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SLAVERY: A VIOLATION OF GOD'S LAW (PART II)
As suggested in last Sunday’s insert, Baptists had their share of abolitionists. However, their cause only served to inflame and further divide the denomination, especially in the south. Added to this was the reminder of the slave revolt in Santa Domingo in the 1790’s when slaves rebelled and slaughtered 60,000 people. The fear of the same such event loomed large in the mind of slaveowners in the Southern colonies. In 1800, two boys were born, one free and white, the other a Negro and enslaved. The white boy’s name was John Brown and the Negro’s name was Nathaniel Turner, better known as Nat Turner. Two boys, whose only difference was in their color! They never met, yet they both were great abolitionists. Both loved freedom and did not hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve it. Brown’s antislavery contribution included giving land to fugitive slaves. He helped finance Henry Highland’s “Call to Rebellion” speech. He also took part in the Underground Railroad and, in 1851, helped set up the League of Gileadites, an organization that worked to protect escaped slaves from slave catchers (Africans in America Resource Bank, People and Events, Part 4, John Brown, 1800- 1859). Brown not only showed his opposition to slavery through his kindness, he and his five sons also organized antislavery Guerrillas to fight slavery. Though his successes were small in this area, his zeal and convictions greatly impacted many Northerners. Frederick Douglas (another giant of that period), who met Brown in 1847, summed up Brown’s life best. Of Brown he said, “though a white gentleman, Brown is in sympathy a black man, and as deeply interested in our cause, as though his own soul had been pierced with the iron of slavery” (Africans in America). But perhaps the most notable abolitionist of the 1800’s was Nat Turner. This is not downplaying the efforts of other powerful and instrumental Black abolitionist such as Frederic Douglas, Harriet Tubman and others. I singled out Nat Turner because of his immediate connection to our current discussion and his being one of the few black Baptist preachers (Baptist or otherwise), of that time. A study of Turner’s life is a fascinating one. In a confession recorded and published by Thomas Gray on the evening of his committal to prison, Turner gave a moving account of his life. That document provided much insight into this amazing man. It is entitled “The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, VA.” One of the most remarkable statements of that confession was his recollection of how he learned to read. According to Gray, he stated:
“The manner in which I learned to read and write, not only had great influence on my own mind, as I acquired it with the most perfect ease, so much so, that I have no recollection whatever of learning the alphabet--but to the astonishment of the family, one day, when a book was shewn me to keep me from crying, I began spelling the names of different objects--this was a source of wonder to all in the neighborhood, particularly the blacks--and this learning was constantly improved at all opportunities”
Not only was Turner gifted in this area, he was extremely intelligent and wise. While still a youngster, his Grandmother remarked he “had too much sense to be raised, and if he was, he “would never be of any service to any one as a slave” (Confession). He made attempts and experimented with making paper, gunpowder and casting moulds made from dirt. The skeptic might ask, ‘What’s so amazing about all that?’ In today’s society it would be commonplace because a person Turner’s age would have access to the Internet, Libraries and Television. But these tools were unimaginable in his day, and even if they weren’t they would have been inaccessible to him! By his own testimony, he confessed his ability to conduct these experiments were solely from the “fertility of his own imagination. Lest someone should pass this off as the wishful thinking of an imagination gone wild, Gray questioned Turner about the principles and concepts of these things. In his (Thomas Gray) own word, he affirms Turner was “well informed on the subject” Turner’s superior knowledge gained him great respect among the other slaves. So sure was their confidence in his judgment that salves planning a night of mischief and thievery used Turner to plan for them. These stints, his growing influence and natural leadership ability affirmed Turner parents’ earlier words to him that he “was intended for some great purpose” (Confession).
In Christ, Minister John Cobb
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