Faith Facts

• Christian William Wilberforce led Britain’s decades-long fight to abolish the slave trade.
• Evangelical reformers argued that all people are created in God’s image and therefore equal.
• The British Parliament, influenced by these believers, outlawed the slave trade in 1807 and slavery itself in 1833.

King Charles III has publicly recognized Britain’s historic involvement in the slave trade, prompting renewed calls for reparations. The remarks have reignited discussion about how nations should reckon with past sins while guarding against selective memory.

Christians agree that the buying and selling of human beings is an abomination. Scripture declares that God “has made from one blood every nation of men” and commands His people to defend the oppressed.

Yet believers also remember that the same Christian faith that once failed to restrain the evil of slavery later supplied the moral conviction needed to end it.

“The battle against the slave trade was a battle fought by Christians,”

notes Lois Mclatchie-Miller, underscoring that evangelical conviction, not secular ideology, ultimately prevailed in Parliament.

William Wilberforce and his Clapham Sect allies prayed, petitioned, and persisted for nearly fifty years until both the trade and the institution itself were outlawed throughout much of the British Empire. Their campaign was rooted in the biblical truth that every person bears the image of God and therefore possesses inherent dignity.

“We must tell the whole story,”

Mclatchie-Miller writes, “lest we forget that the same gospel that exposes sin also provides the remedy.”

Today’s conversations about historical guilt often ignore this redemptive chapter. A full account honors the suffering of the enslaved while celebrating the Christian witness that helped set captives free.

Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Faith Facts

• Four women have come forward with serious allegations against a former contractor at North Point Community Church in Georgia.
• The accused individual, Steve Thomason, worked as a musician and videographer under contract at the church founded by Pastor Andy Stanley.
• The alleged incidents reportedly occurred approximately two decades ago and are now being publicly addressed by the victims.

Four women have made serious allegations against a man previously contracted to work at a large Georgia church. The accusations center on events that allegedly took place nearly twenty years ago.

Steve Thomason, who served as a contract musician and videographer, is named in the claims. The church involved is North Point Community Church, founded by Pastor Andy Stanley.

“Four women allege they were sexually abused about 20 years ago by Steve Thomason, a contract musician and videographer formerly associated with North Point Community Church in Georgia, which Pastor Andy Stanley founded.”

These allegations involve deeply troubling accusations that strike at the heart of church safety and accountability. Congregations across the nation continue to emphasize the importance of protecting the vulnerable and upholding biblical standards of conduct.

Church communities are called to respond to such claims with both compassion for victims and a commitment to truth and justice. The families and members of North Point Community Church will undoubtedly be seeking clarity as these reports develop.

Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Faith Facts

• Kyrgyzstan deported a Christian pastor earlier this year and then arrested five church members on extremism charges.
• The convicted believers spent months in pre-trial detention before facing trial for their faith activities.
• Forum 18, a religious-freedom monitoring group, documented the case as part of a broader government campaign against Christian communities.

After deporting a pastor earlier this year, authorities in Kyrgyzstan launched a heavy crackdown against his church, holding five members in pre-trial detention for months before convicting them of “extremism,” according to rights group Forum 18.

The case highlights the increasing pressure Christian believers face in Central Asian nations where governments view independent churches as threats to state control.

Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.