Hence, the church's contribution to the trans-Atlantic slave trade needs a thorough discussion to unravel the motives of such a paradox. The church's involvement in such atrocious economic venture seems paradoxical and contrary to its mission of love for humanity. In that case, all participants in the events are perpetrators of this crime. This statement admits that the slave trade was injustice to humanity. How could Christians be worshiping in chapels, under which human beings languished to death in dungeons? How could Christians who claimed to have the love of God and humanity at the centre of their religion commit such atrocities to human beings of different race? The seemingly unsatisfactory answers that came from the tour guides, made me reflect on several aspects of the slave trade-with particular reference to the church's involvement.Īt the end of the tour of the Cape Coast castle we arrived at a resolution, which was clearly spelt out on a plaque in the forecourt of the castle: 2 The tour guides' total condemnation of the church's involvement in the slave trade made me ask questions on the subject. The glaring chapels in the centre of the castles seem to suggest that the church was at the centre of the activities in the castles. My visit to the Cape Coast and Elmina castles in Ghana on 10 December 2015, with my visitor from Germany, brought me face to face with the realities of the slave trade. Slavery has existed in most ancient cultures and continues 1 to be experienced indirectly in most modern societies in its various forms as an economic venture to create wealth. Keywords: slavery slave slave master Ancient Near East Israel church trans-Atlantic slave trade It explores how the Judaeo-Christian scriptures and the Greco-Roman world shaped the church's understanding of slavery to see how the church perceived its practice and the motives for its involvement. It traces the biblical antecedent to the slave trade vis-à-vis the society's attitude to wealth. This paper assesses the church's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade to unravel the motives of such a paradox. The church's involvement in this economic venture seems paradoxical and contrary to its mission of love for all humanity. Christians who claimed to have the love of God and humanity at the centre of their religion were involved in such atrocious trade practices to create wealth. ![]() The trans-Atlantic slave trade between the fifteenth and nineteenth century is no exception. Though slavery was used openly in the past by ancient cultures to create wealth, it is today regarded as an act of injustice against humanity. existed in most ancient cultures and continues to exist indirectly in some societies in its various forms. ![]() Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. Church involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade: its biblical antecedent vis-à-vis the society's attitude to wealth
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