The Misrepresentation of Christianity in Slave Lands

A detailed Summary of The Misrepresentation of Christianity in Slave Lands

The Misrepresentation of Christianity in Slave Lands

"He that knoweth his master's will and doeth not, shall be beaten with many stripes," is not only a passage of scripture, but is quoted by Frederick Douglass in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, which was published in 1845 (Douglass 70). These words would forever echo in Douglass' head as the memory of Master Thomas Auld reciting them during a brutal lashing of a helpless young woman would haunt him for a lifetime. The description of such events would help Douglass achieve his goal of spreading the extreme cruelness of slavery. Inhumane acts backed by the Christianity of the land were prevalent throughout the narrative. In my opinion, Douglass uses the controversial practices of Christianity in slave lands as an effective way to bring attention to the idea of abolition.

The Christianity of the slave lands and the Christianity of Christ, which should have been one in the same, were perceived by Douglass as two separate religions. The Christianity of Christ is genuine, sacred, and unblemished. On the other hand, the Christianity in the slave land was evil, dishonest, and immoral (Douglass 105). Douglass describes the two

Of all the masters Douglass encountered, he found those who were religious to be, " ...the meanest and basest, the most cruel and cowardly" (Douglass 82). Master Thomas Auld actually deemed it more appropriate to inflict pain and suffering after he had his first religious experience. It wasn't until he supposedly found Christ that he became so brutal and violent. Douglass speaks of Captain Auld's encounter with religion when he says, "If it had any effect on his character, it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways; for I believe him to be a much worse man after his conversion than before" (Douglass 68). Douglass then describes the horrible incident where Captain Auld ties the young woman and whips her countless times, while reciting a passage from scripture. Mr. Edward Covey also appeared to be most devotional to God. In the end, he was most deceptive to the highest power. He hired a married man to impregnate one of his slaves so he could "add to his wealth." Adultery is not accepted by the Christian religion in any way, shape, or form. These fallacies shown by Douglass throughout the narrative were not only those of Master Thomas Auld and Mr. Edward Covey; it was the same problem with all religious slaveholders. Douglass described the situation as if there was an epidemic of inhumanity spreading across the slave lands.

These infected human beings found religious sanction and support from Christ from their actions. Because they had something to back them up, they felt it would be approved to perform these severe beatings. Douglass explained the fact that the practice of Christianity emphasizes forgiveness, and all of Christ's children will be forgiven. The religious slaveholders appeared to be more devotional to the Lord because they had numerous sessions for prayer each day. Douglass felt that the slaveholders realized how horrible their actions were so they felt that it was necessary to pray in abundance to be forgiven for these sins.

The Christian religion does not support the horrid acts depicted by Douglass in his narrative. In order to spread the word about abolition, Douglass focused on a topic that would enrage many people: the deception of the Christian religion. Douglass described the religion of the slave lands as, "...a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, a justifier for the most appalling barbarity, a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds..." (Douglass 82). The crooked slaveholders practiced Christianity in the most deceitful fashion. They preached one thing yet exercised another. Slaves were beaten day after day for no reason significant enough to be lashed with a leather whip. There is no justification, including the practice of Christianity, for the barbaric treatment given to the slaves. In fact, one can say, and Douglass does, that the religion of the slave land is an imposter (Douglass 105). It reveals no similarities of the faith and should be stripped of the false name it acquired.

The Misrepresentation of Christianity in Slave Lands

Some common words found in the essay are:
Edward Covey, Christianity Christ, Thomas Auld, Captain Auld's, American Slave, Slave Lands, Captain Auld, slave lands, Frederick Douglass, christianity slave, Master Thomas, master thomas auld, christianity slave lands, christian religion, master thomas, thomas auld, douglass 82, practice christianity, separate religions, christianity christ, douglass describes, Auld Edward, spreading slave lands, inhumanity spreading slave, epidemic inhumanity spreading,

Approximate Word count = 3977
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous