Yet with all their biblical emphasis, they did not arrive at the simple faith expressed by the early Quaker George Keith. Consider what would have resulted had they done so: First, American slavery had at its root “manstealing,” or kidnapping (Ex. 21:16), a far greater crime than merely buying or selling stolen goods. Had the Protestant churches preached against this sin, disciplined any members involved, including civil officials, not a single British or Dutch ship would have received or delivered a single African as a slave.
