Christians have been at the forefront of the abolition of the slave trade more than any other group.
• Abolition of slave trade - William Wilberforce, John Wesley, John Newton and wider Church pressure. On his deathbed, Wilberforce learned that Parliament had acted and twenty million pounds had been made available to release the remaining slaves in England. And on that day in 1833, 700,000 British slaves were freed.
• Abolition of slave trade - William Wilberforce, John Wesley, John Newton and wider Church pressure. On his deathbed, Wilberforce learned that Parliament had acted and twenty million pounds had been made available to release the remaining slaves in England. And on that day in 1833, 700,000 British slaves were freed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Slavery_Society#The_Anti-Slavery_Society_of_1823
• At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the new world, Spain enacted the first European law abolishing colonial slavery in the 16th century
• US: One of the first protests against the enslavement of Africans came from German and Dutch Quakers in Pennsylvania in 1688.
• 1783,- the first British abolitionist organization was founded by a group of Quakers. The Quakers continued to be influential throughout the lifetime of the movement, in many ways leading the campaign.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism#First_stepshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Slavery_Society#The_Anti-Slavery_Society_of_1823
• At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the new world, Spain enacted the first European law abolishing colonial slavery in the 16th century
• US: One of the first protests against the enslavement of Africans came from German and Dutch Quakers in Pennsylvania in 1688.
• 1783,- the first British abolitionist organization was founded by a group of Quakers. The Quakers continued to be influential throughout the lifetime of the movement, in many ways leading the campaign.
The Bible contains a number of references to slavery.
Nowhere in the Bible is slavery explicitly condemned. However, there are verses which deal with the humane treatment of slaves and there is also the concept of Jubilee freedom. God also freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Galatians 3:28 is a key verse: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Here are some good links that help explain the Biblical stance on slavery:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/368
http://www.allaboutworldview.org/slavery-in-the-bible.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery
Good video summary of the Biblical stance:
