The Frederick Douglas Game: George Whitefield

(mebondbooks.com)

George Whitefield was an influential author, speaker, and preacher in both England and the British colonies during the 1800s. His preaching was extremely popular in England and he quickly rose to fame due to his charismatic and passionate style of public speaking. While religion had been fading out in some parts of Europe, George Whitefield was one of the early preachers of the ‘Great Awakening,” where religion was revived not only in Europe but in the colonies as well. (biography.yourdictionary.com) His preaching reached all groups of people, including Slaves and Native Americans as well as the common people (history.com). He left for a mission to Georgia and returned to England to gather funding from the English church, then returned to Georgia, where he spent most of his life. His primary reason for spending his life in America was because of the backlash he received for his Calvinistic perspectives during his sermons, which gave him a notorious reputation in England. Although he was controversial within the church, he continued to gain popularity and redeemed his reputation during his time in America by going on speaking tours throughout the colonies and publishing his written works, the most infamous being A Letter to the Negroes Lately Converted to Christ in America.

(encyclopediavirginia.org)

As I was reading about Whitefield, one of the things that shocked me the most was that Whitefield appears to be an abolitionist for preaching to the slaves intentionally, but his perception of the Gospel for slaves was twisted to attempt to brainwash the slaves into not rebelling against their masters (sbcvoices.com). When we think about Christianity and slavery today, we think of Christians as being anti-slavery because of their high moral standards, but we often do not think of is the ways that the Christian Church used the Bible to condone and even promote slavery. This added an additional variable to the pro-slavery and abolitionist tension in America that had been present since before the American Revolution. 

(time.com)

Whitefield was convinced that the slaves should be preached to, not to share the gospel as it was intended, but to convince them to be better slaves. In his own words: “Give up the thought of seeking freedom from your masters. And though he [God] hath now called you into his own Family, to be his own Children and Servants; he doth not call you hereby from the Service of your Masters according to the Flesh; but to serve him in serving them, in obeying all their lawful Commands, and submitting to the Yoke his Providence has placed you under.”(mebondbooks.com) 

(brittanica.com)

This message of persuading slaves to endure their slavery rather than desire to be set free was perpetuated by recent slave revolts in the south and his personal desire for slavery. The use of slaves was imperative to the construction of his orphanage, Bethesda. While slavery was not legal at the time in Georgia, Whitefield heavily influenced its legality so that he could start his orphanage. In his publication, A Letter to the Negroes Lately Converted to Christ in America, he wrote, “The constitution of that colony [Georgia] is very bad, and it is impossible for the inhabitants to subsist without the use of slaves. But God has put it into the hearts of my South Carolina friends, to contribute liberally towards purchasing, in this province, a plantation and slaves, which I intend to devote to the support of Bethesda. Blessed be God! The purchase is made. Last week, I bought, at a very cheap rate, a plantation of six hundred and forty acres of excellent ground ready cleared, fenced, and fit for rice, corn, and everything that will be necessary for provisions. One Negro has been given me. Some more I purpose to purchase this week.” (mebondbooks.com) 

What made Whitefield so controversial was that on paper he seemed like he was caring for the slaves by preaching to them, but was a slave owner himself. He was blatantly pro-slavery and used the Bible to justify this (time.com), but was also well known as a popular preacher who was revered by the masses. The reoccurring theme of using religion to justify slavery was nothing new but represented a pattern of going to any means to keep slavery around in the south. While slavery was ultimately abolished in 1865, the use of the Bible to support racist worldviews has continued for hundreds of years and even today, especially in the South- Whitefied was not the first nor the last. 

https://biography.yourdictionary.com/george-whitefield

http://www.mebondbooks.com/2016/07/20/slavery-george-whitfield/

https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/great-awakening

https://sbcvoices.com/george-whitefield-slavery-and-southern-seminary-growing-baptist-recognition/

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/letter-to-the-inhabitants-of-maryland-virginia-north-and-south-carolina-1740/

https://time.com/5171819/christianity-slavery-book-excerpt/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Whitefield

The Eight Values of Free Expression

 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”-First Amendment to the Constitution

After the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in early 2021, the vast majority of Americans have experienced pressure to get the shot. The majority of this pressure perpetuates from peers, but media influence is prevalent, and in an era of constant stimulation from technology the media is constantly bombarded with vaccine-related content put out by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Commercials, billboards, posters, and the psychological reward of receiving an ‘I got my COVID vaccine shot!’ stickers portray only one opinion projected by the federal government, which is high pressure to receive the vaccine. Recent examples of this are lottery tickets and scholarships given out to a random few who have registered as having their vaccine.

(bouldercounty.org)

Regardless of whether or not someone chooses to get a vaccine, Americans are watching firsthand their government sliding down the slippery slope of disregarding dissent from its citizens as there is what could even be considered a 'mob mentality’ of people pressuring others to get vaccinated. This is a direct violation of the first amendment to the Constitution because it leaves no room for the minority, the anti-vaxxers, to express their opinions and choose whether or not to receive it. 

The government has overstepped boundaries and broken trust even further with the anti-vaxxers by requiring not only hospital workers- now all federal employees are to get the vaccine by November 22, with few ‘legal exceptions.’ (federalnewsnetwork.com) ‘Anti-vaxxers’ are portrayed by the media as ignorant and selfish solely for not getting a vaccine. In a recent The San Diego Union-Tribune article titled “Anti-vaxxers can have their say, but let the majority rule,” (sandiegotribune.com) the minority is bashed for simply disagreeing with the government’s decisions and are not able to exercise their constitutional right to express their opinions freely and with respect, even though they are the dissenting minority.

(theatlantic.com)

This has made its way down to the corrupt ‘little brother concept’ or using private business to put out government propaganda. While social media sites are private businesses, the federal government still utilizes private businesses, specifically social media, to influence the population through posts and ads (nbcnews.com). Even in my Instagram feed, posts written by people who are discouraging people from getting the vaccines are covered and labeled as ‘false information.’ I have yet to see a pro-vaccine post put out by the CDC to be censored. There is reason to be skeptical about this, because what scientists are finding of COVID-19 changes often, and the CDC’s ads and posts, even if they are just a few days old, can also be misleading based on recent findings.

(reddit.com)

 Ideas circulating in the media influence how Americans see their rights to express their opinions, even when they disagree with the government, by portraying only one opinion- even though not everyone gets the vaccine. 

So far, only 51% of Americans have been vaccinated (usatoday.com), but the federal government proposes a different story. With the federal government forcing workers to be vaccinated under President Biden’s ‘Path out of the Pandemic’ (whitehouse.gov) agenda, tensions are bound to arise, feeding the cycle of the government trying to discreetly quell the minority opinions. 

(deseret.com)

Unfortunately, as healthcare and government workers decide to keep or lose their paycheck based on a mandate, they are simultaneously giving up their right to speak freely against the government for overstepping its boundaries. By speaking out and even outright disagreeing with the government, people's rights - the cornerstone of democracy is protected, but coercing the minority into silence foreshadows future violations of the first amendment of the Constitution. Instead, while sitting back and watching the minority’s rights become less important, simply because they disagree with the government, the majority is bound to lose theirs in the future by allowing the government to quell the minority.

https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/more-governments-ever-are-using-social-media-push-propaganda-report-n1076301

https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/08/21/covid-vaccination-hesitancy-rates-state/8210703002/

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/story/2021-08-17/vaccine-mandate-rage-boils-during-county-covid-update

https://www.bouldercounty.org/families/disease/covid-19-information/covid-19-vaccine-information/vaccines/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/vaccine-refusers-hesitancy-mandates-fda-delta/619918/

https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2021/3/30/22356763/fake-coronavirus-vaccine-cards

https://www.reddit.com/r/Instagram/comments/echws6/what_even_is_this_fact_checking_a_meme_in_a/

Bible Team Challenge

 Throughout history, different religions have viewed slavery in different ways; some are pro-slavery and others are anti-slavery. This post helps explain the different ways the Christian and Islamic religions view slavery. Both religions have text that is for and against slavery. In our existence, there are documented demonstrations of why slavery should not occur. Two of these sources are the Bible and Qur’an.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism

 The Bible explains that there are no slaves in life, only free people. In the book of Galatians, it states “there is neither slave nor free person, there is no male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-29) (biblegateway.com). This shows that the Bible does not support slavery in any race or gender and sees all people as free. In the book of Leviticus, in the bible, it explains that no matter what economic status a person is they should never be a slave, “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave” (Leviticus 25:39) (biblegateway.com). All of the textual evidence above proves that slavery is not approved in the Bible.

https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/viral-videos-trending/the-holy-quran-experiment-what-happens-when-people-are-quoted-verses-from-a-holy-book/

After exploring the Qur'an, I found few examples of it against slavery.  It explains that slaves can have higher status. However, Islamic culture enforced strict punishment for the mistreatment of slaves (BBC.co/UK). This is a quote from the Qur’an that proves it does not support slavery: “Allah will not call you to account for what is futile in your oaths, but He will call you to account for your deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your families; or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom”(Qur’an, 5:89)(fristthings.com). This quote explains that everyone should have freedom and basic rights in their life. 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/biblical-slavery/

 

Since early civilization, slavery has been an infrastructure of ancient societies, which can be learned by observing the texts of the Christian Bible and the Qur’an, two traditional religions that have been practiced for thousands of years and continue to be today. While neither Christianity nor Islam directly condones slavery, it is a part of ancient culture and addressed in their texts, even going to the extent as to giving permission to early Christians to buy slaves: “As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you” (Leviticus 25:44) (biblegateway.com). While this passage does not directly encourage slavery, it approves of it and accepts it as a part of ancient culture. Although slavery is allowed, the masters are expected to “treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven”(Colossians 4:1) (gatewaybible.com).

 

https://mvslim.com/5-tips-on-how-to-complete-the-quran-in-30-days/

 

 

Because slavery was a part of a functioning economy in the ancient world, its commonality required clarification from the religious text on the treatment of slaves, even though it does not explicitly condone it. The Qur’an is much more explicit with how it views slavery, encouraging men to have sex with their slave-girls. “And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you” (Qur’an, 4:24)(firstthings.com). While slavery was allowed an unquestionable aspect of  Islamic culture, the freeing of slaves was not looked down upon and even viewed as commendable when a slave was freed. However, there is a paradox in the issue of slavery in Islam as Muhammed, the prophet of Islam and proclaimer of the Qur'an, (brittanica.com) profited from all aspects of the slave-trading business. Even though Muslim law only condemned slavery due to force from the British government in the 20th century, the Qur’an never explicitly condones it. While both ancient Christianity and Islam never condone slavery, both texts acknowledge it as a practice that contributed to keeping the economy flowing in the ancient world, and addressed how its followers should handle it.

https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.13700400/

 

Over time, slavery has been abolished and deemed culturally unacceptable by Christians and the majority of Muslims. Even though Christians have used the Bible to promote slavery, specifically from the period of European colonization in the Americas until the abolition of slavery in the United States, the biblical argument against slavery heavily influenced the abolitionist movement and contributed to the end of slavery in the United States. Unfortunately, while the majority of Muslims today are anti-slavery (brandeis.edu), specifically in western culture, Mauritania and Sudan, both Muslim countries, openly practice slavery (firstthings.com). The majority of those enslaved are Christian or non-Muslims, which is justified by the Qur’an as unbelievers are referred to as the “worst of created beings” (Qur’an, 98:6)(fristthings.com). Even though both religions have drastically changed their stance on slavery, there is skepticism on both text’s positions on slavery as culture continues to evolve.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/520643348411711488

Hence the Bible and the Qur’an both have textual evidence that supports and argues against slavery.  The Bible seems to be more level with support for supporting and not supporting slavery. However, the Qur’an supports slavery more than the Bible. The Qur’an, however, gives more freedom and treats them with more kindness than in the Bible. However, both textual pieces have demonstrated the beliefs for commending slavery and abolishing slavery. 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/05/frederick-douglass-anti-slavery-speech-what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july

Sources: 

• https://www.openbible.info/topics/pro-slavery

• https://www.openbible.info/topics/anti-slavery 

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml

• https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2008/02/slavery-christianity-and-islam

• https://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/muslim/slavery.html

• https://www.openbible.info/topics/pro-slavery

• https://www.openbible.info/topics/anti-slavery

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Supreme Court

 The most meaningful takeaway from the video we watched in class was the emphasis on the Supreme Court being the most powerful judicial body on earth. Through Marbury vs. Madison, which established judicial review, the Supreme Court gave themselves more power than the other courts because they enabled themselves with the authority to decide the legitimacy of actions taken by the other branches of the judicial system. While there is a balance of power between the branches of government, the Supreme Court’s authority to disprove actions taken by the legislative or executive branch gives them a higher level of respect from the American people. 

The current Supreme Court

https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/politics/2021/04/23/2021-united-states-supreme-court-justices/7360197002/

Something shocking I learned in the video was the number of cases the supreme court receives and accepts each year- they receive on average 7000 and accept roughly 100 of them. Even though they only accept less than 2% of the cases, very few make national headlines. Much of the Supreme Court’s work goes unseen, but they are carrying out the intentions of the Constitution to keep the United States a democracy with its power resting in the hands of the people and protecting the peoples’ rights. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court

While controversy cannot be avoided in the courtroom, opinions on the case can change and swing votes. Because the Supreme Court judges are basing their decisions off of principles of the Constitution, their opinions can and do change, given that their job is to discern what aligns with the principles of the constitution, regardless of the current political climate. This is one of the main reasons why the Supreme Court is highly respected- their decisions are fit for the long term, amidst a culture of political polarization. 

This video changed my view of the supreme court because it gave me a more accurate sense of the amount of effort that the justices go through to preserve our rights given in the constitution. If the people did not trust the court, they would make laws to lessen the court's power and not even bother to hear what they have to say. 

The United States Constitution

https://today.law.harvard.edu/are-there-holes-in-the-constitution/

After watching this video, I have more respect for the supreme court and appreciation for the decisions they make and, most significantly, how they protect our constitutional rights. My biggest takeaway from the video was that, while the supreme court is a branch of the government, its purpose is to interpret the constitution and amendments in the way which they were intended- to protect the people, and that because they protect those rights, the people trust them, which in turn allows for the court system to run successfully. Because of the power people give to the members of the supreme court out of their trust in the constitution, the power of the government rests in the hands of the people to this day, as the founders of the constitution intended, thanks to the supreme court.

https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-u-s-supreme-court

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo

https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/about.aspx