In 1807, "
The Slave Bible
" was published for use as a reading primer for slaves. It would also trick them into believing that their slavery was Divinely ordained, and that all government and private authorities were Divinely appointed. It was used for similar purposes in British colonies by missionaries.
included only 234 Chapters of the 1189 Chapters contained in
The King James Bible
. Included Chapters stressed obedience, self-sacrifice and the eventual rewards for the sacrifices that individuals make when they accept the role that
God has assigned to them
.
Each Chapter that was omitted* was deemed to be potentially dangerous to maintaining any status quo that included subjugation. The Chapters that were included were transcribed verbatim from
; Misrepresentation was entirely by omission and intended to create
theophobia
--- Fear of the wrath of God.
provides a unique glimpse into the rationales used by slave masters and missionaries to justify their behavior, under the guise of performing the will of God.
"Do it in the name of Heaven, You can justify it in the end"
The Commonwealth Bible
was transcribed from the digital archives at the Library at The University of Oxford in England, as compiled by Google ®. Their copy is one of only three copies still in existence.
*The Old Testament
Leviticus Jonah 2 Samuel Micah 2 Chronicles Nahum Ezra Habakkuk Nehemiah Zephaniah Esther Haggai Song of Solomon Zechariah Amos Malachi Obadiah
*The New Testament
The Gospel of Mark Paul's Epistle to the Colossians The Second Epistle to Thessalonians The Epistle to Philemon The Second Epistle of Peter The Second Epistle of John The Third Epistle of John The Epistle of Jude Revelation of St John