om; she got up and left the church. Another white girl- -after witnessing the black girl drink from the cup--fell into a trance. After she awoke, she claimed she had been to heaven. One lady asked her if there were any blacks in heaven; she replied, "Oh! I didn't go into the kitchen!" (Ritchie, 1968, p. 40). In other words, it was all right to go to heaven, as long as there were not any blacks there. Discrimination is a denial of freedom, and any denial of freedom is a form of slavery. The blatant hypocrisy of the Northern churches is obvious, but the South was also hypocritical in defending slavery. The Roman Empire was defeated by their Christian sl!aves, but still the Southern church members owned slaves. Reverend Ross summarized the attitude of the Southern churches best.Ross delivered a speech concerning slavery in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, on May 27, 1853. Ross said:Let us then, North and South, bring our minds to comprehend two ideas, and submit to their irresistible power. Let the Northern philanthropist learn from the Bible that the relation of master and slave is not sin per se. Let him learn that God says nowhere it is sin. Let him learn that sin is the transgression of the law; and when there is no law there is no sin, and that the Golden Rule may exist in the relations of slavery. Let him learn that slavery is simply an evil in certain circumstances. Let him learn that equality is only the highest form of social life; that subjection to authority, even slavery, may, in given conditions, be for a time better than freedom to the slave of any complexion. Let him learn that slavery, like all evils, has its corresponding and greater good; that the Southern slave, though degraded with his master, is elevated and ennobled compared with his brethren in Africa. Let the Northern man learn these things, and be wise to cultivate the s!pirit that will harmonize with his brethren of the...
