a question on George whitfield

C

crusader Aug 19, 2014

Greetings

while reading posts, i came across the name george whitfield. after looking him up. (not sure if the source is acurate or not) the site stated that he fought for slavery for the reasons of building up the economy. many of the other things he did sounded like he was a very Godly man.

i believe that if slavery was legal in the day then it was the masters responsibility to treat his slaves in the manner in which the bible tells which George whitfield did but to campain for it is another issue altogether which is more political and worldly then biblical. especially when george whitfield had alot of people that followed him.

I am not going against george whitfield but against this one principle if it is true of what i have read. I think this principle can be applied to many aspects of our lives today.

i am interested to her from people that can expand on this or can refute the saource that i read.

M

MaryJane Aug 19, 2014

greetings

From what I have read George Whitfield did not support the harsh treatment of slaves by white slave owners. It is documented that he preached against harsh treatment of slaves.

He did own slaves but it is said he treated them well. It was also said he did not fight against slavery but that he did preach to slave owners and rebuke them for harsh treatment of their slaves.

At the end of the day George Whitfield loved GOD and shared with others the need to live a holy life before GOD. No man is perfect. We should always look to the LORD JESUS for our guidance. GOD uses men but our focus and eyes must be fixed upon the LORD. Slavery was a terrible ugly part of our countries history and truth be told it should have been dealt with from the beginning of our countries forming itself. However money and greed allowed for more compromise.

Here is a letter written by Whitfield and published by Franklin. In the letter Whitfield rebukes those who mistreat slaves openly.

God bless
maryjane
______________________________
n an open letter, published by Benjamin Franklin, to the inhabitants of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Whitefield wrote the following:

‘I must inform you in the meekness and gentleness of Christ, that God has a quarrel with you for your cruelty to the poor negroes. Whether it be lawful for Christians to buy slaves, I shall not take it upon me to determine, but sure I am that it is sinful…to use them worse than brutes.’

‘Some, as I have been informed by an eye witness, have been, upon the most trifling provocation, cut with knives, and have had forks thrown into their flesh: not to mention what numbers have been given up to the inhuman usage of cruel task masters, who by their unrelenting scourges, have ploughed upon their backs and made long furrows, and at length brought them even to death. I hope there are but few such monsters of barbarity [among you]…

An uprising amongst the slaves would be just
Whitefield continued, ‘Although I pray God the slaves would not be permitted to get the upper hand [ie, in revolution against the white slave owners], yet should such a thing be permitted by [God], all good men must acknowledge, the judgement would be just.

‘Whilst I have viewed your plantations cleared and cultivated, and have seen many spacious houses, and the owners of them faring sumptuously every day, my blood has almost run cold within me, when I have considered how many of your slaves have neither convenient food to eat, nor proper [clothes] to put on, notwithstanding most of the comforts you enjoy were solely owing to their labours…

‘Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for the miseries that shall come upon you [for] their cries have come into the ears of the Lord…’ (Quoted in Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, Banner of Truth edition, Vol 1. P,495-6)

sermonindex Aug 19, 2014

I suppose it could be argued that George Whitefield was in the context of his time. Not being sure of the time line I think George Whitefield preceeded men like John Newton and William Wilberforce who saw the evils of slavery in their own time. as such they preached against the evils of that ibstitution. And William Wilberforce was instrumental in seeing slavery abolished in the English Empire.

Unfortunately for our own nation. It took a bloody four year Civil War to end this evil institution. This war caused the deaths of 500,000 Americans on both sides. To this day this nation has never recovered from the effects of the American Civil War.

Living in the south, when I hear of the "glorious cause" as portrayed in the American Civil War, I cringe. For there was nothing glorious about this horrible four year war.

But then please forgive me. For I ramble on. I think it can be said that George Whitefield was simply speaking in the context of his times. At least he did call for humane treatment of the slaves on the part of their masters. Perhaps if he had opportunity you would have called for the abolition of this evil institution. But then men such as William Wilberforce took up cause.

My thoughts.

Blaine Scogin

M

MaryJane Aug 19, 2014

Greetings

here is a very good link to speak to some of the things mentioned.

http://www.desiringgod.org/biographies/i-will-not-be-a-velvet-mouthed-preacher

God Bless
Maryjane

C

crusader Aug 19, 2014

Hi MaryJane

that is such a powerful letter and the way he conducted himself with his slaves durring such a time. When looking into past beliefs, I personally see a massive change in human attitude towards different races when eugenics became widley spread amongst the world and then re-enforced by charles darwins theory of evolution. this bringing in theory that other men are not as equal as others and are therefore treated as cattle. George whitfield as i can see did not take this attitude but many did and followed Lynch's pholosephy of how to treat slaves as cattle.

it just intersted me as i havent heard of many christians and the slave movement that much. thankyou all for sharing.

p.s but i still have the troubling thought that campaining for slavery lead to evil men to cause the pain that they did. and although George himslef was kind in his aproach he didn't have control over what other people did with this new law, so if his vote was influencial on others, does this still leave blood on his hands. I ask myslef this question if the apostles and jesus where there in person durring this time, what would they be doing in the south. worrying about the ecomomy or the condition of the people.

I think that it was a bold move for george to write that letter and i could only guess that it stired the hearts of the owners who where ill treating slaves either to hate him or to repent.

C

crusader Aug 19, 2014

Hi bearmaster

I can sit here and see these things from a different time period but i do not know what i would have chosen durring those times as i wouldnt have the knowledge i have now. the civil war facinates me and its hard to comprehend what that would be like if it happened in my own counrty.

its not a judgement of George whitfield that i propose but more about what we choose to do in a world that is dying in sin and the choices we all have to make amongst our peers, culture and country.

sermonindex Aug 19, 2014

Some Godly Christians purchased slaves just so they could treat them well and humanely, others just outright opposed the notion and the treatment of slaves, George did both and that would be but one reason God used him mightily.

Now brother Bear mentioned John Newton, friend and minister to Wilberforce. What is not commonly known is that Newton took the job of captain of a slave ship after his conversion, not before. Later in life he repented of this and was repenting of the fact that often after a voyage with slaves in the hold dying and starving, his regrets were not for them but that he did not read his Bible more on the passage.

Life is never as simple as we think it is.........bro Frank

C

crusader Aug 20, 2014

that is intersting frank, thankyou. i think all the fathers of the faith have to have some flaw in part of their walk. this is what makes our lords walk so perfect and proves that he was God. one of my saying has always been that its not how a man falls down its about how he gets up that is the defining point.