Economic history of the Christians

The economic history of the Christians has been considered by a wide variety of authors, including Michael Novak in his book The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Joseph Schumpeter, Gary North in his book An Introduction To Christian Economics, Alan Storkey in his book A Christian Social Perspective, Larry Burkett whose work focused on financial counseling from an evangelical Christian point of view.
Christianity and slavery
Slavery in different forms existed within Christianity and non-Christian religions for over 50 centuries. In the early years of Christianity, slavery was a normal feature of the economy and society in the Roman Empire, and this remained well into the Middle Ages and beyond. Most Christian figures in that early period, such as Augustine of Hippo, supported continuing slavery whereas several figures such as Saint Patrick were opposed. Centuries later, as the abolition movement took shape across the globe, groups who advocated slavery's abolition worked to harness Christian teachings in support of their positions, using both the 'spirit of Christianity', biblical verses against slavery, and textual argumentation.
The issue of Christianity and slavery is one that has seen intense conflict. While Christian abolitionists were a principal force in the abolition of slavery, the Bible sanctioned the use of regulated slavery in the Old Testament and whether or not the New Testament condemned or sanctioned slavery has been strongly disputed. Passages in the Bible have historically been used by both pro-slavery advocates and slavery abolitionists to support their respective views.
Invisible Churches (Slavery)
Invisible Churches among slaves in the United States were informal Christian groups where slaves listened to preachers that they chose without their master's knowledge. The Invisible Churches taught a different message from white controlled churches and did not emphasize obedience. Some slaves could not contact Invisible Churches and others did not agree with the Invisible Church message but many slaves were comforted by the Invisible Churches.

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