‘Yes, I got my wife’s approval for the title.<\/p>\n
This week we are supposed to write about our views and assumptions about colonialism and slavery before we read A History of Slavery<\/em> by Jeremy Black[i]<\/a> and Colonialism<\/em> by Nigel Biggar.[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n Pre-Reading Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n First, I realize our tendency with just about anything and everything is to oversimplify issues in our world, both in the present and in the past. Slavery has been around for thousands of years and has taken different forms across the globe. In certain places and times in history, it was so woven into the culture and so systemic that if someone were abruptly liberated, they would have struggled to survive. Where would they work? How could they buy food? Where would they live? How could they gain property?<\/p>\n Expansion and colonization are part of world history. It\u2019s not a European or white thing. It\u2019s a global element that plenty of tribes, countries, and nations with power have participated in. \u00a0Israel, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Mongolia, West Africa, Germany, Russia, Spain, etc., all have their histories of gaining more land, acquiring more resources, and subjugating others for the sake of their kingdom, people, and ego.<\/p>\n Concerning slavery in America and colonization, this is yet another chapter of one group seeking to expand at the expense of other groups. Race, class, theology, heritage, and power dynamics all influenced who was subjected to who. I would imagine that some systems of slavery and owners were more benevolent than others. As stated earlier, I believe this was so systemic and foundational in America to the economy, government, and survival that changing this structure was unrealistic and absurd. For many Christian slave owners, it was sanctioned by Scripture. This not only gave ample permission to continue this practice but prevented it from bothering their conscience at all in the first place.<\/p>\n I think people approach slavery and colonialism in a few ways in the West today. \u00a0Some dismiss it or refuse to own its darker history to soften some of Christianity’s or Western Civilization’s contribution to present issues. \u00a0Others oversimplify these events to attack Christianity and Western Civilization for certain agendas.<\/p>\n Now, time to do an inspectional reading of these books and report back.<\/p>\n Tick Tock. Tick Tock….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Post-Reading Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n Alright, I’m back<\/p>\n Slavery<\/strong><\/p>\n As I was reading through my earlier post to see what\u2019s changed from pre- to post-reading, it\u2019s clear that I had a specific type of slavery in mind while talking about it. Jeremy Black gives various systems that could fall under the umbrella of slavery (working off debts, chattel slavery, human trafficking, etc.). Initially, my thoughts of slavery primarily consisted of people being bought, sold, and owned by others for labor. However, Black expands slavery to include other expressions, especially as time passes. This did not run contrary to my belief, but it did expand it and cause me to think differently about how I define it. \u00a0I was not surprised at how rampant slavery has been all over the world since I read history quite a bit, and it shows up everywhere.<\/p>\n This global system and humanity’s cavalier approach to it for centuries are among the things that got my ethical and spiritual wheels turning. Reading parts of this book turns my stomach, and I\u2019m glad it does. But why did so many throughout history not think a thing about it? Probably because it was out in the open, legal, communally accepted, and religiously sanctioned. Now, it feels wrong deep in my gut, but for centuries, both religious and non-religious people could eat dinner at their table while other humans were all around them as property. Some were likely treated more humanely, but some were certainly degraded and abused. This further confirms my belief that something other than pure biblical interpretation alone is guiding human ethics since so many Christians could casually be involved in what many in the West now view as horrific.<\/p>\n Colonialism\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If I had to sum up Nigel Biggar\u2019s book on colonialism, it would be ethically complex<\/em>. The complexity of colonial expansion, like slavery, is a global and universal tendency. Various cultures have expanded their empires and territories. The ethical muddiness with most expansions is the benefits<\/em> that come along with the atrocities. Some of what we enjoy today in the world or marvel at from the past was built on the backs of slaves, imperialism, human exploitation, death, and suffering. However, Biggar shows that colonialism also introduced positives into new territories that we still benefit from today. This also messes with our conscience a bit, as it should. \u00a0This, once again, expands and challenges (some of it I was aware of) my thinking on the subject. One of the reasons I appreciate historians, which Nigel claims was his approach, is the ability to share the good, the bad, and the ugly in history. History is not black and white. This is also why I appreciate Tom Holland\u2019s, Dominion<\/em>.[iii]<\/a> He shows both sides of the Judeo-Christian faith, which, as we know, is undoubtedly tied to religious and cultural expansion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [i]<\/a> Biggar, Nigel. Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning<\/em>. London: William Collins, 2023.<\/p>\n
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