Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)Foote, G. W. (George William)
Religion
Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)
Foote, G. W. (George William)
Free thought
Mr. Henson lives after the abolition of Slavery, and as he clings to his
Bible as God's Word he reads into it the morality of a later age. Let
him consult the writings of Christian divines on the subject, and
he will see that they have almost invariably justified Slavery from
scripture. Ignatius (who is said to have seen Jesus), St. Cyprian, Pope
Gregory the Great, St. Basil, Tertullian, St. Isidore, St. Augustine,
St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Bossuet, all taught that Slavery is
a divine institution. During all the centuries from Ignatius to Bossuet,
what eminent Christian ever denounced Slavery as wicked? Even the
Christian jurisprudists of the eighteenth century defended negro
slavery, which it was reserved for the sceptical Montesquieu and the
arch-heretic Voltaire to condemn. Montesquieu's ironical chapter on the
subject is worthy of Molliere, and Voltaire's is an honor to humanity.
He called Slavery "the degrada of the species"; and, in answer to
Puffendorff, who claimed that slavery had been established by the
free consent of the opposing parties, he exclaimed, "I will believe
Puffendorff, when he shows me the original contract."
Negro slavery was defended in America by direct appeal to the Bible. Mr.
Henson seeks to lessen the force of this damning fact by referring to
these defenders of slavery as "certain clergymen and other Christians,"
and as "ignorant and unworthy members of the Church." _Certain_
clergymen! Why, the clergy defended slavery almost to a man, and in
the Northern States they were even more bigoted than in the South. Mrs.
Beecher Stowe said that the Church was so familiarly quoted as being on
the side of Slavery, that "Statesmen on both sides of the question have
laid that down as a settled fact." Theodore Parker said that if the
whole American Church had "dropped through the continent and disappeared
altogether, the anti-Slavery cause would have been further on." He
pointed out that no Church ever issued a single tract, among all its
thousands, against property in human flesh and blood; and that 80,000
slaves were owned by Presbyterians, 225,000 by Baptists, and 250,000
by Methodists. Wilberforce himself declared that the American Episcopal
Church "raises no voice against the predominant evil; she palliates
it in theory, and in practice she shares in it. The mildest and most
conscientious of the bishops of the South are slaveholders themselves."
The Harmony Presbytery of South Carolina deliberately resolved that
Slavery was justified by Holy Writ. The Methodist Episcopal Church
decided in 1840 against allowing any "colored persons" to give testimony
against "white persons." The College Church of the Union Theological
Seminary, Prince Edward County, was endowed with slaves, who were hired
out to the highest bidder for the pastor's salary. Lastly, Professor
Moses Stuart, of Andover, who is accounted the greatest American
theologian since Jonathan Edwards, declared that "The precepts of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account