Chapter 8 - A Biblical and Theological Case for Reparations

Summary

This chapter consists of some preliminary thoughts and reflections on the biblical and theological case for reparations in the wake of the terrible legacy of the Atlantic slave trade, in which Britain was a notable contributor and chief custodian of economic benefit and profit. This chapter will argue for a distinctively Judeo-Christian framework and rationale for the economic restitution to people of African descent for the horrors and the unbridled profit of the slave trade.

At the outset of this piece, I think it is worth stating a few important caveats regarding this chapter. First, I am not a biblical scholar. I am not attempting this work as a specialist in exegetical work on ancient sacred texts. Rather, I am approaching this task as a Practical Black theologian. I am attempting this work, looking at particularly at biblical texts, in order to engage with the hinterland of predominantly White evangelicalism in Britain. White evangelists in Britain, through their engagement with William Wilberforce and the “Clapham Sect,” often wish to claim some kind of moral justification for themselves, by appealing to their supposedly righteous forebears. In their theological method, the Bible is the essential and inviolate resource for assessing the veracity of any discourse that purports to be about and from God. It is in this context that I have sought to undertake my Black biblical theological work.