Josh Hawley Gets Holy Hell After Juneteenth Claim About Christianity And Slavery

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Josh Hawley Gets Holy Hell After Juneteenth Claim About Christianity And Slavery

Ed Mazza

6–7 minutes

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) attempted a little revisionist history on social media on Monday.

It didn’t go well.

As Americans marked Juneteenth, a federal holiday, in a variety of ways ranging from solemn reflection to pre-summer cookouts, Hawley paused his awkward campaign for manliness to tweet about slavery:

Today is a good day to remember: Christianity is the faith and America is the place slavery came to die

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) June 19, 2023

Critics pointed out that Hawley ― perhaps best known for saluting Jan. 6 protesters with a raised fist before running away from them ― missed the mark in several ways.

Christianity is not the religion of the United States, which guarantees the separation of church and state. The Christian faith was used repeatedly to justify slavery, especially within the United States. And the practice of slavery thrived in America long after it was outlawed by many other Western nations.

Twitter users took the senator to school:

1. Today is a good day to remember: America was built on the enslavement of Black people.

2. Our government has never even formally apologized, let alone sought to repair the harms slavery inflicted and perpetuated.

3. So this ⬇️ is a lie. https://t.co/YPvl7Hj12q

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) June 20, 2023

There was no race-based chattel slavery here before Christians came

England, Russia, Spain, France, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa, India, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Mexico & Peru abolished it b4 US

America is literally where slavery came to live https://t.co/wZb36uvXCO

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) June 19, 2023

I can't tell if this is among the most offensive things I've ever heard, or *the* most offensive (and desperate, and pathetic) thing I've ever heard. America has *many* faiths. And if slavery came here to die, it took about 250 years (& 10's of millions of people) to do it. https://t.co/A3KBsOFsFl

— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) June 19, 2023

Fact check: the United States lagged decades behind in abolition of slavery compared to almost all other countries in the Western hemisphere. https://t.co/zHanYKZmeQ

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) June 19, 2023

Today is a good day to remember: Christians used the Bible as divine justification for slavery for centuries.

Particularly in America. https://t.co/sdLf1sMXhP

— Zack Hunt (@ZaackHunt) June 19, 2023

Slavery thrived so much under Christianity in America that it was enshrined in the Constitution. Slave owners regularly invoked the Bible to justify slavery. Only a Christian Nazi talks this way. https://t.co/ZbIU7sOhI5https://t.co/sbgUSym19t

— Randy Alberhasky 🟧 (@RandyAlberhasky) June 19, 2023

Josh Hawley is a great example of affirmative action for conservatives.

History degree from Stanford and a Yale JD but either doesn’t know history or pretends not to know it because he knows it will help him advance through conservative political circles. https://t.co/sfHsxzqUKc

— Andrew Visnovsky (@AndrewVisnovsky) June 19, 2023

The same charlatans pretending Christianity ended slavery are using their positions of power to silence Black voices as they disenfranchise minority communities through gerrymandering and voter suppression. Don't let them gaslight you. They are the problem. https://t.co/nX59bQ8KZK

— Spencer Toder (now featuring invisible blue check) (@SpencerToder) June 19, 2023

America is the place slavery thrived, long after England had banned the practice, with the blessings of “Christians” and its justifications in the Bible (Curse of Ham, Paul “Servants obey your masters etc.) Slavery had to be purged with the blood of Americans you absolute idiot. https://t.co/E0PiWR0VuE

— mass ave curmudgeon 🏳️🌈 (@mass_ave) June 19, 2023

Actually, Christianity was misused and abused for power by the pro-slavery crowd at the time to advocate FOR slavery. Much like today, where you and other extremists are abusing the Bible to advocate against equality, peace and social justice. #Juneteenth2023https://t.co/pVxQB4hKG7

— Christian Democrats (@ChristianDems) June 19, 2023

1. Confederates repeatedly cited Christianity to justify slavery
2. They also cited "God given" Manifest Destiny to justify Native genocide
3. Moreover, slavery is still legal in the U.S. prison system

You're literally wrong about everything. But you knew that.#Juneteenthhttps://t.co/keOGGrCILP

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) June 20, 2023

Today is a good day to remember you saluted the Proud Boys and other assorted white nationalists who tried to overturn our democracy and that you're the place logic and empathy go to die. https://t.co/UhjJ2THvBn

— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) June 20, 2023

White Christians created chattel slavery as we know it, used their god to justify it, and America had the most sophisticated enslavement in human history. If hell exists, I hope you have a studio apartment with your name on it. And I mean that. ❤️ https://t.co/M3r2VnBbTV

— Melech. (@MelechThomas) June 19, 2023

White-washing the history of Christianity and its relationship with chattel slavery in the Americas, and I mean white-washing quite literally, does no one any favors.

Slavers enslaved *because* of their Christian faith, drawing on the Bible for support. https://t.co/WGdBDdzz1S

— Andrew Whitehead - American Idolatry (8/15/23) (@ndrewwhitehead) June 19, 2023

Today is a good day to remember Josh Hawley raised his fist to the neo-Nazis and QAnon cult members who were about to attack the Capitol — and then ran out like a frightened child when they did it. https://t.co/v0g6ipiZsu

— Jim Stewartson, Anti-disinfo activist 🇺🇸🇺🇦💙 (@jimstewartson) June 19, 2023

[CoffeeTiger 5,883]

Believing in an alternative version of US history kind of comes with the territory of believing that the US is specially protected or guided by God in ways that other nations or people aren't. 

 

[homersapien 12,244]

Well, if this political thing doesn't pan out for him, he can always move to Florida and teach history.

Edited June 20, 2023 by homersapien