He explains what slaves’ experience. They don't receive any justice since nobody pays attention to them in a court of law as the free people have to win the cases, they are sold and bought just like other goods we use in our day to day lives, they are forced to work under harsh conditions and are even beaten and whipped like animals. He says that these problems have caused them to have a high mortality rate.
In the West India Islands instead of encouraging or allowing the slaves to also go to worship or devote to religious practices on Sunday like their employers, they have to carry heavy loads and goods to the Sunday markets. If they are not doing this, they are absolutely working for their families’ sustenance.
We are bound to ask ourselves what happened before religion and the measures they took to treat slaves. Was it a good idea then? Did they ever try to end slavery then and how were they trying to treat the slaves.
A Southern Christian View of Slavery by James Henry Thornwell from the Annals of America: 1858-1865, the Crisis of the Union 1861. Civil war was the broken by the civil war in the north and the South. The subject of slavery lies at the difficulties that have been caused by the dismembering of the federal union.
The northern part of the Presbyterian Church of the United States that maintains that slavery is a sin, and it needs to be totally eliminated. On the other hand, it was not viewed as a sin to be excluded from the communion of saints. It has the effects of both reducing as well as promoting slavery. It is, therefore, better for the Northern part of the church to completely quite this topic.
The church claims that it is absolutely not its responsibility to end or propagate the slavery. It states that it is the state's role to decide what it wants with the slavery, and it will help to support the decision they feel is right. It claims that its role does not include organizing the society; rather it is spiritual to nourish both the master and the slave.
The church solely bases their argument on the holy book and nothing more to that. We are then determined to know what exactly the Holy book has to say about slavery and if there is, what will the church do to implement the same in the society and the community at large. We encounter a problem and discover that as much as we want to base our arguments on the bible, people will read and interpret verses that suit their line of thought. It will only bring more contradictions.
In the two bible testaments, the narrations about slavery are comprehensive. Example, Abraham had his slaves, of whom he had bought some; Moses preferred to follow the written scriptures on how to treat slaves rather than to abolish the same. The bible talks in a way that slaves are supposed to obey and when they don’t, they are also breaking some religious rules. The bible does not condemn the act, and yet we can see some of the effects of slavery.
In this case, we take the Southern Christian View of Slavery by James Henry Thornwell. He gives us the necessary details and leaves it upon us to decide what is right. He critics the way those Christians use the bible to judge others yet they don't want to take responsibility of what happens in the society. It is good to follow the writings in the bible but also we should use that information and apply it when making our decisions. He clearly states what the bible says about slavery. The bible does not offer for the abolition of slavery and gives instances in the same book of what has been spoken on how they should be treated. From William Wilberforce’s script, it’s like he picks the verse that suits his argument and leaves out the other part of the existing slavery.
Works Cited
Wilberforce, William, and Lloyd Hildebrand. William Wilberforce: greatest works. Orlando, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2007. Print.
THE ANNALS OF AMERICA Volume 9 1858-1865 The Crisis of the Union, 2002. Print.
