Blog Week 2 Prompt 1

    This is a very hard question to answer, because, as discussed on Tuesday, Equiano is writing with a mission or something he wants from his readers. This makes it difficult to discern what his true feelings are, and it's certainly possible that he includes different ideas in his writing to appease the members of Parliament he is writing to, his apparent Christian belief being an example. 

    Before attempting to answer this question, I think it's important to note that Equiano did not really choose Christianity. In fact, he probably never would have even heard of the religion if he hadn't been abducted from his home and forced into slavery. Rejecting Christianity was not an option for Equiano, as he would likely face torture or death. That being said, I do believe Equiano embraces Christianity in the end.

    My first piece of evidence for this is Equiano's purchase of a Bible. As he is rarely, if ever paid for his work, this purchase would be very significant for him. I don't think he would buy this unless he wanted to learn more about Christianity. Secondly, whenever Equiano seems to face perilous circumstances, he turns to God and asks him for help. Lastly, Equiano goes on this journey of spiritual exploration, traveling to Turkey to learn more about the religion. Here, he seems to reject the version of Christianity he was taught and embraces a new teaching.

    One thing I will say is that Equiano seems to hate the hypocrisy of Christians. In his miscellaneous verses, Equiano points out that Christ's death cover his sins just as much as anyone else despite Christian's treatment of him and other people of color. Additionally, he doesn't seem to enjoy going to church (being with other Christians) and prefers solitary time reading the Bible.

I conclude my thoughts on Equiano's belief with this quote from Mahatma Ghandi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”