Slavery divided the United States since its inception and acted as a roadblock on the path of our nation’s progress for over 70 years. As such a religious group of people, one must wonder how the institution of slavery was able to exist in light of the Bible. In this blog post, we will explore two counter-narratives while simultaneously citing the same piece of evidence. The former will utilize the Bible to argue against slavery while the latter will use the Bible to support the practice. In the end, you too will see that the Bible is ultimately open to the interpretation of the reader.
Christianity has clearly and consistently condemned slavery since its conception, and the Bible, the central book of faith for believers not only thousands of years ago but today as well, supports this claim. The fact that slaves were only given access to a specific rendition of the Bible which excluded the majority of the Old Testament and roughly half of the New Testament is ample evidence in itself that the Bible surely contains a significant amount of text which condemns slavery and its ideals. This “Slave Bible” excluded stories such as Moses helping lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt, but allows the stories such as Joseph’s enslavement in Egypt to remain. In this way, slave owners could instill unwavering obedience into the hearts of their captives, and minimize rebellions. In contrast, passages in the Bible such as the following excerpt from Revelations would challenge the actions of slave owners, making it quite clear as to why these sections were removed.
Revelations 22:18-19 states, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this
book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away
his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” This clearly
states that the Bible is to be read as a whole, nothing removed or added. In itself, these
verses already invalidate Biblical justification of what slave owners were doing without
even directly addressing slavery. For purpose of clarity though, I will close with one final
passage from the Bible which blatantly refutes the idea of slavery, although there are countless
other instances in this book where either slavery is condemned or simply does not align at all
with the doctrine of Christianity. Galatians 3:28 states, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
With this clear evidence against slavery in the Bible, one must ask, “How was the Bible used to justify slavery for over 75 years?” Did slave owners and the constituents of the South ignore this evidence or cite their own? The answer is quite clear because many sources have documented the use of the Bible to justify slavery. According to Time Magazine, two pieces of scripture were often cited and used as justification for slavery. One of these texts came from the Old Testament and the other came from the New Testament. I will explore each of these excerpts and explain the rationale behind a slaveholder's interpretation.
The first excerpt can be found in Genesis IX, 18-27, and reads as follows:
“And the sons of Noah that went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is
the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole world overspread.
And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was
drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of
his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both
heir shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were
backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew
what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall
he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his
servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his
servant. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.”
In layman's terms, Noah was infuriated with his son Ham for insulting him in his sleep so he cursed
Ham’s son, Canaan, to be the servant of Shem. The term “slave” is not used but is conflated with
the more sensitive synonym “servant.” It was hypothesized by slaveholders that Canaan was black
and that his descendants would remain slaves for many generations. Slaveholders justified their
actions by claiming to carry out the curse that Noah cast upon his son Ham. This theory was only
further justified by interpreting ancient maps of the Middle East to show the land of Canaan was
primarily populated by people of darker complexion.
The Bible was not used to support slavery again until the Book of Ephesians in the New Testament.
This excerpt does less to explain the concept of slavery and does more to justify the practice itself.
Ephesians VI, 5-7 reads as follows:
“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling,
in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to
men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether
they are slave or free.”
Ephesians was used to tell slaves that they were, in fact, doing the work of God, not the work of their
owners. Some slave owners would point to the phrase “whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the
same shall he receive of the Lord, whether they are slave or free” to give slaves hope for a comforting
existence in the afterlife. The excerpt from Ephesians is also vague which allowed slaveholders to
interpret the text through their lens.
The Bible is seen from the eye of the beholder and this becomes clear when exploring the issue of
slavery. Both camps can successfully cite scripture to justify their beliefs which is why the Bible is
not the most efficient tool to crack the peculiar institution. Regardless of one’s own opinions toward
slavery, it is clear that the Bible has been successfully used to justify the practice in the past.
Fortunately, this justification no longer holds up in today’s society. It may be that these excerpts were
interpreted correctly by slaveholders but at no point was the United States intended to be run on
religious doctrine.
If you are interested in reading or listening to more on the topic of slavery and its biblical arguments
the following links are for you.
https://www.bethinking.org/bible/does-the-bible-support-slavery
https://www.history.com/news/slave-bible-redacted-old-testament
References:
https://time.com/5171819/christianity-slavery-book-excerpt/
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6&version=NIV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%209%3A18-27&version=NIV
https://www.history.com/news/slave-bible-redacted-old-testament
https://www.biblestudytools.com/galatians/3-28.html
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2022:18-19&version=NIV
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