In the Gospel of Matthew 7:12, Jesus says: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
On April 18, 1688 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, Jesus’s words in Matthew’s Gospel, became the underlying principle for the first written protest against slavery in the English colonies.
The Germantown settlers were disturbed that so many Philadelphia colonists owned slaves. For them, slavery was contrary to the teachings of the Bible, underscored in their 1688 petition: “There is a saying that we shall do to all men like as we will be done ourselves, making no difference of what generation, descent, or color they are.”
Engage with the Bible—in its influence on the social consciousness of people over the centuries!
On April 18, 1688 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, Jesus’s words in Matthew’s Gospel, became the underlying principle for the first written protest against slavery in the English colonies.
The Germantown settlers were disturbed that so many Philadelphia colonists owned slaves. For them, slavery was contrary to the teachings of the Bible, underscored in their 1688 petition: “There is a saying that we shall do to all men like as we will be done ourselves, making no difference of what generation, descent, or color they are.”
Engage with the Bible—in its influence on the social consciousness of people over the centuries!
Share
More Book Minute Features
June 24, 2019
The Lost Gutenberg
Rare book collectors know the crown jewel of any library would be a complete Gutenberg Bible. Johannes Gutenberg produced perhaps 180 copies. Today, o...
June 17, 2019
The Catacombs
Some of the earliest known examples of Christian art portraying biblical figures are actually underground. In miles of tunnels outside the walls of Ro...
June 10, 2019
Shavuot
Shavuot—the Feast of Weeks, is celebrated seven weeks after Passover—commemorating the first fruits of the harvest, associated with the giving of the...