Did God really say these things? Will I go to hell for thinking slavery is immorral since God thinks it moral?

Question

Old testement
Exodus 21:20-21
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.


Leviticus 25:44-46
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever

New Testement . . .
1 Timothy 6:1
Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.

Answer 1

Of course God said those things. It's in the Bible.

Of course you will go to hell for being opposed to slavery. It's in the Bible.

Sheesh... you darn atheists always coming onto Y!A with your stupid questions...

Answer 2

A Christian is not responsible for convincing you to trust in Christ. A Christian's responsibility is simply to tell you the Good News. Having a chat dialogue about matters of faith is particularly impersonal, and I'm not going to try to convince you about the truth of the Bible. However, i do believe that you should reconsider the foundation of your argument.

You argument rests on an English translation of a few verses, rather than on an expository study of the manuscript sections relating to enslavement, bondservanthood, servant status, and brotherly service.

As a quick example of the problem of basing your argument on these few translated verses, the Greek word "doulos" can be translated either "slave/servant" or "brother", depending on the context in which it's used.

In general usage, a "bondservant" is not a "slave". A bondservant voluntarily makes an irrevocable committment to serve the "master". A slave is a person who has been subjected involunatrily to servitude.

A bondservant has the right to redeem himself at any time for a given price. A slave does not have that right and can only become "free" at the whim of the master.

This distinction is significant. The Bible recognizes the fact of the existence of the involuntary enslavement of people, including the enslavement of the Hebrew people, but does not require or approve of the enslavement of people.

A very good and well-referenced article by Jerry Bergman can be read on the web: http://www.rae.org/slavery.html

Answer 3

Yes, He said those things. Keep in mind that the Hebrews and Isrealites treated there slaves with dignity and let them work it off, unlike the surrounding cultures. All sins R just as bad, the way 2 Heaven is 2 confess them. I'd pray or talk 2 a pastor. We R ALL slaves, 2 either God or Satan (i'm former, not latter :) By the way, Darwin said he could B wrong if there's no evidence or something like that, and there 's very little evolutionary evidence and creation has much of it. We were never in the Stone Age or Ice Age. God bless U :)

Answer 4

These were the laws governing the times, in my opinion written more by people than by God, but God had to work with the people He had. Much of the Old Testament was in the Bronze Age, for petesake! People had only recently emerged from the Stone Age. They were practically savages. The question is still relevant, unfortunately. "National Geographic" and other periodicals have cited reliable research demonstrating that there are at least twelve million people in the world RIGHT NOW in slavery, primarily women and children held in bondage for purposes of prostitution and unrewarded labor. By no yardstick does the Bible condone such slavery, although "statesmen" and governments treat it as a non-issue. The public still accepts the myth that all prostitutes and actors in pornographic films are in the business because they want to be, though in so many instances this has been proven false. [The Bible says, "Thou shalt not steal". What greater theft than stealing one's free will, especially for purposes of sex slavery?]

Answer 5

First and foremost, it should be noted that the Bible does not commend slavery; rather, it recognizes the reality of slavery. In the ancient world where slavery flourished, the Mosaic Law thus stipulated stringent guidelines such as a year of Jubilee in which slaves were released (Lev. 25:40). In fact, it was the application of biblical principles that ultimately led to the overthrow of slavery, both in ancient Israel and in the United States of America. Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt became the model for the liberation of slaves in general. In America, many are beginning to wake up to the liberating biblical truth that all people are created innately equal (see Gen. 1:27; Acts 17:26–28; see also Gal. 3:28).

Furthermore, slavery within an Old Testament context was sanctioned due to economic realities rather than racial or sexual prejudices.5 Because bankruptcy laws did not exist, people would voluntarily sell themselves into slavery. A craftsman could, thus, use his skills in servitude to discharge a debt. Even a convicted thief could make restitution by serving as a slave (Exod. 23:3).

Finally, we should note that far from extolling the virtues of slavery, the Bible denounces slavery as sin. The apostle Paul goes so far as to put slave traders in the same category as murderers, adulterers, perverts, and liars (1 Tim.1:10). Indeed, slavery is so abhorrent to God that in the final book of the Bible, He condemns the evil systems that perpetuate it

Context, Context, Context....

Answer 6

They are accurate quotes from the bible. But there are also other things to look at:

1. It is not mentioned you have to have servants
2. We are all servants of the lord.
3. What they are putting down there are guidelines for treatment of servants to make sure they are not treated unfairly or wrongly.

I do not personally agree with slavery, but it was not against biblical law back then or now really for that matter to have servants that you owned. Keep in mind that the bible also says this:

"If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him."

Deuteronomy 23 15-16

so to me it looks fairly neutral on the subject of slavery. Although guidelines for conduct were set.

Answer 7

No, the Bible doesn't "encourage" Slavery, it was simply stating that it was a FACT at that time and accepted by the society of that day. And so God Himself was going to lay down a few laws concerning the owning, treatment, and WHO could be owned AS slaves! What it IS saying here is that IF YOUR GOING TO HAVE SLAVES, make sure you don't have slaves that are also believer's in THE SAME GOD AS YOU OR FROM THE SAME PEOPLE AS YOU!

It then goes on to state that you should treat your slaves as YOU HONOR YOUR GOD, that is, with complete love and good heart. Not to kill or abuse them at your whim or God Himself will turn away from you. Later, in the New Testament, God tells Christian slaves to set an example for their masters so that perhaps their humility in Christ will bring their masters to God.

Don't confuse giving rules and orders with approval. God cared for everyone and didn't want masters abusing people already downtrodden.

Answer 8

Because people had slaves doesn't mean God thinks slavery is moral. Who do you think inspired humanity to outlaw slavery? Throughout the Bible you can find examples of humanity's gradual awakening to the fact that God wasn't as they thought. Jesus teachings changed things drastically. We are still learning the full import of what Jesus life means. We have a long way to go.

Answer 9

Just remember; Abraham Lincoln thought that slavery was immoral as well, and he did not care about what God thought.

"I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our Republic of its just influence in the world, enables the enemies of free institutions everywhere to taunt us as hypocrites, causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many good men among ourselves into an open war with the very fundamentals of civil liberty: denying the good faith of the Declaration of Independence and insisting that there is no right principle of action but self interest.
It is the old issue of human rights versus property rights. It is the eternal struggle between two principles: the one, the common right of humanity; the other the divine right of kings. It is the same spirit which says, You toil and work and earn bread and I’ll eat it."

Answer 10

Tolerating slavery is not same thing as requiring it. These rules govern how slavery is to be conducted without really commenting on the morality of it. No one is going to go to Hell for disapproving of slavery, not the least of which is because nothing in Scripture condemns opposing slavery.