How was the Bible used to reduce modern slavery?
Upvote:3
Abolitionists generally took an indirect approach in arguing against slavery. Acknowledging that slavery appears in the Bible without an absolute prohibition, they argued from basic Christian principles.
John Hepburn, an 18th century Quaker from New Jersey, built a case against slavery (PDF) based on the ideas of free will and the Golden Rule. First, because God doesn't force and compel our will (e.g. Romans 2:4, Titus 2:11, 2 Peter 3:9), we ought not to compel other people. Second, because Jesus commanded us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Matthew 7:12) we cannot make slaves of our fellow human beings.
John Wesley argued that the practice of slavery revealed the condition of the slaveholder's heart (see pages 52-53). He used the phrase from Hebrews 3:7-8, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" to urge slaveholders to end the practice.
But if your heart does relent, though in a small degree, know it is a call from the GOD of love. And to day, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart.--To day resolve, GOD being your helper, to escape for your life.--Regard not money! All that a man hath will he give for his life? Whatever you lose, lose not your soul: nothing can countervail that loss. Immediately quit the horrid trade: At all events, be an honest man.
19th century theologian Albert Barnes wrote the nearly 400-page An Inquiry Into the Scriptural Views of Slavery, tackling the Bible's pro-slavery texts by reinterpreting them in light of the Golden Rule.
Upvote:9
I think this could easily become an answer about American history and and politics unless we confine our answer to usage of the Bible. Flimsy is right in his comment above - the Bible does not condone slavery, but it does not officially abolish the institution (much like the US Constitution). What it does do is place Christ in the master-slave relationship, giving even slavery the possibility of redemption.
Colossians 4:1 (KJV)
1 "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven."Colossians 3:22 (KJV)
22 "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:"
These verses do not answer for using the Bible to abolish slavery, but they could justify a move to abolish it, since it has "become destructive of these [Christ-Centered] ends" and so it is their duty "to alter or abolish it." At least in the United States. In first-century Roman society, it wasn't written in the social framework to be able to reform slavery, or any institution for that matter. But Christians everywhere in all societies do what they can to proclaim Christ until He comes, as many abolitionists did in their efforts.
More post
- 📝 Is song a critical component of worship or something that we've just borrowed from example?
- 📝 What is the opposite of Total Depravity?
- 📝 What is the "Hell's Best Kept Secret" teaching that's circulating in various Evangelical Churches?
- 📝 Are there Christian churches that believe in isolated living?
- 📝 Does Christianity prohibit astrology?
- 📝 Can anybody identify from which order these nuns are?
- 📝 How could a loving, just, merciful God have created such an unfair test for humans?
- 📝 In Theistic Evolution when do the genealogies in Genesis become real?
- 📝 Is Christianity an experiential practice?
- 📝 What changed between the Old and New Testaments?
- 📝 What is the significance of Donum Veritatis if applied to Dubia Cardinals and Dissenting Clergy?
- 📝 How can a particular trade of modern times get a patron saint?
- 📝 What do the Eastern Orthodox say about the 4 Marks from the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed?
- 📝 Why is Jesus often depicted with long hair if 1 Corinthians 11:14 says it is disgraceful?
- 📝 Did Mosaic covenants follow Ancient Near East Suzerain Treaties or was it the other way around?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Jesus having one nature only, a human nature?
- 📝 How does leaving a 'gift at the altar' reconcile with reformed views of the need to 'approach the throne of grace' in everything?
- 📝 In what churches does this set of beliefs and behaviors best fit?
- 📝 How much realization of one's own sinfulness is needed for a person to be saved?
- 📝 Did Christian prophets Bob Jones and Paul Cain have the power to see the future?
- 📝 Why does the priest say the words of the consecration in a low tone in the EF when Jesus probably did not say it in a low tone?
- 📝 Sin and Animal Suffering before the fall?
- 📝 What is the name of the belief that each of us is guilty for the sins of our neighbors?
- 📝 Is/Was Loki a figure in catholic dogma?
- 📝 Which denominations have official flags?
- 📝 Protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15) translational differences
- 📝 What is an overview of the main interpretations of "day" in Genesis 1?
- 📝 Why didn't Protestants argue for traditional marriage by natural reason?
- 📝 What should be the role of music in corporate worship?
- 📝 Are there any Christian doctrines that cover lucid dreaming?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How was the Bible used to reduce modern slavery?
- 📝 How was slavery in the U.S. justified by Christianity?
- 📝 How easy was it to get a Bible (Old Testament or both Testaments) in the Eastern Roman Empire during the early reign of Justinian?
- 📝 Where can one access Aland's 23rd edition which was used for the first edition of the New American Standard Bible (NASB)?
- 📝 Was the 66 book Bible being used by early Christians?
- 📝 How was the idea of h*m*ousion developed, and when was this term used prior to the Nicean Council?
- 📝 Does an understanding of how the Bible was written, play a strong role in any Christian sect?
- 📝 How did people know that their visions of God were not false before the Bible was as a book compiled?
- 📝 How can the Bible say God was refreshed if he never gets weary?
- 📝 How long was Jesus in the tomb?
- 📝 How can we trust the Bible after it has been translated to another language?
- 📝 How could Jesus be born during the reign of Herod, and when Quirinius was governor of Syria, if those periods were not contemporary?
- 📝 What process was used to translate the KJV?
- 📝 How prominent was "prosperity theology" in the early church?
- 📝 When was the OT canon as used by Protestants finalized?
- 📝 Into how many languages has the Bible been translated?
- 📝 How is the historical accuracy of the Bible defended?
- 📝 When was the Bible formally declared to be inerrant and/or infallible?
- 📝 How do the Dead Sea Scrolls impact modern apologetics?
- 📝 How do Christians reconcile archeology with the Bible in the account of the Battle of Jericho?
- 📝 How do Bible Literalists deal with trees older than the flood?
- 📝 How could Jesus be descended from the royal line of David if he was born of the Virgin Birth?
- 📝 When the Bible says "forever," how can we tell it really means forever?
- 📝 Why was the Bible not available to common people in the Medieval period?
- 📝 What was the most likely method of crucifixion that was used on Jesus?
- 📝 How did Christians cultivate their knowledge of the Bible before mass-printing of the Bible?
- 📝 How do proponents of Sola Scriptura choose the "correct" interpretation of a key Bible verse?
- 📝 How to get the most out of the Bible with just one reading?
- 📝 How similar was the resurrected body of Jesus to his physical human body?
- 📝 How do apologists defend against Bart Ehrman's arguments that Church scribes corrected and changed the Bible to fit their theology?
