Human Trafficking, The Bible and the Church by Carson

Author:Carson [Carson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Slavery, General, Religion, Christian Life, Social Issues, Biblical Studies, Exegesis & Hermeneutics
ISBN: 9780334055594
Google: H4YpDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: SCM Press
Published: 2017-05-26T04:11:04+00:00

6. CONCLUSION

I have been suggesting that it is important that Christians recognize that attitudes towards prostitution complicate the way churches respond to sex trafficking. Prejudice and simplistic preconceived ideas about prostitution as sin have blinded us to the complexity of the problem, added to the burden felt by those who are the victims of sex trafficking, and hindered balanced contribution to debates as to how to tackle it. As Maupassant’s story so skillfully illustrates, reactions to prostitution tend to be characterized by ambivalence and double standards. While it is most often seen as a social problem, there are times when we are prepared to turn a blind eye to it and even see it as a necessity. Moreover, while prostitutes are stigmatized, and considered to be beyond the social pale, the behavior of the men who purchase their services is largely ignored.

A brief survey of the history of prostitution has shown that this ambivalent response to the “problem of prostitution” has been typical, not only of the Christian church but of individuals and secular states. In practice, the Christian attitude to prostitutes has tended to be twofold: either they have been shunned altogether or seen as “fallen women” who have to be protected from the vice that threatened their salvation.

We have also seen that philosophical arguments commonly made against prostitution are less than robust, and that it is possible to argue that prostitution is as legitimate an occupation as any other. For many feminist scholars, the question has moved on to be one of whether or not prostitution is fundamentally exploitative, and opinion is divided on this. This raises questions for the church as to whether prostitution should be considered sinful, and indeed whether this is the right question to be asking at all. These are important issues that must be addressed in any attempt to respond to sex trafficking.

As we turn to the biblical texts, then, we have some questions to ask of them. Is the traditional consensus that prostitution is sinful an appropriate response? We have seen that there is a “redemptive impulse” throughout Scripture with regard to slavery in general, but can we say the same for those caught up in prostitution—or does the church’s tendency to stigmatize them have biblical grounding? What, if anything, can the biblical texts say to us about the current questions of whether the sex trade is exploitative or not? What, if anything, can they have to say about tackling sex trafficking?

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