February 26, 2007

Amazing Grace – The Old Has Gone

Welcome to Haven Today, telling the great story that’s all about Jesus. 1807 and England made the first moves in Parliament to outlaw slavery. That was the subject of a major motion picture called “Amazing Grace” that opened over this past weekend. While that was 200 years ago it was almost 60 years later that slavery was finally outlawed in the United States after a Civil War. It was Christians who organized a route called “The Underground Railroad” that transported slaves to freedom in Canada even before the law was changed. On this program in the next few minutes we’ll talk with someone who has studied that important era and even lives in a Pennsylvania town that was a major highway on the Underground Railroad. Slaves wanted freedom and as you may have heard on our program last week, 27 million people live today in slavery and they want freedom too. But sometimes people in spiritual slavery don’t know that they are in bondage and that what they need the most is a savior. This is a program called, “Amazing Grace – “The Old Has Gone”. We’re going to draw on the music of spirituals on this program together. Later we’re going to get to hear the Highwaymen and Peter, Paul and Mary with spirituals that give glory to God but also happened to reach the top of the charts. Christian singer Barry Maguire opens our program now with the New Christie Minstrels.

Song:
Performed by: Barry Maguire and the New Christie Minstrels

That’s the music of spirituals, part of American history in the United States. Over the past few days we’ve been talking about “Amazing Grace” in one form or another here on Haven Today. And I’ve got with me Patty Sauter, she and her husband Larry are from Montrose, Pennsylvania and everyone listening on the station we’re on in Montrose would know Patty. Patty, we’ve known each other several years, welcome to Haven Today.
PM: Thank you very much, it’s wonderful to be here Charles.
CM: It’s good to have you finally on the air because you and Larry are typically on just your station but I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. The movie is out right now. We’ve talked a lot about slavery being outlawed 200 years ago in Great Britain but it was longer, another 50, 60 years in the United States before slavery finally ended. But northeast Pennsylvania, Montrose you’re near Scranton, Binghamton, New York isn’t too far away. What did that have to do with slavery and tell me about the broader picture of the Underground Railroad too?
PM: Well, we were a very significant stop on the Underground Railroad so that many of the fugitive slaves came from either Wilkes-Barre or the Scranton area, came up through Montrose, some of them and on to Owego or Binghamton, New York and then some on up to Canada to freedom, but we also had a rather wonderful and unique thing that happened that many of them stayed right in Montrose and in Susquehanna County because we had abolitionists there who welcomed them, who helped them to get jobs, sold them land for very inexpensive prices so that –
CM: Because they didn’t have money
PM: right. And it became a very vital part of Montrose prior to and during the Civil War. We had quite a wonderful black population that energized the town.
CM: And too, I guess some slaves would be trying to escape from the South if they had a bad master. They wanted their freedom. There were some good masters, we’ve heard that story, but it was not a good life to be in slavery. So were some of the people passing through Pennsylvania coming from deep in the South as well?
PM: Right, many of the ones that came to our specific area were from Maryland or Virginia. Pennsylvania you know, has, we were right by the border states –
CM: You have several states
PM: Yes, and so I think it’s because deep within us is that yearning for freedom and many times that was generated by their exposure to Christianity. And slaves would say, “Whoa, if what I hear in church is true and God made me and God loves me, why am I being treated this way? Maybe I have some value.” And that desire for freedom was very deep within them so that they were willing to risk their lives for freedom.
CM: And slaves went to church. They were taken to church. They might have to sit up in the balcony or way in the back or even outside, but the windows were open and Christianity was part of a slave’s life too. In fact we heard a spiritual a moment ago, but spirituals were just part of the life blood of –
PM: They’re just so wonderful. Many times the white masters thought they were just singing because they loved to sing, which they did, but it’s one of the most wonderful forms of, you know, music that was actually developed in America. The spirituals are marvelous.
CM: And you’ve studied this and actually read a lot of the spirituals.
PM: Right and a lot of the history of it. And what happened was they were often being sung on 2 different levels. They were being sung about spiritual things and religious things but they were also being used as code language to energize that movement to go on to freedom and to take the risk. There’s one called “Oh Freedom”, so, “freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me and before I be a slave I be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free.” And that expresses some of that depth of that great desire for freedom, but then you had a lot of things like, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” that talks about the escape. Chariot was one word for the means of escape. You have “Go Down Moses” which meant that there might be an escape tonight. You had, “Steal Away, Steal Away to Jesus” but it meant more than just to Jesus. It meant also that they might be leaving the plantation. So it became a language of communication for the slaves that the masters didn’t really understand.
CM: I’m going to be a little nostalgic here but I’ve been wanting to play this on Haven Today for several months now, knowing that this movie was coming out. We’re going to listen to a tune by The Highwaymen, around the same time as the Kingston Trio. And I bet anyone my age and older, but probably younger people too, will recognize this spiritual.

Song: Michael Row the Boat Ashore
Performed by: The Highwaymen

Wow does that bring back some memories for me! “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” that’s actually the Archangel Michael being sung, Patty Sauter with us from Montrose, Pennsylvania here on a Haven Today. And we’re talking about abolitionists and slavery in the United States of America and the Underground Railroad. Patty, thank you for taking a few minutes to be with us here. We talked, you actually gave us – before we went to “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” – you actually gave us the lyrics of a freedom song, “Oh Freedom” I guess is the name of it, the title. You happen to be from a corner of Pennsylvania that was just on the major freeway, or interstate highway of the Underground Railroad. What were the Christians doing? What were the white Christians doing in your neck of the woods before the Civil War and then even during the Civil War?
PM: Well, you know the history of slavery goes back much further than I realized before I started the research, and there was great debate over it for quite a long time. And the, some of our early founders, they had quite a struggle over this whole issue of slavery, not because they were pro-slavery, but what to do about it. And so the debate came up and of course, abolitionists were originally viewed as being radicals.
CM: Yes, yes.
PM: And initially there was quite a move to send the, to send the Africans back to Africa and so some of the early ones became part of that colonization process. And that seemed to make sense, but actually that was only sending free blacks back to Africa. So out of that grew a very passionate, “No, we must stop slavery. We must stop it now.” And it often came out of deep Christian conviction that this was wrong, that human beings were made in the image of God and should not be treated this way. But then they were in conflict with the law.
CM: Because the law said slavery was legal.
PM: Was legal, and so abolitionists were initially seen as radicals that you wanted to steer clear from. And it actually split churches.
CM: in the North as well as the South
PM: Yes it did.
CM: Near you
PM: Right. It split the Baptist church in our town because some of the Baptists were very strong abolitionists and wanted the church to adopt that position. The Presbyterian Church was very strong and they had adopted that position. But some of them just said, “Oh, we ought not to be involved in this.” And I think it was a genuine crisis, what do you do about this? Those who became abolitionists became very strong in helping the former slaves escape and we have some really interesting stories.
CM: Let me just say though, this was an expression of their faith.
PM: Absolutely.
CM: They thought it was their duty, their obligation as a believer in Christ.
PM: It became a matter of deep conviction and of conscience that they had to help these people.
CM: Alright, Patty Sauter, you‘ve studied the Underground Railroad extensively, in fact you’ve worked on it for a Master’s Degree, but from your studying what was going on in the United States over 100 years ago, what conclusions have you personally reached as a believer?
PM: It has certainly made me ask the question, what would I have done if I were living through that period.
CM: Of course.
PM: and it has certainly made me ask the question of how do we put our faith into action? And that’s not always easy, but it wasn’t’ then either. See, it’s easy to look back now and to say, “Oh, it’s just so clear. They should have, you know, should have been against slavery.
CM: Right, hindsight, yes, yes.
PM: But then you look at the world today and 27 million in slavery. Now that’s a lot of different varieties of slavery.
CM: It’s child slavery, it’s prostitution, it’s, yeah, there’s a long list there.
PM: and of course, we know that there’s been a lot going on in Sudan that’s not been reported, I mean part of it is what you know and where God places you and what he gives you to do, but I think we are all called to be sensitive to when people are treated unjustly and to speak up for those who are being treated that way, whether it’s in a specific slavery position or whether it’s the people we work with or the people we deal with downtown, wherever it is that God places, I think we need to be people who are for justice and mercy in a very practical way. And we need to remember that God is watching and does care.
CM: And the scriptures speak to that.
PM: And it’s a huge issue with God, right, it’s a huge issue.
CM: Yes, yes. And I’ll never forget when we had Zach Hunter on the program, he knew his Bible. He knew that even Jesus spoke up against slavery
PM: Absolutely.
CM: in Luke 4 and Jesus was quoting from Isaiah, Isaiah 61. There is a calling
PM: Huge themes of that.
Cm: All through the scripture, yes.
PM: I mean sometimes we just kind of overlook it, you know?
CM: Well, we forget all those spirituals were about the Exodus. And God’s people were in slavery. In fact until any of us meet Christ we are bound in slavery.
PM: Absolutely.
CM: And the shackles are on us. There are great parallels aren’t there and I think that’s an impetus for Christians to be concerned.
PM: And there are many kinds of slavery, I mean there’s a lot of slavery to additions, there’s a lot of slavery to our own passions and our own greed and our own – and we need to break those as well.
CM: Patty Sauter, thank you for being with us on Haven Today
PM: You are welcome. Thank you, it’s been a delight to be here.

Song:
Performed by: Peter, Paul and Mary

Spirituals, music that kind of transcends generations and can you believe it, Peter Paul and Mary, Paul Stookey actually became a Christian, but that was a hit song when it came out on the Billboard charts but it was a spiritual that was sung by African slaves in the United States of America as they would work, as they longed for freedom. And before that here on Haven Today, we also heard The Highwaymen and another amazing hit tune, “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore”, speaking of course of the Archangel Michael and getting over to the other side, where your loved ones have already gone, the Jordan River. And then we opened with Christian singer Barry Maguire who was with the New Christy Minstrels and “Elijah Rock”. And I want to especially thank Patty Sauter who, those of you listening on WPEL radio in Montrose, Pennsylvania – it’s a powerful FM station that gets into New York and Pennsylvania – you know Patty, of course because she’s on the air and her husband is Larry, the station manager and he’s on the air as well. And they are special friends of mine and I’m so thankful that she shared with us her studies of the Underground Railroad and how she shared how Christians were active in bringing the slaves to freedom. Now there’s another kind of slavery and we talked about that last week as well and that’s the slavery that all human beings have, no matter your color, no matter your circumstances and that is to sin. Would you join me in prayer right now?
Father in Heaven, I grieve to think, as we learned from that young man Zach Hunter last Friday, that 27 million people in the world are still in slavery. Half of them are children. I long to do something about that, to speak up, to stand up to do something, and I’m thankful that a young teenager has not only written a book but he’s also encouraging people to help stamp out slavery in their lifetime. Thank you for his example. Thank you for Patty Sauter sharing with us the true stories of Christians who helped slaves to make it to freedom and then eventually there was freedom in law for people of every color in the United States of America and all countries. Lord, I ask for all of us to see that as human beings we are born into sin and that we are sinners, and apart from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and his death for our sin on the cross, we are hopeless and helpless. May we cling to that cross? May we not just know we need freedom from sin, may we find freedom from sin and that’s through Jesus Christ our Lord alone? I ask that that would be a day that happens for all of us, finding that freedom, and it would be a day today for some people listening t o Haven Today and I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Well, I mentioned in our prayer what we had on the air last week. He just turned 15, his name is Zach Hunter and – can you believe it? – he wrote a book, “Be the Change”. At 12 years old he decided he wants to be an abolitionist. He is a Christian, he told us that flat out last week. He was quoted in last week’s Newsweek Magazine, he was on CNN. This young man is going somewhere with a cause and he challenged us to help him end slavery in his lifetime. That’s his prayer, that’s his dream and we have his book, “Be the Change”. You can read about that at haventoday.org. Now we also have this wonderful book of the letters of John Newton in which he shares his life story of how as a former slave trader, and then a slave to sin, he found freedom in Christ. It’s a valuable read and it’s highly readable even though he wrote it in the 1700’s. he wrote so plainly, so clearly. “The Life and Spirituality of John Newton” and we’ll also send you a bonus CD of the interviews we had with historian and scholar Bruce Hindmarsh. Just go to haventoday.org or call us at 1-800-654-2836, 1-800-65-HAVEN. Now if you’d like, I’d like to give you our mailing address, and we love to get letters from listeners. You can write to us at:
Haven Today
Box 79997
Riverside, CA 92513
Let us know the station you’re listening to as well. In Canada we’re:
Haven Today
Box 6800
Vancouver, BC V6B4C9
I’m Charles Morris and thanks for being with me and Patty Sauter. Come back again tomorrow when again we’ll lift high the cross and we’ll talk about the great story that’s all about Jesus and we’ll do it together here on Haven Today.