Zone1 Does the Bible endorse slavery?
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justoffal
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Yes it does in the Old testament....
The Irish Ram
LITTLE GIRL / Ram Tough
The Bible doesn't endorse slavery, but it does tolerate it with guidelines. Slaves were to be treated as family members and if there is no offspring to leave your inheritance to, then it goes to the slave.
justoffal
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Leviticus has a detailed code of slave treatment indicating that slavery was allowed
justoffal
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If it was frowned upon it would have been expressed very plainly.
Slavery is the natural condition of man because He was created by God. Thus God is His Lord and Master.
Due to the fall, man is either slave to Satan or slaves to God. Either way we are slaves. You cannot disprove slavery based on the Bible, either Old or New Testaments.
Slavery has been demonized by Satan to the degree that it is seen as a great evil among mankind. But, mankind is ruled by Satan.
We who are Christian are bought and paid for. Slaves of God. (1 Cor. 6:19-20) "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
What do you think the word 'redeemed' means?
The believer who claims to be ashamed to being a slave of God is ashamed of God, and has bought into the lies of the enemy of God.
Quantrill
Due to the fall, man is either slave to Satan or slaves to God. Either way we are slaves. You cannot disprove slavery based on the Bible, either Old or New Testaments.
Slavery has been demonized by Satan to the degree that it is seen as a great evil among mankind. But, mankind is ruled by Satan.
We who are Christian are bought and paid for. Slaves of God. (1 Cor. 6:19-20) "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
What do you think the word 'redeemed' means?
The believer who claims to be ashamed to being a slave of God is ashamed of God, and has bought into the lies of the enemy of God.
Quantrill
TruthSeeker112125
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"Sacrifices of rams to god means your raping of slaves are forgiven."
Where is that Written Quantrill?
LuckyDuck01!
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As I recall, it does talk about it but does not endorse it. On the other hand, the Quran most definitely does endorse slavery.
Votto
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Again, if you watch the clip the argument was made that the Bible does not endorse slavery, but it does regulate it.
The Bible repeatedly compares slavery to sinfulness as sin enslaves mankind. It is the sinfulness in man's heart that compels him to enslave other. And at the same time, the slaves are often compelled to return to their slavery time and again, like the Hebrew slaves who continually complained that they were better off in Egypt, flirting with the notion of returning.
God delivered the entire Hebrew people from slavery, which is repudiation of slavery. However, since man is still enslaved by sin on many levels, it is a process of removing it because so long as sin remains in the lives of man, so will slavery. Therefore, God regulated making sure slaves were freed after 7 years as well as giving them a day of rest on the Sabbath.
I would compare it to divorce. Jesus made it clear that divorce was never part of God's plan, however, he allowed it to do to the ongoing sinfulness of man's heart. So, he regulated that as well, stating that if the other party commits adultery, they were free to divorce the other if they so choose.
Also, please give Bible verses for better dialogue instead of a brief summary of your opinion on a verse that may or may not be interpreted in context.
Thanks in advance.
Votto
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Jesus said that if man sins he becomes a slave of such sin and that he was the one that could deliver man from their slavery and sin.
Also, Moses led an entire nation from slavery, which is hardly an endorsement.
The book of Philemon is also an insight into the Christian view of slavery in the early church.
Why Didn’t the Bible Condemn Slavery?
Why didn’t Paul or Jesus outright condemn slavery? In Philemon, Paul writes personally to a church leader, challenging cultural norms through gospel transformation.
www.themondaychristian.com
While some today look on and can’t imagine why Paul or Jesus didn’t explicitly condemn the entire institution of slavery, we must remember there were many forms of slavery. Some forms were little more than a working relationship with a boss, while others were cruel and barbaric. Because ancient civilization largely revolved around the framework of slavery, to suddenly demand masters release all slaves would have created massive poverty and economic destruction.
Instead, both Paul and Jesus call believers to a high ethic that will, in time, lead believers and entire civilizations to abolish slavery altogether. The key verse in this lone chapter of Philemon is verse 6, where Paul says, “I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.”
This tells us Paul’s appeal to Philemon is rooted in the gospel of Christ. As Paul writes elsewhere in Galatians 3:28, “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Condemning any and all slavery at that time would have been like condemning any and all divorce today.
Indentured servants- is not slavery per se, it was their means and form of adjudication of debts owed by an individual to the other. The slave/indentured servant, had to work their debt off with the person they owed.
That kind of slavery was a necessity during those days....there wasn't a bank one could run to, to borrow or a credit card to pay....if one fell short on cash.....nor jails on every corner...
That kind of slavery was a necessity during those days....there wasn't a bank one could run to, to borrow or a credit card to pay....if one fell short on cash.....nor jails on every corner...
justoffal
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Slavery is the natural human condition...
Votto
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No, it really was a type of slavery since many did not get financial compensated like they should have.
And today, we have illegal immigrants for the cheapest labor, and tomorrow, we will have AI.
But what concerns me with AI is, no matter how bad slavery was in the past, at least the slave owner had to pay to keep their slaves alive if they were destitute. As it stands now, millions will not have this option, that is, find someone to help keep them alive in financially hard times.
In the NT, the “bondservant” practice of the 1st century is nothing like what we think of when we say, “slave” (i.e. where you take someone captive and force them into labor.)
- That kind of slavery is explicitly condemned in the Bible:
- “Anyone who kidnaps another and sells him must be put to death” (Ex. 21:16).
norwegen
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Endorsed slavery? Not sure.
Approved of it? Yes
Those silly Jews.
Approved of it? Yes
Those silly Jews.
DennisPTate
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This is a good question!
The word "slavery" like every other word in any language, needs to be defined, and the circumstances at the time of the creation of this word need to be taken into consideration.
At the time of Moses a modern economy with a Welfare State with a Social Safety Net, had not developed. If a woman did not have children she was pretty much doomed to pretty extreme poverty in her old age. Moses allowed women to practically sell themselves for six years, [minimum], to a guy, under circumstances that is extremely offensive to all of us in 2025.
I believe that the full truth about the word "slavery" as defined within the context of the time of Moses even up until the anointed Kings of Israel like King Saul, King David, King Solomon, King Hezekiah, and King Josiah, needs to be taken into account along with the truth of the Gilgul Cycle of Judaism that I believe fits perfectly with The modern Dr. Ian Stevenson research.
One near death experiencer was shown that Rabbi Yeshua - Jesus and John the Baptist were trained and mentored by the Essene Jewish community.
The logic for a variation on "slavery" as permitted by Moses cannot be fully understood unless we understand some of the simple and basic implications of "The Gilgul Cycle" of Judaism. Well informed Jews will tend to give some credit to The Dali Lama for his ideas on some variation on "karma."
The word "slavery" as defined by Moses, does not contradict the other laws related to loving our neighbour as ourselves and being merciful to the poor. The Jubilee year of Judaism has major implications in all of this.
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