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The church’s history doesn’t stay in the past. Rather, it affects us right here and right now.
In the opening scenes of the new feature film Harriet (about the heroic life of Harriet Tubman), a preacher named Rev. Samuel Green preaches to the slaves (at the behest of the farm/plantation owner) a short sermon about servitude from the New Testament.
That scene is painful to watch but historically accurate (in that such sermons did occur in churches in the American south). And, that scene highlighted the topic of this week’s and last week’s episode. What about the church’s difficult past when it comes to the crusades, slavery and discrimination? How should we think about these dark chapters, learn from them and reclaim the church’s moral voice? Here are our thoughts:
By the way, this is part 2 of a 2-part series. So, I encourage you to listen to Part 1 before diving into this episode.
Persuasion Points:
- Admit the Facts.
- Point people to Jesus and Scripture.
- Recognize that all ideologies and institutions have been similarly coopted.
- Point to the great and often forgotten good created by the church.
Key Takeaways:
- A study of Scripture related to the issue of slavery.
- The ideological underpinning of ethnocentrism and discrimination in the 20th century (and it wasn’t the New Testament)!
- Quote by Frederick Douglass (escaped slave, abolitionist and orator), “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…”
- The key lessons from the “60’s problem”: we must not be swallowed up or intimidated by the pressures of our cultural moment! If we are silent or complicit in the worst ideas of our times, our gospel witness will be damaged!
- Here’s the companion video.
- Need a copy of the book? Persuasion Points: Practical Responses to Culture’s Toughest Questions: https://amzn.to/31qvAuv.
P.S. If you haven’t checked out the Bible Museum’s display on the “Slave Bible,” you can learn more here. Those that supported chattel slavery literary sliced up the Bible, removed verses on freedom and liberation and only included verses on servitude.