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Does The Bible Promote Slavery

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Atheist Debates – Debate review – Does the Bible promote slavery?

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“Nobody wants to work anymore!!!! > :(“

So far, jobs I’ve applied to have lied to me about:

– where the job was. The posting listed a town a few minutes away from me, but the interviewer said I needed to commute to NYC 5 days a week, an hour plus for me.

– remote options. They promise remote work until the interview, when they tell you remote is no longer supported.

-the hours. A number have listed full time only to tell me they could only offer part time, but the worst offended told me I could only have 8hrs a week

– how much the job paid. Posting promised 20$hr, the interviewer said it was minimum wage, 12$ in NJ.

– that the job was paid at all. It listed something like 50k a year at the top, but reading the job description, revealed it was an unpaid internship

– the job itself. I applied for a graphic design position, but during the interview they told me that I had to work as a door to door salesman for their product for a year before I could be “promoted” into the job I actually applied for.

-hiding the fact that that it was a military job and that you have to enlist. Nope nope nope.

I dont know how much of it is employers just don’t know how to use job posting websites properly but I think if you post the pertinent information people are looking for and then contradict it later, you make it clear you don’t respect the people you need to hire

Id be willing to try it.

Does Exodus 21 Treat Slaves As Chattels

Exodus 21:18-27 contains laws on how to treat slaves. Verses 18-19 deal with guidance in cases of injury. Verses 26-27 give the consequences of injuring slaves. Verse 21 seems to suggest that the slave is a possession: “for the slave is his money” . This does not indicate that the master owns the slave and can do what he likes, as the rest of the Old Testament shows that that is clearly not the case, but the “for” indicates the reason that the slave is not to be avenged: it is because the slave is the master’s “money” . In other words, because the master benefits from the slave being alive, it is to be presumed that when he struck the slave, he did not intend to kill the slave. The consequences of striking and injuring a slave are given in verses 26-27.

Pauls Teaching On Slavery

Paul encourages slaves to become free if they can, but if they cant then dont worry about it.

18. 1 Corinthians 7:21-23 Were you a slave when you were called? Dont let it trouble youalthough if you can gain your freedom, do so. For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lords freed person similarly, the one who was free when called is Christs slave. You were bought at a price do not become slaves of human beings.

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Slavery Is Not Gods Ideal

Contrary to what Sam Harris thinks, God doesnt want us to have slaves. Just because the Bible describes slavery and regulates the already existing institution doesnt mean God thinks its ideal. Consider Jesus words in Matthew 19:8 with respect to divorce. He says, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. In other words, God allowed for divorce under certain circumstances and even gave laws related to its practice, but that doesnt mean God was happy with it. After all, Jesus previously said, Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate .

In the same way, just because God established laws regulating the already existing institution of slavery doesnt mean he approved of it. Rather, it seems that God gave laws that sought to mitigate slavery and undermine it altogether.

For example, because poverty was the main cause of slavery, God made laws that benefited the poor. He decreed that landowners leave the crops on the edges of their fields for the needy , ordered the wealthy to never charge interest on loans to the poor , and permitted the poor to sacrifice less expensive animals . Additionally, God ordered that lenders cancel all debts every seven years .

As Christians We Are Slaves To Christ And We Proclaim That With Joy

Does The Bible Support Slavery?

19. Romans 1:1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.

20. Ephesians 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

21. 1 Peter 2:16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil live as Gods slaves.

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New Testament Bible Verses About Slavery

Matthew 25:40: And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

Romans 8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father!’

Ephesians 1:4-5: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

James 1.27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

What The Bible really Says About Slavery

Professor of New Testament, Lancaster Theological Seminary

Slavery stands as the single most contested issue in the history of biblical interpretation in the United States. Not only did the nation fracture over slavery, denominations did too. Northern and Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists remained divided until well into the twentieth century in fact, Southern Baptists still represent the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. What did slavery mean in the biblical world, and how did biblical authors respond to it?

Don’t let anybody tell you that biblical slavery was somehow less brutal than slavery in the United States. Without exception, biblical societies were slaveholding societies. The Bible engages remarkably diverse cultures — Ethiopian, Egyptian, Canaanite, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman — but in every one of them some people owned the rights to others. Slaveowners possessed not only the slaves’ labor but also their sexual and reproductive capacities. When the Bible refers to female slaves who do not “please” their masters, we’re talking about the sexual use of slaves. Likewise when the Bible spells out the conditions for marrying a slave .

Does Paul encourage slaves to embrace their captivity or to gain their freedom?

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Islamic Views On Slavery

Islamic views on slavery represent a complex and multifaceted body of Islamic thought, with various Islamic groups or thinkers espousing views on the matter which have been radically different throughout history. Slavery was a mainstay of life in pre-Islamic Arabia and surrounding lands. The Quran and the hadith address slavery extensively, assuming its existence as part of society but viewing it as an exceptional condition and restricting its scope. Early Islamic dogma forbade enslavement of free members of Islamic society, including non-Muslims , and set out to regulate and improve the conditions of human bondage. Islamic law regarded as legal slaves only those non-Muslims who were imprisoned or bought beyond the borders of Islamic rule, or the sons and daughters of slaves already in captivity. In later classical Islamic law, the topic of slavery is covered at great length. Slaves, be they Muslim or those of any other religion, were equal to their fellow practitioners in religious issues.

Many early converts to Islam were the poor and former slaves. One notable example is Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi.

Slavery In The Bible Verses

Does the Bible Promote Slavery?

In the Bible people voluntarily sold themselves to slavery so they could receive food, water, and shelter for themselves and their family. If you were poor and had no choice, but to sell yourself to slavery, what would you do?

1. Leviticus 25:39-42 I If your brother with you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you, you are not to make him serve like a bond slave. Instead, he is to serve with you like a hired servant or a traveler who lives with you, until the year of jubilee. Then he and his children with him may leave to return to his family and his ancestors inheritance. Since theyre my servants whom Ive brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.

2. Deuteronomy 15:11-14 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. If any of your peopleHebrew men or womensell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the LORD your God has blessed you.

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Notable Enslaved People And Freedmen

  • N. J. Dawood: “those whom you own as slaves.”N. J. Dawood, “The Koran,” Penguin Classics, Penguin Books, 1999 edition.
  • Dr Kamal Omar: “as except those whom your right hands held in trust'”
  • ^Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, a Nigerian extremist group, said in an interview “I shall capture people and make them slaves” when claiming responsibility for the 2014 Chibok kidnapping. ISIL claimed that the Yazidi are idol worshipers and their enslavement part of the old shariah practice of spoils of war.
  • How Christian Slaveholders Used The Bible To Justify Slavery

    During the period of American slavery, how did slaveholders manage to balance their religious beliefs with the cruel facts of the peculiar institution? As shown by the following passages adapted from Noel Raes new book The Great Stain, which uses firsthand accounts to tell the story of slavery in America for some of them that rationalization was right there in the Bible.

    Out of the more than three quarters of a million words in the Bible, Christian slaveholdersand, if asked, most slaveholders would have defined themselves as Christianhad two favorites texts, one from the beginning of the Old Testament and the other from the end of the New Testament. In the words of the King James Bible, which was the version then current, these were, first, Genesis IX, 1827:

    Despite some problems with this storyWhat was so terrible about seeing Noah drunk? Why curse Canaan rather than Ham? How long was the servitude to last? Surely Ham would have been the same color as his brothers?it eventually became the foundational text for those who wanted to justify slavery on Biblical grounds. In its boiled-down, popular version, known as The Curse of Ham, Canaan was dropped from the story, Ham was made black, and his descendants were made Africans.

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    Sexual And Conjugal Slavery

    There were two words used for female slaves, which were amah and shifhah. Based upon the uses in different texts, the words appear to have the same connotations and are used synonymously, namely that of being a sexual object, though the words themselves appear to be from different ethnic origins. Men assigned their female slaves the same level of dependence as they would a wife. Close levels of relationships could occur given the amount of dependence placed upon these women. These slaves had two specific roles: a sexual use and companionship. Their reproductive capacities were valued within their roles within the family. Marriage with these slaves was not unheard of or prohibited. In fact, it was a man’s concubine that was seen as the “other” and shunned from the family structure. These female slaves were treated more like women than slaves which may have resulted, according to some scholars, due to their sexual role, which was particularly to “breed” more slaves.

    Sexual slavery, or being sold to be a wife, was common in the ancient world. Throughout the Old Testament, the taking of multiple wives is recorded many times. An Israelite father could sell his unmarried daughters into servitude, with the expectation or understanding that the master or his son could eventually marry her It is understood by Jewish and Christian commentators that this referred to the sale of a daughter, who “is not arrived to the age of twelve years and a day, and this through poverty.”

    New Testament Views On Slavery

    Let The Bible Speak

    The New Testament also gave slave-supporting Christians fuel for their argument. Jesus never expressed disapproval of the enslaving of human beings, and many statements attributed to him suggest a tacit acceptance or even approval of that inhuman institution. Throughout the Gospels, we read passages like:

    A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master

    Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.

    Although Jesus used slavery to illustrate larger points, the question remains why he would directly acknowledge the existence of slavery without saying anything negative about it.

    The letters attributed to Paul also seem to suggest the existence of slavery was not only acceptable but that slaves themselves should not presume to take the idea of freedom and equality preached by Jesus too far by attempting to escape their forced servitude.

    Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them on the ground that they are members of the church rather they must serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these duties.

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    What The New Testament Says About Slavery

    Since many of the early Christians were slaves to Romans,8they were encouraged to become free if possible, but not worry about it if not possible.9 The Roman empire practiced involuntary slavery, so rules were established for Christians who were subject to this slavery or held slaves prior to becoming Christians. The rules established for slaves were similar to those established for other Christians with regard to being subject to governing authorities.10Slaves were told to be obedient to their master and serve them sincerely, as if serving the Lord Himself.11 Paul instructed slaves to serve with honor, so that Christianity would not be looked down upon.12

    As with slaves, instructions were given to their masters as to how they were to treat their slaves. For example, they were not to be threatened,13but treated with justice and fairness.14 The text goes on to explain that this was to be done because God is the Master of all people, and does not show partiality on the basis of social status or position.13, 14

    Are People Supposed To Be Slaves Forever

    10. Deuteronomy 15:1-2 At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the Lords remission has been proclaimed.

    11. Exodus 21:1-3 Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.

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    Property Ownership And Sale

    In Hebrew, the term for selling and for buying are not distinguished from acquiring without money, so often these words in the context of slavery are about debt slavery or servitude, people “selling” themselves or a daughter in return for something when they have no other economic resources to survive. It is a pledge of future work, temporarily, for a meal today. The selling of a daughter is also related to marriage and dowries.

    In interpreting the Old Testament, it is often helpful to go back first to what Creation teaches rather than to start with what the Law stipulates . Often the Old Testament Law is a matter of permitting or regulating something, rather than saying that it is good.

    Repression And The Bible

    Cliffe & Stuart Knechtle – Does the Bible Promote Racism and Slavery? Judgement IS Coming!

    The later repression and discrimination against the freed Black slaves received as much biblical and Christian support as the earlier institution of slavery itself. This discrimination and the enslavement of Blacks only was made on the basis of what has become known as the “sin of Ham” or “the curse of Canaan.” Some said Blacks were inferior because they bore the “.”

    In Genesis, chapter nine, Noah’s son Ham comes upon him sleeping off a drinking binge and sees his father naked. Instead of covering him, he runs and tells his brothers. Shem and Japheth, the good brothers, return and cover their father. In retaliation for Ham’s sinful act of seeing his father nude, Noah puts a curse on his grandson Canaan:

    Cursed be Canaan lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers

    Over time, this curse came to be interpreted that Ham was literally “burnt,” and that all his descendants had Black skin, marking them as slaves with a convenient color-coded label for subservience. Modern biblical scholars note that the ancient Hebrew word “ham” does not translate as “burnt” or “Black.” Further complicating matters is the position of some Afrocentrists that Ham was indeed Black, as were many other characters in the Bible.

    Just as Christians in the past used the Bible to support slavery and racism, Christians continued to defend their views using biblical passages. As recently as the 1950s and ’60’s, Christians vehemently opposed desegregation or “race-mixing” for religious reasons.

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