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The Hebrew Scriptures used the same word for slave and servant. The reality was somewhere between the two and most similar to indentured servitude. It was very different from slavery in other ancient near east nations, British Colonies or in the United States because the type of “slavery” approved of in the Bible was more of an employer/employee relationship rather than an owner/slave situation and a poor or unemployed person often willing entered into one of these temporary arrangements or used it as a way to pay off a debt they owed.
It was heavily regulated , for example, Jewish Law 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 able 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 and then he was to be set free (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)
So, while not ideal, this was appropriate for the life and times of that era. In the New Testament we see the seeds being sown which eventually would lead to slavery being abolished in the Christian Western world although sadly, even today, slavery still continues in a number of non-Christian countries.
Foreign slaves
While foreign slaves could be made slaves for life, the laws regarding the general treatment of slaves applied to them as well (Lev 24:22, Num 15:15-16). The law made it clear that foreigners were not inferiors who could be mistreated (Ex 23:9); instead they were to be loved just as fellow Israelites were (Lev 19:33-34). For more information, see the article on Gentiles in the OT. - https://www.rationalchristianity.net...t.html#foreign
I agree. The slaves of the bible were more like indentured servants. There is no place in the bible that justifies the way slavery was conducted in the United States.
The idea that this was the only form of "slavery" practiced and spoken about in the Bible is just another cover up of the facts clearly presented by those who don't want to face the implications of those facts. The debt "slavery" had a completely different set of circumstances and rules, but chattel bondage was clearly practiced and supported in Torah.
While Richard is correct about the restrictions on chattel bondage which were completely ignored by those Christians who "justified" slavery, it WAS still chattel bondage.
Only the unbeliever will never forgive , and Jesus said If people do not forgive than their sins will never be forgiven by God , so you forgive the history of brutal people which God probably never knew
Only the unbeliever will never forgive , and Jesus said If people do not forgive than their sins will never be forgiven by God , so you forgive the history of brutal people which God probably never knew
You still should raise your voice to speak out against the evil of slavery. If not, you are complicit with the sins of those who approve of it. It is not your place to lecture on forgiveness for something you never endured and not lift your voice against the sin. It is like you are blaming the victim and rubbing salt in the wounds. Where is your empathy?
The idea that this was the only form of "slavery" practiced and spoken about in the Bible is just another cover up of the facts clearly presented by those who don't want to face the implications of those facts. The debt "slavery" had a completely different set of circumstances and rules, but chattel bondage was clearly practiced and supported in Torah.
While Richard is correct about the restrictions on chattel bondage which were completely ignored by those Christians who "justified" slavery, it WAS still chattel bondage.
I personally love Christ. I'm a young adult navigating the world and trying to do right in the face of evil. But this issue is weighing heavy on my conscience. I am the descendant of people taken from West/Central Africa in chains and forced to work the soil of the land until they died. The brutes that took my people & owned them as property justified their actions with Biblical scripture. This scripture still exists and there are heated theological discussions to this day about its translation & the negative connotations associated with it.
I just need an answer, I need SOMEONE to give me an encouraging word or try to debunk the pro-slavery passages in the Bible. I feel extremely conflicted and although I do follow the Biblical laws to the best of my abilities, I can't help but feel this nagging doubt in the back of my mind.
False issue number one is that white slave traders marched into the African bush and captured black folks in the same way they captured birds and exotic animals. This is a false notion not supported by history or personal knowledge of the black race. I've been to Africa several times and have a modicum of understanding of culture there. I've walked African streets and driven out into the veldt. Africans are not a mob of ignorant fools. Neither are they innocent angels.
In the days of the slave trade, African nations were not continually upset by internal war as they are today. They were thriving folk who had maintained long established trade routes with Europe, Asia and the Middle East. (*) They knew how to make a buck, so to speak, and how to screw their neighbor for a percentage. Competing nations often captured and enslaved other African peoples and sold them to white slave traders in the coastal cities. Afro-Americans often reject history and prefer to blame whites exclusively, but consider that blacks on both sides of the ocean are not fools. Do you really believe that white men could simply walk into the modern community of Harlem and kidnap thousands of black men women boys and girls without being stopped and resisted by those who live there? Not in a million years could this happen in Harlem. Why then do some imagine it would be possible in the native lands of the African empire? Not in a million years then either. Africans as well as whites are entirely capable of screwing one another for a percentage. Let's get real about humanity and its evil, shall we?
False issue number two is that slavery as described in the Bible was somehow easier or better than slavery today. That is a false notion. There were good slave owners, but mostly bad ones. The difference is that in the days of Greek and Rome, slaves were often European persons or persons of European descent. Their treatment was just as bad as any Southern slave. Proof of this is in continuing racial and nationalist tensions among ethnic groups in Europe and the Balkans. Blood does not forget the wickedness of slavery. Neither does God.
False issue number three is interpreting the Bible to condone slavery. It does not. Consider the work of God to free the Hebrew people from slavery to Egypt. God wrecked the Egyptian nation for that sin as He also did to America. God will always punish slavery and those who practice it. God will also support the slave and those who suffer under it.
The Bible teaches us how to live under every sort of adverse condition, including but not limited to inhuman slavery. God is willing to immediately free us from the spiritual and mental chains of slavery if not immediate freedom from physical chains. God forbids acts of revenge. He is able to avenge the slave in His own time. Meanwhile He gives grace to those who suffer under slavery.
Which is why the United States will suffer another judgment from heaven. We as a people condone human trafficking without a second thought. We as a people condone unjust wars and robbery of foreign people without a moment of worry about consequences. We as a people brutally rob and murder outside and inside our own borders for the purpose of profit. America was established by hard honest work, but the modern American Empire is built upon murder slavery and military conquest.
God WILL avenge the slave. Make no mistake about that. The Bible says so. History proves it.
Now is the time to repent and trust God for deliverance. He WILL deliver the slave today as HE has done in the past. Such a deliverance may not go well for the United States, however.....as it did not go well in the Civil War. The civilization built upon the sweat and blood of slaves was entirely and completely destroyed....Gone With The Wind as they say.
"The United States is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world." - Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963
Our only trust and hope is in Christ Jesus, who delivers the down trodden and hopeless, not in a government that peddles human flesh and profits from lies, misery and betrayal. There are honest ways to establish wealth, but America has forgotten them as it has forgotten god. We shall pay a terrible price for our wickedness.
It is time for all of us to fall to our knees, to repent of our sins and beg God for forgiveness. Only then will the barrage of curses against our nation be halted. Look around. Is God blessing America or are we witnessing a constant series of terrible curses, each wave of curses getting worse as time goes by - EXACTLY as God treated ancient Israel as described in the Old Testament. God will NOT bless sin and God will NOT bless America any longer. Repentance is the only thing that will save us, not military strength, not political leaders and not our own hubris.
A reality check of American culture suggests that national repentance will not happen. It's possible, but I wouldn't put a bet on it, would you? Therefore it falls to us as individuals to make peace with God as eagerly and as honestly and as humbly as possible. We do not need to revenge those who have injured us or our ancestors. God is able to pluck His own geese.
that's me, hollering from the choir loft.....
(*) The primary reason for European colonization of Africa then as now was to seize its wealth. Colonization did not end in the 1950's. It continues to this day in the robbery of rare earth elements, yellow cake (not a reference to a dessert confection), blood diamonds and illegal gun trade. The five major dealers in illegal gun trade are the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. All 5 are also permanent members of the UN Security Council. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy doesn't it?
Last edited by Choir Loft; 04-23-2018 at 07:03 AM..
Is this supposed to be taken seriously? In the first place, the requirement was to show a verse that tolerates slavery. Tell me that the verse cited does NOT "tolerate slavery" when it says that if the slave hangs onto life for a few days the slave owner is not to be punished since the slave is his property and that is as far as the "protection from abuse" extends for beating a slave.
THEN you bring up an entirely different subject in the matter of what is called "slavery" but is really what we would call indentured servitude (look it up, you might be surprised} for people who incur debts, but which has nothing to do with chattel bondage, which was ALSO practiced in Israel as if the practices of one kind of "slavery" applied to the other. We are not that stupid. Nor are we stupid enough to buy into your desperate red herring about refusing to apply religious perceptions to civil questions regarding abortion, as if that had anything to do with the question you seem so desperate to avoid.
People whio support Killing babies are usually the same people who rally against the Bible. The reference is relevant.
That passage does not show that the bible tolerates slavery. Reference and tolerance is not the same. You selected a specific verse and purposely took it out of context. The Scriptures says love your neighbor. You most certainly cannot love your neighbor if you enslave them.
Leviticus 19:18
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
You failed miserably on your attempt to smear the Bible.
The idea that this was the only form of "slavery" practiced and spoken about in the Bible is just another cover up of the facts clearly presented by those who don't want to face the implications of those facts. The debt "slavery" had a completely different set of circumstances and rules, but chattel bondage was clearly practiced and supported in Torah. While Richard is correct about the restrictions on chattel bondage which were completely ignored by those Christians who "justified" slavery, it WAS still chattel bondage.
Thank you. You can't pretty it up. It's still slavery. People survived it, and sometimes people did bond with those who held them, but it was always still wrong.
People whio support Killing babies are usually the same people who rally against the Bible. The reference is relevant.
That passage does not show that the bible tolerates slavery. Reference and tolerance is not the same. You selected a specific verse and purposely took it out of context. The Scriptures says love your neighbor. You most certainly cannot love your neighbor if you enslave them.
Leviticus 19:18
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
You failed miserably on your attempt to smear the Bible.
The usual excuse: "Yes ,it says this, but over here it says this" only shows how internally contradictory the Bible is. FAIL
The usual excuse: "Yes ,it says this, but over here it says this" only shows how internally contradictory the Bible is. FAIL
Moses wrote Leviticus and Exodus. He is not suffering from schizophrenia.
God says one man should marry one woman yet Solomon married several times. Did God change His mind? Of course not. How many times must the Lord repeat Himself? His plan of salvation will not get derailed by man’s wicked actions.
Love God (1st 4 Commandments) and love your fellow man (the last 6 Commandments). Don’T let the actions of men swaying your thinking of the Holy Scripture
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