In the movie 12 Years a Slave, white men used Bible scriptures as an excuse to treat black slaves like animals. Edwin Epps, Solomon's sadistic owner, quoting Luke 12:47: "And that servant, who knew the will of his lord, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." During the time when Christianity was the dominant religion in society, this passage provides justification for Epps' cruel actions and brutal treatments of