What to do with a Slave Holder's Theology | Thabiti Anyabwile
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ย. 2013
- Lecture Title - Jonathan Edwards and American Racism: Can the Theology of a Slave Holder be Trusted by the Descendants of Slaves
Thabiti Anyabwile was asked to address the topic “Jonathan Edwards and American Racism: Can the Theology of a Slave Owner Be Trusted by Descendants of Slaves?”
In the less official version of emails, Dr. Sweeney asked if he would address the question of
whether or not anyone should really be trying to learn from a slave owner like Jonathan Edwards.
Putting the question in more ethnically specific terms, should African-American descendants of
slaves believe and hold to the theology of slave owners like Edwards?
The question carries the freight of centuries of both Christian moral failure and racial
oppression and tension. When we ask, “Can the theology of a slave owner be trusted?” we’re not
simply proffering opinions about historical curiosities from the safe distance of our social location.
When we ask that question, we’re asking a question about ourselves, about the Church’s
understanding of her mission in the world, and about the path to reconciliation.
Also implicit in the question are certain moral and political assumptions and perspectives-
sometimes explicit and sometimes tacit. There are talking points, party lines-conservative and
progressive, points of view, and taboos all around this subject.
Thabiti Anyabwile (MS North Carolina State University) is Pastor at Anacosta River Church. He is author of several books, including The Decline of African-American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity (InterVarsity Press, 2007), The Life of God in the Soul of the Church: The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Fellowship (Christian Focus, 2012), and The Gospel for Muslims: An Encouragement to Share Christ with Confidence (Moody, 2018).
The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues-for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word-lay persons and scholars alike-for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.
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***** Been thinking about Precious Puritans while listening to this...
This is soooo good!!! Why am I just now seeing this 😱
what was the difference between William Wilberforce and this Edwards chap? The Spirit leads man, edwards theology leads him
it would have been really helpful to hear direct interaction with the texts in the bible that condone slavery(ie eph 5:6, col 3:22, 1 tim 6:1, etc) as well as some info on how exactly Johnathan Edwards treated his slaves.
The transatlantic slave trade was condemned in Scripture. The scripture condemn man stealing in which what happened.
Muckbio less Correct, but what these gentlemen in the video are talking about is any type of slavery, even slavery that is within the laws of slavery in scripture. Did Jonathon Edwards participate in man-stealing or lawful slave owning practices?
+Yudo NeidaNo Yes he did.
Muckbio less If that is truly the case then Mr. Edwards would have been guilty of man-stealing. Still, this is not really what the speakers are referring to. They want to condemn slavery under any circumstances or make slavery and man-stealing synonymous, neither of which i see biblical support for.
+Muckbio less He participated in men stealing, that was the case. He didn't go to Africa and participated but, he accepted, preached for it, and profited. I believe he was grossly wrong but, I still read his books because he was a great theologian.
Thank you Thabiti.