Slavery, Homosexuality and the Bible
(I’ve cross-listed this at my blog)
I’ve been reading quite a bit about American history and I have just hit the point which deals with the anti-slavery movement that took place before the Civil War. There are parallels galore to what black people went through then and what gays and lesbians are going through now–and from people who claim to be Christian. I am going to quote some material that is from a book by G. B. Tindall and D.E. Shi, America: A Narrative History, vol. I (New York: W.W. Norton, 1993, Brief 3rd edition), pp. 379-380, on the Defense of Slavery:
Antislavery in the upper South had its last stand in 1831-1832 when the Virginia legislature debated a plan of gradual emancipation and colonization, then rejected it by a vote of 73 to 58. Thereafter southern partisans worked out an elaborate intellectual defense of slavery, presenting it as a positive good.
The biblical argument in favor of slavery became one of the most powerful. The evangelical churches, which had widely condemned slavery at one time, gradually turned proslavery, at least in the south. Ministers of all denominations joined in the argument. Had not the patriarchs of the Old Testament held bondsmen? Had not Noah, upon awakening from a drunken stupor cursed Canaan, son of Ham, from whom the Negroes were descended? Had not Saint Paul advised servants to obey their masters and told a fugitive servant to return to his master (see Philemon in the New Testament–Kevin). And had not Jesus remained silent on the subject, at least so far as the Gospels reported his words? In 1843-1844 disputes over slavery split two great denominations along sectional lines and led to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Presbyterians, the only other major denomination to split, did not divide until the Civil War.
Another, and more fundamental, feature of the proslavery argument developed a theory of the intrinsic inferiority of Negroes. Stereotyping the poor and powerless as inferior is an old and seemingly ineradicable human habit…Others took a more “practical” view of slavery. Not only was slavery profitable, it was a matter of social necessity….
I’m sure we can all see the parallels between what some ‘christians’ of the past said about the justification of slavery and what some ‘christians’ have to say about gays and lesbians. These groups said that slavery was found in the Bible and indeed, Paul wrote about slavery and did not condemn it. This led to many who believed that slavery was sanctioned by God Himself. Now, 180 years later we have the same kinds of people saying that the Bible condemns gays and lesbians. We have the same groups saying that gays and lesbians are inferior, in the same way that people said black people were inferior.
I think when these people take to the airwaves and do interviews, people need to start asking them hard questions–ask what their view of slavery is and compare it to what is found in their Bible. Then compare it with what they have to say about gays and lesbians. Make them think about what they are saying and doing. These people seem to think that the word of God is unchangeable, but yet the Bible condones slavery.
Besides, it is my view that religious views should not be injected into the making of new laws that restrict the freedoms of people. All of these anti-gay marriage laws are nothing but religious persecution on a minority. All of these anti-gay laws are created using the language of religious texts. This is fundamentally wrong. We are not a theocracy. I don’t understand how the courts can uphold these anti-gay laws–it is clear they are religious persecution and this goes against the most basic tenets of our Constitution.
RSS 7. May 2007 (09:28)Filed under: Uncategorized
