Of God & Slavery

December 30, 2007 by Dr. Mc.

Recently a friend pointed out to me how many "supposed
Christians" in history owned slaves, including the
Puritans and George Washington. He pointed to
verses in the Bible that seem to indorse slavery. Of
course his reason was to argue that if God is real and if God changes people,
how come these things are found in Christian history? This is a two part
objection: first is the Bible’s text, second is the behavior of Bible followers.

First, just because the Bible says to treat your slaves
well does not mean it endorses the concept. It also gives instructions on
divorce procedures, but
Jesus Himself said it was not because divorce was a good thing. This is not
intended to be a theological blog, so let me quickly move on to the second
objection.

To scoff at Christians in history for owning slaves is to
target one group for what all of mankind shares guilt. The real question is not
"Who was doing it?" (everybody), but "Who stopped it?" This world-wide scourge
was first halted in Christendom through the efforts of devout Christians, such
as Thomas Clarkson, John Newton, and William
Wilberforce. This Christmas I caught for the first time the words of the
hymn, "O Holy Night."
The third stanza begins

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

This was penned in France in 1847, only one year before
France finally ended slavery. It was 40 years afterBrittan banned the
trade of slaves, 15 years afterall British slaves
were freed, but 12 years before theAmerican Civil
War. Yes, it took a while, and much blood was shed in attacking a plight
that permeates all of human history, but correction began in Christendom, and I’m
afraid the battle must still continue.

Posted in Culture & society, History | No Comments »