Posted on 05/08/2009 2:19:36 PM PDT by ReformationFan
America's Founding Fathers are seen by some people today as unjust and hypocrites, for while they talked of liberty and equality, they at the same time were enslaving hundreds of thousands of Africans. Some allege that the Founders bear most of the blame for the evils of slavery. Consequently, many today have little respect for the Founders and turn their ear from listening to anything they may have to say. And, in their view, to speak of America as founded as a Christian nation is unthinkable (for how could a Christian nation tolerate slavery?).
It is certainly true that during most of America's history most blacks have not had the same opportunities and protections as whites. From the time of colonization until the Civil War most Africans in America (especially those living in the South) were enslaved, and the 100 years following emancipation were marked with segregation and racism. Only in the last 30 years has there been closer to equal opportunities, though we still need continued advancement in equality among the races and race relations. But is the charge against the Founders justified? Are they to bear most of the blame for the evils of slavery? Can we speak of America as founded as a Christian nation, while at it's founding it allowed slavery?
Understanding the answer to these questions is important for the future of liberty in America and advancement of racial equality. The secular view of history taught in government schools today does not provide an adequate answer. We must view these important concerns from a Biblical and providential perspective.
America's Founders were predominantly Christians and had a Biblical worldview. If that was so, some say, how could they allow slavery, for isn't slavery sin? As the Bible reveals to man what is sin,
(Excerpt) Read more at worldviewtimes.com ...
BS on that. We entered reverse-discrimination territory a long time ago.
Great article with many enlightening tidbits that you won’t find in most other media sources, unfortunately.
Good piece.
“But is the charge against the Founders justified? “
Yes, some were slave owners. They were also intelligent enough to know they were taking on the improbable with a revolution. To have outlawed slavery at the same time would have meant NO USA. It’s taken over a century since the Civil War, and we haven’t gotten it right yet, evidently. The founders knew that issue would have to wait. They wanted to deal with it, and they did in the Constitution, which is the framework for all of our freedoms. They couldn’t do it all and put their trust in us to finish what they started. We haven’t always done so well.
In a prophetic letter decades earlier ,
President Thomas Jefferson expressed the fears
of many of his contemporaries over conflicts
of states’ rights, westward settlement, federalism and slavery.
“This momentous question,
like a fire bell in the night,
awakened and filled one with terror,
I considered it at once as the knell of the Union.
It is hushed indeed for the moment.
but this is a reprieve only,
not a final sentence . . .
we have the wolf by the ears
and we can neither hold him
nor safely let him go.”
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