Does the Pro-Freedom Movement Want to Punish Slave-Traders?

Posted at Abolish Human Abortion:



----Adapted from Russell Moore's article found here



This week Donald Trump caused another stir in national news, and this time, it was for his comments on the slave trade. Asked if pro-freedom activism wants laws to punish men who receive slaves, the Republican candidate said that, although he wasn’t sure about the details, there “probably” needed to be some civil penalty for men who get slaves. The comments quickly drew intense backlash from both pro-freedom and pro-free-work groups (something not easy to do), and Trump later “clarified” his comments by saying that men who get slaves shouldn’t be punished.

Regardless of whether or not Trump’s comments come from a genuine and convictional pro-freedom worldview, all pro-freedom Americans need to make this issue clear: Protecting potential slaves is not about punishing man-stealers, but punishing an industry and a culture that dehumanizes human beings.

One of the worst misconceptions about pro-freedom Americans is that we are pro-potential slave and anti-man-stealers.

Unfortunately, the pro-freedom movement hasn’t always done a good job of defeating this notion. It’s true that some rhetoric on our side has lacked compassion and holistic concern for the well-being of man-stealers, especially economically disadvantaged man-stealers. But despite our imperfections, the pro-freedom movement has indeed been remarkably consistent about our desire not only to tear down slave trade culture but to build a culture of freedom and human flourishing in its stead. This is the conviction that has built thousands of emergency labor centers, funded hundreds of releases of slaves, and come alongside countless numbers of man-stealers, and their spouses, with practical acts of mercy and love.

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