Slavery Ordained of God

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Title: Slavery Ordained of God
Author: Rev. Fred. A. Ross, D.D.
Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9171] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on September 10,
2003]
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ORDAINED OF GOD ***

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SLAVERY ORDAINED OF GOD
By
Rev. Fred. A. Ross, D.D.
"The powers that be are ordained of God." Romans xiii. 1.
TO The Men NORTH AND SOUTH, WHO HONOR THE WORD OF
GOD AND LOVE THEIR COUNTRY.

Preface.

The book I give to the public, is not made up of isolated articles. It is
one harmonious demonstration--that slavery is part of the government
ordained in certain conditions of fallen mankind. I present the subject
in the form of speeches, actually delivered, and letters written just as
published. I adopt this method to make a readable book.
I give it to the North and South--to maintain harmony among Christians,
and to secure the integrity of the union of this great people.
This harmony and union can be preserved only by the view presented
in this volume,--_i.e._ that _slavery is of God_, and to continue for the
good of the slave, the good of the master, the good of the whole
American family, until another and better destiny may be unfolded.
The _one great idea_, which I submit to North and South, is expressed
in the speech, first in order, delivered in the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, May 27, 1853. I therein say:--
"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 where 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 _compared 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 spirit that will harmonize with
his brethren of the South, who are lovers of liberty as truly as himself:
And let the Southern Christian--nay, the Southern man of every
grade--comprehend that God never intended the relation of master and
slave to be perpetual. Let him give up the theory of Voltaire, that the
negro is of a different species. Let him yield the semi-infidelity of
Agassiz, that God created different races of the same species--in
swarms, like bees--for Asia, Europe, America, Africa, and the islands
of the sea. Let him believe that slavery, although not a sin, is a
degraded condition,--the evil, the curse on the South,--yet having
blessings in its time to the South and to the Union. Let him know that
slavery is to pass away in the fulness of Providence. Let the South
believe this, and prepare to obey the hand that moves their destiny."
All which comes after, in the speech delivered in New York, 1856, and
in the letters, is just the expansion of this one controlling thought,
which must be understood, believed, and acted out North and South.
The Author.
Written in Cleveland, Ohio, May 28, 1857.

Contents.