Living in Kentucky where slavery was legal, Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stove, (1811-1896) author of Uncle Tom’s cabin: Life among the Lowly, was exposed to the nature of slavery and its negative ramifications on black Americans and the rest of society.
Her faith in Jesus Christ, her increasing understanding of the evils of slavery from the testimony of escaped slaves and the compelling arguments of abolitionist apologists strongly influenced her to become a passionate abolitionist.
Beecher Stove was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the sixth of 11 children of a Presbyterian minister and a mother whose grandfather was Gen. Andrew Ward, who served under Gen. George Washington in the Revolutionary War.
American Slavery: Unusual for women at the time, she received a traditional academic education from the Hartford Female Seminary, focusing on classical antiquity studies, languages and mathematics, writes Rolaant McKenzie at WND. McKenzie operates Gospel Outreach Ministries Online.
Meet Uncle Tom, a slave of unwavering faith; Eliza, who escapes slavery to save her son; and Simon Legree, the ruthless plantation owner. In a narrative rich with drama, suspense, and deep emotion, Stowe brings to life an array of characters that manifest the staggering realities of slavery, and by doing so, she forces her contemporaries to confront its evils face-to-face.
American Slavery: In 1832, Beecher moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, to join her father, who had become the president of Lane Theological Seminary. It was here that she met Calvin Ellis Stowe, who was a professor of Biblical Literature at the seminary. The two married on Jan. 6, 1836.
Living near the Ohio River across from Kentucky, a state where slavery was legal, Beecher, now Stowe, was exposed to the nature of slavery and its negative ramifications on black Americans and the rest of society.
Stowe’s faith in Jesus Christ, her increasing understanding of the evils of slavery from the testimony of escaped slaves and the compelling arguments of abolitionist apologists strongly influenced her to become a passionate abolitionist and supporter of the Underground Railroad, which helped many fugitives from slavery escape to freedom in Canada.
Stowe was the author of more than 30 books covering a wide range of interests. She chose to write in an informal way to reach common, everyday people and encourage them to address controversial moral issues of the day.
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American Slavery: Stowe’s mathematical training helped her see things in a logical fashion and describe them for her readers. She believed God’s purpose for her life was to write and that her words and the actions coming from them could be an extension of God’s grace in the world.
Her best-known work was “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (1852), a novel depicting the horrible realities of slavery through the central character, Uncle Tom, a black slave who endured great suffering, ending in a terrible death, but refused to abandon his faith in Christ, do violence to other slaves, or betray those who escaped. Uncle Tom showed that Christian love, forgiveness and redemption could overcome slavery.
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” portrayed the ugly truth of slavery instead of softening or hiding it behind euphemisms such as “southern paternalism” or “peculiar institution.” The book became a bestseller and helped to change attitudes regarding slavery, especially in the Northern states. While some historians believe that this book helped pave the way for the Civil War, it certainly strengthened the abolitionist cause, which assisted in ending chattel slavery in America.
Not mincing words when addressing moral issues of the day helped to end a great sin in the society in which Stowe lived. This kind of forthrightness is being used by some in efforts to end another great evil in society today.
Terrisa Bukovinac is the founder and former executive director of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), an organization involved with peacefully protesting abortion facilities, compassionately reaching out to the women going to them, educating the public about the exploitative influence of the abortion industry and connecting abortion-vulnerable women with life-saving resources.
In a 2022 interview with Fox News Digital, Bukovinac said, “Abortion is murder, and we need to act like it.” Recalling a protest at an abortion facility in Alexandria, Virginia, she stated that the focus of her work was to see abortion come to an end nationwide. Though she and some of her colleagues were arrested, their efforts led to five women not going through with an abortion, thus saving the lives of five babies.
Knowing that federal political campaign advertisements could not be censored, Bukovinac decided to run for president as a Democrat in 2024 to expose the reality of abortion, show its victims and give them a voice. Rejecting euphemisms such as “pro-choice,” “health care,” or “reproductive rights,” her commercials showed graphic images of aborted babies with the purpose of moving the American people to end this evil practice.
“Pikuach Nefesh” is Hebrew for “saving a life.” It is also the name of one of the ministries of Congregation Shema Yisrael, a Messianic Jewish congregation in southeast Michigan. Because of their faith in Jesus Christ and the truth that human beings are made in the image of God and therefore precious, participants in this ministry show up on the sidewalk at a local abortion facility every month to share the Gospel message and pray for the mothers, fathers, babies and workers in the facility.
American Slavery: Like Stowe and Bukovinac, Pikuach Nefesh does not proclaim its message with euphemisms but with unvarnished truth. They display messages exhorting mothers to let their precious babies live and saying that there are free lifesaving resources available to them. They also show graphic images of the aftermath of babies killed through abortion to show the horrific reality and give mothers going inside the facility pause to consider what they are about to do to their child. On one occasion, their efforts led to six women choosing life for their babies.
Reforming societal wrongs requires calling things as they are rather than sugarcoating the painful truth. This is especially true when it comes to recognizing the reality of one’s position before God, whom even self-professed atheists know exists (Romans 1:18-32).
Rolaant McKenzie operates Gospel Outreach Ministries Online, a Christian apologetics ministry dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ online and discussing important contemporary issues from a Biblical perspective.
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