Why do christians say things like: slavery wasnt the same back then, or thats not what the bible says,?

Question

then tell everyone else theyre taking it out of context, when its so obvious its the christians twisting it to keep thier religion intact?

Answer 1

They say that? Scary. I've heard "wine wasn't the same back then" when I questioned why Jesus drank it (we were told it was sinful).

edit:
biblical slavery is analogous to an unpaid internship?! What great skills do you come out with? OMGJC that is f*cked!

Answer 2

Because if you actually read what the Bible says, "slavery" (or more properly bond-service) was limited to a period of six years, with the person going free on the seventh. It was voluntary - the person choose to go into it, rather then being kidnapped from Africa and forced into it. The person received payment of all the debts they had prior to going into the bond-service. He also received money to allow him to establish a new life - meaning the "slaves" were PAID. Was allowed to sue for damages if beaten or injured while serving someone. The "owner" could be charged with murder if they kill a servant. The "owner" was forbidden from having sex with any female servants (unless he married her first, set her free, and gave her all the rights and power of a "free born" wife).

Sounds a lot difference then what most people would think of as "slavery".

If you were to actually take the time to read all that the Old Testament said about it, you would have had the answer yourself. They are all there in the book if you just take the time to look.

Answer 3

Why is slavery permitted in the Bible?


Slavery was permitted in the Bible because of sin in the world. It existed before the Jews were formed as a nation and it existed after Israel was conquered. God allows many things to happen in the world such as storms, famine, murder, etc. Slavery, like divorce, is not preferred by God. Instead, it is allowed. Where many nations treated their slaves very badly, the Bible gave many rights and privileges to slaves. So, even though it isn't the best way to deal with people, because God has allowed man freedom, slavery then exists. God instructed the Israelites to treat them properly.

The Bible acknowledged the slave’s status as the property of the master (Ex. 21:23; Lev. 25:46),
The Bible restricted the master’s power over the slave. Ex. 21:20).
The slave was a member of the master’s household (Lev. 22:11)
The slave was required to rest on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:10; Deut. 5:14)
The slave was required and to participate in religious observances (Gen. 17:13; Exodus 12:44; Lev. 22:11).
The Bible prohibited extradition of slaves and granted them asylum (Deut. 23:16-17).
The servitude of a Hebrew debt-slave was limited to six years (Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:12).
When a slave was freed, he was to receive gifts that enabled him to survive economically (Deut. 15:14)
The reality of slavery cannot be denied. Slaves were "slave labor played a minor economic role in the ancient Near East, for privately owned slaves functioned more as domestic servants than as an agricultural or industrial labor force."1

Answer 4

The answer isnt obvious to you because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Slavery back in the OT was ONLY allowed for people of the nations they were conquering and the surrounding nations because THEY were evil and rejected God. Now why wasnt this made universal? Why was it ok for the Jews to slaughter people and take them into slavery? god was trying to show his power here on earth and it was an illustration of a few things we see pop up in the NT.

1. Anybody who sins and doesnt repent is a slave to sin. (John 8:34) Therefore these people that were not Gods people were put into slavery to illustrate the fact that they ARE slaves deep down anyway!

2. The penalty for sin is DEATH. (Romans 6:23) God HATES sin and the destruction of human life back then was to illustrate what eternal punishment is going to be like. Evil people are going to be wiped out on a massive scale and it is by the hand of God that it is done, not the hands of men.

Answer 5

I'm a Christian and don't know anybody who says those things. Slavery is what it is. In the Bible days (and up to not long ago), slavery was an accepted act of society - not to say it was right. The Bible does not advocate or admonish slavery but simply explains how a Christian should live in such a culture. It's a great example of how God doesn't try to make complete changes to the society by implementing new rules, but allows us free choice to come to new conclusions as we mature as a society.

Be blessed!

Answer 6

Well slavery wasn't exactly the same back thing as it was in the 1800s i guess that is why they say that....lol.

They say "that is not what the Bible says" either to make themselves feel better or because it isn't really what the Bible says.

And finally "out of context". Well it is one of the most common fallacies of Bible interpretation, and that is to take scripture out of context. Understanding the context is an important step for any Biblical exegete.

However, many Christians will say that is out of context to simply dismiss your claim. They will fail to actually put the Scripture you are mentiong in context. Saying that is out of context, a lot of the time is a way out of actually critically engaging a question.

***UPDATE***
williamzo, you can't just make up your own question to answer! Please actually answer the question! LoL

Answer 7

Sounds like a combination of two factors: First, things WERE different back then. Christianity has made a big impact on the society we live in versus the society as it existed before God began working with Abraham.
Second, too many christians do not understand their own book, and so twist whatever they think they need to in order to 'make sense' of their UNDERSTANDING of God's Word.

Answer 8

It depends on who you were the slave of, the world or Israel? There are laws in the Old Testament that pertain to how a slave can and can not be treated. Outside the House of Israel all bets are off.. Cruelty was standard operating procedure... Jim

Answer 9

If your talking about the slavery mentioned in the Law of Moses, it wasn't the same back then - it was indentured servitude for a limited space of time - kind of like our modern unpaid internships.

I don't see any "twisting" in simple clarifications done by people who know their history on the topic.

Answer 10

Because there position is indefensible, unless your brainstem
is severed.