For decades, southerners used the Bible to condone slavery, citing numerous passages approving of the institution and telling slaves to obey their masters. “As they pointed out, slavery had existed among the Hebrews without God’s condemnation, and Jesus had admonished servants to obey their masters ‘in singleness of heart, fearing God’” (Abzug). Around the same time, northern abolitionists were supporting their anti-slavery message with the Bible’s messages of kindness and equality. Despite their completely opposite views on slavery, both sides used the same book to back up their positions. This was far from an isolated occurrence; ever since slavery began in America, its existence became irrevocably intertwined with religion, especially Christianity.
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The Bible contains passages advising slaves to “obey” and “submit” to their masters and dealing with poor treatment of slaves: “And that servant who knew his master 's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating” (Luke 12:47). Although religion is often thought to make people more kind, the opposite was often the case with the religion of the Southern slaveholders. Indeed, Frederick Douglass, a former slave, found that religious masters were often the cruelest. “I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes…Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity to befall me” (Douglass …show more content…
It was by no means a cure-all for blacks during or after slavery, which often tested the faith of even the strongest believer. It is common in black literature to see a slave, when pushed to the breaking point, struggling to understand why their God would let such terrible things happen to them. Patsey from Twelve Years a Slave was one such person. Whipped near death by her master, Patsey “prayed piteously for mercy, but her prayers were in vain.” The narrator, anopther slave forced to whip her, fell back on Christianity’s Golden Rule, vowing about their master that “somewhere in the course of eternal justice, thou shalt answer for this sin!” (Northup) By holding onto his faith, the narrator is able to withstand such terrible events by believing that God will make them right in the end. However, not all slaves were so confident, and this could easily lead to a crisis of faith or casting off faith altogether, leaving them without a support system. Many slaves were broken by the realization that they had nowhere left to
The Bible contains passages advising slaves to “obey” and “submit” to their masters and dealing with poor treatment of slaves: “And that servant who knew his master 's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating” (Luke 12:47). Although religion is often thought to make people more kind, the opposite was often the case with the religion of the Southern slaveholders. Indeed, Frederick Douglass, a former slave, found that religious masters were often the cruelest. “I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes…Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity to befall me” (Douglass …show more content…
It was by no means a cure-all for blacks during or after slavery, which often tested the faith of even the strongest believer. It is common in black literature to see a slave, when pushed to the breaking point, struggling to understand why their God would let such terrible things happen to them. Patsey from Twelve Years a Slave was one such person. Whipped near death by her master, Patsey “prayed piteously for mercy, but her prayers were in vain.” The narrator, anopther slave forced to whip her, fell back on Christianity’s Golden Rule, vowing about their master that “somewhere in the course of eternal justice, thou shalt answer for this sin!” (Northup) By holding onto his faith, the narrator is able to withstand such terrible events by believing that God will make them right in the end. However, not all slaves were so confident, and this could easily lead to a crisis of faith or casting off faith altogether, leaving them without a support system. Many slaves were broken by the realization that they had nowhere left to