Dr. Noam Chomsky asserts the idea that: "Hypocrites are those who apply to others the standards that they refuse to accept for themselves". Chomsky’s bold declaration of what a hypocrite is precisely correlated to the ideas of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglas. Douglas bestows the idea that the Christianity of his age is entirely antithetical to its intended form. It is an era of Christianity defined by slave ownership, corruption, and the paucity of women 's rights. The writings of Marcus Loyola and Martin Luther support this notion, ultimately revealing the inevitable flaws of faith, the intrusion of conformity, and the paradigm of hypocrisy.
Frederick Douglas contends that “The Christianity of Christ” and the Christianity of America
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He is credited for creating the Society of Jesus, and part of this movement led to him writing “The Spiritual Exercises: ‘Rules for Thinking with the Church’”. It outlines specific practices that aim to aid in living a more disciplined and impactful Christian life. Most notably, Loyola says: “In the same way, much caution is necessary, lest by much talk about faith, and much insistence on it without any distinctions or explanations, occasion be given to the people, whether before or after they have faith informed by charity, to become slothful and lazy in good works” . With this statement he asserts the dangers of the faith alone mentality. He claims that it will lead to a life that is fueled by laziness in faith, thus the desire to do good works will be mitigated. This is a bold but powerful idea, the accuracy of it is unparalleled in the context of actuality. This very phenomenon can be attributed to American Christianity spiraling out of control. It would be purely inconceivable to believe that these Christians believed what they were doing was morally right. Individuals who perceive the world through a Christian worldview understand what the expectation is. Their behavior must be described as a greed complex with the safety net of faith alone belief system. Justification for their nefarious deeds becomes much easier in these circumstances. The individual can justify the ownership of slave by …show more content…
While his work does not directly challenge the topic of racial oppression and Christianity, it has many subversive themes that can be connected to the issue. Luther took a stand: a stand against conformity, a stand against inaccuracies, and even a stand against certain practices of Christianity. It is this very practice that makes him such a valid reinforcement to the ideas of Douglas. He saws problems in the system and he presented solutions to correct the errors. In a world without individuals like Martin Luther and Frederick Douglas, there would be a radical shift in the way society functions. There must be individuals who are willing to take a stand against injustice and make their voice heard. It does not matter what the consequences are, everything must be put on the line for the sustainability of this
Douglass points out how St. Michael’s religious masters would rather see slave spend Sabbath “engaged in degrading sports” rather than “trying to learn to read the will of God.” The slaveholders clearly did not finish reading the Bible because Mark 16:15 states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” With complete disregard of that verse, slaveholder and the law condemns slaves for trying to read. Despite that, Douglass, out the kindness of his heart, tries to teach a group of slaves in a small Sabbath church to read the Bible. Douglass’s charitable act should be a role model, a perfect example for Christian everywhere; however, Wright Fairbanks and Garrison West “rushed in upon them with sticks and stones.” Slaveholders would rather hold weapons to steer slave away from God instead toward God “with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Revelation
In Martin Luther’s Freedom of a Christian Man, Luther describes what he believes should be the relationship between faith and good works in the life of Christian people. His beliefs became integral to the Protestant and Lutheran ideologies. The basis of Luther’s pamphlet was “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” (31) This central thought provides readers dialogue on what is truly a selfless, act and if these acts do in fact have an effect on one’s
Through Martin Luther King Jr.’s brilliant usage of sensible logos, thought-provoking rhetorical questions, and accentuating parallel structure in his persuasive letter, the white clergymen were influenced to at least alter their perspectives towards the treatment of blacks and promote supplementary equality rights for all. As a noble advocator of desegregation, social justice, and human dignity through diplomatic methods, he ignites a new social movement that brought about freedom from oppression and democratic reformation. With a long-standing desire for a peaceful community among all races, King encourages those he targets with the letter to achieve God’s will and overturn racial intolerance caused by misjudgment.
Kittelson, James M. Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.
A statement from eight white clergymen from Alabama prompted Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. This statement criticized Kings actions of non-violent protests against racial segregation and the injustice of unequal civil rights in America (Carpenter elt al.). The eight clergymen considered Birmingham to be “their” town and King was disrupting the “Law and Order and Common Sense” established in coping with racial issues in Alabama during this time (Carpenter elt al. par 1). These clergymen considered King an “outsider” and describe his actions as “unwise and untimely” (Carpenter elt al. par 3). This statement suggests that there is an appropriate time to create equality among all Americans. To analyze the power strategizes of Martin Luther King’s Letter we must understand this letter was written from a jail cell, where King a black man, was held for protesting for racial equality. Furthermore, King began writing his letter among the margins of the newspaper’s article that contained the clergymen’s statement (King Institute).
November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, a role model for all Christians worldwide, was born. His name was Martin Luther, and this man changed the course of history forever. The Holy Roman Empire was an era where there was feudalism and a time of institutional growth and also a period of political importance. This empire encompassed the countries we know today as Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and also eastern parts of France, Slovenia, northern Italy, and western Poland. The Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962 CE all the way until 1806 CE. That in all, is 844 years of many Popes, wars between countries, and a large number of different rulers.
...e to the audience that the Bible adheres to the deserved emancipation and support of African-Americans, rather than enslavement and oppression. For example, Douglass preaches, “ A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the houseless, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind. The Bible addresses all such persons as ‘scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithe of mint, anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.” By using Matthew 23:23 to assert American Christians as righteously indignant, Douglass infers that if the White American people are truly Christian, they will obey the doctrines of The Bible and negate their duplicity by showing love and mercy to black people.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known to be a civil rights activist, humanitarian, a father, and a clergyman. He is well known for fighting for the equal rights of colored people and ending discrimination. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an important part of history that showed King’s opinion of a letter that he happened to read in the newspaper written by a group of clergyman. In this letter, the group of clergyman report that colored people, also known as black people, are being violent towards Birmingham City. Also, the clergymen believed the time that will allow segregation to be diminished was not happening anytime soon because it is not convenient. King refuted the clergymen’s argument in a variety of ways using tactics of argumentation and persuasion like appeal to emotion through real life examples, appeal to logic, and even articulating certain phrases through metaphors and word choice. Many of these different tactics of argumentation and persuasion made his letter very effective and is now seen as a great piece that is looked upon highly today.
... Luther King Jr. was greatly influenced by the Rosa Parks Scandal, this caused him to create the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For those who may not know, this was a 13-month mass protest. During this protest, laws became disregarded, fights rang out, and many people and officials got hurt. It became an ongoing issue that many saw no end to. State government officials believed it was time to make a change. This eventually resulted in the ending of racist policies. This took time and effort and shows us a remarkable example of a social reform. While this sounds all good and dandy, it wasn’t easy and frankly, it was pretty hard, I mean, think of all the people who had grown up with the understanding that separation of the races was right. What i’m trying to say is, it was difficult to rewrite a way of life, and change minds by viewing the hardships brought upon black people.
Douglass continues to describe the severity of the manipulation of Christianity. Slave owners use generations of slavery and mental control to convert slaves to the belief God sanctions and supports slavery. They teach that, “ man may properly be a slave; that the relation of master and slave is ordained by God” (Douglass 13). In order to justify their own wrongdoings, slaveowners convert the slaves themselves to Christianity, either by force or gentle coercion over generations. The slaves are therefore under the impression that slavery is a necessary evil. With no other source of information other than their slave owners, and no other supernatural explanation for the horrors they face other than the ones provided by Christianity, generations of slaves cannot escape from under the canopy of Christianity. Christianity molded so deeply to the ideals of slavery that it becomes a postmark of America and a shield of steel for American slave owners. Douglass exposes the blatant misuse of the religion. By using Christianity as a vessel of exploitation, they forever modify the connotations of Christianity to that of tyrannical rule and
Martin Luther King Jr. is known for his use of religion to justify actions, with this letter as a prime example. He believes that the morality of laws should be put into question to see if they are just, where the measurement of morality comes from an inner scale that is balanced by religion. Martin Luther King Jr. was a revolutionary, inciting nonviolent change in America through government protests, not conforming to the rules and norms has set for him to accept his poor condition in life. He says, “...segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful.” Therefore, he believes that the government’s rule is not legitimate unless it follows his perception of what is just, which is fueled by religious beliefs. This causes independent action because he senses a problem in life, and feels like he must serve a greater purpose to be able to solve
Southern slaveowners claimed that they were upholding their Christian duty by engaging in slavery, rescuing slaves from a life of struggle and faithlessness. Douglass dispels this myth by exposing the many flaws of Mr. Covey’s morality, shocking northern Christians with his Christian hypocrisy and faulty character. Douglass introduces Mr. Covey as a “nigger-breaker,” denouncing his ability for human emotion and sympathy(79). Douglass evokes a sense of ethics and judgement in his Northern audience as he questions the authenticity of Mr. Covey’s faith: “I do verily believe that he sometimes deceived himself into the solemn belief that he was a sincere worshipper of the most high God” (82). In pointing out Mr. Covey’s self-deception, Douglass indicates a distinction between true Christianity and false Christianity. Douglass implies that Mr. Covey wasn’t a “sincere worshipper,” proving how slaveowners’ Christianity was not proof of their genuine goodness, but only a hypocritical front they maintained to bolster their complacent brutality. In doing so, Douglass counters the argument of blacks receiving a healthy faith from being enslaved. He a...
It has played a major role in history, persecution, church, wars and most importantly in slavery. in this essay i have focus in how hypocrisy was use in race relations using the slave narrative Equiano. In Equiano 's slave narrative examines Christianity and how it allows hypocrisy in slavery. As Equiano travels he sees and learns how whites use religion as a pocketbook, whites pretended to be holy and virtue by attending church and being thrilled of their practice when in reality they were unjustly treating African slaves and not living up to the tenets outlined in the bible. Equiano studies the bible carefully; despite of the hypocrisy Equianos faces he remains loyal to god and always kept his faith in god. Once his convince of the authenticity of his spiritual transformation and studies of the bible then Equiano convert to Methodist
In his narrative, Frederick Douglass shows how Christianity was used as a major justification for slavery and for the actions of slave masters, but he also shows how the religion provided hope for slaves themselves. In an appendix added at the end of the narrative, he draws a distinction between “the Christianity of this land” and “the Christianity of Christ,” saying that there is the “widest possible difference” between them. As he puts it, “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.” In other words, Douglass thinks that Christianity has been corrupted in America, where people hypocritically use it to justify their injustices.
Believe it or not but Luther’s story relates to a lot of fictional superheroes across Marvel, DC, and Disney fairytales so this shows just how relatable Martin Luther was as a person. This also shows just others will stand up like he did against something that a lot of people believe when at its core it’s wrong. Two examples that really stand out is the stories of Green Arrow and Deathstroke. Martin Luther was perceived as a hero to many people for speaking out against the Catholic Church for practicing very corrupt methods and manipulating their followers just for money, political gain, and power.