"The sum of pro-slavery theology seems to
be this: 'Slavery is not universally right, nor yet universally
wrong,; it is better for some people to be slaves; and in such cases,
it is the will of God that they be such.' Certainly there is no
contending against the will of God; but there is some difficulty in
ascertaining and applying it to particular cases. For instance, we
will suppose that the Rev. Dr. Ross has a slave named Sambo, and the
question is, 'Is it the will of God that Sambo shall remain a slave,
or be set free?' The Almighty gives no audible answer to the
question, and his revelation, the Bible, gives none - or at most none
but such as admits to a squabble as to its meaning; no one thinks of
asking Sambo's opinion on it. So at last it comes to this, that Dr.
Ross is to decide the question; and while he considers it, he sits in
the shade, with gloves on his hands, and subsists on the bread that
Sambo is earning in the burning sun. If he decides that God wills
Sambo to be a slave, he thereby retains his own comfortable position;
but if he decides that God wills Sambo to be free, he thereby has to
walk out of the shade, throw off his gloves, and delve for his own
bread. Will Dr. Ross be actuated by the perfect impartiality which
has ever been considered most favorable to correct decisions?" Abraham
Lincoln
[Does not this principle apply in today's system
of cannibalistic slavery? Do those in power seek Sambo's consent
before taking the fruits of his labor away?]