Tag: abolition of slavery

Slaves and Masters

Ephesians 5-6 applies the way God’s love poured out to us is reflected in our love for each other in four relational examples Encouraging one another in the church Marriage Parents and children Slaves and Masters Here is some background reading relating to the 4th example with a look at church history and the movement… Continue reading Slaves and Masters

Paul. Galatians and the end of slavery

In Galatians 3:28, Paul writes: 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. One of the major themes in Galatians is that Christ sets us free from slavery so… Continue reading Paul. Galatians and the end of slavery

What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about slavery?

In  amongst what Paul has to say about singleness, celibacy, abstinence, non-Christian partners and divorce in 1 Corinthians 7, he talks about the situation that slaves find themselves in. Whilst our focus has been understanding the issue of sexual ethics, I want to pause on this particular example because the question of Paul’s attitude to… Continue reading What does 1 Corinthians 7 actually say about slavery?

Princeton, slaveowners and statues again

Once again, there’s a debate rumbling about what to do with a statue of someone from the past. Once again, the issue is that the person concerned had been a slave owner.  This time, we’re talking about John Witherspoon, the former president of Princeton. Students at Princeton have been campaigning for Witherspoon’s statue to be… Continue reading Princeton, slaveowners and statues again

Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield and slavery

One of the most shocking things that evangelicals today discover is that some of the great heroes of the 18th Century Evangelical Awakening owned slaves, in particular George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards.  This is shocking because we associate the Evangelical Awakening with the campaign to abolish slavery with John Newton, John Wesley and of course… Continue reading Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield and slavery

A lens to look through

In this week’s #FaithrootsLive we continued to examine the issue of male and female leadership roles in church by beginning to look at hermeneutics. How do we know that we are interpreting and applying the passages that talk about men and women correctly? In order to answer the question, we are considering a case study… Continue reading A lens to look through

Calvin on slavery

I thought it might be of interest to have a look at one of the Reformers and see how he handled the question of slavery in Scripture. So here’s some commentary on how John Calvin handles Ephesians 6.  Calvin is of particular interest because as I’ve argued previously, he seems to argue from Ephesians 5:21… Continue reading Calvin on slavery

A man of their time?

Over the past year there’s been much discussion about how we should relate to and view Christians from previous generations, especially those who tend to hold hero status amongst us. This has been provoked by the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the tearing down of statues erected to historical figures often with a reputation for philanthropy but… Continue reading A man of their time?

Wesley and the slave trade (3) Why does Wesley argue from outside of Scripture?

3.1 The Quadrilateral Position Marquadt’s claim that Wesley bases his arguments outside Scripture seems to come from his statement: “I would now inquire, whether these things can be defended, on the principles of even heathen honesty; whether they can be reconciled (setting the Bible out of the question) with any degree of either justice or… Continue reading Wesley and the slave trade (3) Why does Wesley argue from outside of Scripture?