By: Julie O'Hara on October 10, 2025
Current Knowledge and Belief My views on colonialism have been shaped largely by higher education, contemporary cultural conversations, and personal reflection—all of which have led me to see it in a predominantly negative light. I tend to view colonialism as the product of Western European nations seeking to extract resources from other regions of the…
By: Noel Liemam on October 9, 2025
Knowledge and Belief Before the Advance Meeting in Cape Town, I had a totally different perspective on the nature and legacy of colonialism, slavery, and religious empire. My thoughts about them are blurry and based on what I had learned before which was taken lightly as, just stories – no life to it. I envisioned…
By: Daren Jaime on October 9, 2025
Growing up, I don’t remember hearing the word Colonialism in school, although we were taught about the various occurrences in America and beyond. In my formative years, American colonialism was portrayed with words such as settlers, pioneers, and the like. The understanding I initially had centered around an exploration mission leading to the expansion…
By: Elysse Burns on October 9, 2025
My understanding of colonialism, slavery, and empire has been shaped by my education, my experiences in Africa, and my upbringing in the church. My earliest awareness of slavery came through the story of the Exodus. Though my family isn’t Jewish, one year we celebrated Passover. My mom went all out—matzah, bitter herbs, salt water—everything prepared…
By: Joel Zantingh on October 9, 2025
This post reflects on the current cultural grappling with our world’s Colonial past, and the shifting tide of a predominant Western cultural narrative that emphasizes the evils and calls for decolonization. I will explore five questions and then draw some conclusions. Current Knowledge and Belief My current view on the nature and legacy of colonialism,…
By: Chad Warren on October 9, 2025
Current Knowledge and Belief I approach colonialism, slavery, and religious empire with a mix of conviction and ongoing uncertainty. My theological formation and pastoral experience predispose me to view human dignity and the image of God as central. Human flourishing is undermined by humanity’s rejection of God in the Garden of Eden, which ushered in…
By: Kari on October 9, 2025
We parked on the main road and walked down a narrow sand alley to a small eight-by-eight-foot[1] shack. The patient called a man on his phone, his “master.” His medical treatment depended entirely on the owner’s financial situation. Some days, there was money for care; on others, no one ate. This is slavery. Today. Living…
By: Ryan Thorson on October 9, 2025
“I am a descendant of someone on the Mayflower.” The opening ice breaker line I shared during my time in Cape Town reveals how deeply my own story is entwined with colonialism. Add my Norwegian heritage—the legacy of Vikings—and I carry ancestry marked by conquest. While there are also abolitionists and freedom-seekers in my family…
By: Graham English on October 9, 2025
Introduction: When we speak about slavery and colonialism, the conversation is often loaded with emotion and moral superiority. Statues are toppled, reparations are debated, and historical records are contested. Contemporary discussions tend to highlight the European Atlantic slave trade and modern colonial empires as particularly destructive and uniquely Western in nature. However, Jeremy Black’s A…
By: Christy on October 8, 2025
Current Knowledge and Belief I’ve been wrestling with how to understand colonialism and slavery — not as simple evils or goods, but as complex realities that shaped the world and faith as we know it. I believe that the nature of colonialism is a mix of evil, neutral, and good. There were evil intentions, such…
By: Jeff Styer on October 7, 2025
To use Gen Z lingo, it’s been a hot minute since I was in grades K -12, but I do remember that starting in elementary school we began to learn about social studies. While the term colony was used, such as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, I do not recall the term colonialism being used. In…
By: Shela Sullivan on October 7, 2025
Current Knowledge and Belief Colonialism was a global system of control that changed how power, wealth, and culture were distributed around the world. It involved taking land, labor, and resources—often justified by racist beliefs and imperial goals. Nigel Biggar points out that colonialism did not start with a single decision, but was a planned effort…
By: Glyn Barrett on October 7, 2025
This reflection examines slavery and colonialism through five key questions, drawing on history, theology, and personal leadership to grapple with uncomfortable truths and consider how Christian leaders can respond with honesty, courage, and faith. Current Knowledge and Belief When the topic of slavery surfaces in public discourse, the default narrative tends to revolve around the…
By: Debbie Owen on October 6, 2025
The legacy of colonialism, slavery, and religious empire stretches back to the earliest biblical narratives. From the beginning, human beings have wrestled with how to live faithfully under God without giving in to the temptation to dominate others. Abraham left his homeland in obedience to God; later his descendants would both suffer from and wield…
By: Adam Cheney on October 6, 2025
1. Opening Question – Current Knowledge and Belief In the last few years, I have taken a deep dive into the history of slavery and the racial issues that continue to plague our country. My NPO has been shaped by these realities, with racial challenges being one area that needs to be addressed in our…
By: Diane Tuttle on October 2, 2025
My mind has been swirling this week. Yet, the topic for our blog seems a synthesis of so many pieces that have been coming together over the last year. Unfortunately, I am left with more questions than answers. Violence has been a part of history since Cain killed Abel, (Gen. 4:3-8 ESV), throughout and beyond…
By: Jennifer Eckert on October 2, 2025
When I think about colonialism, slavery, and religious empires, I don’t see separate stories. Instead, they are overlapping systems of domination designed to disguise exploitation as human progress, faith, and nation-building. Their legacy is the trauma carried across generations: the removal of Native peoples in America, the transatlantic slave trade, South African colonization, and the…
By: Joel Zantingh on September 19, 2025
In Exploring Wicked Problems, Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth introduced us to the predicament of wicked problems. They state, ‘they are confusing, dynamic, ill-structured, and ambiguous; they are complex, many-faceted, intricate, and bewildering. They have no final solutions, only temporary arrangements. Yet most of the important problems we face in our lives are wicked rather…
By: Noel Liemam on September 18, 2025
Introduction. Waldmeir’s Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid told a vivid story of the major changes and events that took place in South Africa. It told of how the government was changed to democracy from apartheid without a civil war which is unheard of. The ‘miracle’ refers to this peaceful occurrence. It was…
By: Chad Warren on September 18, 2025
South Africa is often celebrated for what many call a miracle—the end of apartheid without a descent into civil war. The story of Nelson Mandela walking free from prison in 1990 and leading the country into democracy by 1994 remains one of the most remarkable political transitions of the twentieth century. Yet nearly thirty years…
