Slavery, a sensitive topic but yet a reality that still exists today. It has been around for over 10,000 years and dates back to ancient Rome during the wars. The difference between the original slavery and the one that we'll be speaking about today is that originally slaves were captured of war, and it didn't directly affect their children or families, also sometimes once a slave had served his sentence, he may have been dismissed. On the other hand, the slavery that we'll be speaking about today is the dreadful oppression over colored people, where if your mother was a slave you were a slave.
Colored people were dehumanized and treated like property, which sadly due to the laws put in place they technically were. The excuse and unjust justification for this treatment was simply the laziness of rich slave owners, they believed that since slavery was mentioned in the bible, what they were doing was ok. They supposed that selling and auctioning off humans, giving them 2 shirts a year with no pants or shoes, whipping them until they were covered in blood, and starving them while demanding an inhuman workload from them... was somehow justified because slavery was stated in a couple of verses. Their misinterpretation of the book caused government officials to rule in favor of these unconstitutional acts.
Multiple times in the Bible of Christ it appeared as pro-slavery. There were many quotes in many scriptures that convinced christians that slavery of any kind is ok and just. It was actually quite common all throughout the 1800's for a christian man himself to own a slave. There are books, such as the narrative in the life of Frederick Douglass (a former slave) that he stated he was owned by multiple christian men.
In the Bible it states Colossians 3:22 (NIV): "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." This quote actively demonstrates that a slave should be completely faithful to his master both to him and behind his back, furthermore, the Bible states, Ephesians 6:5 (NIV): "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ." This quote takes a step further in convincing christians that slavery is okay by telling owners that they should be so highly respected and even feared as much as god himself. This is why slave owners took dreadful precautions in making sure that this upholds with an un-guilty hand. Statements such as these were carried to the churches and preached to the people.
In history there were churches of christ that were so pro slavery that they participated in it, on this site, in an article Written by Katherine Gerber, it states “For most of the past two millennia, Christian churches have not only accepted slavery, but have also participated in the slave trade and owned human property" as well as "For the majority of the early modern period, most Christian churches—both Catholic and Protestant—supported slavery and benefited from the institution." Passages such as these contribute heavily in convincing christians even today that the followers of christ who read the Bible in the 1800's, that they had an honest hand in their violent gestures. This terrible misinterpretation of the book made even government officials rule in favor of these unconstitutional acts, passing laws that gave slaveowners abominable control over their slaves.
In the past, people would use religion to justify slavery, but today, Christians think of it as immoral and unjust. Although in the eighteenth century there was a split in the people for and against slavery, there are many facts that justify that most men and women who were against slavery were very religious and looked up to Jesus for his teachings and their support. This evidence is given in this book to prove these facts.
It is said in this article that in early Christianity, white Christians would own slaves, who were also Christian. It is said that the Bible disapproved of this practice and later on forbid it from being able to take place. The Christians feared God's anger when it came to slavery and they saw it as unjust and evil, so they campaigned to have it abolished. Slavery defeated that desired image and it is believed that Christians should work towards ending slavery.
The argument that slavery is bad is seen directly in the Bible in the story of Exodus and the Israelites. There is a story whose plot spoke of a God who punished slave holders in order to get freedom for his people. This is showing that God considers the slaves his people and will go to efforts to fight for their freedom.
This book mentions that the Christians created communities and promulgated teachings that humanized slaves, which paved the way for the egalitarian movement, which opposed to slavery. It is mentioned that Jesus felt betrayed by an emerging establishment that accommodated itself to slavery. Jesus felt betrayed because, based on all of this evidence, the Catholic Church and Bible did not approve of slavery at that time.
Given all of this information, it is apparent that slavery was a terrible thing, after seeing both sides of for and against. Although it did take a while for the Christians to fully make the switch to fully not supporting slavery as a value of their religion, now it is not accepted in their religion because of the ways it disproves the values and morals seen throughout the Bible and constitution.
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