Before and After Reading Colonialism and A Brief History of Slavery
I will first unpack the why and what of my beliefs about colonialism and slavery, primarily from a theological standpoint. Then, after I look at the two texts, I will summarize why and how my beliefs were both affirmed and challenged.
Before reading Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism and Jeremy Black’s A Brief History of Slavery
First, a foundational influence on my convictions stems from my parents, their kindness toward others, and their devotion to Scripture as the rule of faith and practice in our home. Indeed, the Bible has much to say about the exploitation of others for selfish gain. This is a big “why” behind what I believe.
Second, a few theological influences come to mind as to why I currently believe what I believe. I’ll put these in the footnotes.[1]
Third, I don’t think one has to be a Christian to see human exploitation as evil / wrong.[2] In fact, many “Christians” and church leaders throughout history have been a part of the problem.
Creation and the Image of God
Humans are created in God’s image; therefore they are to be treated with dignity and respect. Structurally, humans are relational beings. We relate to God, to our neighbors, and to God’s creation as stewards. Prior to the entrance of sin, this “threefold” relational structure flourished. Functionally, humans were made to image the Creator by loving God and loving others in all their endeavors. This involves living an accountable life before the face of God (coram Deo). Nothing is hidden. We image God by treating others like we would want to be treated.
Fall
In Genesis 3, sin enters.[3] This is the root of the evil associated with human exploitation. Instead of loving God, humans turned from God and sought their own way of life.[4] Instead of pursuing the other’s good, they sought to control their neighbor. The sin-beneath-the-sin of something as evil as slavery is something that says… “I want control or security or comfort or affluence or power…more than I want God…even if that means I have to subjugate people to my own desires.” This sin encompasses personal responsibility as well as complicity in a systemically broken system.
Redemption
Jesus saves sinners. Broken humans have hope because of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Through faith in Christ, people are reconciled to God and to one another.[5]
Implications
As redeemed image bearers, we can ask, “In light of God’s love for me/us in Christ, with a new identity that transcends all other identities, how can I be an agent of peace? What does it look like for me/us “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with (our) God” (Micah 6:8)…in light of the very real history (and present problem) of human exploitation in its many forms? In what ways might I/we share complicity in the unjust ways people are treated, even if I don’t see them (or the issues) outside of my front door, and what might repentance look like? Is there a way my organization can more tangibly promote loving one’s neighbor amidst brokenness (including human exploitation) in the world?
After the reading
Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning
Nigel Biggar, an Anglican priest and Oxford professor, takes a deep dive into British colonialism’s complex history…a moral history where, according to Biggar, “the British Empire did good as well as evil.”[6]
What I failed to address in my beliefs above — something that Biggar explores in Colonialism — is the reality that people can have honor and shame at the same time. I do not disagree, but I should have included this tension. Biggar argues “that we British have reason to feel pride as well as shame about our imperial past.”[7] Though he doesn’t reference the image of God, Biggar illustrates the way in which people can and do pursue the good of others. For example, he highlights the British movement in the late 1700’s “to bring about the abolition, first, of the trade in slaves from Africa across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the American colonies, and subsequently of the institution of slavery itself throughout the empire.”[8] Yet, at the same time, humans can do terrible things, like “the unjust displacement of natives by settlers (and) failures of colonial government to prevent settler abuse and famine.”[9] This comports with what the late missiologist Daniel Hesselgrave wrote: “(E)very culture has elements of divine order and satanic rebellion; each has potential for the revelation of God’s truth and for its concealment or mutilation.”[10]
Biggar affirms what I believe to be true: A person does not have to be a Christian to agree about what is right and wrong. One could make an argument of rationalism vs. presuppositionalism, but I agree with what Biggar says in reference to writing as a Christian with Christian morals — “That does not mean that readers who are not Christian need find my moral views entirely alien. I am also a human being and I share a more or less common world with other humans.”[11] This line of reasoning is not inconsistent with Paul’s statement in Romans 2:14-16.[12]
A Brief History of Slavery
Jeremy Black states that his purpose for writing A Brief History of Slavery “is to provide an account of the history of slavery and the slave trade that focuses on the last half-millenium but includes an earlier background.”[13]
A theme in the book that affirmed what I believe is that evil has many forms. Black asserts that slavery as we think of it from history is not “the only form of coercive labor.”[14] There are other ways to control another’s work that takes advantage of the worker’s limited circumstances (e.g., his/her lack of helpful networks). This showcases a heart whose ultimate “god” could be control or security or other foundational base sin.
Black’s Introduction challenged me to be more specific with what I mean by “human exploitation.” For example, Black writes, “Slavery, therefore, is a state with different meanings in particular contexts, but with a fundamental element of an absence of freedom.”[15] This is a better way to explain “the exploitation of others for selfish gain.” If I were to write the first part of this essay again, I would highlight different ways the powerful have taken away the freedoms of the less powerful and how this played out in history. This requires more research. I have more work to do.
[1] Three authors/theologians came immediately to mind. They were:
- Anthony Hoekema’s Created in God’s Image, specifically chapter 5 “The image of God: A Theological Summary,” opened a larger perspective for me on what is meant by the image of God.
- Michael Goheen’s writings, particularly his articulation of the Bible’s redemptive storyline in The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story. The creation-fall-redemption construct was a threshold construct for me twenty years ago. Goheen’s influence on my life (he’s also a friend) has been immeasurable.
- Timothy Keller’s Counterfeit Gods. Keller’s definition of idolatry and his examination of the sin-beneath-the-sin was so helpful. Keller helped his readers to know what repentance looks like (how someone can actually repent of worshipping idols of the heart).
[2] See Romans 2:12 – 16.
[3] See Genesis 3.
[4] See Gen. 1:28-30 to see the job description God gave humans.
[5] See Ephesians 2:11-22.
[6] Nigel Biggar, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, London: William Collins, 2023, 2024, Kindle edition, 351 of 748.
[7] Nigel Biggar, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, London: William Collins, 2023, 2024, Kindle edition, 14 of 748.
[8] Nigel Biggar, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, London: William Collins, 2023, 2024, Kindle edition, 46 of 748.
[9] Nigel Biggar, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, London: William Collins, 2023, 2024, Kindle edition, 83 of 748.
[10] Hesselgrave, David J. Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally: An Introduction to Missionary
Communication, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991.
[11] Nigel Biggar, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, London: William Collins, 2023, 2024, Kindle edition, 24 of 748.
[12] “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:14-16, ESV
[13] Jeremy Black, A Brief History of Slavery, Robinson: London, 2011, 2-3.
[14] Ibid., 3.
[15] Ibid., 6.
About the Author
Travis Vaughn
6 responses to “Before and After Reading Colonialism and A Brief History of Slavery”
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Hi Travis,
Great Post….
I started my rather meager post with this statement, “Summary – The majority ALWAYS victimizes the minority in EVERY country. The sin of Pride in the majority looking down on the minority who look, act, and speak differently began at the Tower of Babel. People groups formed by language and prejudice emerged along linguistic lines. Cultures emerged from Genesis 11:6
“The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
He then proceeded to break up the human group and created different languages.
The impacts of these books were informative, but they did not alter my perspective.
I am a small minority fish swimming in the larger majority (white) pool. And yet, because of the “American Dream,” I have become assimilated or adopted a chameleon perspective. It depends on who is making the call.
I work in places (Hungary and Slovakia) where the tension between majority and minority is not discussed. It assumed that the OTHERS were inferior. End of Statement.
The fact that we have a female Afro-American running for president and have had a male African-American president speaks to me of steady change.
I am satisfied with that.
Shalom.
In reading both your post and your response to my post, I thought of Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity, where Stark explains how one of the ways that the Christian faith grew in the Roman world — in part because of networks — is through the way that Christians cared for those who were sick (even dying of the plague), ministering care and hospitality to those in the majority culture who had been marginalized because of their condition. Christianity spread in part because of the way that those who were persecuted — persecuted because of their faith (by the majority culture) — responded to the dominant culture around them, even caring for that culture’s sick and dying population.
Thanks Travis. I can also appreciate Biggar’s notion of shame and honor…although I’m not as much of a fan of the terms chosen. I’d be more inclined to use ‘positives’ and ‘negatives’ or some variety of of that nomenclature. What I appreciate, however, is the recognition that lots of topics–and certainly most complex topics–require nuance and precision in our analysis and communication….and that simplistic blanket statements don’t help the problem–in fact, it likely contributes to the continued inability to have meaningful conversation about deeply important issues (that was a long run-on sentence!). So I believe I can, with at least minimal confidence say that colonialism was motivated by both sinful and altruistic motivations and that it produced both good and bad outcomes. The percentage of good and bad are way outside my capacity to speak to….so I’ll stay mainly quite on Monday!
Good, thoughtful review, Travis. One item that stood out to me specifically was the impact your parents’ modeling had on your view of slavery and colonialism. This makes me curious to hear more specifically what they did that had such an impact? Mostly, because I want to be inspired in how we can follow those same footsteps as parents and leaders in our own spheres.
Travis,
There was so much to think about as I read your post. You asked the question, “In what ways might I/we share complicity in the unjust ways people are treated, even if I don’t see them (or the issues) outside of my front door, and what might repentance look like?” I wrote a bit about this in my post. It is easy to dismiss my part when injustice doesn’t seem to be “outside my front door.” What are some ways to make sure you remain sensitive and vigilant when it seems at times removed?
Travis,
This is so powerful, “We image God by treating others like we would want to be treated.” I will carry this with me as I attempt to navigate this season in our Country.