Korean American Christian Blog

In the past two years of speaking pretty regularly on the issue of slavery around the country, I've come across two disturbing lines of reasoning for not combating slavery. Both of these views have come from the faith community. Being a follower of Christ myself, it has been especially difficult to kindly respond to those who carry such perspective, especially since many of the leading abolitionists around the world come from a faith perspective as well.

Here are their views and reasoning (paraphrased to protect the guilty):

• "God is using slavery to bring the victims closer to himself. Therefore, it's just the way it is."
• "Slavery is something God, in his providence, allowed to exist during biblical times. He let it happen. Therefore, there is no need for intentional work in this area."

In both cases, the idea is that since God allows it, it must have some purpose and the Church ought not get too involved in combating it. In other words, God will take care of it. The Church should really focus on reaching people they can find. There is no need for real effort to rescue and help those enslaved.

Lame. (Sorry...I have several other words for this as well.)

In my opinion, it is illogical to think that God allowing something to happen is the same as him approving what happens. God allowed many things during biblical times that were completely evil. Nevertheless, very few of us would say that God approved of everything in biblical history.

Furthermore, why is there an assumption that those in slavery don't know Christ. In fact, there is evidence from many raids that have freed modern-day slaves of the presence of faith in the victims rescued. Some victims have shared stories of how their rescue was an answer to specific prayer. (Yes, even to Jesus specifically.)

I wonder if these perspectives would be different if these individuals had a family member or loved one enslaved today. Would this change their theology? It's a lot different when you consider the personal impact of this issue for hundreds of millions around the world. It saddens me that the narrowness of this theological perception permeates some in the church. Although a minority thought, I hope this minority group changes.

Originally posted at www.charlestlee.com