Does the Bible endorse slavery?
What I find most disturbing is when
misinformation is spread on a wide scale and accepted by so many as true. Ignorance,
well willful ignorance is to blame. People are prone to being lazy thinkers and
choose to follow whatever an authoritative figure on their side deems to be
true, instead of investigating the claims for themselves. So, with that thought
I want to address the issue of slavery in the Bible. Too often I see memes like
this one posted by people ignorant on the subject saying something silly like,
“If your Holy book tells you how to treat slaves your holy book is disqualified
as a source of moral code.” Every ancient religious text has some mention of
slavery because all ancient cultures practiced some form of slavery. My first question
is, would you rather instead of the Bible instructing on how the indentured
servant should be treated with respect and love the text taught the servant should
be treated as a sub-human and viewed as property? What is the problem? Why the
misunderstanding? You know the answer, it's one word, ignorance. Considering
the history of the human rights movement if the Bible was such a great source
for endorsing slavery why would Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. cite the Bible
as his number one source for arguing against segregation and arguing for equal
rights, alongside the constitution?
Summary showing the context of
slavery in the Bible.
While the first mention of slavery
was a curse in response to a sin Ham committed, clearly slavery was not a part
of God's original plan for creation.[1] In the
context of the Old Testament for the Israelite people to be a slave meant a
contract to serve another until the next sabbatical year to make amends for an outstanding
debt (Exo. 21:1-6 NIV).[2] This was not
slavery in the traditional manner modern readers might imagine. This kind of
slave was not viewed as simply a lesser person and a piece of property.
Socially a slave in this context would be a fully equal image bearer of God,
and not a possession, but someone who respectfully is making amends for their
debt.[3] From a
theological standpoint the reason God does not and would not condone the more
traditional view of slavery is because humans were made to serve God not man. To
even serve God one must do so freely or remain a slave to sin. Thus, not
surprisingly the true origins of slavery are rooted in sin. As Stephen Cowan
observed about how the Bible presents God's will for the world most certainly,
"God did not make the world for slavers and sexists."[4] In the Old
Testament readers see the Israelites were supposed to remember how God saved His
people from slavery, and accordingly the Israelites were to treat the outsider
and those less fortunate with compassion (Lev. 25:38, 42, 55; Deut. 15:15).[5] Israel was
reminded by God that because of His grace she was saved and not because of
their righteousness, and so accordingly these people were called to be
compassionate to those in need and a blessing to the outsider.[6] Nowhere in
the Old Testament or the New do readers find any God given justification for
enslaving another human being, most certainly not in the sense as humans were
once enslaved in America. In context the Bible makes clear that one is not
intended to remain in slavery. Slaves who become believers are to find their identity
in Christ and not be worried about their slavery, though if they can get their
freedom they should do so (1 Cor 7:21). The Lord has set them free to serve
others for Christ (1 Cor 7:22), and those who have been bought by Christ should
“not become slaves of men” (7:23).[15] Along these lines, Paul calls on Philemon
to receive Onesimus back no longer as a slave but as a brother (Phlm 16). Since
slavery was no part of God’s good, created order, Paul’s instructions to
Philemon provide an example of how relationships within the family of God can
overcome evil with good.[7]
You see the indentured servant is to be set free by the Christian and accepted
as a brother. If an atheist wants to bring up the issue of slavery in the Bible,
the Old Testament in particular, the apologist needs to be prepared to explain
there is a significant difference between how surrounding cultures inhumanely
viewed slaves and the Biblical view.
Bibliography
Copan, Paul. Is God a Moral
Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,
2011.
Hamilton, James M. “Does the
Bible Condone Slavery and Sexism?” In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive
Apologetics for the Authority of Scripture, ed. Steven Cowan and
Terry L. Wilder, 335-347. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
[1]
James M. Hamilton, "Does the Bible Condone Slavery
and Sexism?" In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive
Apologetics for the Authority of Scripture, ed. Steven B. Cowan and Terry L. Wilder, 335-347, (Nashville, TN:
B&H Publishing, 2013), 341.
[2]
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages
referenced are in the New International
Version (Indianapolis, IN: Zondervan, 1990).
[3]
Ibid., 342.
[4]
Ibid., 336.
[5]
Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster?
Making Sense of the Old Testament, (eBook, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,
2011), Chapter 7, “The Bible's Ubiquitous Weirdness?”
[6]
Ibid.
[7]
Hamilton, "Does the Bible Condone
Slavery and Sexism?" 343.
0 comments:
Post a Comment