Whilst the philosophical battle against slavery might have been won, human trafficking is very much a problem for our time and continues to spark rigorous debate among Christians wrestling with what God’s justice might look like today. Can the Bible, whose teaching on slavery is so at odds with our contemporary worldview, inform efforts to end human trafficking, and if so, how? In “Human Trafficking, the Bible, and the Church” Marion Carson offers a profound, interdisciplinary account of how Christians have engaged with slavery in the past, and how they might respond in the future. Whilst rigorously scholarly and painstakingly researched, this is at the same time a highly readable book that will refresh our own understanding and help shape our responsibility to bring about change.
Setting the Captives Free explores how a theological understanding of slavery goes against the idea of a God who is loving and just with the intention of being widely used in churches, activist organisations and groups, and by individuals. Ardently arguing that slavery is incompatible with Christianity, Marion Carson analyses how both anti-slavery and pro-slavery movements have been justified with the help of Scripture. In Setting the Captives Free, she provides an answer to the question What can the Bible say to us about contemporary human trafficking? By looking through important passages from the Old and the New Testament, Carson suggests what they might have to say to us about slavery in the twenty-first century. She analyses how Christians changed their views of slavery after its abolition, before closely examining what the Bible has to say about slavery in general, especially with regards to prostitution. At the end of each chapter, study questions are included to aid individual and group discussions in the hope that they will increase awareness of human trafficking and encourage more Christians to become actively involved in its eradication.
Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (MSHT) are global crimes impacting local communities. Vulnerable people are exploited through labour, sex and forced criminality. Churches and communities are increasingly encountering these victims and survivors, and consequently need to develop more effective engagement. The book will highlight that churches and communities are in a unique position to partner towards slavery-free communities. Beginning with the narratives of survivors who experienced three different forms of MSHT, including labour exploitation, sexual exploitation and domestic exploitation, the book then shows how practitioners and theologians respond to these narratives through exploring theologies of suffering, ecology, missiology, restorative justice, trinitarian theology and liberation theology. Offering faith responses from organisations such The Salvation Army, The Clewer Initiative, BMS World Mission and Rene Cassinhe the volume also includes a final resource section with prayers and liturgy for survivors and victims as well as for church and community responses. The book includes a forward by the Rt Hon Theresa May MP and an opening prayer by the Most Revd Justin Welby
Stop the Traffick? How do we even begin addressing such an important - and yet overwhelming - task? If you are a practitioner striving to assist victims or a faith-based organization wondering how to get involved you may be wrestling with questions like: How should we go about working with exploited people? Where should we focus our response? How do we deal with the challenges? This cutting-edge book brings together practical advice and strategic insight from more than 40 global experts and experienced practitioners who thoughtfully explore how best to answer these questions and more. Stopping the Traffick is for everyone who wants to go beyond merely knowing that something must be done to a deeper understanding of how we can more effectively bring an end to exploitation.
In this book Marion Carson brings us a profound, interdisciplinary account of how Christians have engaged with slavery in the past, and how they might respond in the future.
Slavery still exists--here. Tens of millions of humans live in bondage worldwide, tens of thousands in the US. As seen recently on Fox News, Dillon Burroughs and Charles Powell bring awareness about what’s happening in our nation and world. The book and DVD teach about: - Human trafficking - Sexual exploitation - Forced labor - Agricultural slavery Not in My Town answers questions and promotes discussion about the slavery system that crisscrosses Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, California, Texas, North Carolina, Haiti, Amsterdam, India, Cambodia, and beyond. The authors’ gripping journey shocks but also motivates and provides resources to equip new generations of abolitionists from all corners of society and diverse worldviews who share the common call to stop injustice.
Raleigh Sadler, president and founder of Let My People Go, offers a new approach to the problem of human trafficking: equipping vulnerable people to empower other vulnerable people, because Christ was made vulnerable for us.
New York Times bestseller What is Jesus worth to you? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... But who do you know who lives like that? Do you? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.
What happens when ordinary churchgoing women heed the radical call of an extraordinary God? The sex trafficking trade is an ugly, messy, and complicated crisis in desperate need of intervention, but it is easier to stay out of it and pray from a safe distance. However, the church is not called to be safe. In Crazy Church Ladies, Gwen Adams recounts how she and her group of church ladies became crime-fighting machines to upend the world of trafficking in their city. Their program, Priceless, has become a multifaceted wrecking ball to the crime of human trafficking in their home state of Alaska. But they still focus on the simple truth that as they invest wholeheartedly in the few, they will reach the masses with the hope of the gospel message. Crazy Church Ladies lays out a blueprint for the church to be the church. In a world with so much conversation about the church and social justice, this story shows how the church can live into its primary calling, to make disciples and impact the surrounding culture in ways that no government, law enforcement, or community activism can. Get to know the real Crazy Church Ladies and eventually, the men, too, as they encounter victims of trafficking and the worst abuse you could ever imagine. In the most unlikely place, among people with nothing in common, life-changing friendship emerges. The stories will break hearts, but unbroken hearts rarely change the world. In the end, the reader will see the astounding beauty that can only emerge from the darkest of places. What happens when ordinary churchgoing women heed the radical call of an extraordinary God? It breaks their hearts and brings true hope and healing to the world around them. Reviews: "Crazy Church Ladies will capture your eye as a book title, but its contents will resonate with your own heart .." I have rarely had such an astonishing experience as encountering Gwen Adams’ “Crazy Church Ladies” when she asked me to do some trainings with them. Now the entrancing story is in a book. It is a MUST READ, not just for the soul-wrenching, spirit-enriching stories, but also to envision the difference a group of committed, unified women can have in a community. These crazy ladies were transformed as they transformed the sex business in their town. Beyond all that, Crazy Church Ladies will challenge everyone’s philosophy of what the church is and can do. “Take and Read.”
She's seen slave dungeons in Ghana. Genocide in Rwanda. Systemic sexual abuse in Brazil. Child abuse and domestic violence in the US. After forty years of counseling abuse survivors around the world, Dr. Diane Langberg, a world renowned trauma expert, remains certain that what trauma destroys, Christ can and does restore. This book will convince you, too, of the healing heart of God. But it's not a fast process, instead much patience is required from family, friends, and counselors as they wisely and respectfully help victims unpack their traumatic suffering through talking, tears, and time. And it's not a process that can be separated from the work of God in both a counselor and counselee. Dr. Langberg calls all of those who wish to help sufferers to model Jesus's sacrificial love and care in how they listen, love, and guide. The heart of God is revealed to sufferers as they grow to understand the cross of Christ and how their God came to this earth and experienced such severe suffering that he too is "well-acquainted with grief." The cross of Christ is the lens that transforms and redeems traumatic suffering and its aftermath, not only for the sufferer, but it also transforms those who walk with the suffering. This book will be a great help to anyone who loves, listens to, and seeks to help someone impacted by trauma and abuse. There is no quick fix, but there is the hope for healing through the love of God in Christ.
