A theology of persecution and Christian endurance: Cain, Abel, and a ‘Black Book of Acts’ among the St. Thomas Moravians, 1732-1740

This project contributes to the discipline of theological ethics. It examines the theology, priorities, and practices of the eighteenth-century St. Thomas Island Moravians, one of the first African-led, multicultural churches in the Americas. Enslaved African Christians have been overlooked among the historical narratives of those who endure faithfully under anti-Christian persecution, as scholarly focus on their ethnic suffering has often overshadowed the abuses committed against their faith. This research brings forth a fresh articulation of Christian endurance under hostility, with the community’s Christian identity at the forefront rather than their ethnic identity.

This project built on a foundation of traditional covenantal theology, with nods to early narrative theology and Moravian missiology, to create an operational lens that explores the doctrine (epistemology) and habits (ethics) of the population in the context of a singular, covenantal story. This approach gives primacy to the nature of Christians as a ‘storied’ people, while simultaneously highlighting different historical aspects of the people of God. The covenantal tradition grounds the thesis in a coherent telling of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, while postliberal narrative and Moravian aspects bring forward the community’s everyday expressions of the life of Jesus (ethics) and their response to persecution (Christan endurance).

By interpreting the community’s historical records and context through an Augustinian-styled premise of Cain and Abel, this theological approach to ethnohistory introduces a story-based premise to help parse the ongoing historical persecution of Christians and their ability to endure. It regards the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper as key elements in the community’s ability to endure marginalisation, discrimination, and violence for their Christian faith, and in doing innovates toward a Theology of Persecution and Christian Endurance Studies.