QuakerInfo.com Forum

[Pulpculture]

Found this piece (written approx 3 years ago)...........

Amazing Grace

Bristol and slavery were once synonymous as this West country port was built on the proceeds of human suffering. The triangular trade was extremely profitable and every ship owner’s dream because their vessels were never empty. To West Africa they carried cloth from Manchester and steel from Sheffield, slaves were transported across the Atlantic to
the West Indies and the ships then returned home stacked with rum, sugar and cotton.

When Michael Mansfield QC reminded our 10th anniversary dinner audience of the similarities between the slave trade and modern livestock farming, I don’t think anyone was aware of just how closely the one mirrors the other. There are shockingly obvious comparisons such as branding, the method of transport, the ‘breaking’ of trouble makers and enforced breeding to produce saleable offspring. But it is the nature of the campaign that eventually ended this obscenity that I find extraordinary and which confirms the old saying that there’s little new in this life.

The whole thing started with a court case. Captain Luke Collingwood, incompetent skipper of the vessel Zong, doubled the crossing time to Jamaica because of bad navigation. His cargo of 440 slaves became ill and as many would have no value on arrival, he ordered his men to throw 133 of the sickest overboard. Those who resisted were dumped in the ocean still wearing their iron shackles. He later falsely claimed the maritime law of ‘jettison’, saying these were sacrificed so that others could live because water was so short. Such an action was perfectly legal and the vessel’s owners would be entitled to claim insurance of £30 for each body. The court case was not about his murdering so many men, women and children but because the insurers contested his claim that water was short.

This was 1787 and sparked the start of a campaign which was to last 51 years before ending in success. Every step of this struggle is eerily familiar as are the atrocities we now fight against — including the slow asphyxiation in multi-tiered ships of thousands of sheep for Australia’s Middle East livestock exports and the dumping of the sick ones into the sea.

Just as in factory farming, the death rate of slaves was built into the economic equation — death brought about by the barbarous belief that a black person had no feelings, was a beast and was utterly dispensable. It is only six years since animals in Europe were granted the status of sentient creatures and not goods.

Of course, the church had a view on this exploitation just as it has a view on modern farming. The Church of England then owned one of the most prosperous sugar plantations in Barbados which, like every other sugar plantation, systematically worked slaves to death. Today it invests in factory farming and meat retailing and proudly boasts of its market skills: “Beef and sheep showed good results; dairy alone languished.” Well, they’re only beasts and beasts warrant no mention of any kind in this supposedly moral giant’s ‘ethical investment policy’.

Then, it was left to the Quakers to oppose slavery from a religious standpoint and now it is still the Quakers who largely oppose animal exploitation for moral reasons. So, no change there!

Twenty-five-year old divinity student, Thomas Clarkson, was spurred into action by the Zong case and for years was the anti-slavery movement’s only full-time organiser. He learned then what many are still learning now — that organising is not enough, a media campaign is essential. He also produced a newsletter to keep in touch with his supporters and began what was the first-ever direct mail campaign, asking his followers to make regular donations. No change there, either!

Within a few years, Clarkson was urging a consumer boycott encouraging people to avoid all goods which were a product of slavery. Hundreds of thousands responded and soon, some manufacturers began labelling their goods with welfare claims ‘Produced by the labour of free men!’ Others tried to mislead the public by pretending that their slaves were cosseted and pampered. When parliament looked like it might regulate the treatment of slaves, planters quickly drew up their own voluntary code of practice, packed with claims of care and concern — little different to the so-called self-regulated assurance schemes that litter today's meat counters — Assured British Meat, the Little Red Tractor and the RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme.

Slaves were transported under the very best of conditions, they said: “If the weather is sultry and there appears the least perspiration upon their skins, there are two men attending with cloths to rub them perfectly dry and another to give them a little cordial. They are then supplied with pipes and tobacco.’ And, of course, when they arrived at their destination, things were equally as considerate and each happy slave family was allocated ‘a snug little house and garden and plenty of pigs and poultry’ — slavery’s equivalent to ‘the best animal welfare in the world’.

One pro-slavery writer even suggested changing the name from ‘slave’ to ‘assistant planter’ to quell the cries of outrage. Just this year, a meat industry committee suggested changing the name of the cruel, metal-barred cage called the farrowing crate to... the ‘freedom nest’.

The fact that people were boycotting sugar was damaging profits and so it was promoted as an essential foodstuff. ‘Sugar is not a luxury but a necessary of life and great injury have many persons done to their constitutions by totally abstaining from it.’ Sound familiar? The press played a similar role to the one it plays now, with The Liverpool General Advertiser running a doom-laden editorial complaining about the ‘infatuation of our country (with abolishing slavery) running headlong into ruin’. Before parliament would take up the issue it insisted on lengthy hearings, made even longer by the delaying tactics of the slave industry which stretched the process out for years.

When it did eventually reach parliament, again a familiar pattern emerged. The Duke of Clarence, one of the sons of George III, in his maiden speech to the House of Lords, claimed that he was: “...an attentive observer of the state of the negroes” and found them well cared for and “in a state of humble happiness.”

The cries of today’s UK farmers that improvements in animal welfare will only lead to a flood of foreign imports of cruelly-produced meat is nothing new either. The Duke addressed this issue from a slavery perspective, claiming that if the trade was abolished it would be taken up by foreigners ‘who would not use them with such tenderness and care’.

Betrayal came from other parliamentarians who, with their words, pretended to support the abolition of slavery — spoke passionately against it — and then slipped the knife home by demanding it happen ‘gradually’. The gradualist argument won the day. Such tactics I have been deployed by modern Conservative MPs to ‘talk out’ legislation to ban such obscenities as the sow stall. But you know that when the opposition begins to adopt your own rhetoric, no matter how duplicitously you have won the moral argument.

As I write this, the House of Lords has rejected a Bill to ban fox hunting, passed by an overwhelming majority of the lower house. And so it rejected in its entirety the Bill to phase out slavery.
The main difference between the two events was that in 1792, the prime minister William Pitt spoke eloquently for an end to slavery while in 2004, prime minister Blair tried every possible tactic to sabotage the anti-fox hunting Bill and it was only fear of his own backbenchers that eventually allowed it through. We will now wait to see if the law is enforced or weakened in some way.

Posters and other images of intensive farming have been fundamental to advancing animal issues — and it was the same back then. The plan of the ship, showing the true conditions in which slaves were transported, was printed in its thousands and appeared in pubs and houses across Britain. It required no argument or explanation.

The trade in slaves was finally banned by parliament in 1807 but it was a further 29 years before slavery itself was abolished. On August 1, 1838, 800,000 slaves across the British empire became free in law. You could argue that it was another 100 years or more before it became a fact.

There is one remaining similarity between the campaign to end slavery and that for animal rights — both are entirely altruistic in that those who fight them stand to gain nothing if they succeed. They are born out of a desire for a better, more equitable, more just world where relieving the
suffering of others is an end in itself. Both are noble, both are born of the finer aspects of the human spirit and both are opposed by bigotry, spite, ignorance and self interest. Surely no one would argue that the world is not a finer place because most slavery has ended. And one day, that judgement will be applied with equal certainty to the end of animal exploitation.

John Newton was born in 1725 and served as a slave ship captain for many years. His experiences affected him deeply and he eventually became a preacher, writing the hymn, Amazing Grace. The first verse reflects the experiences of many of us and could serve as an anthem in the battle to turn the world away from its casual abuse of sentient creatures (and I speak as an atheist).

Amazing grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I’m found; Was blind, but now / see.

I’ll give the last words to anthropologist — and Quaker — Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has!’
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I said don't forget Burma!

[Laurence17]

Thanks so much for this, Friend.
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Abwoon : divine progenitor, breathing mindfulness through poor in spirit and the resonating realm of ruach

[BillSamuel]

The leading figure in the British anti-slavery campaign was William Wilberforce, an evangelical Anglican. He did indeed work with a number of Quakers in that effort. Like Wilberforce, the Quakers were generally from the evangelical wing of their faith group.

Wilberforce also worked on other social reform efforts. In view of the parallels made by the original poster, it might be interesting to note that Wilberforce was a founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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Bill Samuel, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Co-Coordinator, Friends in Christ

[canawedding]

This world, because of sinners who don't hate sin, is not fixable and therefore it will be destroyed after all of God's enemies have been exposed. For thousands of years there have been wars with all of their related horrors and what did that lead to? Nuclear weapons. Wake up, people! Sadness and sorrow have not decreased over time and it will never change as long as current conditions continue. There will always be people who will take advantage of others, human and animal, as long as current conditions continue. There is only one Way out -- God's definition of Grace. How do we obtain it? Seek ye first God's Kingdom and God's Righteousness, Mt 6:31-33. That is the beginning for everyone who wants a future with no more sin and no more sorrow. Any other way will never work. Everyone will find that out sooner or later but sadly, for most, it will be too late. All of the nations are as a drop in the bucket with God. The time is fast approaching where He will put an end to sin and sinners forever and those who didn't hate sin will have forever to regret that they didn't.
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Jn 3:21. But he that doeth the Truth cometh to the Light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.

[Pulpculture]

[canawedding]

The apostles knew it would be awhile until the time of judgment would come. They understood the prophecies but they were only allowed to say so much. For those of us who have the anointing from the Holy One, as John described in 1Jn 2, we know who wrote The Revelation and we know it is a totally accurate prophecy of the future.

Look at the seven churches, for example. Who do you think was prophesied in the 6th church, the Philadelphia church? Who founded that city in the usa? Who knew God is Holy and pure Truth? Who knew what the Key of David is and had the Key? Who had the door of the Everlasting Gospel opened to them? Who had only a little Power but more than enough to remain faithful through terrible persecutions exactly as Daniel 12 said it would be in the Last Days? Who kept God's Word, knowing the difference between His Word and the Scriptures without His Life and Light? Who did not deny His Name by accurately declaring God's exact original Gospel Truth that Jesus Christ and His apostles taught? Who recognized and exposed the synagogues of Satan that still exist and are thriving today? Who refused to worship in false steeple-houses because they knew they had an eternal Temple in the City of God, the heavenly Jerusalem? Who refused to tip the hat, bow down and use language that glorified people over God? What did the Spirit of Jesus Christ say about bowing in Rev 3:7-13? Who had their goods and property taken from them and in some cases, even their physical lives? Wake up people! The usa has martyrs' blood in it and it is filled with the children of those who persecuted the true children of God.

According to the seven churches of The Revelation, there were two great groups of true Christians: the very first true Christians and the true Christian Quakers of 300 years ago. Guess what the predominant church is today! And, there are clues, in the OT and NT, as to when Jesus Christ will return and it could be at any time. Look at the world's problems and who is involved; it all fits, perfectly with the prophecies. But, be more worried about being ready. The vast majority of people, who think they are saved, will not be saved to their horror and many have already found that out too late.

In Mt 6:31-33, Jesus Christ commanded everyone to seek first God's Kingdom and God's Righteousness. Have you? This is the beginning of salvation as George Fox found out at his conversion. Read about his conversion in the 1831 edition of his Journal, page 73, "About the beginning of the year 1647..." to page 79, "...and how to abound."

What i learned has agreed with the teachings of the early true Christian Quakers although i did not read what they wrote until three and a half years after i learned what i did. Let that atheist explain this!
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Jn 3:21. But he that doeth the Truth cometh to the Light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.

[Laurence17]

I have little doubt that the second coming will take place at the Great Orme at Llandudno, north Wales, and those who have neglected the Welsh language and the ancient bards, and penillion singing will grind their teeth -- and be banished unto the Language Labs until they have mastered at least some basics ! .............
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Abwoon : divine progenitor, breathing mindfulness through poor in spirit and the resonating realm of ruach

[crynwr cymraeg]

Wel, dwn i ddim wir!

[Laurence17]

Hei crynwr cymraeg. Ie, mae'n wir ! Dw i'n siwr ! : - )
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Abwoon : divine progenitor, breathing mindfulness through poor in spirit and the resonating realm of ruach

[canawedding]

Zechariah 5 (ASV, public domain.)
1. Then again I lifted up mine eyes and saw and, behold, a flying roll.
2. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll, the length thereof is twenty cubits and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land. For everyone that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it and everyone that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it.
4. I will cause it to go forth, saith Jehovah of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my Name. And it shall abide in the midst of his house and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
5. Then the angel that talked with me went forth and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes and see what is this that goeth forth.
6. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their appearance in all the land
7. (and, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead) and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah.
8. And he said, This is Wickedness and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
9. Then lifted I up mine eyes and saw and, behold, there came forth two women and the wind was in their wings. Now they had wings like the wings of a stork and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven.
10. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
11. And he said unto me, To build her a house in the land of Shinar and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place.

The early true Christian Quakers can be identified as those who did not preach for filthy financial gain of any kind, who obeyed Jesus Christ's teaching about oaths and they sent women out, two by two, to preach. They established Philadelphia in the usa, also described as the sixth church in Rev 2-3. See my entry above for details. The Wickedness of Zec 5 has been set in her own place for quite some time now. She is further described in Rev 17-19:3. The early true Christian Quakers knew who she was and accurately described her but, 300 years ago, they could not have understood how she would become a physical reality. A whole lot of people are in for a terrible, terrible shock that they will never recover from and they will forever wish they had continued in the teachings of the first Quakers who accurately followed the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles.
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Jn 3:21. But he that doeth the Truth cometh to the Light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.

[Lori Ann]

[quiverquaker]

New Film Showcases Quaker Heritage

The feature film “Amazing Grace,” based on the life of anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce, opens in theaters this Friday in the USA in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. Swarthmore’s Friends Historical Library houses a plethora of original printings and manuscripts related to Wilberforce and the abolition movement. Associated with the film is a campaign to end modern-day slavery called Amazing Change.

“Wilberforce was a pretty upstanding dude,” professor of history Timothy Burke said. Influenced by his mentor John Newton, a former slave trader turned Anglican minister who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace,” William Wilberforce (1759-1883) converted to Evangelical Christianity and joined a leading group known as the Clapham Sect in 1784, but stayed in Parliament to promote social reform and abolition rather than pursue a life in the ministry.

Wilberforce was first elected to British Parliament at the age of 21, and spearheaded a 20-year campaign to abolish slavery and its trade throughout the British Empire. The movie focuses on this productive and short, but intriguing segment of the abolition movement that culminated in the abolition of the British slave trade.

Christopher Densmore, curator of the Friends Historical Library, said, “There’s a long pre-history. The intellectual underpinnings of Wilberforce are from Quakers in the ’50s whose writing directly influences [British abolitionists].” Wilberforce was heavily indebted to the Quakers of Philadelphia, whose anti-slavery writings from the 1750s were key in the British abolition movement. These include John Woolman’s “Essay on the Keeping of Negroes” and Anthony Benezet’s anti-slavery works, which can be found in original text or reproduction at the Friends Historical Library.

Founded in 1871, the Friends Library is located to the immediate left of the entrance of McCabe, and is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Some students don’t even know they can come in here,” Densmore said.

“We have a major repository of Quaker materials in North America. Faculty and staff from other colleges and universities come in to use materials,” Burke said. For example, last Friday, two guests traveled from England to visit the library in honor of the 200th anniversary. “The marking of the abolition of the slave trade is a big deal. It’s quite a significant national event [in Great Britain],” Burke said.

“There was a continuous awareness of what was going on between Philadelphia and Great Britain,” Densmore said. “Had there been no Benezet or Woolman, they wouldn’t have had the preliminary arguments to convince constituents and Parliament [of the immediacy] of abolition. Having a body of work to draw on certainly facilitated their actions,” Densmore said.

The Friends Library houses numerous documents with immediate relevance to the historical context surrounding “Amazing Grace.” These include several of Wilberforce’s personal manuscripts and the original memorial tributes that were prepared by members of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society to eulogize the abolitionist upon his death in 1834.

Affiliated with the film is the Amazing Change campaign, which strives to end what it calls modern-day slavery. This includes bonded labor, forced labor, early and forced marriage, slavery by descent, human trafficking, sex trade and child labor.

The United Nations and the New York Times, among other organizations, report 27 million people to be in modern-day slavery across the world, and the U.S. Department of State estimates 50 percent of the victims to be children.

“How do you distinguish between compulsory labor and slavery?” Burke asked. “Some things that [are labeled as modern-day slavery] include selling people as commodities and black market contracts. Abolition succeeded in making slavery illegal, so no one runs around boasting of slavery anymore, which is an amazing accomplishment. The question we’re tormented with is, once it’s made illegal, what do you do to stop its continuation?”

Amnesty International has organized campaigns to defend the victims of modern-day slavery. Bella Liu ’07, who founded the current chapter of Swat AI as a sophomore, said, “When people think of slavery they often think of it as something of the past, that it’s the trans-Atlantic slave trade,” Liu said. “It’s helpful to make the connection between these countless isolated human rights problems and what is really modern-day slavery.” Under the leadership of Linda Wang ’09, Swat AI held a Human Rights Week this past December, focusing on child labor.

Liu said, “I hope to see other movies in the future that are motivated by social issues like [‘Amazing Grace’].”

Burke said he would definitely incorporate the film into his curriculum when he teaches his survey history course on West Africa in the era of the slave trade. “I’m sure I’ll show the DVD in class that year.”

“Amazing Grace” opens tomorrow nationwide in the USA.


BY CLAUDIA SEIXAS

February 22, 2007

http://phoenix.swarthmore.edu/2007-02-22/news/16916


www.amazinggracemovie.com
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The quivering leaves of the Quaking Aspen tree echo a soft sound that stills the forest.

QQ