Mr. Gadsden, the conflict between slavery and Christianity was irreconcilable. Like night and day, heaven and hell, so too Christianity and slavery.
To grasp how badly Christianity was corrupted to accommodate slavery, comes sermons from the likes of Bishop William Meade of Virginia (1789–1862):
“Suppose, for example, that you have been punished for something you did not do, is it not possible you may have done some other bad thing which was never discovered and that Almighty God, who saw you doing it, would not let you escape without punishment one time or another? And ought you not in such a case to give glory to Him, and be thankful that He would rather punish you in this life for your wickedness than destroy your souls for it in the next life? But suppose that even this was not the case—a case hardly to be imagined—and that you have by no means, known or unknown, deserved the correction you suffered; there is this great comfort in it, that if you bear it patiently, and leave your cause in the hands of God, He will reward you for it in heaven, and the punishment you suffer unjustly here shall turn to your exceeding great glory hereafter.”
Then there’s Bishop Stephen Elliott of Georgia:
“For nearly a hundred years the English and American Churches have been striving to civilize and Christianize Western Africa, and with what result? Around Sierra Leone, and in the neighborhood of Cape Palmas, a few natives have been made Christians, and some nations have been partially civilized; but what a small number in comparison with the thousands, nay, I may say millions, who have learned the way to Heaven and who have been made to know their Savior through the means of African slavery!”
Following Bishop Meade’s and Bishop Elliot’s teachings, it seems that G-d kept black people in America to remind white people that Hell was waiting for them.
And into this hideous mess of white Christianity, came Frederick Douglass who wrote: “Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity…”
Yeah, I’m pretty sure white people knew they were going to Hell. By refusing to make amends (aka paying reparations) white people also knew they were condemning their descendants to Hell.
Instead of making amends, white Christians are still trying to find “a get out of Hell free card.” All the excuses, rationales, justifications etc. are exhausting. It’s time to make amends, pay our debts and free the next generation from our sins.
