Christian Slavery - Bad News About Christianity

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slavery. In an Instruction dated 20 June 1866 the "Holy Office", which rules on matters of faith and teaching, declared : "Slavery, considered as such in its essential nature, is not at all contrary to the natural and divine law. There can be several just titles of slavery and these are referred to by approved theologians and commentators of the sacred canons [of the Catholic Church]. It is not contrary to the natural and divine law for a slave to be sold, bought, exchanged or given." Popes continued to own slaves until they lost control of the Papal States in the nineteenth century. In 1888, after all countries other than the Vatican State, had abandoned the practice of slavery, Pope Leo XIII condemned slavery in general terms. In 1918 a new Code of Canon Law promulgated by Pope Benedictus XV condemned 'selling any person as a slave'. There was still no condemnation of slave owning, only of slave trading - so three of the four "just titles" still held. In Gaudium et spes, 1965, the Second Vatican Council finally gave up on slavery, denouncing all violations of human integrity. To date the Catholic Church has not apologised for it's part in any of the Slave Trades it established or participated in. In March 2000, Pope Jean Paul II, hinted at his Church's culpability asking unspecified people for forgiveness for unspecified crimes committed by unspecified Catholics against unspecified victims 39 . Slavery - still a charged issue in the USA There are still Christians prepared to uphold the traditional Christian line on slavery. In 1996 Charles Davidson, a devout Christian Senator from Alabama, said that slavery had been good for blacks, and pointed out that the practice had biblical approval, citing the traditional prooftexts such as Leviticus 25:44 and 1 Timothy 6:1 40 . Many Christian books and websites seek to establish that Black slavery was fundamentally different from Roman slavery. According to them, Roman slavery was a much more benign system, and this was the system referred to in the Bible. The argument is flawed in two ways. First, the rules applied to Black slavery, and Christian justification for it, were based on the Old Testament, which regulated the rules for Jews, not Romans. Rules about slave owning were similar across many ancient societies, so apologists sometimes try to regard them as the same thing. But even if slavery had been based on Roman practices in the New Testament, then the argument still does not work. The important differences between Roman slavery and Christian slavery do not lie in the rules. They are almost the same, and where they differ the Christian rules are generally harsher than the Roman rules. Slaves were bought and sold, often at auction. Prisoners captured in war were enslaved. The children of slaves also became slaves. The master had a right to control slave marriage and regulate slave family life - regarding slaves as breeding stock. Slave-girls were available for sex. As one Roman said of his time, Whoever heard of a man prosecuted for sleeping with his concubine? Escaped slaves were hunted. Rewards were offered for their return. Once returned they could be punished in the most cruel ways, not merely flogging, but amputation of a foot or "half a foot". It is certainly true that Roman slavery was often more benign than Christian. We know that Roman slaves were often educated, well treated, given good food and medical attention, appointed to responsible offices, and even treated as friends. But this reflects the relative level of
civilisation of the society and the individual slave owners. If Roman slave owners behaved better than Christian slave owners, it is because pagan Romans were more compassionate and civilised than later Christians. For identification, Christians chose to brand their slaves where pagans had merely tattooed them, but the purpose and the rules were almost identical. Christian Slavery in Africa Long after slavery had been abolished in Europe and America, Christians continued to practice slavery in Africa. The devoutly Catholic King Leopold II of the Belgians for example established a colony known as the Congo Free State. It was established with the express intention of spreading Christianity, and catholic missionaries went in large numbers. Between 1885 and 1908, the king's agents enslaved millions, many of whom were mutilated or killed for failing to work hard enough. Congo Free State, Slaves c 1905 Congo Free State Slaves c 1904 Failure to pay taxes often resulted in the offenders being condemned to slavery
Page 1 and 2: Slavery Click below for more inform
Page 3 and 4: Church & State Symbiosis Meddling i
Page 5 and 6: Children inherit their parents' sta
Page 7 and 8: seizure of their land. Like other b
Page 9 and 10: On the Law of Barbados, which impos
Page 11 and 12: On November 29th, 1781 the crew of
Page 13 and 14: Below are some notable highlights.
Page 15 and 16: Since they were merely property, th
Page 17 and 18: from the Old and New Testaments by
Page 19 and 20: Slavery was not confined to selecte
Page 21 and 22: In America opposition to slavery wa
Page 23 and 24: wholesale (moral) pollution. The wa
Page 25: After the American Civil War, the V
Page 29 and 30: Documents Runaway Slave Poster, in
Page 31: Slave Chains from west Africa (Roya
Page 38: Slave Transport in Africa
Page 41: Slave sale, Charleston Advertisemen
Page 45 and 46: The Official Medallion of the Briti
Page 47 and 48: Slave masks, collars and shackles U
Page 49 and 50: US Slave Collar - the bells make it
Page 51 and 52: US Slave Collar - Reproduction by F
Page 53 and 54: Franklin and Armfield Office, was s
Page 55 and 56: Slave collar and mask. The collar h
Page 57 and 58: another run-away slave, 1854 - note
Page 59 and 60: “Salve Auction” in Richmond, Vi
Page 61: The Voice of the Clergy (Philadelph
Page 66 and 67: Other areas of social reform: Racis
Page 68 and 69: Edict of the King: On the subject o
Page 70 and 71: Signed Moriceau. Bad News About Chr
Page 72 and 73: (Decretals of Gregory IX, Book Four
Page 74: New Haven: Yale University Press, 1

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