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Essay / Narrative of the Life of Frederick by Vipul C. Douglas...
In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass expresses his views on Christianity and the horrors of slavery for blacks and whites. Vipul A. Rana (August 7, 2010) explains how slaves believed in one version of Christianity, while white Americans, or masters, believed in another version of Christianity. Slave owners used Christianity as an excuse to justify the horrible way they treated slaves. Vipul writes that during Douglass's narrative, Douglass describes how non-religious slave owners appear to be less cruel to their slaves than religious slave owners. According to Douglass's autobiography, Account of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), Thomas Auld was an example of a master who, after going to a religious camp, became "more cruel and more hateful in all his ways, for I believe that he was a much worse man after his conversion than before (p.32). Auld began to “rely on his own depravity to protect and support him in his savage barbarity; but after his conversion he found religious sanction and support for his slavery cruelty (p. 32). Douglass explains his view of religion as follows: "When I think that these precious souls are now confined in the prison of slavery, my feelings overwhelm me, and I am almost ready to ask, 'A just God governs- the universe? And why does he hold the thunders in his right hand, except to strike the oppressor and deliver the plundered from the hand of the plunderer? (p.48).” He questions how a just God can rule the universe while allowing cruel things like slavery to exist. One of the ways Douglass shows himself to be a Christian is by quoting the Bible: "As dark and terrible as this picture is, I consider it to be...... middle of paper...... all this. at the same time ad—db—h. After crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope and led her to a stool placed under a large hook in the joist, installed for this purpose. He made her climb onto the stool and tied her hands to the hook (p. ). George Womble, a former slave, explains how his owner, Mr. Ridley: “Sometimes he would whip us, especially us boys, just for a bit of fun. He tied us up so that our bodies were at an angle, then he used the whip (1936-1938). According to Womble, “at other times he would throw us into a large tank containing about two thousand gallons of water. He then stood back and laughed as we struggled not to drown. Slave owners would treat their slaves so cruelly and create many punishments for them even though they did nothing to deserve it..