One of the things that has always disturbed me is the assertion that America was founded as a Christian nation, and the Institution of Slavery. Even though I've been hesitant to dispute the historical accuracy in regards to America's been founded upon Christian principles, it's hard for me to reconcile America being "Christian" while promoting and perpetuating one of the greatest acts of institutional inhumanity known to human civilization. My question has always been, "how could America call herself a Christian nation while at the same time kidnapping, brutalizing and enslaving thousands upon thousands of African slaves?" I don't know if this question can ever be sufficiently addressed, but the Lord is faithful in addressing the spirit of my inquiry. What He's allowed me to see is that, in spite of the "contradiction" in what America proposed to be and what she continued to do in regards to slavery, through it all, there was indeed a viable Christian witness.
One of the things that we want to understand is that Slavery was not a new phenomenon when America engaged in the West Atlantic (Ocean) Slave Trade during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Slavery is probably as old as the beginning of human civilization. However, one of the things that I don't believe is readily recognized about slavery in the West, is that historically speaking, once a civilization became dependent on slavery, no other civilization has been able to eradicate it; except in the West. The Miracle of slavery in the United States is that it was able to be Abolished and Suspended from American life and culture. Historically speaking, that is a Miracle. And saints, Miracles do still come from God. The belief (or at least one of them) is that the major force in abolishing slavery in the United States was Christianity.
What this understanding helped me to realize is that God works in the midst of Evil as well as in the midst of Good. So many times, I'm looking for the Hand of God in the midst of the Positive, in the midst of the Blessing, in the midst of the Breakthrough, in the midst of the Victory. And yes, God is present in the midst of all of these and responsible for them as well. But so many times in the midst of our faith, we miss that God is just as active in the midst of the Negative, in the midst of the Evil, in the midst of the Oppression, in the midst of the Injustice. I didn't say God is responsible for these things, but He's Active, He's on the scene, He's Moving. The beginning of the Bible proves this when Genesis chapter one says, "and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters". In the midst of the darkness of the earth, God was Moving. And in the darkness of our society and our world, God is still Moving.
As God used the Christian witness of abolitionists to stir up the spirit of anti-slavery in America and the anointing of one of (if not the) the wisest Presidents in the history of this country (Abraham Lincoln) to steady the course of this nation in anticipation of the eradication of slavery, God set the stage once and for all for the End of Slavery in this country. The way you know it was the Hand of God that freed the slaves is because the slaves themselves did not have to fight for their freedom. Think about that. Historically, the oppressed have to fight themselves for their freedom. Not in America! Who fought for the slaves? The Union Army of the North; men who no more liked blacks than the southerners they were fighting against. But that's The Hand of God. And though some may disagree with me, I believe the Civil War was God's Judgment on America for the hundreds of years of atrocities perpetrated against people of African descent in this country. It is understood that the Civil War created more casualties than any other war in the history of the United States.
What's my point? That even though the Founding Fathers seemed to be somewhat "hypocritical" in their espousing of "all men are created equal" while allowing thousand upon thousands of Africans to be brutally enslaved in this country, the Hand of God and the witness of Christianity was still relevant as well as prevalent. Let us keep in mind that it's rare that "the government", no matter how well meaning, sincere, or good intentioned they may be, are going to get it completely right. But we serve a God who never gets it wrong! And as long as we put our faith and trust in Him, not in a man, not in a woman, but in God, He'll make sure that we always come out Victorious, even in the midst of contradictions, hypocrisy and the cruelest of human inventions.
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