I come from a tradition of enthusiastic, raucous worship services. For the last 36 years I attended a majority black church where I was a member of our men's gospel group and those songs really get the congregation into a proper mood for worship. More recently our services increasingly include contemporary praise music. Here is one of my favorites, These Are The Days Of Elijah
Like Hosea's wayward wife we are all sinners. We need a gentle, loving savior to take us home to the Lord., The Isaacs, "I've Come to Take You Home."
Wow, that's rich. Never heard it before. Love the thought process of the wording..."steal away to Jesus." It's the heart singing.
This song, like so many of the negro spirituals, rises up from the suffering and oppression of the black slave in America's early history. Jesus was and is a very real presence in their lives with whom they have a personal relationship. Jesus offers hope and comfort to those looked down upon with contempt by politically comfortable elites. They see their faith through the lens of suffering. I'm led to posting these songs because of my interest in the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who resisted the rise of Nazism in the 30s and 40s, and was eventually imprisoned and executed before the end of the war. Bonhoeffer's faith was significantly shaped by his stay in New York City early in the 30s where he became a real part of the black church Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. His experience was an eye opener compared to the lukewarm, largely secular German church of the time which mostly submitted to Nazi pressures to turn into an instrument of the party. I will eventually post some comments on Bonhoeffer's journey in faith.
It is strange to sing praises of a religious tradition that was a specific justification for said slavery.
Prove that Christian scriptures were used as a justification for slavery? I can do that if you want . . . and if you want to claim that you were unaware of that basic historical fact. Would you like me to prove the earth isn't flat after that? Or maybe that the Holocaust wasn't fake?
There were some Christians who used scripture to justify slavery but that ran counter to Christian principles and it was ended by other Christians under the leadership of men such as William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. I mentioned Bonhoeffer who led a similar struggle to remind the German church that Christian principles likewise demanded protection of minorities Nazis wanted to eliminate. The struggle to live our faith is never easy.
Yes, after well over a millennium and a half, after secular influence, a handful of Christians started taking a stand against other Christians to finally object to slavery. Despite its failures regarding slavery, however, there are certainly some merits to some version of Christianity, and some beautiful music it has inspired. I was quite a fan of Jennifer Knapp's "Undo Me" back in the day. Of course, evangelicals threw her under the bus after she came out of the closet.
You intimated that God called for the practice of slavery, and that people should not worship such a God. Now you mince and slink away, saying that people used scripture to justify slavery. Those are completely different things. MSwan felt inspired to start this thread. And here you come, playing devils advocate. What spirit moves you?
You should try reading post #11 again. If you still can't understand it, I can provide further instruction.
I just don’t think god cares if you are or aren’t a slave. In fact it might be better to be a slave if it keeps you on a path of righteousness. It’s the meek that inherit the earth, not the free, not the wealthy, not the educated etc. The only thing that matters to the biblical god is if you are true to his commandments and love him with all your heart.
