I saw this on the NPR website this morning, and it sparked a reaction in me.
On display now at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., is a special exhibit centered on a rare Bible from the 1800s that was used by British missionaries to convert and educate slaves.
What’s notable about this Bible is not just its rarity, but its content, or rather the lack of content. It excludes any portion of text that might inspire rebellion or liberation.
There’s a great verse in the Bible about the value of the Word.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” – Romans 1:16
In the days of colonial and slave-holding America, white preachers and teachers and white enslavers were ashamed of that Gospel, and edited it to teach their enslaved people a Gospel missing the parts about the power of God in our lives to overthrow both personal AND social sin.
The colonials/white enslavers wanted a neutered Gospel, one that didn’t require THEM to repent, but that could be used to “control” their enslaved humans, humans they considered only as bodies for their own profit.
When we talk about America and Christianity, we need to remember this–that we Christians are often tempted to make the “Gospel” about religious feelings only, or about sentiment, or even about obedience to the state.
The Gospel is not that, and has never been that.
One thing we should take away from Mary’s song is that when the Gospel arrives–the Good News for all people–it means the overthrow of kings and kingdoms.