Where was God in the slave trade?
Dear Sir
In the issue of reparations for Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, have those considering this asked: Where was God in all of this? The Bible makes clear that God is ‘on the side of the poor’; Jesus announced his ministry in Nazareth as: “The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor’.
While the African victims of slavery were captured and sold as chattels, their humanity and traditional spirituality enabled them to discover in Christ, and from the Christian faith of the slaver, a spiritual resource that not only enabled them to survive but retain and deepen their humanity. Current research is showing the debt that Pentecostal churches owe to the exuberant worship rituals from African Traditional Religion culture combined with their experience of the Holy Spirit. This could only have been possible if God was with them as He is the God of the poor. How much he was with the Slavers is very uncertain.
It has recently been computed that the black churches will be the main element in the expression of the Christian faith in the UK in the years to come.
Yours in Christ
Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden
Letter in the Church of England Newspaper April 25
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