Are We Justified In Defense Of Slavery

Wesley, also analyzed slavery from the perspective of the law and of people’s faith in God. During the early 18th century, the law allowed slave ownership. The law, stated Wesley, should not superimpose what we know to be right or wrong. That is, although the law allows them to perform such actions it does not make the actions just. Accordingly, no one can claim to have been just to the slaves because many were murdered by their compatriots, others were tossed out of the boat while being transported, and many still were enslaved in Britain. Essentially, no one should defend slavery based on the law when their actions were knowingly wrong and lacking good will. Likewise, for the Methodist, no one who identifies as Christian can condone slavery. Any God-fearing people involved in the slave trade can only expect that God will rightfully judge them according to their actions and will show them no clemency, and will punish them just as they punished their fellow humans. To Wesley, one way of doing right in the eyes of God was to stop financing this trade for it encouraged the Africans to continue partaking in this activity and have complete control over the lives of those traded. Without financing there would be less motivation for slavery to continue. The people involved should also be weary of letting their monetary ambition guide their decisions. They cannot simply turn a blind eye to all the injustice that was committed against the Negroes because they know under which circumstances they were brought to be sold.