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1 John H. Hopkins, Bible View of Slavery 1 (1863)

handle is hein.slavery/bbvs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: BIBLE VIEW OF SLAVERY, PHILADELPHIA, April 15, 1860. RICur REVEREND SIR: Your views on the Scriptural aspect of Slavery, contained in a letter addressed by you to some gentlemen in New-York, short- ly before the breaking out of the war, has come to our notice, and been pe- rused with much satisfaction and profit. We believe that false teachings on this subject have had a great deal to do with bringing on the unhappy strife between two sections of our common country, and that a lamentable degree of ignorance prevails in regard to it. It is of the deepest importance to the public welfare that a sound public opinion should exist on this topic. Be- lieving that the communication of your views as a Christian Bishop on the Scriptural aspect of Slavery may con- tribute to this desirable result, we re- spectfully venture to beg that you will favor us with them, and permit us to make them public. We are with great respct your obedi- ent servants G. M. WHARTON, A. BRowNiNG, JoHN STOcKTON LrTELL, SAMUEL JACKSON, M.D., CHAS. J. BIDDLE, P. McCALL. To the Rt. Rev. JOHN HENRY Hop- KiNs, Burlington, Vt. BURLINGTON, VT., May 2, 1863. MY DEAR SIRS: The pamphlet pub- lished in January, 1861, to which you have so kindly referred, is at your serv- ice, in its original form-as I have not found in the numerous answers which it has drawn forth, any reason for changing my opinion. On the contra- ry, those answers have only strength- ened my conviction as to the sanction which the Scriptures give to the prin- ciple of negro slavery, so long as it is administered in accordance with the precepts laid down by the Apostles. Such was the universal doctrine of Christian ministers, Christian lawyers, and Christian statesmen one hundred years ago, with a few exceptions which only proved the rule. The Constitu- tion of the United States, as I firmly believe, made no concessions on the subject which were not warranted by the Bible. And therefore, while I -hould rejoice in the adoption of any plan of gradual abolition which could be accepted peacefully by general con- sent, I can not see that we have any tight to interfere with the domestic in- stitutions of the South, either by the law or by the Gospel. With this brief introduction, I proceed to the very serious question which your friendly application has submitted for discus- sion. Your faithful servant in Christ, JOHN H. HOPKINS, Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont. THE word slave occurs but twice in our English Bible, but the term servant, commonly employed by our translators, has the meaning of slave in the Hebrew and the Greek originals, as a general rule, where it stands alone. We read, however, in many places, of hired servants, and of bondmen and bondmaids. The first were not slaves, but the others were; the distinction being precisely the same which exists in our own day. Slavery, therefore, may be defined as servitude for life, descending to the offspring. And this kind of bondage appears to have existed as an esta- blished institution in all the ages of our world, by the universal evidence of history, whether sacred or profane. This understood, I shall not oppose the prevalent idea that slavery is an evil in itself. A physical evil it may be, but this does not satisfy the judg- ment of its more zealous adversaries, since they contend that it is a moral evil-a positive sin to hold a human being in bondage, under any circum- stances whatever, unless as a punish- ment inflicted on crimes, for the safety of the community. Here, therefore, lies the true aspect of the controversy. And it is evident that it can only be settled by the Bible. For every Christian is bound to assent to the rule of the inspired Apostle, that sin is the transgression of the law, namely, the law laid down in the Scriptures by the authority of God- the supreme Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. From his Word there can be no appeal. No re- bellion can be so atrocious in his sight as that which dares to rise against his

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