Do you believe in biblical morality OR do you believe that slavery is wrong?

Question

The following passage shows that slaves are clearly property to be bought and sold like livestock:
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)
Read Exodus 21:2-6 to learn how hebrew slaves are to betreated. Also read Exodus 21:7-11 to learn how to practice sex slavery in a way pleasing to the Lord.
What about the new testament you ask?
Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. 1 Timothy 6:1-2

Jimmy B. you were set free only if you were a jewish slave and only if you were willing to beave your wife and children behind to your master: Exodus 21:2-6

Also, slavery is not like having a job: a slave as property was allowed to be beaten to an inch of his life: Exodus 21:20-21

A slave was allowed to be sexually abused by both you and your sons: Exodus 21:7-11

Your boss at your job is hopefully niether allowed to beat you or sexually abuse you like god allows a master to do to his slave. Plus, you can quit your job anytime you don't like it. If you were a hebrew slave, you had to wait 7 years, if you were a gentile, then you were stuck. Also, if you were hebrew, you could only take your wife and children with you after the 7 years if they belonged to you before your family was bought. Otherwise your only choise was to leave them, or have your ear multilated and remain a slave for the rest of your life.

Answer 1

Ok... from the answers we have prior to mine...

Slavery isn't really wrong if it lasts 7 years or less...

People who can't walk don't really mind.

Slavery isn't right because Moses led the Hebrew slaves to freedom from Egypt

Even though not one new testament author proclaimed slavery as wrong, they meant it anyway

Because persecution of Xians was so horrible, slavery was an acceptable alternative.

and finally... my favorite...

All that stuff about slavery was man's idea, not god's... even though it was clearly written in god's holiness codes for the children of Israel.

Fascinating...

or Revolting... I'm not sure

Why can't they say it? What is so hard about saying the REAL truth in this situation? Slavery has always been and will always be wrong. Either God or the Bible was wrong in this situation. What is so hard about that? We all know it's true, just say it. It's ok.

Answer 2

You make freedom sound like an inborn right that humanity is entitled to. As bad as this sounds, think about it; the freedoms that slavery denies, physically speaking, only pertain to the physical world, not right and wrong. Freedom is a realtive word; if we were chained to a chair for the rest of our lives, we would say we were terribl cheated, but somebody born without the ability to walk doesn't mind; it's all about perspective. The sin in slavery is when the slave is mistreated; there is no justification for that. Also, there are passages in the bible restriciting how long a slave could be kept against their will; I believe it was seven years.

Answer 3

Similar problems confronted St.Augustine early in his life. He realized however that with changes in time come changes in custom: "I did not know either that true inward righteousness takes as it criterion not custom but the most righteous law of almighty God, by which the mortality of countries and times was formed as appropriate to those countries and times, while God's law itself has remained unchanged everywhere and always, not one thing in one place and something different elsewhere...Does this mean that justice is fickle and changeable? No, but the epochs over which she rules do not all unfold in the same way precisely because times change." (III,7,13). Augustine was troubled by things such as the patriarchs having multiple wives. He realized that though in different times practices may differ, some things are always the same. When Paul wrote, he was writing when slavery was common practice, so he compelled both slaves and those who used slaves to act in the most Christian manner possible. Today, we have achieved a greater understanding of respect of humanity and so we no longer believe slavery is correct, and indeed it seems that it is inconsistent with complete love. But even as slavery was permitted, the most basic rules existed-to practice the acts in the most loving manner possible.

To pick certain things and say that because they have happened in the Bible they are thus part of the religion's current morality is like reading a history book and saying that if one supports America they also support slavery. Thankfully, while the deeds remain in memory and the wrongs remain fresh, reconciliation brings change and understanding and respect.

As a side note, I do not mean to support realtivism in this post. What happened in the past that was wrong is wrong. It is important to understand though, why those things were permitted in societies touched by the same mortalities as today.

Answer 4

The bible must be understood not just read. 1st and 2nd Timothy are letters from Paul to his son Timothy, 1 Timothy 6:1-2 in no way condones slavery it just says "Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed" you can not have faith in God and believe in Christ and not act like a Christian, slavery was part of the way of life in those times, keep in mind that Christians were persecuted/killed for their belief so slavery was a piece of cake compared to crusifiction.

Answer 5

Apparently it is somewhat difficult for you to think in the abstract. Try to imagine that you are talking to people who have been enslaved for 400 years and have not had the opportunity to become well versed in the laws of the land, or in reading the legal libraries.

Also try to envision dealing with a whole country of people who have held human beings slaves for hundreds of years.

Those are the individuals who God was trying to reach when he taught what you referred to in Exodus and Leviticus. (Incidentally, it is clear from the name of the book Exodus that this was the beginning of the slaves leaving slavery, as this compassionate God you refer to led them out of slavery to their own land!)

Please do not insult the Creator God and my Father by accusing Him of approving of slavery in any form, just because He kindly took people where they had placed themselves--as a whole--and began to teach them a better way. The process had to start somewhere. So He started by saying slaves deserve to be 'treated' a certain way, rather than there being no rules whatsoever as there had been heretofore.

And even in the New Testament times (and later) when sinful men kept other men as slaves--not when God told them to, because He didn't, but when they did it of their own greed, which God identifies as a sin--God was training the ones who would be trained (slaves, in this case) to be like Himself, humble and meek, and therefore 'safe to save' in a (future) kingdom in which there will be no disrespect, no tears, no war, no sadness.

Again, please don't do an in-Your-face to the God who is just the opposite as you are portraying Him.

Thank you.

Answer 6

In the biblical times sometimes the only way to get three squairs was to work for someone today we call it a job and debit its the same we are all slaves to this day to someone the laws were not for life though then like what we took on with slavery it was for seven years in the bible then you were released with a good dowry.

Answer 7

Slavery is wrong.
The Old Testament was written by men for man, not by God directly.
If it is so pro-Slavery, then why did Moses free the Jews? Honestly the Bible is so expansive you can find examples of both sides of this argument.

Answer 8

Nah, xtians have decided god was wrong on that one. Either that, or they only follow the ones that are easy to adhere to in their comfy lives. I wish I had a religion that I could change to suit the mood...but then again, that would be blasphemous, surely? Or at the very least, hypocritical!

:)

Answer 9

Okay...so up until 50 years ago, the bible supported abortion (life begins at the first breath). So, you support that too?

The bible can be distorted to support anything a mind wants.

Of course slavery is wrong.