The reason why many Christians will be tempted to dismiss the arguments presented here is that I am saying (out loud) that a godly man in 1850 could have been a slave owner. But this “inflammatory“ position is the very point upon which the Bible speaks most directly, again and again. In other words, more people will struggle with what I am saying at the point where the Bible speaks most clearly. There is no exegetical vagueness here. Not only is the Bible not politically correct in modern eyes, it was not politically correct one hundred and fifty years ago.Douglas Wilson. Black & Tan. (p.46)
The issue is whether a Christian man could have lawfully owned a slave in 1850 America without being necessarily guilty of a moral outrage. Was slave ownership malum in se, an evil in itself? The answer to that question, for anyone who believes the Bible, is that it was possible for a godly man to own slaves, provided he treated them exactly as the Scripture required.Douglas Wilson. Black & Tan. (p.69)