Q.
Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery?
34
These are the moving words and fi ne theology of ex-slave William Wells
Brown. If we have ears to hear, they are also the words addressed to us by mil-
lions of people around the world.
Look at the label on the back of your shirt. Look at the shoes on your
feet. Consider where you got that cup of coffee or chocolate bar. Unless God
has opened our eyes to the suffering of today’s slaves around the world (and
as a result your community is actively seeking fair-trade alternatives), we are
otherwise benefi tting from a system that survives on the evil of slavery. It’s
important to confess and repent of the culture we live in that does condone slav-
ery, and from which we have most likely benefi ted today.
When we read, “Masters, do the same to them [do God’s will with enthu-
siasm and obey your slaves]. Stop threatening them” (Eph. 6:9), it’s speaking to
us. It’s calling for us to have a relationship with those we are oppressing and
obey them[!], letting that relationship transform us so that we no longer are
oppressors and our sisters and brothers, are no longer slaves!
Paul has found a rabbinical loophole large enough to drive a kingdom
revolution through the Empire’s understanding of “order” without it being
an instant death wish for all involved. It’s subverting subordination by calling
those who dominate into mutual submission for the liberation of both! Instead
of “smashing the State” they are “subverting it” by being a living sustainable
alternative, following Jesus in God’s exodus from all oppression.
Desmond Tutu has said, “The Bible is like a knife. Some use it to butter
bread to feed the hunger. Others use the knife to kill his brother.” I think the
challenge that slavery highlights for us is the way we read scripture. Do we
read to justify the status quo that we benefi t from? Or do we read the Bible
through the story of Jesus as the fulfi llment of God’s liberating purposes
through [ancient] Israel for all of creation?
If we choose the latter, we will fi nd ourselves feeding, not killing; liberat-
ing, not enslaving. We will become God’s nonviolent army of abolitionists for
all who suffer, for all of creation.Scriptural References
Genesis 9:20–27; Matthew 5—7; Luke 14:15–24Suggested Additional Sources for Reading
- David Goldenberg, The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam (Princeton Univ. Press, 2005). - Naomi Klein, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (Vintage Canada,
2000). - Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat, Colossians Remixed: Subverting the
Empire (InterVarsity Press, 2004).