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Christian views on slavery are varied regionally, historically and spiritually. Slavery in various forms has been a part of the social environment for much of Christianity's history, spanning well over eighteen centuries. Saint Augustine described slavery as being against God's intention and resulting from sin. [1]
Abolitionist writings, such as "A Condensed Anti-Slavery Bible Argument" (1845) by George Bourne, [23] and "God Against Slavery" (1857) by George B. Cheever, [24] used the Bible, logic and reason extensively in contending against the institution of slavery, and in particular the chattel form of it as seen in the South. In Cheever's speech ...
Catholic teaching began, however, to turn against slavery from 1435. [7] While the Age of Discovery greatly increased the number of slaves owned by Christians, the response of the clergy, under strong political pressures, was ineffective in preventing the establishment of slave-owning societies in the colonies of Catholic countries.
At other times, Christian groups worked against slavery. The seventh-century Saint Eloi used his vast wealth to purchase British and Saxon slaves in groups of 50 to 100 in order to set them free. [82] The Quakers in particular were early leaders of abolitionism, and in keeping with this tradition they denounced slavery at least as early as 1688.
The early Christian perspectives on slavery were formed in the contexts of Christianity's roots in Judaism, and they were also shaped by the wider culture of the Roman Empire. Both the Old and New Testaments recognize the existence of the institution of slavery. The earliest surviving Christian teachings about slavery are from Paul the Apostle.
When this view changed, white Christians began to try to convert slaves to Christianity, although slave owners resisted their conversion because they were afraid of slave revolts. In trying to convert slaves to Christianity, Christian leaders encouraged slavery, as well as any means of punishment that was used against slaves who revolted. [4]
Though Christians like the Apostles Paul and Peter accepted slavery as a societal institution, they also recognized the dangers inherent in it.
It is commonly suggested that Biblical slavery and early Christian slavery was less brutal than modern slavery (as compared with the African slave trade), however according to Chance Bonar, this is a faulty assumption, and there is ample historical evidence for extreme cruelty in ancient Mediterranean slavery, including that practiced by early ...