Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Friday, February 3, 2017

Frederick Douglass on Religious Hypocrites

“...I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of the land... I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of 'stealing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in.' I am filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate the religious pomp and show, together with the horrible inconsistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members. 

The man who wields the blood-clotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit on Sunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus. . . . The slave auctioneer’s bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave-trade go hand in hand together. The slave prison and the church stand near each other. 

The clanking of fetters and the rattling of chains in the prison, and the pious psalm and solemn prayer in the church, may be heard at the same time. The dealers in the bodies of men erect their stand in the presence of the pulpit, and they mutually help each other. The dealer gives his blood-stained gold to support the pulpit, and the pulpit, in return, covers his infernal business with the garb of Christianity. Here we have religion and robbery the allies of each other—devils dressed in angels’ robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise.” ― Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

6 comments:

Shaw Kenawe said...

Here's a red state, Texas, cutting services for vulnerable babies and children, proving, once again, that the right-to-lifers care only for life in utero. After that, they kick babies and children to the curb.


Emboldened By Election, Texas Republicans Kill Medicaid Fundings For Kids With Disabilities

This fits in with Mr. Douglass's speech on Christian hypocrisy. (And, yes, I know that many, many Christians do not practice that sort of hypocrisy. My own niece is a shining example of a Christian who actually works for an organization that helps babies and children get fed, clothed, and medical care here and around the world.) It's the hypocrites who put up fake faith blogs on Sunday and ignore what Texas is doing -- those fake Xtians deserve our contempt.

Anonymous said...

@Trump's first two weeks.... He’s not perfect, but he IS evil.

Ducky's here said...

It's a shame that Frederick Douglass didn't speak out about the Bowling Green massacre. Sad.
--- Kellyanne Conway

Les Carpenter said...

Those folks want to make sure they're born (the babies), then provide the education they approve of (the bible), then keep their wages and financial security low while they continue to insure corporate growing wealth and influence.

Thus we have trump. No social conscience or even a thread of decency whatsoever.

Shaw Kenawe said...




SATIRE FROM THE BOROWITZ REPORT
TRUMP SAYS HE HEARD FREDERICK DOUGLASS WAS ALIVE FROM BETSY DEVOS

Shaw Kenawe said...


Trump's need to praise himself at a prayer breakfast might have passed as an awkward moment in civil religion if the actions of his first two weeks in office had not already inspired mass protests. But in the face of the moral outrage that millions of Americans feel, the awkward silence of so-called faith leaders as they listened to a braggart drone on about himself was revelatory. The President went on to say, essentially: the world is a mess. I'm here to fix it. The Bible has a name for this political position: idolatry.