Thou Shalt Not Overlook How Anti-Black This Version Of The Bible Is
Ephesians 6: 5-7 commands, “Slaves, respect and fear your earthly masters. Obey and serve them with the same sincerity of heart as you serve the Anointed One.” But surely this isn’t the whole story, right?
The so-called ‘Slave Bible’ was created to indoctrinate and oppress enslaved Black people. How was the Bible used to brainwash Black people?
In 1807, English missionaries went to the British West Indies to convert enslaved people to Christianity. Rev. Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, instructed missionaries to shorten prayers and to select scriptures that encouraged enslaved people to obey their masters.
In other words, they edited the Bible – heavily! Of the 1,189 chapters in the Bible, only 232 remained. Specifically, any mentions of equality or freedom were removed. And that’s not all.
The English had already created the “King James Version” of the Bible. They used ideas of anti-Blackness and white superiority to inform the way they translated the Bible, just as they did in ALL their literature and art.
The “Slave Bible” was an attempt to control Black people by leaving out anything that might inspire ideas of liberation in our people. There’s an unholy alliance between lies and omissions from history AND religion – and recognizing this truth is crucial if we’ll ever get truly free. Will you commit part of your faith practice to becoming aware of anti-Blackness?
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