Christians who have rocked the world: fighting against slavery

[BetheButterfly]

Many Atheists today seem to contribute the vast advancements in science and technology to people not believing in God. However, throughout history, amazing leaps of discovery, as well as creative inventions, have been accomplished by Theists as well. Freedom to study and experiment with ideas brought about the modern comforts we so enjoy. In addition, Theists, in particular Christians, made great strides in human rights and in helping people. Human rights include freedom from slavery.

 

Sadly, slavery has been a part of history in most cultures since ancient times. Jesus, in His teaching, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31) set the groundwork for His followers to set the captives free! When a person applies this logic to their daily lives, many activities show themselves to be completely unacceptable. For example, do I want to be murdered? No! So, I will not murder others. Do I want to be tortured? No! So, I will not torture others. Do I want someone to steal from me? No! So, I will not steal from others. Do I want to be enslaved? No! So, I will not enslave others! For many Theists, particularly Christians, this conviction blazed the concept of human rights into their hearts and emboldened them to fight against injustice and oppression that others suffer!

 

Paul, in the day and age when slavery was acceptable and legal, encouraged slaves to seek their freedom, “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.” (1 Corinthians 7:21). Although not calling for a revolt, he did promote freedom from slavery. In one person's case, he even wrote a letter to the slaveowner, kindly requesting freedom for the person he called his son, “Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[Onesimus means useful.] who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.” (Philemon 8-21)

 

In 1 Corinthians 7:23, Paul commands people, “...do not become slaves of human beings.” Now, imagine with me being a Christian slaveowner, listening to this letter being read aloud. What would that slaveowner think? Hopefully, that person would become convicted to free slaves! Sad to say however, for a long time many Christians thought it was fine to own slaves. Apparently, they did not take to heart the golden rule of Luke 6:31 or Paul's gentle touch against slavery. However, thank God, there have been wonderful Christians who have understood! God utilized them to make slavery illegal in the Western world!

 

One of the most famous of these people, William Wilberforce, fought long and hard in the UK Parliament to realize his dream of making slavery illegal, from 1791 to around 1823. One of his quotes which greatly impacts me personally is the following: ““Is it not the great end of religion, and, in particular, the glory of Christianity, to extinguish the malignant passions; to curb the violence, to control the appetites, and to smooth the asperities of man; to make us compassionate and kind, and forgiving one to another; to make us good husbands, good fathers, good friends; and to render us active and useful in the discharge of the relative social and civil duties? ” His book, Real Christianity: an Introduction, inspires Christians to actively live out their faith in how they treat others! Thomas Clarkson, Thomas Fowell Buxton, William Allen, James Cropper, John Wesley, and other men and women who believed in God as well definitely contributed to making slavery illegal in the UK. Elizabeth Heyrick, in 1824, made her views against slavery known in her pamphlet, “Immediate not Gradual Abolition” and helped lead a ladies' anti-slavery group! Most of the people in the UK who were against slavery were Theists, particularly Christians.

 

Christians in the United States woke up against slavery as well! Elijah Lovejoy was murdered in 1837 the reason being because of his anti-slavery stance. However, more and more Christians in the USA were growing in understanding of Jesus' teachings and the fact that God created all people equal.

 

Other Christians who fought against slavery in the United States through various means include Charles Finney, Benjamin Lay, John Woolman, and Anthony Benezet. They are just a few of the many Christians dedicated to rescuing people from slavery! Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, said of her writing, “I did not write it. God wrote it. I merely did his dictation." She and her father were firm believers in the abolition of slavery. Sojourner Truth, an amazing Christian lady who was herself a slave, greatly helped other people understand the horrors of slavery.

 

Christianity focuses on Jesus' teachings and actions. He is our example in lighting this world! Together, Christians can and do rock the world for Jesus! It does not matter what ethnicity, social status, or gender; we are all brothers and sisters in Christ! As Paul says in Galatians 3:26-28, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” As a Christian lady, I am so thankful for the Christians in the past who have rocked the world! Jesus' awesome example of love and his amazing teachings, His disciples' exhortations, and the tremendous strides of earlier Christians motivate me to continue in their path!

 

Today, many people share the vision against slavery, which most definitely was influenced by Christian principles and Christian people who understood those principles. Thankfully, many people of different beliefs, including Atheists, join together in order to make the world a better place, actively advocating human rights, and helping those in need!

 

 

(All verses are from NIV, which can be found on BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages. ).

(I placed some statements, both mine and quotes, in bold in order to emphasize them).

Edited May 29, 2012 by BetheButterfly

[thatone]

but the people who compiled and edited the bible you read had slaves.

 

the early roman church even owned slaves.

 

there are writings from augustine that justify it.

[HVane]

I didn't join this site to read proselytizing.

[KathyM]

I didn't join this site to read proselytizing.

This section of Loveshack is entitled "Spirituality and Religious Beliefs". The site encourages spiritual and religious debates and commentary. If you don't want to read things related to this topic, you don't have to open the thread.

[KathyM]

So now Christians are responsible for slavery in the world? (Responding to previous poster, not the OP). Last I read, God himself freed the Isrealites from years of slavery. Last I read, Abraham Lincoln, who was a very religious Christian man, freed the slaves in the U.S. There may have been times when the culture or climate of a country was pro-slavery, but Christians have often led the fight against slavery and opression.

[Nohbody]

If there is one thing I've learned in my brief time on earth, it's that people want to point to one factor and say "This is what done it". Unfortunately, the real world doesn't work that way. There are always many factors at play in any major shift in human values.

 

Slavery ended for a host of reasons, some of them political, some of them social, some of them religious, some of them military and security related, and some of them economic. All of these factors worked in conjunction to bring about an end to slavery.

 

But it's ok to pick favorites. It makes humanity as a whole seem better than to say "It no longer made economic sense because of industrialization."

 

For example.

[KathyM]

If there is one thing I've learned in my brief time on earth, it's that people want to point to one factor and say "This is what done it". Unfortunately, the real world doesn't work that way. There are always many factors at play in any major shift in human values.

 

Slavery ended for a host of reasons, some of them political, some of them social, some of them religious, some of them military and security related, and some of them economic. All of these factors worked in conjunction to bring about an end to slavery.

 

But it's ok to pick favorites. It makes humanity as a whole seem better than to say "It no longer made economic sense because of industrialization."

 

For example.

So you don't want to give Abraham Lincoln any credit for ending slavery. Whatever. . .

[Nohbody]

Britain ended slavery in 1833, the French ended it in their colonies in 1848 the US didn't end it until 1865.

 

Abraham Lincoln didn't play a significant role in the first two.

 

But I did mention "Political". Abraham Lincoln could be placed in that category.

 

And let's not forget his contribution to the eradication of vampires in America.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Nohbody

[aj22one]

So you don't want to give Abraham Lincoln any credit for ending slavery. Whatever. . .

 

Oh yeah, Abe Lincoln. The tyrant who suspended habeas corpus and whose actions led to the deaths of 600k (plus scores of innocent civilians)? Real swell guy he was.

 

Maybe he could have taken some of that money they spent on the war and bought some of the slaves and freed them without any shots fired. Oh yeah, non-violent solutions are never in the best interests of statists.

[Nohbody]

aj22one,

So I guess you'd just prefer these United States to be overrun by vampires?

Desperate times called for desperate measures. And Abe was the man with the magic face.

[aj22one]

aj22one,

So I guess you'd just prefer these United States to be overrun by vampires?

Desperate times called for desperate measures. And Abe was the man with the magic face.

 

The animals and/or the machines are going to take over anyway. They would have taken out the Vamps, we all would have just been caught in the cross fire. haha

[pureinheart]

There is not one written record of Jesus or Paul saying anything against the institution of slavery.

 

The epistle of Philemon is not exactly an anti-slavery sentiment, nor is Titus 2. I suggest the OP and others read up on a more balanced view of history: Christian views on slavery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

IMO, without going into study, I would say the Apostle Paul was addressing the conduct of the believer in any situation.

 

Gods ultimate desire is salvation. Our lives are only a drop in the bucket in comparison to eternity. God doesn't condone slavery, slavery is brought forth from greed, and that's why He states that money is the ROOT of all evel. Heavy empasis on "root" because money in and of itself is not evil.

[thatone]

Britain ended slavery in 1833, the French ended it in their colonies in 1848 the US didn't end it until 1865.

 

Abraham Lincoln didn't play a significant role in the first two.

 

But I did mention "Political". Abraham Lincoln could be placed in that category.

 

And let's not forget his contribution to the eradication of vampires in America.

 

hah!

 

i used to like tim burton, he went down a peg after i saw that preview.

 

no, christians aren't responsible for slavery, but the early christian church didn't condemn it when doing so would have consequences for them either.

 

just as today, the early church was a lot more political than religious.

 

So now Christians are responsible for slavery in the world? (Responding to previous poster, not the OP). Last I read, God himself freed the Isrealites from years of slavery. Last I read, Abraham Lincoln, who was a very religious Christian man, freed the slaves in the U.S. There may have been times when the culture or climate of a country was pro-slavery, but Christians have often led the fight against slavery and opression.

 

there is no evidence that the exodus ever occurred. just a story, like so many others.

Edited May 30, 2012 by thatone

[pureinheart]

Youre pushing your religion on others. Howd you like if I pused my beliefs on you or your childen?

 

Just exactly how is she doing this? Is she not entitled to communicate her beliefs? She's in the right forum of LS to do this.

 

FTR, the school system is already doing this concerning your question.

[Buck Turgidson]

Getting back to this planet...

 

OP, it's hard to tell exactly what the point is that you're trying to make, but I think you are trying to say that it's thanks to Christianity that slavery no longer exists. This, I think, is, at best, ludicrous.

 

As evidence, you cite:

1. The Golden Rule. Well, newsflash: Jesus did not invent the golden rule. I think it's great that you follow it yourself, and certainly many other individual Christians aspire to it as well, but it's not in any way uniquely Christian. It appears, in fact, in pretty much any ancient culture for which we have records. Supposing that we could attribute the abolition of slavery to the golden rule (and I don't think we can even do that), that would not assign attribution to Christianity.

 

2. Paulian scriptures which, at best, encourage the freeing of one particular slave he happens to like. I won't insult your intelligence by quoting what he has to say about slavery in general, which hardly does your argument much good.

 

3. Christian abolitionists in the enlightenment period. Too bad the enlightenment happened about 1800 years AFTER Jesus. Had Christianity itself been a major factor in eliminating slavery, then you'd think that there certainly would have been a groundswell of abolition long before then, say perhaps some time in the first 18 centuries of its founding. But there was never any such groundswell until the Enlightenment, which was very much a response to medieval Christian mores. Yes, certain of the abolitionists of the enlightenment period were Christians, but for each one of them, there was also a Christian enslaver. Had Christianity itself been responsible for abolition, then it would have been impossible for Christians to hold slaves for, you know, that first 1800 years of it.

[FredRutherford]

Originally Posted by pureinheart

God doesn't condone slavery

 

Then why does god lay down rules for how slaves should be bought and treated? Maybe I'm being simplistic, but that might have been a good opportunity to instead point out that owning other human beings is morally reprehensible.

Women didn't have the right to vote in many Western countries until the 20th Century.

Scripture doesn't address sufferage.

It's not responsible for the way other men treated other men in ancient times.

[TaraMaiden]

Women didn't have the right to vote in many Western countries until the 20th Century.

Scripture doesn't address sufferage.

Yes it does, it condemns it.

It's not responsible for the way other men treated other men in ancient times.

 

i think you'll find it is. The church dictated moral behaviour thorough the scripture, the bible and god's word. As such, people did a the church told them, or suffered dreadful consequences.

[thatone]

i think it's safe to say with 99% accuracy that 99% of christians have never read their bible cover to cover, otherwise they wouldn't be christians.

[William]

A small excerpt from our 'bible', one followers agree to live by when practicing the Loveshack 'faith'.

 

"We expect that all participants will respond to posts in their specific context, not to the person who has posted. While opinions may be formed of various members based on what they have posted in the past, any response to any particular submission should be grounded in what has been posted in that thread. Past disagreements should not be resurrected in new threads. It is important that criticism be directed at what is stated in a post ("I don't like your idea") rather than at the individual making the statement ("I don't like you")."

 

Carry on.

[FredRutherford]

Women didn't have the right to vote in many Western countries until the 20th Century.

Scripture doesn't address sufferage.

It's not responsible for the way other men treated other men in ancient times.

404 Relevance Not Found

 

Yes it is, when its teachings claim to come from the moral authority of a deity, and include details on just how badly you can physically beat a slave. That is an appalling attempt to absolve your holy book of responsibility for the harm it has perpetrated on people.

 

Yes it does, it condemns it.

 

 

i think you'll find it is. The church dictated moral behaviour thorough the scripture, the bible and god's word. As such, people did a the church told them, or suffered dreadful consequences.

 

The New Testament was written mostly by "common" people, members of the underclass.

Not those in authority.

 

The brutal atheists who murdered people who held other political and religious beliefs -- the ones who couldn't stand the thought of contrary beliefs and freedom of expression -- those common people couldn't affect or change laws. Would do no good to turn Scripture into a political cause.

 

 

i think it's safe to say with 99% accuracy that 99% of christians have never read their bible cover to cover, otherwise they wouldn't be christians.

 

The postings in this thread indicate a lack of historical understanding of Christianity and the ancient world.

[thatone]

i don't live in the ancient world and neither do you. and no amount of praying is gonna bring it back.

 

but either way a recurring theme we see time and time again in these threads is a christian making a statement that he or she has heard hundreds of times from a priest or another christian, and someone who has actually studied their beliefs offhandedly dispels it with undeniable fact.

 

so that statement of yours is just as much a straw man as the "murdering atheist" one above.

[FredRutherford]

i don't live in the ancient world and neither do you. and no amount of praying is gonna bring it back.

 

but either way a recurring theme we see time and time again in these threads is a christian making a statement that he or she has heard hundreds of times from a priest or another christian, and someone who has actually studied their beliefs offhandedly dispels it with undeniable fact.

 

so that statement of yours is just as much a straw man as the "murdering atheist" one above.

I don't wanna live in a world where the godless ruled life, sentences people who expressed belief in God to death, closed churches, humiliated people through slavery and servitude merely bec. of the color of their skin, their nationality, etc.

[TaraMaiden]

The New Testament was written mostly by "common" people, members of the underclass.

Not those in authority.

irrelevant. the message it contains was preached by rich and poor alike, as gospel. I truly cannot see your point here.

 

The brutal atheists who murdered people who held other political and religious beliefs -- the ones who couldn't stand the thought of contrary beliefs and freedom of expression -- those common people couldn't affect or change laws. Would do no good to turn Scripture into a political cause.

again, what's your point?

I don't see its relevance to the topic....

 

The postings in this thread indicate a lack of historical understanding of Christianity and the ancient world.

And none more so than from Christians.

[FredRutherford]

but either way a recurring theme we see time and time again in these threads is a christian making a statement that he or she has heard hundreds of times from a priest or another christian, and someone who has actually studied their beliefs offhandedly dispels it with undeniable fact.

 

so that statement of yours is just as much a straw man as the "murdering atheist" one above.

 

Tearing down the foundations of a movement that helped transform the world, end slavery, take in the sick, needy, found orphanages, etc. does more to support brutal regimes and people that hate others for their beliefs.

 

Please tell me how many atheists founded orphanages, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, etc?

Or supported the freedom of speech, religion, assembly?

 

 

someone who has actually studied their beliefs offhandedly dispels it with undeniable fact.

 

Don't kid yourself. Attacking others for their views while slurring one of the world's major religions with your narrow beliefs shows your shortcomings.

 

How many of the writers of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were open atheists who viciously attacked and went to court to sue anyone who dared mention words such as Christmas or carried a Bible to their school or work?

 

Interesting how supposed "tolerant' atheists get their noses all out of joint when someone dare utters words they hate...

[sally4sara]

I don't wanna live in a world where the godless ruled life, sentences people who expressed belief in God to death, closed churches, humiliated people through slavery and servitude merely bec. of the color of their skin, their nationality, etc.

 

Then you shouldn't read the bible that was created by people like that. The same man, Constantine 1, originally a pagan, and a man who murdered his wife and son, had christian writings stolen, burning what offended him, had christians imprisoned or killed for their beliefs is the same man who later created a committee to go through the remaining stolen writings to decide what to put in the bible that would unite the different religious groups who inhabited his empire for the purposes of war.

 

Enjoy his handiwork.