Kia Lackey
Professor Caddis
English 209
25 July 2016
Understanding the Religious Views of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an African American boy born into slavery. He had a very rough life growing up being passed around from master to master. However, he did grow up to be able to read because he would pay children in the town to teach him a little bit each time he went into town to run an errand. That is why he was able to write Narrative of the Life of a Slave. While Douglass did suffer a rather terrible childhood, he is more upset over the hypocrisy of Christianity. Throughout the whole book we can see how he really feels about Christianity. Throughout this paper we will be discussing how Douglass feels about Christianity and …show more content…
What he is trying to say is that he hates the hypocrisy of slave owners that also claim to be Christians. He believes that there is no way for a person to be a slave owner and also a Christian at the same time. All that he has witnessed in his life is the reason that he feels this way towards the church-going slave owners. He says “we have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries and cradle-plunderers for church members” …show more content…
He describes how after Auld found religion he used it as a justification to perform the most heinous acts against his slaves. He could whip naked women twice a day and find justifications in the form of scriptures. A following is one that Douglass stated he has heard Auld say after whipping a girl who was disabled at a young age after falling in a fire and was therefore “useless” : “he that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth not, shall be beaten with many stripes” (1207). To him this scripture made him feel that it was fine to whip this woman because she did not do what he needed her to. Eventually Auld sent Douglass to live with a poor man who was known to be a slave breaker because Auld and Douglass just had too many
Professor Caddis
English 209
25 July 2016
Understanding the Religious Views of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an African American boy born into slavery. He had a very rough life growing up being passed around from master to master. However, he did grow up to be able to read because he would pay children in the town to teach him a little bit each time he went into town to run an errand. That is why he was able to write Narrative of the Life of a Slave. While Douglass did suffer a rather terrible childhood, he is more upset over the hypocrisy of Christianity. Throughout the whole book we can see how he really feels about Christianity. Throughout this paper we will be discussing how Douglass feels about Christianity and …show more content…
What he is trying to say is that he hates the hypocrisy of slave owners that also claim to be Christians. He believes that there is no way for a person to be a slave owner and also a Christian at the same time. All that he has witnessed in his life is the reason that he feels this way towards the church-going slave owners. He says “we have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries and cradle-plunderers for church members” …show more content…
He describes how after Auld found religion he used it as a justification to perform the most heinous acts against his slaves. He could whip naked women twice a day and find justifications in the form of scriptures. A following is one that Douglass stated he has heard Auld say after whipping a girl who was disabled at a young age after falling in a fire and was therefore “useless” : “he that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth not, shall be beaten with many stripes” (1207). To him this scripture made him feel that it was fine to whip this woman because she did not do what he needed her to. Eventually Auld sent Douglass to live with a poor man who was known to be a slave breaker because Auld and Douglass just had too many