately...

    Read More

  • Religious Roles in The Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    The narrative of Olaudah Equiano is truly a magnificent one. Not only does the reader get to see the world through Equiano's own personal experiences, we get to read a major autobiography that combined the form of a slave narrative with that of a spiritual conversion autobiography. Religion may be viewed as at the heart of the matter in Equiano's long, remarkable journey. Through Equiano's own experiences, the reader uncovers just how massive a role religion played in the part of his Narrative and in that of his own life. More specifically, we learn of how his religious conversion meant a type of freedom as momentous as his own independence from slavery. As one reads his tale, one learns just how dedicated he his to that of his Christian faith; from his constant narration of the scriptures to the way that Equiano feels a growing sense of empowerment from the biblical texts for the oppressed community. However, at the same time, one may question Equiano's own Christian piety. Did Equiano really seek to tell the tale of his soul's spiritual journey, did he really believe God would set him free or was he simply using religion as a ways of manipulating British and American readers to accept him as a credible narrator. Regardless of which of these facts is true, religion is quite possibly the defining feature of his life story.

    Read More

  • Bartolome De Las Casas

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...tence it at least allowed him to educate the natives about Christianity and that their experiences before now with the Europeans were not of a Christian nature. Throughout the letter, Las Casas seems careful to be very consistent and never veers from ensuring that his audience knows of the atrocities of the people of their own land to the natives – fellow humans. God has a plan for everyone and this is not it.

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano Summary

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article describes Equiano most important experience of his life, his conversion to Christianity, while on a voyage to Spain. Equiano was involved in setting up a new colony in Central America and bringing in African Slaves. He worked hard to see that slaves were treated well in the colony. This movement made him a full-fledged abolitionist. He was nearly re-enslaved, only barely escaping by canoe from his captor. This source resembles a new perspective on why Equiano was fighting for slave rights.

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima Analysis

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    In essence, Antonio shows that he is unsure if he truly believes in his religion because of his acceptance of other beliefs, the new ideas that he learns, and the deaths of Narciso and Lupito. Antonio’s experiences lead him to believe that he is in charge of his destiny and he has the ability to choose what he wants, not what his parents want. In the end, Antonio determines his religious values based on what he believes in, so he tells himself to “[t]ake the Ilano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp and make something new” (247). Antonio’s encounters with religion represent those who follow their religion but are not content with it. All in all, the story suggests that sometimes people want to learn other ideas to discover what fits them best.

    Read More

  • Religion In Olaudah Equiano

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Differing greatly in care for their slaves we grasp European's substantially different interpretation of the Christian religion. Through the "horror and anguish" of the cargo ship heading towards the new world, Equiano encounters starvation, flogging, and suffocation (Equiano, p702). Highlighting that the slave status clouds the eyes of Europeans, disregarding any humane religious practices. It's strongly interpreted that Europeans lack innocence and purity of intent. Once arriving in Barbados, Equiano among the other slaves were "pent up together like so many sheep in a fold, without regard to sex or age" (Equiano, p703). This suggests that the treatment of these slaves, these people, were no more care for than of a common farm animal. Instead of embracing the opportunity to have both slaves and owners worship under God, further strengthening the Christian religion and it's practices, European slave owners acted selfishly and created an unnecessary hierarchy within the

    Read More

  • Geocentricism In The Catholic Church

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, Bartoleme de Las Casas, a European priest that eventually grew to sympathize with the Native 's sufferings stated that the Natives were “rational, docile, humble, gentle, and simple, who are so well equipped to receive our Holy Catholic Faith and every moral doctrine and who are endowed with such good customs.”6 Furthermore, even the ruthless Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, who conquered the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, noted that praised the Aztec 's civilized way of life by stating “ The manner of living among the people is very similar to that in Spain, and considering that this is a barbarous nation shut off from a knowledge of the true God or communication with enlightened nations, one may marvel at the orderliness and good government which is everywhere maintained.”7 These qualities in the eyes of the missionaries, made the Natives an ideal group for conversion.

    Read More

  • The Expansion Of Freedom By Olaudah Equiano

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty, which, while it has no advantage to atone for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds fresh horrors even to the wretchedness of slavery. “ (“Voices of Freedom” 67) However, many believed that there was no experience more wrenching “for African slaves in the colonies than the transition from traditional religions to Christianity.” (“Give Me Liberty” 136) Equaiano wrote that his beliefs focused on a single “creator of all things,” who “governs events” on earth. Although “the slaves who ended up in British North America, however, came from the forest regions of West Africa, where traditional religions continued to be practiced” (“Give Me Liberty” 136) many beliefs seemed more similar to those of Native Americans than to

    Read More

  • Slave Women In Caribbean Society Summary

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Author Clare Johnson starts the review of the literature by explaining to the reader that when she was in middle and high school, the only areas of black history that she was taught was about captives running away from the harsh and inhumane treatment of their oppressors while working in the fields. She also explains to the reader that her none of her educators or any of the other literatures that she read in junior or high school ever discussed or even briefly introduced various approaches of resistance to enslavement that were done by both genders of slaves who were being held captive. It was not uncommon for black women slaves to commit murder against their white captors. Women have also been found to figure prominently in such events as

    Read More

  • The Black Jacobins

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout his account of San Domingos' slavery, James maintains the perseverance of the humanity of the slave population. The slaves did not succumb to their conditions by becoming inanimate objects devoid of any human qualities. Although the "majority of the slaves accommodated themselves to [the] brutality by a profound fatalism and a wooden stupidity before their masters", the slaves still maintained their intelligence and creativity. "The difficulty was that though one could trap them like animals, transport them in pens, work them alongside an ass or a horse and beat both with the same stick, stable them and starve them, they remained, despite their black skins and curly hair, quite invincibly human beings; with the intelligence and resentments of human beings" (11-12). Moreover, it "was this intelligence which refused to be crushed, these latent possibilities, that frightened the colonists, as it frightens the whites in Africa to-day" (18).

    Read More

  • Essay On Cultural Conflict

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Euro-Americans were characteristically of Christian or Catholic descent, adhering to the morals and code of conduct outlined by this extremely structured and at times political religion. The indigenous peoples on the other hand practiced a more free form of religion, concentrating on stewardship, spirituality and various rituals. Andrew Resendez’s “A Land So Strange” provides many examples of how religion played a role in the encounters between the two groups; the Spanish and Indigenous peoples. Resendez wrote about the Euro-Americans; “Although motivated by material considerations and at a times engaged in distinctly unchristian activities such as killing Indians, these pioneers were nonetheless persuaded that their exploits served to further God’s aims.” This warped perception of carrying out god’s will through colonial efforts only increased the tension between the two cultures, and resulted in retribution. Another example of using religion for personal gain was Narvaez from A Land So Strange. He sought after any excuse to get money to go on his second expedition and urged the emperor that faith would play a major role. “In another petition, almost a threat, Narvaez urged the emperor to avoid delays, for it would ‘weigh greatly on your royal conscience if it

    Read More

More about Padre Antonio Vieira's Sermons about "slaveries"

Open Document