Bible condones slavery, is that the "word of god"?

Question

Exodus

21:20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.

21:21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.


So according to the bible it's okay with God if you slowly beat your slaves. After all, they are your money. Just make sure that they survive at least a day or two after the beating.


Then isn't it then ironic that MLK Jr. was able to gain momentum as a Christian preaching for civil rights and equality in the post slavery era.

This seems to show how society determines its own morals of the times relatively independent of the bible, which is claimed to be a book which is inerrant and perfect.

Isn't this proof the bible was not really divinely created and simply written by humans during a time when barbaric practices were acceptable, and therefore its not the true word of god?

Answer 1

Leviticus 25:44 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.

Leviticus 25:45 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.

Leviticus 25:46 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: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.


Exodus 21:7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

Exodus 21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.


Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.

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.

1 Timothy 6:2 And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

1 Timothy 6:1-2 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. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them.

Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

Titus 2:9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;

Luke 12:45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

Luke 12:46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

Luke 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Matthew 10:24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

All sounds like slavery to me and to use the defense that things were different in those days is ludicrous, a slave is a slave and can you show me any verses that show Jesus speaking out about slavery, I am curious?

I am not Religious, I am not Atheist, I am just me.

Answer 2

My friend,

You quote the scriptures and apply your own modern understanding to it. That is a faulty way of interpreting the scriptures called isogesis. You have left out why these quotes are in the scriptures. Slavery in Israel was different from slavery in the southern US during the Civil War. You cannot make the two equal or say they are the same thing. If you do so, then you make our culture indistinct from theirs. And there is a vast difference between the two.

First of all slavery in Israel was not the same as in the US because of the Hesed code. The Hesed is a Hebrew term that is loosely translated as "steadfast". The relationship between the slave and owner was bound by this code. The owner was not to abuse their servant. Most of these slaves were either Hebrew themselves (could not pay debts) or foreignors who escaped from unjust and cruel kingdoms (refugees). The Israelite people took them in and cared for them.
Also, your interpretation is very limited and misleading. You failed to mention the context of those passages. The whole passage from Exodus 21:1-11 are about the rights of a slave. In the US did slaves have rights? Obviously not! Therefore you cannot say slavery in Israel is the same as modern day concept of slavery.
And to counter your last argument these passages are based on God's divine revelation of His word through man. All the rights of the slave (you failed to mention) are based on the 10 commandments, which come from God. Therefore, the scriptures remain divinely inspired by God and through man written. I would hope you be more careful when quoting and commenting on the scriptures next time. You could mislead others. May the Lord bless and keep you. May the light of His face shine upon you.

God's and your beast of burden
Fr. john

Answer 3

Hi, Memetics. Slavery has been a peculiar institution throughout human history, and biblical times are no exceptions. The Jews themselves were kept in slavery in Egypt. But the Jews and Christians tried to ameliorate the worst conditions of slavery. For example, in the verse from Exodus you quote, there is a prohibition against beating a slave to death.

In John 8, and elsewhere in his ministry, Jesus proclaimed his intention to set humanity free: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." But Jesus understood that freedom from sin is more urgent than emancipation from legal slavery. After all, freed from sin, you could live forever with God, despite living in bondage on earth. But an emancipated slave still bound in sin would enjoy a relatively short respite.

Answer 4

The laws in Exodus were laws that MAN wanted, not God. God never wanted us to enslave our brothers, he wanted us to treat each other with love. He never wanted to hand down a bunch of laws to make people follow his instructions for living, man insisted that He give them laws so they wouldn't have to decide right from wrong for themselves in every situation.

Slavery was a fact of life at the time these laws were written...the people to whom these laws were given had just come out of enslavement. These laws (when taken in context) are a radical departure from the way people treated slaves at that time (the way they themselves were treated). Before this law, people thought that they had the right to kill their slaves (their property) for any reason...God forbade that.

In Exodus 12:26, it says, "if a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye" (and says the same thing about knocking out a tooth in the next verse). This was also radical thinking...men were not required to give a slave or a servant freedom for any reason prior to this law.

God doesn't advocate slavery and the great Dr. King knew this. He also knew, perhaps because he learned the lessons of the bible, that real and lasting change in the behavior and attitudes of men can't be brought about over night. With these laws, God was trying to teach men a lesson in order to move them toward his ultimate goal, a time when people could live in harmony and peace (love one another). When God sent his son many years later, he made it clear that slavery was against his plan for how people should treat each other.

Answer 5

Malek said "Reading comprehension is so very important, its such a shame so many don't get it. Okay, God didn't condone slavery, simply gave instructions to the people, considering slavery was very big at that time, on how to treat them, such as its not okay to kill them...."

So god didn't condone it but he let it continue? So this one thing in the bible he didn't condone yet he let it continue because it was the in the thing to do?

Funny isn't it, that most times in the bible when someone did something god didn't condone they got dealt with very harshly.

I'm fairly certain that if god didn't condone it would have been wiped out of being, according to the that funny little book anyway.

Part of the oxymoronic ways of christian doctrine.

Answer 6

You have to remember something, dear. The bible is also a history of a people; the people of Israel. In history, things happen. If there was a book written about the United States, it would include slavery. Does that mean God condones slavery? No it doesn't. The verses you quoted were in the bible because at the time, and in the culture of the day, slavery existed and it was addressed.

If you choose not to believe the bible is God's word due to this...well...that's certainly up to you.

Answer 7

Yes, Holy Scriptures record that there will be slaves even to the ending of the world but God sets all people free from their bondage's to Satan, sin, sickness, poverty and spiritual death but as the world has it's eyes spiritually blind, they will continue having slaves but we are to be servants to all, redeemed of the Lord and when Christ returns, he shall bring his rewards for the righteous and the wicked. Yes, during the 1000 year reign of Christ, all slavery will be abolished but to Jesus Christ, we will always be in service to him for He has made us his true kings and we shall glory together with Him forever.

Answer 8

Bingo!
(BTW, it's called 'cherry picking')

To the post above me, 'Malak'-I can't believe you used those words-reading comprehension-then proceeded to completely omit the part about God INSTRUCTING a person on how severe a beating is deemed acceptable. Beating someone until they can't get up for a few days is OK b/c they're not dead?! Are you insane?!
Questioner-this is a perfect example of 'lies of omission'. A certain aspect will be repeated (it says God gives you instructions not to kill your slave) but they OMIT another factor (like it's OK to beat that person) if it goes against whatever theory they're trying to support

Answer 9

God as well as the bible deal with reality, not some whimsical idealism. Jesus spoke of this when He said it was because of the sinfulness of men that these laws were given by Moses and that it was not this way from the beginning. In the end, all these things will be gone.

Answer 10

And don't forget the New Testament: the entire book of Philemon is an essay on the proper place of slaves and the mercy of "masters."

No, it's not the word of God. It might've been when it was written, but it's not now.

Yes, reality does change and so does the morality around it. So you fundamentalists, save your tirades for somebody who hasn't heard them ad nauseum already.