Seamus Dougherty

Professor Barnes
Scripture and the Struggle for Racial Justice
February 18th, 2025
The Birth of a Nation tells a fictionalized narrative of Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher in
the antebellum South, who is used by his white owner, Samuel Turner, to preach obedience to
the slaves at other surrounding plantations. However, as Nat witnesses increasing brutality
against his people and himself, he begins to interpret scripture in a way that calls for resistance
rather than submission. This leads him to organize and lead a violent uprising against slave
owners, but the rebellion is ultimately suppressed, and Nat is executed. The film portrays the
efforts of those who must navigate a faith manipulated by oppressors while searching hope and
salvation. This film offers a site to document the liberating efforts of enslaved people in asserting
their humanity and is infused with Christian hermeneutics of sacrifice, suffering, and struggle.
The film prominently features biblical references and religious symbolism. The contrast
between slaveholders’ use of Christianity to justify bondage and Nat’s reinterpretation of
scripture to advocate for justice highlights the ethical contradictions within Christian theology of
the time. The film also employs religious imagery, such as baptism and crucifixion-like
suffering, to reinforce the spiritual dimensions of Nat’s rebellion. Nat’s hands are manacled to
the cross-like whipping post, and his vigil of suffering after being whipped is strikingly Christ-
like, and his serenity before the noose is similar to Christ's serenity at his passion. There are also
biblical parallels to figures like Daniel and Joseph from the Old Testament
Nat Turner shares several similarities with the biblical figure of Daniel, particularly in his
faith, perseverance in the face of oppression, and his role as a prophetic leader who experiences
dream-like visions. Both men were taken from their people and kept by the master for their
ability. Like Daniel, who remained faithful to his God despite his captivity under Babylonian
rule, Nat Turner holds onto divine justice while enduring the brutality of slavery, whipping, and
the rape of his wife. Both figures rely on prayer and scripture for guidance, even when those in
power attempt to manipulate the scripture for their own purposes. Additionally, just as Daniel
was known for interpreting dreams and visions that revealed God's will, Nat Turner interprets
scripture in a way that challenges the oppressive system of chattel slavery. Nat is also gifted with
visions from God, which shape his actions by promising him deliverance and allowing him to
find a sign in the eclipse. Daniel and Nat defy the ruling authorities despite knowing the
consequences. Daniel refuses to obey demands to sacrifice his faith, such as bowing to the king’s
image or ceasing to pray, even when threatened with death. Similarly, Nat Turner rejects the
religious justifications for slavery and instead uses his faith as motivation to lead a rebellion
against his oppressors. Nat refuses to bend to the Reverend and Sam Turner when delivering his
scriptural arguments for the baptizing of the white man and is brutally whipped for it. Their
commitment to righteousness places them in direct opposition to the powers that seek to control
them. Both men face severe consequences for their defiance. While Daniel’s survival in the lions'
den symbolizes divine protection, Nat’s lynching marks his sacrifice, which is linked to the
image of the New Testament and early Christian hermeneutics of sacrifice. Nat Turner's story,
like Daniel’s, reflects how religious conviction can fuel both endurance and action in the face of
oppression when one is made a part of that oppression.
A crucial part of the liberating aspect of the Christianity infused in the slave’s struggle
for survival is the location of God. After his wife is taken by a white slaveowner and raped, Hart
asks Nat, “Where is He, Nat? Where is God now?”. In the moment, Nat is speechless in the face
of such brutal inhumanity that is forced upon his community. Later, after Nat is whipped, he
gathers Hart and some of the other men in a meeting under the great cypress tree in the woods.
He discusses their plan for revolt, tells them to wait for God’s sign, and imbues them with a
serene confidence. He turns to Hart and says, “He is still here”. The film shows how in the
assertion of humanity and reclamation of agency, God can be found moving in the actions of
those who act righteously. We talked in class about the question of morality; specifically, is it
right to rise up and violently take your freedom, killing the slaveowners to free oneself? The film
makes it clear that there is a theological impulse to locate God not in all people, but those who
are suffering, who are oppressed and enslaved.
The film also explores the complicated dynamic between master and slave, explicitly in
Nat and Samuel, who grow up playing together, to an adult dynamic of domination and violence.
This dynamic is crystalized by a scene at the first plantation Nat visits as a preacher, where he
sees a white girl leading a black girl of the same age by a noose. The black girl is skipping
behind the white girl, who is leading her in a child game of some kind out the door, despite the
sores on her neck from the coarse rope. Nat sees this again in a vision when he finds his
grandmother dead in her rocking chair. The crystallization of this dynamic is shattered on this
second viewing when Nat realizes that while Samuel may not have led him around by a noose,
his relationship with Samuel is defined most importantly by the rope with which he has been
bound.
This film and our discussions on the ethics of revolt, particularly the question of God-
ordered violence, were challenging for me and have lingered in the back of my mind since. Less
than articulate, my stance is based in a sense of righteousness of the oppressed. Two things are
held in tension in my mind: the Ignatian spiritual directive to find God in all things and people
and the clear imperative that God stands with the oppressed. My Christian spirituality has been
challenged by this film and class as I continue to explore the scripture’s relationship to the
struggle for racial justice. As a Catholic, my connection to the scriptures has always been
tenuous, as it is primarily transmitted by contact by a liturgy which orders it around the
sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist, but this class demands a forward wrestling with what the
Holy Word actually says. As a theology student, this class moves from an academic study of the
category of religion and its social impact to an examination of conscience that is profoundly
religious. I was moved by the movie, and I believe in the right to rise up. While the violence
against the slave masters was graphic, there was a pervading sense of righteousness of the action
while I watched it. This film forced my Catholic New Testament sensibilities to encounter a God
of the Old Testament that demands an eye for an eye, a righteous, wrathful, and vengeful God
who is present in the actions of his oppressed people while also being tempered by the Gospel.
Cherry tells Nat the first time he comes to her with plans to rise up, “For all they who take to the
sword shall pass by the sword”. While this is challenged by the action of the film, it is, perhaps
coincidently, true to the results. I return now to the hermeneutics of sacrifice. There is a
pessimistic pragmatism to allowing yourself to suffer at the hands of another, in the hope, bound
by faith, that God will awaken in your oppressor the realization of what they have done. We
explored the consequences of this in class with our discussion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and
Malcolm X, and I was once again turned around by the thought of how patently unfair it is to
think that suffering will deliver liberation when one could just overthrow the oppressor and
destroy them. Really, the film challenged me in a way that has not yet revealed a clear position.
This film serves as a powerful exploration of the intersection between faith, race, and
resistance, highlighting the ethical contradictions within Christianity as it was used to justify
slavery. Through Nat Turner’s journey from obedience to rebellion, the film portrays the moral
and theological struggle of the enslaved. The parallels between Nat Turner and biblical figures
like Daniel reinforce the idea that faith can inspire defiance against tyranny, even in the face of
suffering and death. The film’s depiction of God’s presence among the oppressed aligns with
contemporary theological perspectives, such as those of M. Shawn Copeland, which emphasize
embodiment, suffering, and divine justice, as well as the enduring commitment to the scripture
despite its misuse by oppressors. Ultimately, the film challenges viewers on the role of scripture
in historical and contemporary struggles for freedom, underscoring the enduring moral question
of whether resistance, even violent resistance, can be justified in the pursuit of justice