Category Archives: Slavery

Masters and slaves in Christ

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In the course of a discussion about Jonathan Edwards and slavery, John Piper notes:

I believe that the New Testament ordered human relationships in Christ in such a way as to transform the master-slave relationship into something so different from “owner” and “property” that what remained was no longer recognizable as slavery in the traditional sense. To say it another way, when the New Testament instructions to masters and slaves were obeyed, what was left of the master-slave relationship was not a relationship of owner and property.…

Lessons from John Newton on the slave trade

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It is well known that John Newton (author of ‘Amazing Grace’) was a converted slaved trader.  What is perhaps less well known is that his rejection of slavery post-dated his conversion to Christ by some decades.  It was only in later life that he renounced slavery and the slave trade, writing up his thoughts in the tract Thoughts on the African Slave Trade.

David Robertson draws a number of lessons from Newton’s experience.  What follows is mainly in Robertson’s (and Newton’s) own words.…

Slavery: the need for a redemptive-movement hermeneutic

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What are we to make of the Old Testament texts that speak of slavery?  They do not offer any outright condemnation of it.  So, are we to reject those texts out of hand?

One answer, favoured by many who wish to uphold the authority of Scripture, is to regard these texts as less-than-ultimate in themselves, and pointing towards (without themselves arriving at) the ultimate.

These texts, in other words, are on a trajectory, the end point of which is reached in ‘the law of Christ’, which is the ‘law of love’, and, eventually, to the abolition of slavery.…

Slavery: how involved was the C of E?

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Once again, the involvement of the Church of England in the slave trade is being referred to in simplistic and misleading ways.

This time, according to the BBC, it’s Labour peer Lord Boateng, chair of the Archbishops’ Racial Justice Commission:

‘He referred to the church’s missionary organisation, the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel, which owned a plantation in the 18th Century – and which branded the word “Society” on the skins of the people they enslaved.’

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Reading While Black – 7

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What does the Bible have to say about freedom from slavery?  Do we have to privilege the story of the Exodus over the teachings of Paul in order to arrive at an acceptable answer?  Or do we have to ditch the Bible as our holy book, because we believe that it fails to condemn slavery in its various forms?

In chapter 7, Esau MacCaulley tackles the most important biblical texts on this question.

Reading the Bible like Jesus did

When Jesus was asked about divorce, he pointed his questions back beyond the Mosaic law (Deut 24:1-4), which permitted it under some circumstances, to God’s creational intention:

Mt 19:3 Then some Pharisees came to him in order to test him.

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Reading While Black – 2

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Chapter 2 of Esau McCaulley’s book Reading While Black discusses ‘The New Testament and a Theology of Policing.’

McCauley selects two texts for consideration.  The first has implications for the state, and the second for the individual law enforcer.

Romans 13:1-7

13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 13:2 So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment 13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad).…

Slavery and the early church

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Mark Brumley, a Roman Catholic author, asks: Did the early Church endorse slavery?

He answers:

Certainly, the early Christians more or less tolerated the slavery of their day, as seen from the New Testament itself and the fact that after Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, slavery was not immediately outlawed. Even so, this doesn’t mean Christianity was compatible with Roman slavery or that the early Church did not contribute to its demise.

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George Whitefield: slaveholder and evangelist

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George Whitefield (1714 – 1700) was an outstanding evangelist.  When, in 1740, he first traveled to North America he was appalled by the way slaves were treated:

‘Your dogs are caressed and fondled at your tables; but your slaves who are frequently styled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege. They are scarce permitted to pick up the crumbs which fall from their masters’ tables.… Although I pray God the slaves may never be permitted to get the upper hand, yet should such a thing be permitted by Providence, all good men must acknowledge the judgment would be just.’

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Why did so many Christians in the South support slavery?

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It seems incredible to most of us today that mature and thoughtful Christians leaders in the American South (including J.H. Thornwell and R.L Dabney)  persisted in defending the institution of slavery.

It should not be supposed, however, that they did so from simple-minded malice. Anyone who thinks about the matter would do well to reflect on the ways in which they attempted to justify the practice.

An article in Christianity Today summarises the key reasons given by church leaders in the South:

Biblical Reasons

• Abraham, the “father of faith,” and all the patriarchs held slaves without God’s disapproval (Gen.…

Let’s talk about the church, racism, and history

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Ben Lindsay is a Christian pastor (in London) and founder of the charity Power the Fight, which ‘trains and empowers communities to end youth violence.’

Ben is author of We Need To Talk About Race (SPCK, 2019), a book endorsed by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, as a ‘must-read’.  It is also recommended by the Church of England Evangelical Council.

Based on personal experience (of himself and others) and historical analysis, the book’s central thesis is that the UK church continues to be deeply affected by, and must take responsibility for, its historic racism.…