Article #23-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass

The Christianity of America is a Christianity, of whose votaries it may
be as truly said, as it was of the ancient scribes and Pharisees, “They
bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s
shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their
fingers. All their works they do for to be seen of men.—They love the
uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, . . .
. . . and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.—But woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are
entering to go in. Ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make
long prayers; therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye
make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.—Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise,
and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,
mercy, and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
other undone. Ye blind guides! which strain at a gnat, and swallow a
camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make
clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but within, they are
full of extortion and excess.—Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all
uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but
within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be strictly true of
the overwhelming mass of professed Christians in America. They strain
at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Could any thing be more true of our
churches? They would be shocked at the proposition of fellowshipping a
sheep-stealer; and at the same time they hug to their communion a
man-stealer, and brand me with being an infidel, if I find fault with
them for it. They attend with Pharisaical strictness to the outward
forms of religion, and at the same time neglect the weightier matters
of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. They are always ready to
sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy. They are they who are represented
as professing to love God whom they have not seen, whilst they hate
their brother whom they have seen. They love the heathen on the other
side of the globe. They can pray for him, pay money to have the Bible
put into his hand, and missionaries to instruct him; while they despise
and totally neglect the heathen at their own doors.

Such is, very briefly, my view of the religion of this land; and to
avoid any misunderstanding, growing out of the use of general terms, I
mean by the religion of this land, that which is revealed in the words,
deeds, and actions, of those bodies, north and south, calling
themselves Christian churches, and yet in union with slaveholders. It
is against religion, as presented by these bodies, that I have felt it
my duty to testify.

Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) is one of the most influential abolitionist texts in American history. Written after Douglass’s escape from slavery, the Narrative exposes the brutality of slavery while also critiquing the hypocrisy of American Christianity, which justified and perpetuated the institution. The excerpt provided is a scathing indictment of the religious hypocrisy of slaveholding Christians, drawing a direct parallel between them and the Pharisees condemned in the Bible.

Context of the Excerpt

Douglass, a former enslaved man who became a leading abolitionist orator and writer, uses this passage to contrast true Christianity (based on justice, mercy, and love) with the false, performative Christianity practiced by many American slaveholders and their Northern sympathizers. The excerpt follows Douglass’s personal account of slavery, where he describes the cruelty of enslavers who claimed to be devout Christians.

The passage is heavily influenced by Matthew 23, where Jesus denounces the Pharisees—religious leaders who adhered strictly to ritualistic laws while neglecting justice and compassion. Douglass appropriates this biblical condemnation to expose the moral bankruptcy of American Christianity in the 19th century.

Themes in the Excerpt

Religious Hypocrisy
- Douglass argues that American Christians, like the Pharisees, perform piety (attending church, tithing, praying) while ignoring moral obligations (justice, mercy, abolition).
- He accuses them of "straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel"—a biblical phrase (Matthew 23:24) meaning they obsess over minor sins (e.g., theft) while committing grave ones (e.g., enslaving people).
- Example: Churches would excommunicate a sheep-stealer but welcome a man-stealer (slaveholder).
Selective Morality & Racial Double Standards
- White Christians claim to love "heathens" abroad (sending missionaries to Africa/Asia) but despise enslaved Black people at home.
- They pray for distant souls while oppressing those in front of them, revealing their racism and moral inconsistency.
The Corruption of Institutional Christianity
- Douglass does not attack Christianity itself but the version practiced by slaveholding churches.
- He distinguishes between true faith (based on love and justice) and false religion (used to justify oppression).
- The churches he criticizes are complicit in slavery, making them not truly Christian in his view.
The Weaponization of Scripture
- Slaveholders used the Bible to defend slavery (e.g., citing Noah’s curse on Ham, Ephesians 6:5).
- Douglass turns Scripture against them, using Jesus’s words to expose their hypocrisy.

Literary Devices & Rhetorical Strategies

Biblical Allusion & Parallelism
- Douglass quotes Matthew 23 extensively, framing slaveholding Christians as modern Pharisees.
- By invoking Jesus’s condemnation, he positions himself as a moral authority and slaveholders as sinners.
- Example: "They bind heavy burdens… but will not move them with one of their fingers" (Matthew 23:4) → Slaveholders impose suffering on enslaved people but refuse to lift a finger to help.
Irony & Sarcasm
- "They would be shocked at the proposition of fellowshipping a sheep-stealer; and at the same time they hug to their communion a man-stealer."
  - Irony: Stealing a sheep (minor crime) is worse than stealing a human being (slavery) in their eyes.
- "They love the heathen on the other side of the globe… while they despise the heathen at their own doors."
  - Sarcasm: Their "love" for distant people is performative, while their hatred for enslaved Black people is real.
Metaphor & Imagery
- "Whited sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27) → Slaveholding Christians appear righteous but are full of moral rot (like painted tombs hiding decay).
- "Strain at a gnat, swallow a camel" → They obsess over trivial sins while ignoring massive injustices.
Repetition for Emphasis
- "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (repeated in Scripture) → Douglass echoes this rhythmic condemnation to drive home his point.
- "They attend with Pharisaical strictness… but neglect the weightier matters of the law" → Reinforces the contradiction in their faith.
Direct Address & Accusatory Tone
- Douglass does not mince words—he directly accuses the church of complicity.
- "Such is, very briefly, my view of the religion of this land" → He claims moral authority as a survivor of slavery.

Significance of the Passage

Abolitionist Argument
- Douglass undermines the moral legitimacy of slavery by exposing the hypocrisy of its defenders.
- If Christianity is supposed to be about love and justice, then slaveholding Christians are not true Christians.
Challenge to Northern Complicity
- While slavery was legal in the South, Northern churches often tolerated or profited from it.
- Douglass does not spare Northern Christians, who were often silent or complicit.
Redefinition of True Christianity
- Douglass separates true faith from false religion.
- He suggests that real Christianity would demand abolition, not support slavery.
Literary & Historical Impact
- This passage is one of the most famous critiques of American hypocrisy in 19th-century literature.
- It influenced later civil rights leaders (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.), who also used biblical rhetoric to challenge injustice.

Close Reading of Key Lines

"They bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."
- Meaning: Slaveholders impose suffering (slavery, cruelty) on Black people but do nothing to alleviate it.
- Effect: Highlights the cowardice and cruelty of those who claim moral superiority.
"They love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues… and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi."
- Meaning: They crave social status and public praise but lack genuine faith.
- Effect: Exposes their vanity and performative religion.
"Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
- Meaning: By supporting slavery, they block Black people from spiritual and physical freedom.
- Effect: Frames slavery as a sin that damns both enslaver and enslaved.
"They are always ready to sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy."
- Meaning: They perform religious rituals (sacrifices, tithes) but refuse to act with compassion.
- Effect: Shows that their faith is empty and self-serving.
"They love the heathen on the other side of the globe… while they despise the heathen at their own doors."
- Meaning: Their "charity" is selective and racist—they care more about distant converts than enslaved Black people.
- Effect: Reveals the hypocrisy of missionary work while ignoring domestic oppression.

Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters

Douglass’s critique is not just about slavery—it’s about how power corrupts religion. By using the Bible against slaveholders, he:

Exposes their moral failure.
Challenges the idea that Christianity can coexist with oppression.
Demands a reckoning with America’s contradiction: a nation that preaches freedom but practices bondage.

This passage remains painfully relevant today, as it raises questions about:

How religion is used (or misused) to justify injustice.
The gap between professed values and real actions.
Who gets to define "true" Christianity.

Douglass’s words force the reader to confront uncomfortable truths—making this excerpt one of the most powerful and enduring in American literature.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s extended biblical allusion to the Pharisees serves primarily to:

A. establish Douglass’s credibility as a biblical scholar to persuade religious audiences.
B. provide a historical precedent for religious hypocrisy to contextualize modern abuses.
C. contrast Old Testament legalism with New Testament grace as a theological argument.
D. frame slaveholding Christians as moral inheritors of a condemned tradition, intensifying the indictment.
E. appeal to shared Christian values to bridge ideological divides between abolitionists and slaveholders.

Question 2

The phrase "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" functions rhetorically to:

A. expose the absurd prioritization of trivial moral infractions over systemic atrocities.
B. illustrate the cognitive dissonance between literal and metaphorical interpretations of scripture.
C. critique the impracticality of religious dietary laws in a modern industrial economy.
D. highlight the physical exhaustion of enslaved laborers under hypocritical overseers.
E. parody the pedantic debates among theologians about biblical translation.

Question 3

Douglass’s claim that slaveholding churches "hug to their communion a man-stealer" while rejecting a sheep-stealer relies on:

A. a false equivalence between property theft and human trafficking to provoke outrage.
B. an appeal to economic self-interest by framing slavery as a violation of free-market principles.
C. ironic juxtaposition to reveal the arbitrary and racist application of moral standards.
D. a literal interpretation of Exodus 20:15 to accuse churches of selective scriptural adherence.
E. a call for ecclesiastical reform through stricter enforcement of existing doctrinal laws.

Question 4

The passage’s tone shifts most dramatically when Douglass states, "Such is, very briefly, my view of the religion of this land." This shift primarily serves to:

A. assert unassailable moral authority by consolidating his argument into an irrefutable judgment.
B. signal a transition from biblical exegesis to personal anecdote to humanize the abstract critique.
C. invite reader reflection by abruptly ending the diatribe with understated sarcasm.
D. preemptively dismiss counterarguments by framing his perspective as incontestable truth.
E. mimic the cadence of a sermon’s peroration to evoke emotional rather than rational persuasion.

Question 5

The most precise characterization of Douglass’s rhetorical strategy in the passage is that he:

A. deconstructs Christian doctrine to propose a secular humanist alternative.
B. employs ad hominem attacks to discredit opponents rather than engage their arguments.
C. conflates institutional Christianity with individual faith to dismiss all religious practice.
D. weaponizes scriptural authority against its self-proclaimed stewards to expose their hypocrisy.
E. advocates for a return to early Christian asceticism as a corrective to modern materialism.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: D

Why D is most correct: The allusion to the Pharisees isn’t merely illustrative (B) or credential-building (A); it actively positions slaveholding Christians as direct descendants of a biblically condemned group, amplifying the moral severity of the indictment. Douglass doesn’t just compare—the he equates, leveraging the Pharisees’ infamy to imply that slaveholders are irredeemable hypocrites within the same tradition. This is more structurally central than contrasting theological frameworks (C) or seeking reconciliation (E).