WHAT TO THE SLAVE IS THE FOURTH OF JULY?
Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) was a black man who escaped from slavery in Maryland and became a social reformer, abolitionist, orator, and writer—and a leader of the anti-slave movement in Massachusetts and New York. He wrote about his Christian faith and his hope for America. He came to saving faith in Christ through the preaching of a Methodist minister who taught “that all men, great and small, bond and free, were sinners in the sight of God: that they were by nature rebels against His government; and that they must repent of their sins, and be reconciled to God through Christ.” A friend named Charles Lawson taught him to “cast all my care upon God.”
What did Frederick Douglass, a leader in the campaign against slavery, believe about America’s Founding Fathers?
The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots, and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory.
Douglass understood that their flaws did not defeat the truths they wrote and the ideas they espoused. No doubt he was also thankful that already in 1790 the Virginia Baptists adopted a resolution against slavery, declaring that the practice “is a violent deprivation of the rights of nature, and inconsistent with a republican government” and called upon the legislature to “extirpate the horrid evil from the land.” In 1833, there was an anti-slavery convention in Philadelphia that led to a chain of events culminating in the Civil War, after which slavery was legally eradicated in the United States.
Is Christianity a white man’s religion? Pastor and writer Eric Mason is right to lament that our history has sometimes been “whitewashed.” As a result, some black people reject the gospel because they “believe it’s only for white people.” Mason points out that according to the New Testament, similar barriers had to be overcome as the gospel spread from Jews to Gentiles and beyond. Indeed, the gospel is for all, and must be proclaimed as such, breaking down whatever fences have kept us apart.
Frederick Douglass made it clear that Christianity was not a white man’s religion by pointing out that slave owners were not living according to the Bible they professed to believe. Near the end of his speech, titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” Douglass laid the charge at America’s feet:
You are hypocrites. Your Declaration of Independence demands the eradication of slavery. Your Constitution has no provision that protects slavery, and its great moral thrust is the protection of liberty that denies the legitimacy of slavery. Your Bible defies the learned pastors who defended the legitimacy of slavery.
And yet?
Allow me to say in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of this nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. “The arm of the Lord is not shortened,” and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age.
His call was simple: Let us not tear down America, let us live up to its ideals. Let us follow the teaching of the Bible. Let us work toward the fulfillment of the promise of America to make it “a more perfect union.”
Is America worth preserving? This runaway slave turned statesman believed the answer was yes. I believe the citizens of South Korea would say that their freedoms are worth preserving; their friends and relatives who live in North Korea would say, “We wish we had your freedoms; your freedom is worth preserving.” So yes, America is worth preserving.
In response to the email I received, I end with two exhortations of hope: Let’s not give up on the promise of America but work together to see these ideals fulfilled. And above all, let us not give up on the promise of the gospel, which makes us one in Christ and enables us to work toward the unity for which Jesus prayed.
Erwin W. Lutzer and H. B. Charles Jr., No Reason to Hide: Standing for Christ in a Collapsing Culture (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2022), 134–136.
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