Answer:
I believe we can find three themes in the passage:
Slavery destroys families.
There are no good slave owners.
Slavery is anti-Christian.
Explanation:
Let's find evidence of each theme above in the passage.
- Slavery destroys families: according to the passage, those people being horribly sold as if they were products are "husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and young children." They have feelings, relationships, families. Selling and buying them, ignoring their right to freedom, breaking them apart, destroys them not only as individuals, but as families, as a society.
- Slavery is anti-Christian: the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died to have everyone's sins pardoned, to have everyone's souls become immortal and worthy of going to heaven. He paid a very high price, he gave his own blood, to save us all. As the passage points out, the people being sold as slaves have a soul, and their soul is as valuable as anyone else's. Jesus died for them. A true Christian wouldn't be able to ignore that fact.
- There are no good slave owners: if someone purchases a slave, that person is destroying families and ignoring Christ's sacrifice for humanity. That person cannot be considered a good person. His sense of moral, of right and wrong, is corrupted by greed and ambition.
