For centuries, the Scriptures were twisted and distorted to provide support for racism and race-based slavery. It is no exaggeration to state that the enslavement of African Americans would never have persisted as long as it did without the support of persons who claimed to follow Scripture. At the same time, Christian ethics were also one […]
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Culture: The Long Shadow of Racism in America
The institution of American slavery has been called America’s “national birth defect.” “Black Americans were”—in the words of one professor of political science—“a founding population [of the American colonies]. Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together, Europeans by choice and Africans in chains.” These events happened far more recently than many Americans seem […]
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Church History: Macrina and the Supreme Authority of Scripture
Two years after the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, Macrina the Younger was born. She—as Coleman Michael Ford has pointed out— lived between two worlds. One world was the age of Christian persecution by the likes of emperor Diocletian and others. For many Christians in the three centuries before Macrina’s birth, persecution leading to […]
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Church History: William Wilberforce and the End of the British Slave Trade
In late March, 1807, the British slave trade came to an end. One of the key figures in the battle against the British slave trade was an evangelical Christian named William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was short—about five feet, three inches in stature—and suffered from poor health, but he was eloquent and witty. He became a member […]
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Culture: The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation
Racial reconciliation is not primarily about healing the wounds of racial subjugation that so deeply scar our nation’s history. Racial reconciliation is not primarily about seeking justice for immigrants and refugees. It’s not about reducing conflict between persons with differing concentrations of melanin. It’s not even primarily about a systemic lack of opportunities for certain ethnicities—though all […]
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Church History: The Legacy of William Wilberforce
March 25th marks the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. In 1807 the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act, eradicating the inhumane export of African slaves throughout the Empire. About 25 years following that, slavery would be completely outlawed within the British Empire. The major contributor to this movement […]
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Church History: How Did a Christian Politician Help to End the British Slave Trade?
To learn more about William Wilberforce and the end of the British slave trade, read this introduction from Eric Metaxas or this summary from C. Ben Mitchell. 30 Days through Church History: Day 24
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