These people quoted biblical passages
on slaves submitting to their masters
(e.g., Eph. 6:5- 8 ; Col. 3:22) to
contemporize the myth to the economic
framework of the New World.
The Puritans were attempting to turn
America into the "city set on a hill," the
manifestation of the prophesied kingdom
of God on earth. Slavery provided an
economic base for implementing this
theology, even among some of the
theological and religious heroes of the
colonial era.
Some of the noted New England leaders
who endorsed this perspective of slavery
were George Whitefield, John
Davenport, Evera Styles, and Jonathan
Edwards.
They attempted to teach the slaves to
docilely accept their inferior status,
for to do so was the will of God. To
fail to do so was to rebel against God
and risk eternal punishment.