Why does God promote slavery so much in the Bible? Does he like his followers having slaves, even today?

Question

Exodus 21:20-21 – "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property."


Colossians 3:22-24 – "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."


Ephesians 6:5 - "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ."


1 Peter 2:13 - "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority."

1 Peter 2:18 - "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh."


1 Timothy 6:1 - "1 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered."

Wow, God sure wants us to be loving to our fellow man doesn't he? Any of you theists want to be my slave? I can pretend to believe in the Bible too, if you serve me. =)

Ahh yes, the inevitable "That was then, this is now" argument. Either you believe the Bible or you don't. Who has the authority to cherry-pick verses from the Bible and say, "OK this one is applicable now, but this one isn't." Is there some sort of "new" Bible that was edited for our generation? If so, who gave that person the power/right to do so?

This has to be one of the most horrific displays of Christian rationalization I have ever seen. Do you realize you are all justifying SLAVERY? Wow. Even a child knows slavery is WRONG. Good call though, your statements will further others disbelief in your hateful Bibleand God.

Answer 1

he wants everyone to be his slave

Answer 2

All of this over a misunderstanding and mistranslation of a word. Here is a Bible dictionary definition of slave. Please notice that the word "slave" as we know it today is ONLY referenced in the Old Testament and it was NOT endorsed by God.

Slave
Jer. 2:14 (A.V.), but not there found in the original. In Rev. 18:13 the word "slaves" is the rendering of a Greek word meaning "bodies." The Hebrew and Greek words for slave are usually rendered simply "servant," "bondman," or "bondservant." Slavery as it existed under the Mosaic law has no modern parallel. That law did not originate but only regulated the already existing custom of slavery (Ex. 21:20, 21, 26, 27; Lev. 25:44-46; Josh. 9:6-27). The gospel in its spirit and genius is hostile to slavery in every form, which under its influence is gradually disappearing from among men.

In EVERY one of the quotes that you put in the original question in reference to slavery, the correct translation is "servant". The Greek word is translated correctly in the King James, American Standard and New King James versions. It is translated incorrectly in the New International, Revised Standard and the New American Standard.

There is a BIG difference between a slave and a servant.

Please do more studying before making assumptions that the Bible, especially the New Testament, endorses slavery. That is completely INCORRECT statement.

Need I say more? The Bible speaks for itself.

Answer 3

Promote it? NO. Talks about it ? Yes very much. Slavery has always been and always will be. Its flourishing more than ever in todays society. We are all slaves or have been. We are slaves to sin. And let me tell you I was a big time slave to that. I have since been washed in the blood of the Lamb and am now as white as snow. Some things you read in the Bible are not understood with our ears and eyes. Some things are only allowed to believers with the help of the Holy Spirit. You can read the Bible as a big story. Heck you know its a good read that way. Has everything. Sex, murder,extortion, blackmail and a Hero. Make a great movie for todays audiences. Study it........pray about it and you will understand it all. Repent and be baptized. Peace out.......

Answer 4

God never said slavery is a sin. Mistreating slaves was a sin. He went to great details o describe how a slave was to be treated. Both Paul and Peter refer to slaves. Paul also calls himself over and over a slave of Christ. If slavery is a sin, then Paul was sinning when he penned those words which would make the Word of God a lie. God is truth and anyone who disputes that is a liar. All liars end up in the lake of fire.

Answer 5

None of the verses you quote promote slavery. They all give guidance to slaves and slave owners on their behavior given their circumstances.

There are many different kinds of slavery. The focus of the scriptures is how to overcome the spiritual variety. I think the following quote from Victor Frankl describes some people who did well in this area.

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose ones own way.”

Answer 6

Personally, I think when God sat down at his word processor to type out the Bible he didn't have spell-check and reality-check on His PC, and these are examples of typos.

Of course, ciriticizing anything you believe God wrote in the Bible means that you actually DO believe in God, so you're not an atheist.

In that case, I hope your driving a Honda.
Joshua 9:2 - That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one "Accord".

A more liberal view would be to believe the Bible written by men of the times, thus making it an evolving document.

Answer 7

Fact: There were slaves in Biblical days.
Fact: In today's world they would be called indentured servants
Fact: If people were not running stop lights, we would not have laws against running stop lights.


The difference between slaves of other cultures of the day and the Hebrew Bible is that the Hebrew Bible is the first book of laws to guarantee the rights of slaves as well as to hold leaders accountable for their actions.

"Slaves" were to be treated like family. They were entitled to a day of rest along with the rest of the family. They were granted freedom after 7 years and were given subsistance to allow them to get started on their own. "Owners" were held accountable for their treatment of slaves. The law against murder applied to slaves as well as to kings.

The laws of protection go and on in the Hebrew Bible. It was Christianity that negated those laws.
.

Answer 8

In israel, you had to let him go after 7 years, you couldn't keep him forever ... written image, it's called the King James Bible because King James allowed the Translation, it was origanlaay called the athorized Version because it was authorized to be translated. Back then it was illigal to translate the Bible. get 'ur facts strait

Answer 9

Hello Feral.. :)

This is not so much different than now a days..An employer can threaten an employee with firing, if they do not work overtime..

An employer has control over those, who work for them..so who loses there.. :(


In Jesus Most Precious Name..
With Love..In Christ.. :)

Answer 10

While the bible was the word of God in its original form, it has been translated and perverted by the leaders of the world over many years. it is possibe that these references were added by kings or other leaders in order to pacify its subjects. The King James Bible is called that because it was edited and released by King James.

Answer 11

It is a matter of interpreting the reference of the word. Alot of words can be easily taken out of context unless you are truly praying and asking for guidance and understanding.