Douglass is surrounded by wrongdoing in the name of
Christ as he grows up, and this leads him to understand the great difference
between the Christianity of Christ and the “Christianity” of slaveholders, a
difference that is still prevalent in today’s society. Douglass does not
despise Christianity as a whole; he only hates Christianity when it is used as
an excuse to do evil.
“I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity
of Christ,” Douglass declares on page 115 of his first autobiography. Though
the examples of Bad “Christianity” far outnumber those of Good, there are a few
instances of the latter, one of which is the preacher Mr. George Cookman.
Shortly after Captain Auld’s conversion, he begins to invite several local
pastors over for dinner. The slaves all “loved” Mr. Cookman, because he always
called them in for prayers, while the other preachers only sometimes called in
the slaves. They also thought him instrumental in getting a very rich
slaveholder to emancipate his slaves, and “by some means got the impression
that he was laboring to effect the emancipation of all the slaves” (63). Though
he could not openly show his sympathy for the slaves, they felt it and knew he
was a good man. Another “true Christian” in Douglass’ life was his mistress
Sofia Auld. When he first arrived, she had never owned a slave and therefore
did not know the “proper” way it was done. She treated him with kindness, gave
him enough to eat, “seemed to be disturbed by [the crouching servility, usually
so acceptable a quality in a slave]. She did not deem it imprudent or
unmannerly for a slave to look her in the face” (43), and she did not beat him.
Unfortunately, she ultimately became corrupt with the power of slaveholding and
“that cheerful eye…soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet
accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave
place to that of a demon” (44). The final example that could be construed as
true Christianity is that Mr. Covey allowed his slaves to rest on Sundays, and
often called them to worship at his home. While his character was corrupt, he
showed some compassion by not forcing the slaves to work on Sundays.
“I therefore hate the
corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and
hypocritical Christianity of this land” (115). Clearly, Douglass condemns not
his own Christianity but that of his owners. Douglass also states “that
slaveholders have ordained…that the children of slave women shall in all cases
follow the condition of their mothers; and this is done too obviously to
administer to their own lusts, and make a gratification of their wicked desires
profitable as well as pleasurable” (17). Douglass also relates cases in which
slaveholders murder their slaves without a second thought. All of these
“religious” men seem to have forgotten the very basis of Christianity in the
Ten Commandments, specifically “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not commit
adultery.” Such people are not Christians, no matter how much scripture they
quote or how many church services they attend. The “Christianity” of these
people is the “Christianity” that Douglass despises.