Particular Baptists and Abolition

For many the lock-downs that we have undergone over the past 18 months have provided an opportunity to do things that they may not otherwise have had time for. For one member of our household this meant a college research project extending far beyond its original remit and becoming a labour of love which has culminated in the publication of a book (perfect when you just happen to have a bookshop to sell it in 😉)...

When we think of the campaign to abolish the slave trade, the tireless work of Wilberforce and his friends is uppermost in our minds. But Particular Baptists played an important role in the campaign, speaking out against the abhorrent trade in sermons, petitions and letters.

This book brings back into print some of these historic sermons, each with a biographical sketch of the preacher, and discusses the role of non-comformists in garnering the support of the wider religious public.

"The slave trade and slavery may have been abolished centuries ago, yet modern slavery still exists along with many other forms of injustice. These sermons challenge us to continue in the Christian duty of benevolence and to affirm Christian attitudes to equality when faced with increasingly disturbing scenes of oppression across the world" (quoted from the preface).

Preaching Deliverance to the Captives: Particular Baptist Sermons on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, compiled and edited by Matthew Roe, £8.99