Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Ethics of Biblical Scholarship: A Review

The most recent book by noted biblical scholar Hector Avalos is his Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Ethics of Biblical Scholarship. In this book Mr. Avalos seeks to continue where is last book, The End of Biblical Studies, left off. He writes, “My basic premise is that if slavery is not regarded as wrong, then little else can be. And if slavery is regarded as inexcusably wrong, then biblical ethics stands or falls on its attitude toward slavery. As such, this book is a critique of the broader idea that the Bible should be the basis of modern ethics."











Avalos summarizes his book's main arguments:

1. Biblical scholarship generally functions as an apology for biblical views now deemed unethical, and slavery is a primary example.

2. Reliance on biblical ethics generally has delayed the abolition of slavery and any progress toward freedom in the manner the latter is currently conceived.

3. Any credit to the Bible for ethical advances concerning freedom is usually the result of arbitrary exegesis of the Bible, reinterpretation, and the abandonment of biblical principles. (4-5)

In the first chapter Avalos lays out what he believes are the three main “interpretive strategies” Christians use when attempting to minimize or deny the bible's acceptance of slavery. The three methods are as follows:

Representativism: This argument “affirms that a particular biblical ethical view is 'representative' while others (usually bad ones, like slavery and genocide) are unrepresentative.”

Trajectorialism: This argument “grants that certain undesirable biblical practices may exist in the Bible but they are nonetheless a step in the right direction or represent advances.”

Reinterpretation: This argument “allows the original meaning of the text to be erased or changed to fit a later or modern context.”

The first half of the book is devoted to explaining how these methods are used by biblical scholars and Christian apologists to minimize the bible's position on slavery.

Avalos continues in the next several chapters to cite various biblical passages from both the Old and New Testaments that apologists argue lead to the abolition of slavery. In addition he discusses the apologists' argument that Hebrew culture was better than other Eastern cultures, such as the Greek and Mesopotamian. Avalos' presents his water tight case and proves that these cultures contained views comparable, if not entirely superior to, the later biblical views on slavery, concluding that the bible could not have lead to any form of advance in ethics since earlier cultures had similar and superior views about slavery. In the sixth chapter he proves that Jesus, despite many claims to the contrary, accepted and advocated slavery as readily as any slavemaster.

Chapters seven through eleven discuss many Christians who are often credited with speaking out against slavery, though Avalos shows that these claims are not accurate after examining the evidence. Avalos also examines church doctrine and the church authorities' acceptance of slavery.

In the final chapters Avalos discusses the views of the British, African-American, and American abolitionists, such as John Woolman, Frederick Douglass, and Granville Sharp, among several others, and shows that their views on slavery owed less to the bible than other factors. In the final chapter Avalos explains the numerous likely reasons for the abolition of slavery, such as economic factors and secularization, that had a much more important role than the use of the bible.

I've read several books on slavery but this is one of the most well-researched treatments I've come across. A few of the other books on slavery I've read have committed many of the same errors Avalos points out when discussing the issue of slavery, abolitionism, and the bible. For example, a book I own titled Greatest Emancipations: How the West Abolished Slavery, by Jim Powell, argues that one of the earliest condemnations of slavery was by Jean Bodin in his Six Books of the Commonwealth. However, after examining his writings, Avalos deftly points out that Bodin simply rejects “perpetual” slavery, not “temporary” slavery. Therefore, Bodin can hardly be considered an opponent of slavery. Avalos also points out a few errors by the eminent scholar of slavery and abolitionism David Brion Davis, whose work on slavery makes up the majority of research I've read on the subject.

Well-written, and well-argued, this book is required reading for anyone curious about slavery, the abolitionism movement, and the issue of slavery in the bible and Christian thought.


Related Posts:

A Slave to Incompetence: The Truth Behind David Marshall’s Research on Slavery by Dr. Hector Avalos - Originally written on 7-15-10; accessed 11-16-11

The Truth Behind the New Atheism: The Definitive Refutation