In Front | Imperialism and the Bible

While systematic theologies can sometimes drift from a careful reading of the books and themes of the Bible, it is also the case that thematic readings of the Bible have been used to support various social causes which they resemble. In other words, the context of the interpreter influences the interpretation in either case. Let’s look at two examples. 

A number of biblical passages promote the spreading of the Bible’s message around the world. In the Gospels it is said that:

The gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. Mark 13:10 ESV

And that: 

This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world . . . to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 NIV

Passages like this inspired the vibrant missionary movements that have characterized Christianity throughout its history and carried the Bible’s message into many different cultures globally. But for European nations who had accepted the Bible and Christianity, and wanted to spread their power in the ages of Imperialism and colonial expansion, these passages were a convenient excuse for the subjugation of native peoples and the confiscation of their lands. 

French colonial expansion in North America in the early seventeenth century is a prime example of this use of biblical content in defense of national interests. When lawyer Marc Lescarbot argued for the expansion of French culture in modern-day Canada, he based a part of his argument on a parable of Jesus, the Parable of the Talents, which he believed demonstrated the authority of the French to claim native territories as their own:

These people are like the man of whom it is spoken in the Gospel, who had wrapped up in a napkin the talent which had been given unto him, instead of turning it to account, and therefore it was taken away from him.

In his view, Native Americans were “guests of these forests and maritime shores” waiting for European settlers to come and teach them how to cultivate and civilize their land as the Bible had commanded. The call to “preach to the whole world,” and the Parable of the Talents, according to Lescarbot, not only excused French imperialism but also placed on the French a moral obligation to colonize.

As the Bible has spread around the world, it has had much positive impact but has at times also been enlisted in defense of personal and national interests. 

Reference: Saliha Belmessous, Assimilation and Empire: Uniformity in French and British Colonies, 1541-1954, 2013, pp. 20-23.