What does the Bible say about slavery?
The issue of slavery is a surprisingly common topic in the Bible. So, in this MASSIVE collection of books, supposedly written by the All-knowing, All-powerful, Loving Creator of the Universe, surely "God" found room for a sentence or two to warn us that “Owning other human beings is a BAD idea.” Nope. Fundamentalists often claim that “God never changes” and (although the God of the Bible is extremely indecisive and is frequently changing His mind) on this topic, they’re right. On this topic, the God of the Bible does not change His mind. He is invariably
FOR slavery.
You might think, “Well, God only allows a person to own another person for six years and then they’re free.” Wrong. If the Bible is infallible, God only puts a time limit on enslaving male members of your own tribe. Female tribe members, foreigners, travelers…any non-tribe members living among you - God permits you to own them forever and gift them as an inheritance to your children (Leviticus 25:44-46).
“But slavery in the Bible is more like employment, right???? God isn’t in favor of actually OWNING people, is He?!” He is. The God of the Bible explicitly promotes OWNING people. It’s a blessing from God to own lots of slaves (Gen 24:35). And God is totally OK with you beating your slaves within an inch of their lives BECAUSE they are your “property”. (Ex 21:20-21) And He even implies that slaves are sub-human. Read Exodus 21 for yourself to see the clear distinction between “men” and slaves: God says that if a man kills another man, he shall be put to death, but if he kills a slave, he’ll merely be “punished”. (And if his own slave waits a day to die after he beats him/her, he won’t even be punished, “BECAUSE the slave is his property”. Moral of the story: you can beat your slaves to death; just do it slowly.) In human squabbles, God’s law is eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe. Oh, but not so with slaves: if you gouge out a slave’s eye, just let them go. If an ox kills a man or woman or a “man’s” son or daughter, there’s one set of rules and the ox’s owner will likely be killed. But if the ox just kills a slave, the ox’s owner pays thirty shekels and kills the ox, done.
What does the New Testament say about slavery? In Galatians 3:26-29, God does take a big step forward and suggest that slaves are actually humans and can be Christians: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. You could even read this passage literally and say that God has become an abolitionist (and a champion for non-binary sexuality) but, taken in context, it’s clear that God is using metaphor. And the metaphor relies on the ongoing institution of slavery.
Furthermore, in the rest of the New Testament, God is crystal clear that slaves must submit to and obey their owners, “as unto Christ” (just as women must submit to and obey their husbands “as unto the Lord”). In 1 Timothy 6, God even specifically addresses Christian slaves who belong to Christian slave-owners. This would be a perfect opportunity for an omniscient, omnipotent God to spare a drop of ink to say “By the way, I’d rather you free your slaves and never again OWN people!” But God’s point in this passage is exactly the opposite - Christian slaves who belong to Christian owners must be even more submissive.
Discussion Questions
How do you respond to the biblical stance on slavery? Do you remind yourself that “These are the words of the infinite God and sometimes our finite minds can’t fully understand them”? Well, if these words “of the infinite God” were written TO humans, do you think He would be able to write His words in a way that humans would understand them…especially about a topic as bloody (literally) important as slavery? Or maybe God, writing the Bible in the bronze and iron ages, didn’t know the cataclysmic horrors that slavery would continue to wreck on humanity?
Do you see how dangerous it is (and how dangerous it has been throughout human history) to mindlessly adopt every word of the Bible as the infallible words of God?
Who writes this garbage??? Once again you don't know what you are talking about!!! IF YOU take away The God Of The Bible And Then you take away Jesus On The Cross what do you have??? You have slavery, murder, abortion, and everything else running rampant across the world aka communist countries, Muslims and they are all a bunch of fun- lovers!!! But you attack God because you don't know what you are talking about!!!
I read your diatribe on slavery..
You have no idea what the Bible has to say about slavery because you didn't read what it said at all.
You got stuck on the word slave and didn't even bother to understand what that actually meant but applied your 20th century mindset to scripture.
There is chattel slavery spoken about in scripture, but that is expressly forbbiden there being a death penalty to anyone caught practicing it..
What is codified in Mosaic law, what is a God given institution to Israel was nothing more than indentured servitude. My son is an indentured servant of the United States Airforce, having signed himself to 6 years of slavery.
There is no welfare state, no welfare, food stamp program, no social security in that day and age. Everyone was required to work or go hungry and homeless. This was so for multiple reasons, and their economic system was far superior to any we have now days, far more just to all than anything now. There system was brilliant and delt correctly with lawlessness and sloth. It prevented abuse by lender to the borrower and abuse of the borrower against the lender. It guaranteed equity and an inheritance for every generation.