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Human Trafficking, the Bible, and the Church: An Interdisciplinary Study
Human trafficking causes untold suffering to millions throughout the world. From a Christian perspective it should go without saying that we ought to work towards the eradication of this evil. The Bible, however, which all Christian traditions recognize as normative for faith and practice, reflects an era in which slavery was regarded as the norm. This raises a can it have anything to say to the church about human trafficking, or should it be discarded as irrelevant and anachronistic? Drawing on history and literature to help us bridge the hermeneutical gap between the texts and our own age, this study presents an examination of key biblical material on slavery and prostitution. It suggests that the Bible does have much to say that can inform Christian responses to modern-day slavery in all its forms, including the sex industry into which so many victims of trafficking are sold.
"If you are a Christian and engaged in the issues of human trafficking and prostitution, this is a book you will want to read. Marion Carson, thorough in her theological reflection, exposes attitudes that contribute to the suffering of those enslaved and leads us to see clearly, through the lens of the Bible, the evils of injustice and exploitation. A powerful read that leaves me with much to ponder and do."
--Nancy Murphy, Executive Director, Therapist, Educator, Northwest Family Life Learning & Counseling Center
"Marion Carson combines the skills of a trained biblical scholar with the passion of a social activist engaged in resistance to the injustices of contemporary forms of slavery. She is thus uniquely qualified to write on this crucial yet frequently misunderstood or evaded topic. She does so with skill, honesty, and courage, placing us in her debt and confronting us with the urgent ethical and theological challenges so well articulated in this superb study."
--David Smith, Honorary Lecturer, University of Aberdeen
"This is an excellent book. With clarity Marion Carson successfully integrates a number of foci into a coherent argument. She offers a detailed study of the Scriptures, identifies important issues of biblical hermeneutics, discusses with nuance and cultural sensitivity the practice of prostitution, and uses all of this to expose the current issue of sex trafficking with the purpose of motivating ethical Christian response. Informative, sensitive, and relevant."
--Stuart Blythe, Rector, International Baptist Theological Study Centre Amsterdam
Marion L. S. Carson is a freelance theologian and writer who lives in Glasgow, Scotland. She is Secretary of the European Baptist Federation Anti-trafficking Network.
"If you are a Christian and engaged in the issues of human trafficking and prostitution, this is a book you will want to read. Marion Carson, thorough in her theological reflection, exposes attitudes that contribute to the suffering of those enslaved and leads us to see clearly, through the lens of the Bible, the evils of injustice and exploitation. A powerful read that leaves me with much to ponder and do."
--Nancy Murphy, Executive Director, Therapist, Educator, Northwest Family Life Learning & Counseling Center
"Marion Carson combines the skills of a trained biblical scholar with the passion of a social activist engaged in resistance to the injustices of contemporary forms of slavery. She is thus uniquely qualified to write on this crucial yet frequently misunderstood or evaded topic. She does so with skill, honesty, and courage, placing us in her debt and confronting us with the urgent ethical and theological challenges so well articulated in this superb study."
--David Smith, Honorary Lecturer, University of Aberdeen
"This is an excellent book. With clarity Marion Carson successfully integrates a number of foci into a coherent argument. She offers a detailed study of the Scriptures, identifies important issues of biblical hermeneutics, discusses with nuance and cultural sensitivity the practice of prostitution, and uses all of this to expose the current issue of sex trafficking with the purpose of motivating ethical Christian response. Informative, sensitive, and relevant."
--Stuart Blythe, Rector, International Baptist Theological Study Centre Amsterdam
Marion L. S. Carson is a freelance theologian and writer who lives in Glasgow, Scotland. She is Secretary of the European Baptist Federation Anti-trafficking Network.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2016
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 16, 2023
It was a good book, I just didn’t feel it was great. It was a short and easy read which is nice, I definitely don’t feel like I’ve wasted my timing reading it. But I suppose that also led to it being a bit… lighter when I wanted a bit more (and felt like there would be more as I was reading it).
The author gives a short description of the ways slavery is still alive and well in our world before giving a rundown on the arguments used for and against slavery in the USA and Britain prior to emancipation. The pro-slavery crowd used a more literal hermeneutic which looked for eternal laws within the scriptures (in particular the OT) while the anti-slavery crowd worked from an angle which tried to see the overall trajectory and/or the ethical spirit of the Bible. Seeing as it’s now unanimous among Christian groups that slavery is not consistent with Christianity (or the Bible) despite some pretty obvious places within the Bible that condones slavery, the author suggests we be careful not to make the same mistake as the pro-slavers.
She reviews prostitution as a way of exposing our prejudices. She shows the complexity of the situation and how it cannot simply be reduced to prostitution = bad like most churches have done. Of course the women have been the ones mostly targeted with such mindsets, but even as males are being given more responsibility regarding prostitution, it’s still ultimately unhelpful at best and harmful at worst.
Throughout the book though, there was very little more than interpretation of how certain historical groups or the biblical authors understood things or perhaps the complexity of our current situation. But little to nothing on how she neighed we are to respond to such slavery. The last (short) chapter attempts that, but even then the first half or so is just a recap. While helpful, what I really wanted was an relevance and applications section. The remaining chapter mostly did that but by then it was so brief that I can’t say I have much of an idea of how I am to respond to the information given.
I’m grateful for the information within this book. It was well written, well cited and easy to follow. Honestly though, I felt that Willard Swartley’s Slavery, Sabbath, War and Women had a somewhat similar premise while achieving a bit more of a practical and useful book.
The author gives a short description of the ways slavery is still alive and well in our world before giving a rundown on the arguments used for and against slavery in the USA and Britain prior to emancipation. The pro-slavery crowd used a more literal hermeneutic which looked for eternal laws within the scriptures (in particular the OT) while the anti-slavery crowd worked from an angle which tried to see the overall trajectory and/or the ethical spirit of the Bible. Seeing as it’s now unanimous among Christian groups that slavery is not consistent with Christianity (or the Bible) despite some pretty obvious places within the Bible that condones slavery, the author suggests we be careful not to make the same mistake as the pro-slavers.
She reviews prostitution as a way of exposing our prejudices. She shows the complexity of the situation and how it cannot simply be reduced to prostitution = bad like most churches have done. Of course the women have been the ones mostly targeted with such mindsets, but even as males are being given more responsibility regarding prostitution, it’s still ultimately unhelpful at best and harmful at worst.
Throughout the book though, there was very little more than interpretation of how certain historical groups or the biblical authors understood things or perhaps the complexity of our current situation. But little to nothing on how she neighed we are to respond to such slavery. The last (short) chapter attempts that, but even then the first half or so is just a recap. While helpful, what I really wanted was an relevance and applications section. The remaining chapter mostly did that but by then it was so brief that I can’t say I have much of an idea of how I am to respond to the information given.
I’m grateful for the information within this book. It was well written, well cited and easy to follow. Honestly though, I felt that Willard Swartley’s Slavery, Sabbath, War and Women had a somewhat similar premise while achieving a bit more of a practical and useful book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review