Does God condone slavery?

Question

Several places in the Bible, it mentions slaves and servants. Even the 4th commandment mentions you are not to make servants work on the Sabbath. So, why does the bible,. or God, condone slavery?
OK, so you will say that was in the time of Moses. So then, did God change the law?
If so, that means God made a mistake in condoning slavery, and had to change His laws. So, now, many Christians who say God doesn't make mistakes are wrong. So, which is wrong? The Bible, which was written by men? Or God?

For those of you who say God does not condone slavery, then why does the 4th commandment state that "you, nor your manservant shall work on the sabbath"?
That says in order to be a Christian, you need to keep all the commandments, so, that means that Christians are permitted to have slaves, or servants.

Answer 1

Yes he does.

Answer 2

That is a very goo question. I asked my Religion teacher that one time a couple of years ago. I will try to give you my best answer.

ok, yeah it was "in the time of Moses" so what? We need to know what the time of Moses was like. In the Old Testament, as well as New Testament, servants/slaves (they were the same thing) were totally normal. But they were not the kind of slaves you are thinking about.

4000 years ago, if you owed someone a debt you would pay it off by being thier "slave" for a certain number of years. So say I borrowed a cow from you and because of my negligence it ran away and got killed. I owe you a cow but don't have one to give you, so I work the debt off as your slave for a year. Also, men would pay for their wives by becoming her father's slave for a certain number of years. Slaves were always treated fairly and released after thier time was up/ debt was paid. Or they should've been. That's what the 4th commandment was talking about. As a master you have an obligation to feed and house the slave and release them when the time is up.

The kind of slavery that started the civil war is a totally different matter. Mistreating an entire race because of their skin color makes God angry. The horrors that the African Americans had to endure were in no way acceptable or condoned by God. Humans are not to put themsleves above others. We are all made equal by God.

God did not change the law, and God cannot make mistakes. Slavery in todays terms is completely, utterly wrong. It should not be tolerated. The slavery mentioned in the Bible was a way to pay off debts, and the commandment was to ensure that the person trying to pay off his debts was treated fairly also.

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions or need me to clear anything up email me.

God bless.

Answer 3

Gods postilion is that Slavery happens!
Notice it speaks to the Slave and not to much to the Slave holder!

Lets look at slavery in the US. Settled mostly in the south. How many years has it been that there was a slave in the south? Has the south yet recovered? I don't see the boom like in Calif, the business like in NY. They have ports but not the cargo like Calif or NY. Given maybe another 100 years and the South may have fully recovered.

Rome ended Slavery by 500 AD
Will Rome ever recover?
Egypt had slaves during the time of Moses
do you think Egypt will ever be a world power again? Egypt was the Greatest power on the face of the earth when Israel was 11 brothers
Benjamen not yet born!

You want to curse me, make me a slave owner!

Answer 4

well God doesn't condone or not condon it really. there are two types of slavery really

1) the type that everyone thinks about when they hear slavery. and that is what the colonlies and west europe did. and God wouldn't condone that b/c it was based off of prejudice of someones race.

2) the inslavment b/c of war. which is what was happening during the biblical times. back then they didn't takes slaves b/c of their skin color, they took them b/c they were prisoners of wars and such. and then they only had to work for 7 years and they could be set free....at least from a hebrew standpoint.

so in a way they arn't the same thing. God tells us not to have favorites and not to discriminate b/c of one's race or creed. so slavery #1 i wouldn't think that he wouln't condone it. but slavery that can be a little more touchy.

Answer 5

Levitical law said if you kidnapped a man and then sold him you should be put to death

On the "changing the law" thing you bring up....Jesus also responded to people about divorce. They said, but Moses said..blah...blah...blah we could divorce. And Jesus said that God permitted it knowing their hard hearts, but divorce is wrong and God doesn't like it or permit it.

God doesn't change....we do. He is patient and allows us to use our free will and stray off sometimes, but He will reel us back in.

Ever read the parable of the Prodigal Son? If not, you should. That is us. We decide what we want. It turns out to be a stupid move and we fall on our face. The loving Father takes us back anyway. Read it. Pray over how you've twisted all this.

Nothing in that commandment REQUIRES you to go out and get a servant....it applies if you had one.

More food for thought in your quest to show God is not consistent. Doesn't it say in the Old Testament Books of Moses; and eye for an eye? Moses Law taught equal payback? Well, turn to Leviticus 19:17-18 ( Also one of the Old Testament Books of Moses) and see where God says, "You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him." " Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

That sounded like Jesus in the New Testament, but it was the Father in the Torah. It was Moses Law ( man's law) that dictated an eye for an eye, but God came along and said, Love your neighbor and take no revenge and hold no grudge. Again, God does not change.... it is us that keep adjusting and changing.

Answer 6

The bible was used to JUSTIFY slavery. The Christian church's main justification of the concept of slavery is based on Genesis 9:25-27. According to the Bible, the worldwide flood had concluded and there were only 8 humans alive on earth: Noah, his wife, their six sons and daughters in law. Noah's son Ham had seen "the nakedness of his father." So, Noah laid a curse -- not on Ham, who was guilty of some type of indiscretion. The sin was transferred to Noah's grandson Canaan. Such transference of sin from a guilty to an innocent person or persons is unusual in the world's religious and secular moral codes. It is normally considered highly unethical. However, it appears in many biblical passages. The curse extended to all of Canaan's descendants:

Genesis 9:25-27: "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japeth live in the tents of Shem and may Canaan be his slave'. "
Christians traditionally believed that Canaan had settled in Africa. The dark skin of Africans became associated with this "curse of Ham." Thus slavery of Africans became religiously justifiable.

The call for the abolition of black slavery came not from Christians but from atheists generally. Slavery was abolish in France in 1791, not by the church, but by the atheistic founders of the revolution. In the U.S. the early critics of slavery, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), George Washington (1732-1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), were all either atheists or Deists. Later the abolitionist cause was taken up by such people as Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), a Deist, Raplh Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), a Unitarian minister turned atheist, and William Lyold Garrison (1805-1879), an atheist. In England, the battle for the abolition of slavery was fought mainly by such as Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) - atheists all.

The majority of the opposition to ending slavery came mainly from the churches and religious groups. For them it was not important whether slavery was inhumane, it was more important whether it was permitted by the Bible.

Answer 7

Hopefully no one condones slavery....worshipped by many or not. I am not saying anything negative about the bible because I am a big fan of people believing whatever they want. It is a book however, and has been translated and revised many times. I do not think a book, even if I considered it "holy" could ever convince me to compromise my morals. Slavery is wrong. Peace.

Answer 8

Do a Y/A search on "god condone slavery".

This has been addressed about 42 times.

Answer 9

I am a slave...but i dont call my boss..master...i call him by his name...its just how you look it...but in a sense...if you are working for someone you are a slave....the difference is that over the years...laws have been put in to place to change things...and have changed to employees...but we all know that people can still be bought and sold in a political way or like in the sports world...pretty simple if you think about it...

Answer 10

I love these hypocritical answers. "No, a christian god does not condone slavery..." even though it's written in the bible. And aren't they supposed to follow the bible blindly?

Answer 11

This is one of hundreds of faults in the bible. The Qur'an also condones slavery.