Question to Christians?

Question

How do you rationalize your belief in a loving god with the God of the Bible that condones/accepts/supports slavery? Don't tell me that he doesn't, I have a long list of Bible verses that say the contrary.

Actually yes, several are in the New Testament.

Since it seems several people don't believe me.
Collossians 3:22

Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, work heartily...

Titus 2:9

Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to be refractory, nor to pilfer, but to show entire and true fidelity.

Read Luke Chapter 7 where Jesus heals a slave. I didn't hear Jesus say anything about it being wrong.

Add about a million verses from the Old Testament to this.

Leviticus 25:4

Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

I guess that blows some of your theories that slavery was voluntary right out of the water.

Answer 1

Hmm . . . that's a hard one.

The Bible's kind of funky. Because even though the Bible says God is okay with slavery, he still helped the Jews out of Egypt, right?

Anyway, to your question, how do I rationalize my belief in a loving God? Well . . . God is love. That's all I can say.

Answer 2

Not having slaves is a relatively new idea. It has only been within the last 200-300 years that people decided owning another person was wrong. And there are still areas in today's world that practice slavery. Even today, we (in the US) see nothing wrong with making prisoners work, while tied together with chains, for $0.20 per hour or less, or even nothing. Slavery hasn't been completely abolished yet.

As for condoning slavery in the Bible, the passages that refer to slaves were, at the time, rules to protect the slave from abuse. Today, we see them as barbaric, but at the time, they were novel concepts that were cutting edge. After all, a slave having ANY rights was a thing unheard of in Egypt, Rome, Babylon, or Greece. It was that loving God that inspired such protections.

Answer 3

The Bible does not condone slavery as we know it now.

Slavery back then was WILLING. It was more like indentured servitude than slavery.

And although slave traders of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries tried to justify what they were doing using the Bible, if they had been held to the Old Testament laws, they would have been put to death for kidnapping in order to sell people into slavery.

Slavery was not for life in the Bible. All slaves were released in the year of Jubilee, every seven years. Does that sound like modern slavery to you? In Bible times, families sold themselves into slavery to pay off debts and to raise funds for the family. Does THAT sound like modern slavery?

Furthermore, read the book of Philemon. In it, Paul urges Philemon to "do the right thing" regarding his slave. What, exactly, do you think the "right thing" would be? Could it POSSIBLY be that Paul was urging Philemon to release his slave?

This is not a "rationalization." This is called, "study the Bible, and the historical context."

Edit: That's weird, what I have for Leviticus 25:4 has nothing at all to do with slavery, but is talking about not plowing the fields every seven years. Let me see if I can find the verse you're referring to in your added details. If I'm not mistaken, that's in the same place that it talks about the rules governing those who wished to make their slaves slaves for life. I remember reading that passage recently.

Answer 4

Why do people keep talking about the Old Testament? That does not apply to us in today's world. Why be bothered by what happened before Jesus? The teachings of Jesus in the New Testament are all that need to be mentioned. If you are Christian and you want saved, are you going to look for answers in the Old or New Testament? Obviously, the New.

Answer 5

Not all Christian believers in this present dispensation are born rich of material possessions, not born with privileges. Most of us work for a living. We have Masters or "Boss" to serve.

The concept of these verses in on how a worker should conduct himself to his boss. Not as men pleasers, but serving honestly and with integrity. As if you are serving the Lord Himself.

Col 3:22 Servants, obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as men–pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord:
Col 3:23 whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; (Revised Version)

Tit 2:9 Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters, and to be well–pleasing to them in all things; not gainsaying;
Tit 2:10 not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. (Revised Version)

Maybe the word 'slavery' is too much for you. Remember, in King James version and the Revised version, it was translated as 'servants'.

Answer 6

well, i am a Muslim but i know something about this In the holy Quran... well God does notsupports slavery because the pharaos have many slave and what do they do to them? The Punish them by not giving food until they dead... Even God says we are His slave.. He gives us all the things that we need in life...

Answer 7

Slavery is a picture of slavery to sin, which is far worse. You can be a slave of sin, which leads to death, or a slave of righteousness. Which will you choose?

Answer 8

You could have mentioned one of those examples. Y is it only u who noticed that? Do Muslims or Jews know that about Christians and r silent not to offend us?Lol.

Answer 9

The book of Job. Again a loving and fair god?

Answer 10

God didn't write the Bible.