Why did Bible believing Christians of the Confederate South fight to the death to own Negroes as livestosck?

Answer 1

Probably because they were not Bible scholars, they had poor preachers, and they believed what biased philosophers of their age had to say about Negroes being "less than" human. Not to mention, a lot of them were proud people who considered it an intrusion of the federal government into their personal rights to make money in what had for all of the previous history of humanity been an accepted practice of using captured and subjugated people as slave labor.

It is interesting to note that the driving force behind the abolition of slavery, both in the United States and around the world was a true understanding of the Christian religion and moral people falling under conviction because of what they read in the New Testament realizing that Christians are not called to make other people slaves but to be servants of the gospel to the rest of the world.

Answer 2

Hi,

I would have to say the vast majority did not.

The civil war was fought over whether or not the various states had the right to succeed and an agrarian culture in conflict with an industrial encroaching society. The slavery issue was brought in midway through the war to get more apathetic northerners to fight.
Given the fact that an average slave cost about 1000.00 at that time which translates to about 30,000.00 adjusted to today's monetary values such property was only for an elite small minority and your average Joe fighting was probably doing so for national pride.

Had owning slaves really been an issue, the Civil War would have been the most foolish waste of life in western history because within one generation or 30 years, all the mechanized farm and industrial equipment came into being and one steam shovel or tractor could do in a day what hundreds of costly slaves could do in a month.

Mike K

Answer 3

To begin with there were more issues involved than slavery, mostly economic discrimination against the South.

We had a man to move to our town in Southeast Texas about 35 years ago. He was very smug and insufferable about the South's history on slavery. In recent years he has found out and it has become public knowledge that his Mayflower ancestors of whom he was so proud were deeply involved in the slave trade.

The slave traders were Yankees and Knickerbockers like the Roosevelts. Did you know that FDR's grandfather was a slave trader? They made their wealth off of slavery. Since they did, Southerners felt that if they released their slaves they deserved some economic consideration from the families in the North whose wealth was derived from the slave trade. They almost had legislation to allow this, but there were legislators in the pockets of those Yankee and Knickerbocker slave traders and it failed.

This was one of the many prejudicial econimic policies of the U. S. government against the South.

There were people who mistreated their slaves but not all. However, even if they treated their slaves like they were part of the family, and they did in a lot of cases, it is still wrong to own another person. The ones that did mistreat their slaves did not mistreat them half as much as the slave trader did. Sometimes a Southerner would see an African being mistreated badly by the Yankee slave trader and would buy that African to get him away from the slave trader.

I think you have to understand the human race has gone through an evolution in understanding the rights and dignity of our fellow human beings. So when we look back we have to take that into consideration. The sad thing about our world and nation, in particular, in the present age is the hedonism.

Edit: O'Reilly had James Roosevelt on his show a few years back and he acknowledged what people in the South have always known, that FDR's grandfather was a slave trader. People in the North have been in denial for years about the Yankee and Knickerbocker involvement in the slave trade. It was financed by New York and Boston banks.

Answer 4

I don't think your question is really about the Civil War. I think it is about the Bible and slavery.

People are people. No matter what the religion, people will often use their scriptures to justify their actions and social attitudes.

Two excellent examples in modern Protestant Christianity are (often) extreme insistence on abstention from alcohol and observance of the Sunday sabbath.

The Bible could not be more clear about a Saturday sabbath. Even the word "sabbath" is the Hebrew word for seven. But because in the 4th Century the first Christian Emperor, Constantine, identified God with the sun, he required the sabbath to be moved to the sun's day, or Sunday. Ever since, Christians have, often violently, insisted on a Sunday sabbath. It's traditional, but any reading of it in the Bible is going to be tortured.

Outright bans on use of alcohol are also missing from the bible, but a tortured reading of the Bible has led many people to proclaim that the Bible agrees with them.

It was the same in antebellum South. People simply used the Bible to justify slavery, and if you scour the pages you can certainly find individual verses that will support you.

In the main, people who want to justify a practice or belief are going to be able to find verses in the Bible, somewhere, to help them out.

That's why people on both sides of issues such as abortion, gay marriage, you name it, all appeal to the Bible. It's there to help them if they already know what they think, and are simply looking for something to back them up.

Answer 5

All Christians are a holy spirit "Work in Progress" what was acceptable in one century is recognized as fleshly foolishness in the next. Remember Paul wrote a letter that persuaded a Christian slaveholder to release his Christian slave. God does not ask us to be prefect just willing to believe. Also, it was Christians that led the Abolition Movement. Also, some sects of Christianity like the some of the Quakers and the Methodist never accepted slavery.
But basically, they made billions off Negroes labor and no preacher was going to tell them different. In many places in the South, it was against the law to criticize slavery.

Answer 6

Well thats kind of a small minded view of the Civil war, it was more about states rights than about slavery. But the reason many christians believed it was ok to own slaves was becasue they were seen as sub human. That and they basically upheld the economy of the south since cotton needed to be hand picked and what better way that free labor.

Answer 7

Kinda complicated---most of the world had slavery then, parts still do.

In the bible Jesus instructed people to treat their slaves kindly. There are also numerous places in the old Testament where slaveowners/landowners were told to treat their servants kindly. this reflected the values and customs of the day, and did not endorse slavery---just acknowleged it as a reality.

and yes, Confederate soldiers were told that they were fighting for "states rights" not for slavery...and many slaveowners were Christians, and some may even have believed themselves to be treating their slaves kindly. That does not make it right, it is what it is.

Answer 8

The bible has many stories involving masters and slaves. Only when the master is very cruel is it condemed. So the bible seems to not oppose slavery. Another example of how we have evolved a superior moral system to that set in the bible.

Answer 9

Some pastors who preached to these folks sited (wrongly) verses regarding slaves and ownership. It's interesting what evil will do, twist the Bible for it's own gain. We see that today too, just look at how Bush touted that the was a Christian...yeah right.

Answer 10

shoreke Member since:
January 14, 2007

Why did Bible believing Christians of the Confederate South fight to the death to own Negroes as livestock?
Answer: They did not fight to treat Blacks as livestock but fought for States rights and Protection of their rights as Americans.
Your question fans the flames of racial prejudices and geographic prejudices which are lies of Ungodly men and groups. Ignorance is a very dangerous thing. Study to show yourself approved.