The Museum of the Bible, located in Washington D.C., has been sharing an "Artifact of the Day" series via Twitter.
This week the museum, who say their mission is to invite all people to engage with the history, impact, and narrative of the Bible, shared an artifact that showed a picture of specially-curated bible that was selected and used by slaves throughout the 1800s.
The museum shared that parts of the bible taught to slaves mislead passages and omitted scriptures that talked about or explored freedom. The "Slave Bible," as it was called in 1808, centered around the themes of obedience, submission and acceptance, according to the museum.
Artifact of the Day: Parts of the Holy Bible, Selected for the Use of the Negro Slaves (AKA "Slave Bible") 1808. Though called "Holy," it is deeply manipulative. Based on the KJV, it omits all entries that express themes of freedom. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/UxrkwgT0PP— Museum of the Bible (@museumofBible) February 6, 2018
The post went on to say that a portion of the Book of Exodus was inaccurate and omitted the part about slaves escaping from Egypt.
"The editors left out entire books and large portions of others; their selections stressed obedience, submission, and acceptance," the museum shared in a follow-up tweet.
Information like this can help us understand the depths of what freedom truly is. Freedom starts with a mindset.
