The Paradox of Christianity and Slavery

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The Paradox of Christianity and Slavery

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Introduction

• Christian whites have shown some mistreatments to
  blacks.
• Even Christianity teachings, they did nothing.
• They did not see the evils in slavery as well as
  suppression of black people.
• They instead used theological explanations in the
  bid to justify slavery institution.
• The contradictions were an illustration of the
  paradox of slavery and Christianity.

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Paradox

• It is the view of something or a situation that
  is comprised of 2 opposing things.
• They appear impossible, but might actually be
  possible or true.
• The whites were aware slavery was harmful to the
  blacks.
• They justified their actions by focusing on
  particular Bible teachings selectively.

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Charles Hodge of Princeton

• He was a conspicuous theologian.
• He pointed that in the Old Testament slavery was
  allowed a divine command.
• In the New Testament, it was forbidden.
• Hodge argued slaving as a wicked crime.
• He said the same as impeaching Gods word since
  slavery was consistent with Christianity
  teachings.
• Belief of nothing wrong with slavery was
  hypocritical.
• It contradicted moral principles of Christianity

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Fredrick Douglass

• He was a literate African American.
• He had managed to escape slavery.
• Fredrick explored the relationship between
  slavery and Christianity.
• Religious slave owners who had converted to
  Christianity were the worst slave masters.
• He stated religion gave them religious sanctions
  as well as support for their cruelty.
• The slaveholders were convinced by religion that
  slavery was right.

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• They Believed God supported it and granted them
  authority to abuse, murder and oppress their
  slaves.
• Slave owners ignored Christianity teachings.
• It demanded masters to treat slaves well.
• Douglass also criticized Black people.
• They were under the delusion that God required
  they should submit to slavery.
• To him, the slaveholders were not true
  Christians.
• He also noted foundation of slavery and
  oppression lay in the power, pride and greed of
  man.

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The works of W.E.B Du Bois

• Du Bois was born in Massachusetts in 1868.
• He was an African American historian, sociologist
  and civil rights activist.
• He illustrated the contradiction in conception of
  freedom by the whites.
• Freedom is looked upon as applicable on the
  white.
• it excludes the Black South Africans on racial
  grounds.
• Smuts uses racial prejudice to justify oppression
  of blacks in South Africa.
• He however but advocates for human rights across
  the globe.

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Works Cited

• Carter, Robert. Racism and Psychological and
  Emotional Injury Recognizing and Assessing
  Race-Based Traumatic Stress. The Counseling
  Psychologist, 35.1 (2007) 13-105. Print.  
• Hughes, Richard. The Vocation of the Christian
  Scholar How Christian Faith Can Sustain the Life
  of the Mind. Grand Rapids, Mich W.B. Eerdmans
  Pub. Co, 2005. Print.
• Lee, Adam. The Connection between Religion and
  Slavery. Patheos, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 5 Nov.
  2013.

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• Pyke, Karen. What is Internalized Racial
  Oppression and why dont we Study it?
  Acknowledging Racisms Hidden Injuries. Sociologi
  cal Perspectives, 53.4 (2010) 551-572. Print.
• Smith, Nicole. The Narrative of the Rise of
  Fredrick Douglass  An Analysis of Hypocrisy and
  Opposing Representations of Christianity. The
  article myriad, 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
• Sultana, Mark. Self-deception and akrasia A
  Comparative Conceptual Analysis. Roma Pontificia
  Univ. Gregoriana, 2006. Print.

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