Talk:Slavery in the Bible

	This Bible related article has been awarded BRONZE status for quality. It's getting there, but could be better with improvement. See RationalWiki:Article rating for more information.

Archives for this talk page:

<1>

, (new)

Dear MrXrM

Just to summarize my view on the whole thing: the Old Testament takes the same approach towards the existence of slavery as it does towards a Flat Earth - it is just taken for granted. Over the time, Christians got less and less pleased with these approaches, either because it became obvious that it was factually incorrect (flat earth), or because it didn't fit the moral values of the society (slavery) any longer.

So what to do? First solution: accept that things have changed, and that the OT is a product of its time, and therefore is not always applicable. The problem with this is clear - is this the same as saying that god has erred? And what about TEH GAYS? Or *shudder* the WOMEN? Will they want to reconsider their positions (pun intended)?

Thus, the second solution (the way of the weasel) has some appeal: re-translate, re-define or at least re-interpret those passages of the OT which just presuppose the existence of slavery - or a flat earth. The minor problem is that generations of Jews and Christian got it wrong, have missed the obvious meaning of some verses, and were - especially in their views of slavery - XINOs.

As slavery is a sociological concept - not a physical one like the flat earth - it is harder to determine right and wrong (even if we today think that slavery is obviously immoral): there has never been an extensive debate on the flat-earth-theory. But in the discussion on slavery, you will find some of the most brilliant theologians of various denominations on both sides. It's hubris to think that some of those weren't able to get meaning of the words bond-servants, chamber-maidens, serfs, servants and slaves...

--larron (talk) 14:16, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

It's obvious that Bible condones something called slavery but what kind of slavery? Again is adoption a moral or does it depend?

The Bible must be taken as a whole. God forbade abuse, and commands to love to love. Love is what defines his character.

Old Testament shows that Hebrews had various laws:

• civil law: that ruled in a practical way the nation of Israel for instance "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot," was a practical way to resolve conflict and inflige a fair penalty. In our modern days it would be imprisonment. Set-aside of the agricultural land after 6 years was also introduced to preserve the fertility of the land and this is still enforced by European Union. These laws were to govern the nation of Israel. In fact many Jews immigrated in foreign countries and they had to subdue to the civil law of the nation, and couldn't apply most of their own civil law because they were no longer citizen of Israel.
• ceremonial laws: these laws where to symbolize Christ's ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humanity. They were like a reminder of the promise, but once it was accomplished they were no longer needed. That's why christians no longer offer sacrifices, or observe some Jewish ceremonial feast.
• moral law: That's God's immutable law given to humanity, expressed in the Decalogue, and of which Jesus said that it can be summed up as "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" and "love thy neighbour as thyself".

So in any case the Old-Testament cannot always be copy-pasted. What is to be copy-pasted forever is God's moral law, everything is to be evaluated upon it.

The Bible cannot be understood by picking out elements separately. It must be understood as a whole, and then the analogy with adoption is in my sense the only explanation (for why slavery is found in the Bible) that is consistent with the whole book and the principle of love it contains.--MrXrM (talk) 16:58, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

I'm sure this probably won't get discussed in any depth in an article - but it is in fact, the way Christians handle these "problems" that is far more interesting to me at a site called Rationalwiki, than trying to prove or disprove any particular thing about the bible (since odds are, at best all we will have are academic guesses for most of it). Do you think the bible is literal, and if so, what do you do? and how does that affect the rest of your perceptions about the world, about social interactions? Do you accept the bible as inspired writing? do you pick and choose - and what do each of those approaches say about your relation (if anything) to the world at large? It seems a far richer world of discussion than trying to suss out what the word "round" means. One tin soldier (talk) 14:30, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

This could probably go as part of the apologetics article. From my experience (I love doorstep evangelists) you get a mix of

• The courtier's reply - which is what MrXrM was mostly going for. We mere atheists haven't studied the bible enough to get the subtle differences between slave and bondmaiden or whatever.
• All the OT bollocks was superseded by Jesus. Except, of course, the bits they want to keep about gays.
• It's allegorical (the CofE response)
• Misdirection - again we saw this with MrXrM where, when we pointed out problematic verses, responded with "Ah, but this verse says what I wanted to say."

Hmm... I might work on the Apologetics article when I get the time. Placeholder (talk) 15:02, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Actually the "superseded by Jesus" one doesn't really work with slavery. Given that the passages on slaves the NT tell slave-holders "treat your slaves well" rather than "let your slaves go" it's clear that the NT also has no problem with slavery.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 16:35, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

My history sucks, but very roughly, when did the Roman Empire really start to dismiss slavery (if they did?).Paul was part of Roman culture; if he'd had a problem with slavery, he'd have said so.--One tin soldier (talk) 16:49, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

I don't think that it did. I rather think it was fundamental part of the way Roman society worked.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 16:57, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

I don't agree with the misdirection part. But about the atheist part I think that's the real boundary between us, because I don't believe the Bible is moral therefore God exist, but rather God exist and he is moral. Therefore arguing about morality would be like putting the cart before the horse, and could lead to endless discussions. --MrXrM (talk) 17:50, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

So do you believe the Bible represents His word?--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 18:13, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

And serious question here, his WORD, or his view, or his opinion? They are not all the same thing. The reason I ask is because I can sit down with 5 different English versions of the bible, and 10 major version of the bible in languages I read quite well, and show you that the authors of the different versions, say different things - sometimes radically different things. and they *mean* different things. So at some point, either you have to take the arrogant stance of "my bible version only", or you have to address the fact that people read things differently.

How, for example, would you translate something like 'kingdom' for a group of (so called) primitive people who do not recognize monarchy of any form. How would you deal with the concept of tax and taxation with people who have no currency? Or "wife" for the ancient Hopi who did not see marriage the same way you do, and the question of "wife" is an iffy one. Once you start looking at the real human problem of the limitations, not just of language but of communicating abstract concepts in general, you begin to understand why many people find it problematic to speak of "god's word". even if god had perfect intent, the concepts still must travel through human speech and cognition.One tin soldier (talk) 18:32, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Having multiple versions shouldn't be such a big surprise, even Shakespeare's texts have multiple versions, and it's not because there are so many versions that the Bible cannot be inspired: imagine it was effectively inspired, you could still write your own version and call it the New Enriched Version of Whatever, and that's what some people did. Personally when there is a verse that I find difficult, I compare some versions of my preference and sometimes(when really needed) I can use a tool that gives me hebrew and greek words. And that usually enriches the meaning.MrXrM (talk) 20:18, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

This is were some Christians tick me off. So without any real understanding of Hebrew or Greek, you think that picking up a dictionary and looking up words will add something to the meaning that a well versed, fluent (to the extent anyone is, of a language no 4000 years gone) academic/translator would not have understood or added to the translation. seriously? Again, how did you deal with those "problems" of translation when both language and human communication, fail? How do you translate shepherd for people who have no sheep?One tin soldier (talk) 20:23, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

I usually use it to check what are the multiple meanings attached to the word,and where it has been used. For instance it's interesting to know that the hebrew word for slave can be used to mean slave, servant, (military) subordinate, (political) minister, depending on the context. But I don't do that often. MrXrM (talk) 20:59, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

"So do you believe the Bible represents His word?" Yes I do, but I believe it should be understood as a whole --MrXrM (talk) 20:19, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

• Hebrews also had health laws (I forgot): they couldn't eat certain type of unhealthy animals, women couldn't have sexual relations during menstrual flow. I believe health laws are also applicable today (now we know after years of smear campaign against circumcision, that it's reduces bacteria infections and HIV risks; Before settling in Canaan, Jews were nomadic in the desert: imagine the risk of infections, yet they were healthy)MrXrM (talk) 08:21, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

I think the above is your worst attempt at changing the subject so far.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 15:45, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

So - the logical conclusion is the God is cool with slavery.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 13:28, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

That of the Egyptians he is against and that of the Jews he approves: there must certainly be a difference between the two.--MrXrM (talk) 14:53, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

So God is an antisemite? Father Vivian O'Blivion (talk) 14:56, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Sorry my sentence was bad. What I meant is that he disapprove the kind of slavery committed by the Egyptians, while accepting the kind of slavery committed by the Jews. Therefore even though both are to be called slavery, there has to be a difference between them.MrXrM (talk) 15:00, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

All lest you are admitting that they had slaves. Now you are arguing they they were "better" at being slave-masters then the Egyptians?--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 15:41, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Since the beginning my point is that being Jews, their behaviour was to be subjected to God's moral principles of love. That's why I made the analogy with adoption: some children are adopted by children molester, or abusive parents and others by loving and caring adults. --MrXrM (talk) 16:12, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

So God's moral principle of love includes slavery, the selling of daughters, and the idea that you can beat a slave if you want to.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 17:02, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Nowhere it is said that beating a slave is allowed. What we could argue is that the civil law could be considered as lax in some regards. But again, Jews were instructed in God's moral law, and abuse is clearly a sin. Sin was a serious issue and they had to offer sacrifice for atonemen (which was only a symbol for christ's death for the sins of the world). They knew they would ultimately have to face God's divine judgement. God's justice is a crucial element and without it, it's impossible to make sense of this issue, we could discuss endlessly about whether or not it is moral as much as we could discuss whether or not it is moral to adopt a child: it depends on perspective.

And for the selling of daughters, I believe based on the context, that it means either receive a dowry for marriage, or payment for fix-term service contract (and of course sex was not included).--MrXrM (talk) 17:57, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Exodus 20: You are wrong. If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies at his hand, he shall be punished. 21If, however, he survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for he is his property.

God said you could beat slaves as much as you liked as long as they survived.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 18:51, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Mr. X, what do you make of Luke 12:41-48? It implies that beating a slave is thing to do if you are not impressed by his/her performance... --larron (talk) 06:30, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

Why should god be moral and/or even necessarily be moral? Surely if god is omnipotent then you do what he says whether it be moral or not? Генгис^{You have the right to be offended; and I have the right to offend you.} 16:15, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Indeed, even if god is moral this raises the age old question which is "are certain sorts of slavery moral because god says they are or are they inherently moral and god is - through the bible - telling us of moral absolutes". The difference is non-trivial. Placeholder (talk) 16:49, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

I believe that God is a moral supreme being who defined a moral law based on love to rule a moral universe.Luciferians call Satan their "Light bearer" (Which is the meaning of Lucifer). They generally advocate "Do what thou wilt" as their supreme principle, which find growing number of supporters among people of influence. The Bible say to the contrary that "every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Roman 14:12), and that He "will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness" (Psalms 96:13). Otherwise why not do what we want? (actually we do have free will. We can choose to do good or evil, but we will have to give account for that). Empathy is a good thing but we it can be overridden.

And I would like to repost Jeffrey Dahmer's quote given previoulsy by ScoobyRuvHound : "If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then—then what’s the point of trying to modify your behavior to keep it within acceptable ranges? That’s how I thought anyway. I always believed the theory of evolution as truth, that we all just came from the slime. When we, when we died, you know, that was it, there is nothing…" larron said that Dahmer only spoke for himself, but what he said makes a lot of sense from an atheistic perspective...--MrXrM (talk) 17:17, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

"Sorry my sentence was bad. What I meant is that he disapprove the kind of slavery committed by the Egyptians, while accepting the kind of slavery committed by the Jews" - you were dancing around with your idea of translations before. You know the hebrew word used in both contexts is the same, right? the whole "sometimes it means maidservent, and sometimes it means servent" is a whole lot of "I don't understand the art of translation" hand waving, right?One tin soldier (talk) 16:54, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Dahmer. vs Thornwell

• The important difference between Dahmer and Thornwell is that Dahmer was an extremist, while Thornwell represented the mainstream of white Christianity in the antebellum South.
• what he said makes a lot of sense from an atheistic perspective... that's just lazy thinking - it may make sense for your idea of an atheist, but that's just a caricature (reminds me of the handling of the Epicureans) . And fortunately, your idea can be shown to be empirically false, as we don't see millions of Dahmerists violating the boundaries of common decency, but instead observe atheists who behave more or less the same way as their Christian neighbours.

--larron (talk) 19:24, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Now it's your turn to do a « tu quoque ».

It doesn’t really matters who said it (in fact it amazes me how a crazy man like him could make such sound logical statement), the question is does it make sense or not? I think the answer is yes.

Thank God if we don’t see millions of Dahmerists. His personal trip was to rape, murder, dismember, practice necrophilia and cannibalism, others may just like to rape, sell drugs and run drug cartels, practice extortion, steal, murder, exploit poverty to build their personal wealth(most of the time they don't go in prison for that), sexually abuse minors, exploit women for prostitution networks, etc…

“If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then—then what’s the point of trying to modify your behavior to keep it within acceptable ranges? That’s how I thought anyway. I always believed the theory of evolution as truth, that we all just came from the slime. When we, when we died, you know, that was it, there is nothing…” ... --MrXrM (talk) 21:06, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Next time I will think twice even thrice before posting. I will try to better explain my thoughts in this section: Talk:Slavery_in_the_Bible#My Comprehensive Understanding (MrXrM)--MrXrM (talk) 21:52, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

• You really should try to do so. Your penultimate statement is just ridiculous:
• Thank God if we don’t see millions of Dahmerists. That's really amusing! The fact that we don't see millions atheists acting the way you think atheists should act is ought to your deity? The more simple explanation is that your idea how atheists should act isn't shared by them.
• Frankly, you should be a little bit troubled to think of this statement of a very crazy man as sound!

--larron (talk) 22:06, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Bertolt Brecht

Die Frage, ob es einen Gott gibt Einer fragte Herrn K., ob es einen Gott gäbe. Herr K. sagte: " Ich rate dir, nachzudenken, ob dein Verhalten je nach der Antwort auf diese Frage sich ändern würde. Würde es sich nicht ändern, dann könnten wir die Frage fallenlassen. Würde es sich ändern, dann kann ich dir wenigstens noch so behilflich sein, daß ich dir sage, du hast dich schon entschieden: Du brauchst einen Gott."

The question whether there is a God Someone asked Mr. K, whether there is a God. Mr. K answered: " I advice you to ponder whether your behavior would change depending on the answer to this question. If it wouldn't change, we can drop the question. If it would, than I can help you at least by telling you that your mind is already made up: you need a God.

--larron (talk) 22:13, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

I really think Dahmer's statement makes more sense than Brecht's. We may rephrase the question as : "In this infinite Universe, of which we only know one one-thousandth (probably even less), and which some even think it is only a portion of a Multiverse (I don't), is there a possibility that a God may exist?" If we are seeking for truth why should we drop the question?--MrXrM (talk) 22:33, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Could you be more precise? How do you think that Dahmer's statement makes sense? Do you think that atheists generally think along his lines? --larron (talk) 06:26, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

The word "sound" may not have been appropriate because I believe humans have this built-in feature called conscience that gives them a sense of what's right or wrong, and reason in order to evaluate what is appropriate or not. Atheist may not "generally" think along his lines, but from an atheistic perspective this is not absolutely irrational reasoning, yet not a recommendable one for the good of mankind. Dahmer was certainly an extremist and did horrible things, but his line of thoughts can also be found among mainstream random atheists : In french there is an idiom "pas vu pas pris". I don't no the exact equivalent in english but it could be translated by "not seen, not taken". Dahmer was crazy so the evil desires out of "acceptable range" he wanted to satisfy were to do the horrible things he did, others do things that are less horrible but also blameworthy (Though - unlike Dahmer - they may have a more clearly defined boundary between what is acceptable and what is not, but both category of people think they won't be held accountable for what they did) --MrXrM (talk) 09:00, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

However I will agree on the fact that even though fairness is not always possible in a Universe without a God, this in itself doesn't prove that God exist. I didn't meant to open that debate...--MrXrM (talk) 14:22, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

My Comprehensive Understanding (MrXrM)

In this section I will attempt to explain my take on the issue of slavery in the Bible.

First of all it should be pointed out that some aspects of Bible can only be understood with a God-centered rational.

I believe God tolerated slavery described in Leviticus, because He envisioned something good from it. God doesn't support abuse or coercion, this is clearly against his moral principles of love given to jews and mankind, otherwise it would make of him a liar. That's why he expressly commanded them to love strangers as themselves because they were strangers in Egypt and they experienced oppression:

• (Exodus 23:9) "Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
• (Deut 10:19)“Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
• (Lev 19:34) “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
• (Lev 25:35-37) “And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.”

Love is the core principle in the Decalogue and throughout the Bible, and this is reiterated by Jesus in Matt 22:37-40 as well as in all his teachings.

One of the leitmotivs you will find throughout the Bible is love for the stranger, the widow, the poor, and the orphan (here are some verses among many):

• (Is 1:17) “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. ”
• (Zec 7:10) “ And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. ”
• (Jer 7:6-7) “ If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. ”
• (Micah 6:8) “ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ”

You'll find it over and over again, and God also tells us that we will be judge according to these principles of love towards others. Being a jew (or christian), it is our duty to reflect his character of love, and to “let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. ” (Matt 5:16). The Hebrews knew that in spite of the civil law they would ultimately have to face God's divine judgment :

• (Mal 3:5) “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty. ”
• (Is 1:23-26) “ Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them. Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. I will restore your leaders as in days of old, your rulers as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
• (Is 10:1-3) “ Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth? ”
• (Psalms 96:13) “ Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. ”
• (1 Cor 4:5) “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. ”

In Matt 19 Pharisees asked Jesus about divorce : “Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. ”

Here Jesus showed the distinction between the civil law that was to govern the nation of Israel in a practical way, and the ideal he had for mankind. If their character was pure and in accord with God's moral law, divorce wouldn't have been necessary, however they were men with their turpitudes and “hardness of heart” therefore divorce was instituted. But in verse 9 he also reminded them of the clear boundaries that are set: “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” -> divorce was not a tool to switch between women, it was a safeguard needed because of the “ hardness of the heart ”.

Likewise God's ideal diet for men (in Eden) was a vegan diet, but he allowed men to eat meat with clear boundaries indicating which animals where unhealthy.

So I believe God tolerated slavery because He saw beyond human eyes: (Is 55:8-9) “ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

I believe He saw it as an opportunity for heathen in miserable situations (they had to be in a miserable condition for them to be bought by Jews: either slaves or constrained to sell themselves as slaves) to gain knowledge of the true God, like Rahab (the Canaanite prostitute) did :

(Joshua 2:9-11) “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”

But this could only be possible if they are showed love and respect as God ordained to the Jews (who would willfully accept the God of his torturer? God doesn't forces us: He has made us with free will, and constrained love would be of no interest for him, it would be like having a robotic dog forced to show love), and not showing them love and respect would have been an infringement of his moral law.

In fact, slaves were heathen people who either had been enslaved in their country or where is so deep misery that they had to sell themselves as slaves, and who then would become part of the household of their Israelite master who had bought them, as long as they lived in Israel. However just like in the case of divorce, safeguards and boundaries also existed:

• Jews were instructed in God's moral law that commanded them to show love toward their neighbor and act with righteousness;
• They were not allowed to abduct or trade slaves (Ex 21:16);
• If they killed a slave, they were sentenced to death penalty (Ex 21:20);
• A slave could escape from his master and gain full citizenship in the land of Israel “Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.” (Deut 23:15-16) – One reason more to treat him good if you want him to stay at your service.

Concerning the controversial verse saying that if a man's slave dies after a day or two, his sole punishment would be the loss of his money (Ex 21:21), my answer to that is: In Texas a murderer would be sentenced to death penalty, but not in Iowa. Which law is the best ? The only thing I know is that if this murderer doesn't repent, no matter in which state of the US he committed his crime, he will surely be convicted by God's own court : (Ezekiel 18:20) “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ”

It is possible that some jews may not have understood the purpose behind God's acceptance of slavery. However God's commands of love were so clear that if they were obedient to God, they would have to be kind and compassionate towards them, and the initial purpose would have been achieved : (Isahiah 56:1-6) “Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. ”

Because God is not only the God of Jews, but of all mankind: (Romans 2:9-11) “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” - (Rom 3:29-30) Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

If they were unfaithful in their actions God's divine judgment will be applied in due time. (if the people had decided to be disobedient to God's commands, whether or not slavery had been authorized, it would've been practised for coercion and abuse anyway -> Roman Catholic Church didn't have any difficulty in practising inquisition because they were corrupted and decided in conscience to override divine principles):

• I repeat, it is possible that some jews may not have understood the purpose behind God's acceptance of slavery. Likewise, the ideal purpose of adopting a child would be taking this child out of his misery, and providing him love, care and security. However some parents may adopt a child for what at first sight seem to be selfish motives (infertile couple, single person, homosexual couple desiring to raise a child for instance), but if love and care is provided, the first purpose will also be achieved even if it wasn't the adoptive parent's initial purpose. However, similarly to slavery, some parents adopt children with the primary intent of abusing them.
• => Is adoption something moral?

Again, the comprehension of certain aspects of Bible is possible only with a God-centered rational. That is, you cannot make sense out of it by excluding the existence of a moral supreme and omnipotent God. Therefore discussing about these topics is endless and futile because we don't have the same referential.

The key question is: does God really exist? --MrXrM (talk) 22:34, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Well actually the best you could ever hope to do is prove the existence of an exceptionally powerful supernatural being. Because a creature of that description would have no trouble whipping up a fake Yahweh ID. It could lie about creating the universe in general, and humankind specifically, and we would be incapable of seeing through the deception. --Inquisitor (talk) 23:17, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

"Does God exists?" is the key question on the talk-page Talk:Does God exists?. On this talk-page the question is: How is slavery treated in the bible? --larron (talk) 06:32, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

(Edit conflict) Mr XrM believes in his personal version of the magical being called "God". His problems begin here as there is no good evidence which supports the existence of this being.

He also believes that this "God" is good and moral.

Finally he believes that The Bible represents this God's word.

This last gives him a problem as the God described in The Bible is far from good and moral. Slavery is one example of this but the various episodes of utter genocide carried out at His command is another. One could also add the large number of examples of God personally killing people.

It then becomes necessary for Mr XrM to somehow wave away the bad bits of The Bible. He does this by either some imaginative re-interpretation of what he believes The Bible must (or should) say, or by concentrating instead on parts of The Bible where his God acts in the way Mr XrM wants or expects.

To be fair to MR XrM, he is doing what many people do when presented with evidence which contradicts their beliefs, the problem is that he feels that these explanations will be convincing to others. They are not.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 06:36, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

It is possible that some jews may not have understood the purpose behind God's acceptance of slavery. Well, the majority of Hebrews over thousands of years. And most of the Christians until a few centuries ago. I'm alway impressed that the current crop of Christians not only think that they are right, but that their views are the obvious interpretation of the bible - despite very learned (well, mostly) men holding quite different views for most of the time... --larron (talk) 06:41, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

Love is the core principle in the Decalogue and throughout the Bible It is just not clear, what love is. When Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson said that African Americans were happier before the era of civil rights, wouldn't it be the loving thing - in his opinion - to get rid of civil rights for blacks? --larron (talk) 06:45, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

Many things have been said by people, but what they say is not necessarily consistent with everything the Bible teaches. I gave the understanding that I have developed based on what the Bible teaches, however it might be imperfect. Yet there is only one truth and because I don’t pretend to have full knowledge of the truth, everything I say should be evaluated against the Bible. --MrXrM (talk) 10:06, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

'Many things have been said by people, but what they say is not necessarily consistent with everything the Bible teaches.' - true, but the bible isn't self-consistent, so it's hardly surprising. Worm (talk) 10:36, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

I think the contrary is true, but there is no point to argue on this...--MrXrM (talk) 11:46, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

I do believe the Bible represents God’s word. Aside from archeological artifacts supporting Bible chronology and historical accuracy, the Bible is to my knowledge the only religious book where God gives a criterion by which we can evaluate if he really exists (Psalms 19:1-3):

(Isaiah 46:9-10) “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”

(Ezekiel 12:28) “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.”

So one of God’s characteristics among many is his ability to predict the future, and this isn’t something too difficult to evaluate. One example is the prophecy of the destruction of Tyre (Ezekiel 26:4,12,14)"And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her...and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water...And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

This was fulfilled to the letter by Alexander the great, who ordered his troops to build a causeway to the new island city of Tyre by throwing dust and ancient ruins from mainland Tyre into the midst of the sea - picture. --MrXrM (talk) 11:46, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

Oh deary, deary me. Talk about cherry picking. The list of biblical events for which there is no other historical evidence and there should be is as long as my arm, and longer. Funny how the whole jews in Egypt thing gets so little mention by the Egyptians - who were otherwise exemplary record takers. Not to mention the whole cock up of the history around the birth of Jesus, or the way no one else seemed to notice the total eclipse when Jesus is purported to have died. Sorry that one doesn't work.

As for the list of prophecies - try this RW article.

Funny how we only see what we want to. Placeholder (talk) 15:02, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

Incidentally, if you're not happy with RW as a resource try this web page. Placeholder (talk) 15:10, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

I'm surprised to see that RW doesn't mention Jonah's prophecy against Nineveh condemned to destruction after 40 days... MrXrM (talk) 16:57, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

Re-evaluation?

I found this article which goes into a lot of depth regarding concepts of slavery within the bible. Not saying all of it is accurate, but the author includes a number of sources which dedicate themselves to the topic. I think the general flow of his argument is quite persuasive, even if there are inaccuracies.

Summary: He argues that the bible does not condone Chattel slavery as a legal institution in the old testament. It is most persuasive upon accepting his distinctions between different types of slavery.

https://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/slavery-in-the-bible-25/ ^{— Unsigned, by: some BoN / talk / contribs}

Are you arguing from silence (i.e. absence of a then-nonexistent legal formalism)? PacWalker 00:26, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Actually, retraction: he's just straight ignoring passages disproving his claims as to the nonexistence of chattle slavery. PacWalker 00:41, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

A fundamentalist^{The posts tagged "Biblical errancy" suggests the blogger is an inerrantist} cherry picking the bible to avoid inconvenient facts and invoking all kinds of Rube Goldberg scenarios to rescue inerrancy? I'm shocked! I tell you, absolutely shocked! (hehehehehe) ScepticWombat (talk) 10:46, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Shocked? This kind of shocked? PacWalker 13:28, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

It's obvious that Lev 25 doesn't really mean: "As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. Then, too, it is out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. You may even bequeath them to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves." It obviously means something else entirely.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 13:48, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, PacWalker, just about that level and type of shocked.

As for Bob M, you clearly need to read the text with a pair of Ken Ham's bible-coloured glasses^TM and suddenly all problems evaporate. ScepticWombat (talk) 15:18, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Indeed. It's amazing the way the bible stops being literal as soon as it says something obnoxious.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 15:26, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Legalize it, tax it, regulate it (not weed)

I heard that view, that since the Israelite religion couldn't ban slavery (at that time, banning slavery seemed as unrealistic as today banning gravity. Today, of course, it's a whole other ballgame), it tried to regulate it (some regulations are written in the Hebrew Bible itself, tons more in the oral tradition (Mishna, Gemeara and so on), E.g. "forever" in regards to slavery meant in the bible not "until the heat death of teh universe", but "until the yovel year"). For the time back then, it was more or less a novelty, today, most of Jewish or Christian scholars don't even think about bringing that back.--Arisboch (talk) 16:56, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

You write: "since the Israelite religion couldn't ban slavery ..." You seem to be implicitly assuming the the "Israelite religion" wanted to ban slavery. Why would the "Israelite religion" want to to that if it was endemic in the culture?--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 18:42, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

I didn't. It apparently wanted to "soften" it.--Arisboch (talk) 19:02, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

What makes you believe this?

Also you wrote: "since the Israelite religion couldn't ban slavery" - which presumably means that banning it was their preferred option.--Bob^{"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that."} 19:10, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

Use in an Argument against God

Let's assume, for a moment, that a definition of God as a maximally great being (MGB) holds. Christians often like to use the ontological argument anyway, so debate them on their ground and beat them at their own game. For God to be the MGB, he must at all times past, present and future be the epitome of morality and justice. Therefore, condoning slavery in the Bible leaves a handful of options:

• God is not perfectly moral since he allowed something below the standard of morality to go on.

• God tolerated something that's clearly sin, debasing the basis for throwing people into hell.

• This particular passage in the Bible is flawed, which calls into question the validity of the rest of it.

• God is a construct of humanity. "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer".

Given these, I would propose that this may be one of the more compelling arguments against Christianity. None of the options is a good choice for a Christian to agree with, but there is no other way to reconcile God condoning slavery, leaving them with little to no options (aside from a typical escape hatch like "We'll know why in heaven" or "We can't explain it here on Earth with our finite minds"). Anim (Carfa) 02:25, 17 March 2017 (UTC)

I agree. But in my experience the usual Christian response is to argue that the bible doesn't really say what it clearly does say. If I remember correctly you can find examples of this in this talk page. But it's a hard line for them to defend.--Bob^{"Life is short and (insert adjective)"} 07:25, 17 March 2017 (UTC)