Jesus Christ came to set us free from bondage and sin.
Does the Bible Condone slavery? Is slavery permitted in the Bible?
— A Biblical Examination —
In our article about gay activist Dan Savage bullying and berating Christians at an “anti-bullying event”, Savage raised the point that “the Bible got the single greatest moral question of all time wrong” because in his mind the Bible condones slavery. This argument, used by many atheists and Bible skeptics alike has become more and more popular, conjuring up images of an hypocritical Christian faith that condemns lying and fornication but would allow and justify the brutal kidnapping, rape and enslavement of millions of Africans in the Americas and Europe in the 17-19th centuries. But are they right? Is slavery a sin in the Bible? Does God actually allow slavery? This article will examine the issue of slavery in the Bible from what the Scriptures actually say and show that not only is slavery a sin in the Bible, but that the Bible is anti-slavery at its core.
Slavery in Old Testament Times
An authentic U.S. slave auction poster. Slavery in the Bible was voluntary.
The main flaw in the argument that the Bible condones slavery is that it very deceitfully (or at least mistakenly out of an ignorance of history) tries to equate “slavery” in the ancient nation of Israel with the African slavery of America and Europe, when the facts show that these two forms of slavery were nothing alike whatsoever. Slavery in ancient Israel was voluntary, not racist and done as a way for a man to provide for his family. If a person was in financial debt to another, the debt could be paid off by becoming a servant in the household of a wealthy landowner. Famines, droughts or marauders could bring financial ruin to a lesser off family and thus slavery allowed the family to have security and safety by “selling onseself” as a servant.. It was a purely financial arrangement. Once the debt was paid, the slave was free to go. The debt could even be paid by a “kinsman redeemer” ( a relative of the slave who had enough money). The Bible states this principle in Leviticus 25:
And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
African slavery was not a financial arrangement. The slave, kidnapped, forced into bondage because of his race, was considered property of the slave master and was forced into slavery. It was not a system of debt repayment.
Kidnapping in the Bible Is a Sin
In the Bible it was a sin to return a runaway slave to their master.
Kidnapping a person in the Bible for any reason, but especially for slavery was a capital offense punishable by death:
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
This is a major and fundamental difference between the two systems. At this point all comparisons end. African slavery was based on the kidnapping of millions of Africans from their homeland, forcing them to travel to another continent and work under inhumane, abusive conditions until death. In ancient Israel any “master” who tried to steal another human being was a sinner who could be killed for that offense.
This is confirmed once again in the New Testament in 1 Timothy 1 when the Apostle lists various types of sinners that have no place in the Kingdom of God:
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; — 1 Timothy 1:9-10.
So right along with murders, those who profane god and liars are listed “menstealers”, another term for “slave traders.” So by this standard any slave trader, master or participant in the African slave trade, which was done wholly on the basis of kidnapping, would have no justification for their sins in the Bible. It would be impossible to carry out the African slave trade rightly following the Bible.
Slaves in the Bible Were Not Owned Forever
African slaves were taken from their families and shackled. Nothing like that happened in biblical times.
African slaves were owned “in perpetuity” meaning that a slave was property of their owner forever. In the Bible this was not the case. Even if the slave in Bible times was not able to repay their debt to the master, all slaves were to be released every 7 years.
And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile. And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. – Leviticus 25:39-41
At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release. – Deuteronomy 15:1-2
The Bible commanded that all debts were to be cancelled every 7 years. If land of a slave was being mortgaged to their slave master, the slave was able to recover the land debt-free and were free from their bondage, automatically. Once again, we see a critical difference that makes Biblical slavery nothing like the horrific enslavement of Africans and that the African slave system could never exist by the Bible’s rules.
Slaves in the Bible Had Rights
The Abolitionist movement, comprised of many Bible-believing Christians, sought to help African slaves.
In describing African chattel slavery, historian Peter Garnsey wrote:
‘A [chattel] slave was property. The slaveowner’s rights over his slave-property were total, covering the person as well as the labor of the slave. The slave was kinless, stripped of his or her old social identity in the process of capture, sale and deracination, and denied the capacity to forge new bonds of kinship through marriage alliance. These are the three basic components of [chattel] slavery.’
Peter Garnsey, ‘Ideas of Slavery from Aristotle to Augustine’, 1996, p. 1.
In the Bible, there is no chattel slavery. Even for foreign slaves, who were often prisoners of war, they were to have civil rights and liberty. On the subject of Biblical slavery and rights:
Chattel slavery did not exist under the Law of Moses. There was no form of servitude under the Law of Moses which placed them in the legal position of chattel slaves. Legislation maintained kinship rights (Exodus 21:3, 9, Leviticus 25:41, 47-49, 54, providing for Hebrew indentured servants), marriage rights (Exodus 21:4, 10-11), providing for a Hebrew daughter contracted into a marriage, personal legal rights relating to physical protection and protection from breach of contract (Exodus 21:8, providing for a Hebrew daughter contracted into a marriage, Exodus 21:20-21, 26-27, providing for Hebrew or foreign servants of any kind, and Leviticus 25:39-41, providing for Hebrew indentured servants), freedom of movement, and access to liberty (Exodus 21:8, 11, providing for a Hebrew daughter contracted into a marriage, Leviticus 25:40-45, 48, 54, providing for Hebrew indentured servants, and Deuteronomy 15:1, 12; 23:15, providing for Hebrew or foreign servants of any kind). (source)
Additionally, the Bible commanded that slaves were to be included in Sabbath rest observance:
“But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:” (Exodus 20:10).
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. (Deuteronomy 5:14)
Notice that in the verse from Deuteronomy, the slave master is reminded that the reason the servant should be permitted to observe Sabbath was so that they could rest “as well as thou.” The Lord makes no distinction or preference for the master over the servant.
Slaves were also required to be included in the celebration of the Feast of Weeks:
“And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 11 And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there. 12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes. — Deuteronomy 16:10-12.
Note that in the above passage that God reminds the Israelites that they were one slaves in Egypt, again implying the equality between “slave” and “master.” The master was no greater. Contrast this with African chattel slavery which was premised on racism, White racial superiority and all manner of evil racist practices like eugenics.
Slaves in the Bible Could Not Be Abused
A slave would never suffer such abuse under the Bible’s commands.
The Bible also makes it a sin to harm slaves:
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake – Exodus 21:26-27
In the Bible, if a master knocked out the tooth of a slave, the slave was free to leave and killing a slave was punishable by death (Exodus 21:12). African slavery was marked by rampant, gruesome abuse, whipping, rape and torture of slaves for centuries. Once again there is no comparison between slavery in the Bible and chattel slavery. Not only is the Bible compassionate towards slaves, at the time of the writing of the law (1500 BC), there was no other nation with this type of rules that protected servants. Hamurabi’s Code for example permitted masters to cut off their slaves’ ears.
Runaway Slaves in the Bible Were Not to be Returned
In addition to whipping and lynching, African slaves suffered all manner of torture.
Unlike the Old South where Fugitive Slave Laws required all runaway slaves to be returned, the Bible says the exact opposite of foreign slaves on the run:
Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 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.
The Bible Records The First Slave Revolt
As has been shown, slavery in the Bible was nothing like African slavery in the Antebellum South. In fact, the first time we see race-based, never-ending, oppressive, abusive slavery in the Bible, it was the Israelites themselves being enslaved by the Egyptian empire:
Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. — Exodus 1:8-14.
It is the ancient Isralites themselves who were the first victims of brutal, un-Biblical slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, who enslaved them out of racist hatred. This is the closest such thing to African slavery we see in the Bible. And how did God respond to this slavery? With mercy, as He raised up Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery and punished Egypt with 10 supernatural plagues, the final one being the death of all their firstborn sons which was the origin of the Passover, still celebrated in Jewish homes today. So the first recorded revolt against racist, oppressive slavery in ancient history was in the Bible and it was led by God.
“The Bible Was Used to Justify Slavery in America”
This is sad but very true. The Bible was indeed used by some as a way to justify slavery by focusing on a curse against Canaan in the book of Genesis. The argument was that this curse was actually upon Noah’s son Ham, who settled in the continent of Africa and thus all African people were cursed and thus slavery was permissible. Not only was this position not in the Bible (the Canaanite people are not Africans and in fact no longer existed at the time of African slavery in America), it ignored all of the rules for slaves that have been covered above. Just as we see today, there are many people who will misuse the Bible for one primary reason: money. The heretic slave owners who did this were just manipulating the Bible for money in the same fashion apostate Prosperity Gospel preachers twist the Scripture and pervert the Bible’s meaning to seduce their congregations into sending them money.
Many abolitionists, risked their own lives to protest slavery which was against their faith.
There were Christians and churches that tolerated slavery. But that does not change the fact that Bible-believing Christians formed the majority of the abolitionist movement. As far back as the 1st century AD, Bible-believing Christians were protesting slavery in the Roman Empire. In Europe, Anabaptists (an early name for Baptists) and British Quakers under the leadership of John Wesley were among the first groups of that era to protest slavery. In 1688 the Mennonite denomination started distributing abolitionist pamphlets. By 1696. the Quakers refused to permit any slave owners from being members of the denomination and most of the American abolitionist movement was led by Bible-believing Christians. William Lloyd Garrison, one of the most outspoken leaders of the abolitionist movement and head of the Antislavery Society, was a Bible-believing Christian who tore up the Constitution, calling it (and quoting the Bible) a “covenant with death” and an “agreement with hell” because it permitted slavery. Like many true Christians, he understood that there was no compatibility between living a life for Jesus Christ and the sinful horrors of the African slave trade.
The Bible Does Not Condone Slavery – It Solves It
There is no way possible that African-American slavery in the South or Europe could have been permitted by the Bible’s standards. All slave owners would have been put to death just for taking slaves in the first place and thus any attempt to compare the two by Bible skeptics is wildly incorrect. When the Scriptures are examined in context it becomes quite clear that God teaches compassion, mercy, equality and justice for all. But most importantly, the Bible’s purpose was not just to end slavery, it was to point out the true cause of racism, slavery oppression and greed: sin. It is our sin, that all of humanity is enslaved to and its chains can drag us to hell. The sins we have committed make us all guilty before God’s eyes, whether servant or Master. This is why Jesus Christ came to Earth – to “set the captives free.” Until we have Jesus Christ as our Savior, by acknowledging our sin before God and putting faith in Jesus as the one who died to take our punishment so that we could live eternally, we are in bondage to sin and hell. This is the main issue of humanity since the beginning of time. So if you have not done so already, get free! Revolt from sin! Look to Jesus Christ, believe in Him and receive eternal life.
“The term slavery should never be used to designate the [Israelites’] servitude [employment] under the Mosaic economy [system].”—Rev. John G. Fee, An Anti-Slavery Manual (New York: William Harned, 1851)
People are looking for whatever tidbit they can find, to use, to justify their sins. Well, too bad for them if they’re searching the Word of God for that justification because they’re not going to find it there.
It’s the atheists who are always trying to disprove the Word of God. If they don’t believe God the Father exists, then why do they focus so much of their attention on trying to disprove the truth of His Word? For them, His Word shouldn’t even exist, should it? But yet, they’re always in it, searching it for some reason …
the only who is trying to find tidbits to justfiy nonsense is you guys! you are taking bible verses about slavery out of context to make it look “not so bad” to claim bible is anti-slavery at the core is a blatant lie and an attempt to hide what the bible really says
The top article is wrong. The guy obviously hasn’t studied his Bible! ONLY Hebrews MALES were released from Slavery after 7 years. Hebrew Females and Gentiles were NEVER to be released … AND their children would be Slaves for their entire lives also.
Under Babylonian Law (The Code of Hammurabi which predates the Israel’s Laws by approximately 500 years) Slaves are NOT inheritable property but are FREE upon their Master’s death. But apparently in Israel the most “godly inspired” nation on earth says Slaves are to be treated as “inheritable property” FOREVER (see Leviticus 25:44-46).
The Bible treats women as PROPERTY of Men and occasionally punishes men by having their wives taken away to be RAPED. In 2 Samuel 12:11-14 God punishes David by giving his wives to his neighbor to be RAPED in broad daylight. Zechariah 14:1-2 claims there will come a day when God will have all the women of Jerusalem RAPED. And Isaiah 13:15-18 shares a prophecy telling us that God is going to make the Babylonian men suffer by having their wives raped.
And for every FEMALE, consider this – If YOU were living in Old Testament times ~
* You would have been illiterate because education was ONLY for Males.
* You would probably be undernourished if you were poor because Males eat first, and females only get the leftovers.
* You would have gotten married at the age of 12, providing of course that your father paid a Dowry.
No Dowry = No Husband.
* If you were poor, you would NEVER have been able to get “Married” but would have had to be a “Concubine” all your life, and your children would have NEVER inherited one cent (because the children of Concubines have NO rights of inheritance).
* You would have to marry whomever your father chose. You would have no choice.
* You father could sell you into life-long Slavery to pay off his debts.
* You would have to be killed if you were not a virgin on your Wedding night.
* You would have to marry your Rapist if he seduced or raped you.
* You would never have any inheritable Land or Property rights as a woman.
* You would continuously be under the control and domination of Men – first your father, then your husband, or brother, or closest male relative.
* You would not be allowed to travel without being under the constant supervision of a Male.
* You would have no right to Vote.
* Your husband can beat you, starve, torture and rape you whenever he likes without any consequences to himself.
* Your husband could sell your children into life-long Slavery to pay off his debts.
* Your husband can divorce you whenever he likes but you can NEVER divorce him.
* You would have been killed at the slightest “accusation” of infidelity (no evidence required).
So I ask you what’s the difference between the TALIBAN and life in the Bible?
they worship a slightly different god?
Why are you here? You might be interested in following Jesus.
The devil is a liar.
well maybe you should stop lying about bible slavery
What did I tell a lie about Tony? If you think serving/working for someone because you owe them money and slavery are the same, then maybe you would support suing the pants off of them and have them go to jail, where they have no or minimal rights. I’m pretty sure good family members would rather have their relative do them favors/services instead, but would that be enslaving them?
you lied by omission on what the bible said on slavery, what you mentioned was one type of slavery meant for male Jews only
And when did I say that? Can you find it anywhere on here that CMS said that? I doubt that.
Brother you have the Spirit of the Living God dwelling within you.and you have accepted the truth presented to you the people you are working to convince however will not accept that truth you are by no means obligated to convince the obstinate merely to sow the seed and let the Father do what he will remember what our Lord said don’t cast your pearls before swine. If they refuse to accept the truth then shake the dust off your feet and move on it will be better for Sodom on judgment day than for them. BUT u just continue to stay in Christ
Thank you.
you are indeed irrational and abusrd, you are just encouraging CMS to mis-represent the bible. CMS you said that bible slavery was to pay of debts,( which was meant for male jews only) but thats not what the bible says about how slavery was to be practiced
non fam u the devil
Thank you, Gabrielle! I was wondering why the article didn’t even touch this info. A lot of things changed for me when I read the Bible for myself & stopped taking the pastor’s word for everything. The slavery WAS just as cruel, and it was condone in both old & new testament. When that dawned on me, it was a painful thing to realize, but truth hurts!
1 Peter 2:18 (New Living Translation) “You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you–not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.” (King James Version) “Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.” Nicer words, but same cruelty.
Good article and GREAT site but I must admit that some of those pictures and posters are had to see and read.
Thanks Excalibur. Sorry about the images. They were really large so I had to shrink them down so they fit on the screen properly. As a result, some of the smaller print is harder to read.
i love how you ignore levitcus 25:44 it says you can own non jews as property and pass them on as property to your children and exodus 21 which says you can beat a slave and its okay I he doesn’t die in2 days
I’m glad you touched this subject. Wonderful teaching guild. I wonder though, who give these slave masters the mind set that they were more superior then other races? I mean if Africans were stronger, and multiplied, outside of the “HAM” curse what gave them the right to enslave people. Did all slave masters misunderstand what happened with the “HAM” situation? We sure do have much to be grateful for. Thanx for sharing you article.
Also make me wonder, just what it was originally meant by “uncovering Noah’s nakedness “. Funny how the world (slave masters) could trace back the sin of HAM and not the real sin of Satan which is found in the same Book.
Slavery in the Old Testament was not as immoral as the slavery we think of today.
However, that doesn’t mean that the Bible’s acceptance of the milder form of slavery is not immoral. It may be less vile than the African slave trade, but is it not pathetic that you’ve lowered the moral standards of the supposedly perfect, divine word of God to “not THAT evil”?
If you believe that Biblical Law is perfect and divine, then we should have Biblical slavery today. We should also have Biblical rape laws today. If I run for office on the platform of making rapists marry their victims, you should steadfastly support me, because I am merely following divine law, right?
Of course not. Your entire post only amounts to “the Bible isn’t THAT evil”, but the fact that the Bible supports ANY form of slavery denies it claim to perfection, or even a moral guide that’s relevant to a world where slavery of any incarnation, and rape-marriages of any incarnation, are universally condemned.
Andrew – Neither the historic record nor scriptutre support your attempt to make the Biblical rules on slavery seem evil. The Bible speaks for itself – slaves were required to be treated humanely, had rights, could never be kidnapped and were to have all their debts forgiven every 7 years. In addition to numerous other rules respecting their rights and well-being. I understand living in this day and age in western society, the term “slave” carries such a negative connotation because of the African slave trade, but the fact of the matter is that it was not always the case. You are trying to make any system of slavery “absolute evil” without providing a reason as to why? Many people would argue all the college graduates leaving school with no job and $200,000 in debt are now slaves to the government. Some athletes feel like they are enslaved by unfair contracts. Is this the same as African slavery? Of course not. Yet they still use the term.
So the point of the article is not to say “the Bible isn’t that evil.” It’s to show that there is no way that anything close to the African American slave trade could exist in ancient Israel.
As for rape, you are in error in your reading of the Bible. I will try to explain:
This is referring to seducing an unmarried virgin. And yes, the man is now required to marry her because in ancient Israelite culture, no other man would marry her.
This is confirmed in Exodus:
Now let’s look at the Bible on rape:
Notice the use of the word “force” as in sex without consent. The Mosaic law requires that man to be put to death. So the Bible’s standards on rape seem quite clear. But since you are just looking to try and attack God and look for a hole to poke in the Bible, it can lead to this type of conclusion. Why not just read Scripture with an open mind and heart? It’s a lot more rewarding.
Wow. You are so full of s– trying to justify slavery, in any form, and now rape. You guys are so ass backwards trying to follow the words of ancient Bedouin nomads. Come off it.
And you enjoy being willfully ignorant.
To Alfredo:
Firstly, the ancient Israelites were not Bedouins. Bedouins are nomadic Arabs, and, while related, are distinct from modern-day Jews and the ancient tribes of Israel.
Secondly, what do you use as your moral standard? You obviously do not believe in the authority of the Bible, yet in order to claim that those who follow it’s precepts are “backwards,” you must appeal to some kind of moral authority. So what is it?
I don’t know what kind of background you come from, but it’s hard to argue that slavery is backwards from a humanistic, atheistic, agnostic etc. background. If there is no higher authority, then anything which brings you ‘personal fulfillment’ should be fair game, whether it be enslaving others, genocide, rape, pedophilia etc. In order to argue that anything is ‘wrong’ from a moral standpoint, you first have to concede that there IS a higher authority to which we can appeal.
So what is it? Civil law? Nope. Chattel slavery itself was once protected by civil law. Hitler launched brutal attacks on innocent Jews within the boundaries of German law. Just because men say that something is right or wrong does not make it so.
Thirdly, you say that B&E is backwards for trying to “justify slavery, in any form.” What do you mean by that? The ‘slavery’ that the Israelites had was a way to pay off debts and gain security, slaves were released after seven years (Deuteronomy 15:1). Are you saying people shouldn’t work off their debts? Isn’t that a form of slavery? Isn’t forcing convicted criminals to pick up litter on the side of the road slavery? Are you actively working to abolish this demeaning blight on our society? Of course not! Should we release everyone who is under a contract from being FORCED to meet its obligations? Of course not! If someone enters into an agreement (like that of the Biblical menservants) knowing the terms of the contract, it is only right that they uphold their end of the bargain.
The Bible does not condone rape. On the contrary, it compares rape to murder (Deuteronomy 22:25, 26). The Bible is not “the words of ancient Bedouin nomads” (you’re probably closer to the Quran on that one). The Bible contains the very words of The Living God:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
II Timothy 3:16, 17
God’s Word is holy, but men blaspheme the Truth, and “professing themselves to be wise”, they become fools (Romans 1:22). All men, even you, are guilty of breaking God’s Law (don’t believe me? Look up the Good Test by Ray Comfort). But God calls “all men everywhere to repent” and put their trust in The Saviour Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31, 17:30-31). The Word holds true:
“For God so loved the world [including you], that he gave his only begotten Son [Jesus Christ], that whosoever believeth in him should not perish [in hell], but have everlasting life [in heaven].
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18, brackets mine)
Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven (John 14:6), ALL other ways lead to hell and the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).
It is my prayer that anyone reading this would put their faith in Jesus, if they have not already.
Don’t wait until tomorrow, today is the day of salvation ( II Corinthians 6:1,2)!!!
well acorrding to your logic then there would be no punishment for rapists who raped a virgin who is NOT engaged as all those laws about killing rapists ONLY refer to what happens when a engaged girl got raped
“Slaves were required to be treated humanely”… Ha! Never slavery is a humanitarian act.
Exodus 21:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.
3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges.[a] He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do.
8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,[b] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.
10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.
11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.”
“20 Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result,
21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.
(…)
26 An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.
27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.”
As we can see, the same does NOT apply to women… and oh, wait, men can have more than one wife!
And wait… if you beat your slave and he/she dies, you must be “punished”… but if he/she recovers after a day or two, that’s all fine and cool, as THEY ARE YOUR PROPERTY! By the way, they were slaves and properties as any other, er, slave, as they couldn’t just go free without their owner’s agreement.
…not to mention some other great laws that the JUST and BENEVOLENT biblical God told us (and his word never changes, right?), like:
Exodus 21:
17 Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
Exodus 22:
18 Do not allow a sorceress to live.
19 Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death.
20 Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.
Hi Mariana,
With all due respect, you have completely misunderstood this passage. Let’s look at it again and see if we can make some sense of it:
Let’s start with verse 27. It says that if a person knocks out their servants tooth, the slave was to be set free. So right here, it should seem obvious that the verse above it about beating them with a rod must have a different meaning that what you are concluding. Otherwise, the Bible is saying knocking out a tooth is worse than beating someone so badly they need 2 days to recover. So what does it mean?
“And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money. ”
Notice verse 21 starts with the word “notwithstanding”. That means that it is connected to the previous sentence. It is a qualifier to it. And what the two verse together are saying is that if a master kills a slave, he is put to death. But if the slave is beaten and recovers the master is not put to death. Being “punished” in this context is being executed. So it’s clarifying that if the beating is severe but the slave does not die, the master is not killed in response. So how does the master suffer? The slave is free to leave. That’s why it says “for he is his money.” The meaning there is that financial loss the master will incur from the slave now being set free by law is just punishment. It’s akin to money walking out the door and never coming back.
And as the article states, this is radically different from American 18th century slavery. Slaves in ancient Israel, of any race, could not be harmed by their masters. Slaves could not be kidnapped. They were included in all religious activity and not to work on sabbath and Holy Days. And the list of measures go on (as detailed in the article). There is just no comparison to the modern idea of “slavery” in any respect. People in this ancient era volunteered to be slaves for financial and physical security. Prisoners of war were treated with respect, kindness and full protection of the law. To say this is what African slaves experiences is not only inaccurate but an insult to the suffering of the millions of people who were kidnapped from their homes, beaten and abused mercilessly, assaulted and raped and the whole host of other indignities suffered during antebellum slavery.
From your comments, I can see that a lot of your anger is pointed at God. And I understand – the idea of a morally perfect and just God one day judging us with the power to send us to Hell for eternity is both frightening and offensive to many. Many people are offended by the idea that they will be judged one day for their actions, thoughts and words. But that does not change the truth: there is a God, He is Holy and He will judge you, me and every person who has ever lived on this planet. And the punishment for our guilt is Hell and the Lake of Fire. Make no mistake about it. Eternal torment awaits those who will die in their sins and be found guilty before God.
This is of course, horrible. But God, in His love for us, has provided an escape – free forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ. I have sinned thousands of times in my life. I am not a “better person” than you or a “good person.” I’m just better off because I have confessed my sins to God and I trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the payment for my sin. Jesus took the punishment of God’s wrath on the cross for you, me and every slave owner who lived in America and Europe during the 17th-19th centuries.
God says in the book of Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” This is God’s desire – to forgive you and be reconciled to you. Why? Because He loves you. The Bible says if we confess our sins God is just and faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. Rather than put God on trial, why not get to know Him better? Your eternal destiny depends on it.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:13.
How to Get to Heaven
https://beginningandend.com/how-to-get-to-heaven/
” is a qualifier to it. And what the two verse together are saying is that if a master kills a slave, he is put to death. But if the slave is beaten and recovers the master is not put to death. ”
ok its clear you have a reading problem it says that if a slave doesnt die within two days there is no punishment for the owner!
“. And what the two verse together are saying is that if a master kills a slave, he is put to death”
no it says if a master kills a slave quickly then he dies, but if he makes sure they suffer slowly of their wounds and die they get no punishment
Hi Tony – Once again, you are misunderstanding the text. Just several verses after the passage in question, the Bible says if a master knocks one tooth out of a slave’s mouth, he must set the slave free. Clearly the Bible is prohibiting violence against slaves. Your reading of the passage just doesn’t make any sense in context. I understand that you are trying to put God on trial and trying to show the “evils” of the Bible but your interpretation of this passage does not hold up. Any slave could easily cite several verses later in chapter 21 to support their freedom if they were beaten by their masters.
The distinction being made in verse 21 is about murder (as most of this chapter is about the prohibition of murder). If a slave was beaten but lived for several days, the master is not deemed a murderer (which would require the death penalty). This distinction is being made because the punishment is so severe. The phrase “he is his money” refers to losing the slave – either by death or freedom. The point is the financial loss of the slave is the punishment the master will suffer in that instance because he is not deemed a murderer under the law. In ancient Israelite society slaves were treated as human beings – and very well so because God repeatedly told them so through the laws He gave them.
And again look at “advanced” societies like ancient Rome – where the murder of slaves was tolerated. Slaves were chattel property and could be beaten, raped and murdered with no recourse. And this society existed 1500 years after Moses. 3,300 years after Moses, slaves in America were treated with just the same callous, barbaric disregard for their humanity. And yet, you criticize the Bible which in far more ancient times instructed masters to be put to death if they killed their slaves and granted freedom if so much as a tooth was harmed. So the real issue here is why are you so insistent on trying to make God look evil? -B&E
We must learn to distinguish God’s judicial pronouncements from his commands about a way of life for us so as not to mix apples and oranges. The removal of the Canaanite peoples was a judicial ruling by God. Consider, in the USA we give people rights. But those rights can be taken away if people commit a crime. Its called prison. Is that hypocrisy to say people have rights (out of one side of our mouth) but then put them into prison ( out of the other)? No because those persons gave up many of their rights when they committed a crime. There were no prisons in Canaan. As a judicial ruling, God told Israel to dispossess the people in the land. They were either to kill them or in some cases enslave them. The Canaanites had already lost all of their rights and were under God’s just judgment. There was no justification for arbitrary chattel slavery in the Bible — (the kind which we knew in antebellum times) … in fact the slavery which kidnapped people and sold them as property was punishable by death (Exodus 21:16) .
No they were ONLY to kill or enslave under God’s direct verbal orders – Remember, He is God so His judicial ruling is more just than any human court has ever been since He knows all of our crimes perfectly. So When Israel killed people they were simply acting as God’s hand, speeding up the death sentence we all justly deserve.
You think this racist because it targets foreigners? Think again. God also warned the Israelites that they were not immune from the Canaanites’ judgment: “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’ “(Numbers 33:55-56). So not only were foreigners made slaves … when the Israelites disobeyed God – REMEMBER – they were carried off in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. So God is not partial or racist.
Again, the Israelites deserved judgment just like the others, whether Egyptian of Canaanite. This should serve to remind us that we may not assume that those who suffer unique or catastrophic calamities in this life or any worse than we ourselves, since it is only the grace of God in Jesus Christ which makes us to differ from anyone (see Luke 13:1-5; 1 Cor. 4:7).
Also Christians, being consistent with the scripture and understanding this, would never enslave people. God has commanded us to set all men free with the gospel. The time between Christ’s coming and His return is a time of forbearance. But the time is coming when God’s patience will end and justice will be carried out in full measure. So it is important to differentiate what God commands as a way of life for us and his judicial rulings. The confusing of them causes college professors to misrepresent the beliefs of both Jews and Christians, and many atheists, who are ignorant of the fullness what the Bible says, take this up and make unfortunate misrepresentations of the Bible in public. But at least it gives us an opportunity to bring the truth to light. So for this I thank you.
so you are a moral reletvist then, as you believe its okay to enslave some people when god tells you to, but its not okay for others-(different rules for different peoples)
The bible also says that GOD doesn’t change, and whatever God believes is right/wrong is righteous and will always be right/wrong. God won’t say one thing is right one minute and change his mind the next.
In the below script The bible condones the killing of children, who are innocent and have done no wrong. They kept the virgins for themselves for ONE PURPOSE.
To have Sex with them.
I believe a logical person would have to conclude that NONE of these women were taken by consent, and did not have sex with the Men of Israel willingly.
Judges 21:10-24
So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
It was common practice for them to take Slaves of War and force them into servitude which your 7 year rules didn’t apply. That only applied to Israelites:
If you buy a “HEBREW slave”, he is to serve for only six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom. If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterward, only he will go free in the seventh year. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him. If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master. But the slave may plainly declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I would rather not go free.’ If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will belong to his master forever. (Exodus 21:2-6 NLT)
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)
Slaves were treated brutally in Biblical times by Jews:
When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)
Moreover (Deuteronomy 22:28-29 NLT) applies to the rape of a woman, not the seduction, as the word “VIOLATED” or any related terminology doesn’t refer to consentual sex.
(Deuteronomy 21:10-14 NAB)
“When you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD, your God, delivers them into your hand, so that you take captives, if you see a comely woman among the captives and become so enamored of her that you wish to have her as wife, you may take her home to your house. But before she may live there, she must shave her head and pare her nails and lay aside her captive’s garb. After she has mourned her father and mother for a full month, you may have relations with her, and you shall be her husband and she shall be your wife. However, if later on you lose your liking for her, you shall give her her freedom, if she wishes it; but you shall not sell her or enslave her, since she was married to you under compulsion.”
In this passage we see that the Hebrews would literally take Sex Slaves forcibly as spoils of war and then discard them when they got bored of them.
The point is, a GOD OF LOVE, would NEVER tell his supposed Chosen People who are supposedly setting an example for the rest of the world to do such henous acts, to other humans that GOD has said in his eyes are all equal.
Would you ever tell your child to enslave one of their brothers or sisters,much less has sex with them against their will?
Would you ever tell one of your children to kill another one of your children, after you’ve told them countless times that ‘vengence is mind, I shall repay… only I have the right to take life and only I can give life”….
Does that make sense? The bible says GOD is one way, then these people commit acts of debauchery and devilish wickedness, and say that God told them its OK.
Either the God of the bible is wicked, or the people who wrote the bible made up their own rules, and then wrote in the bible that God told them to do those things in order to justify their actions.
That’s probably why Jesus came to set them all straight and gave the parable, of the Owner renting out his property and sending emissarys to them, who they killed, and then sent his Son expecting them to listen, and they killed the Son, and invoked the owner’s wrath.
Jesus came to fulfill the law, and said none of it was to be changed, but he likely was referring to the 10 commandments, since that was the ONLY time God actually gave Men a set of laws. Love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving yoru neighbor as yourself is a clear conclusion to the 10 commandments.
The Jews, decided to create 600 plus additional laws, which Jesus condemned, when we see in many cases of his interaction with the Pharisees.
So the reality is, the Old testament, aside from the 10 commandments is pure rubbish, like a Cake made of excrement, but has nuts, seeds, and fruit mixed into it. Sure there are some good things in it, like Psalms and Proverbs, but the surrounding material isn’t at all reminiscent of a GOD of LOVE, amd more likely was influenced by Satan and his demons to pervert the word of God, hense why Jesus had to come and set them all straight.
Hi Dr. Roppelt,
The testimony of Jesus Christ refutes what you say:
Jesus quoted over 24 Old Testament books in approximately 100 different verses in the Gospels. He validated the accounts of Genesis, that Moses was its author. He praised the wisdom of Solomon. He verified that Jonah was indeed in the belly of a whale for 3 days. And this is a very small sample of the numerous times Jesus quotes Old Testament Scripture. I understand your disagreement, but you cannot pick and choose with Scripture. The burden upon a Christian is to make Scripture reconcile with Scripture.
The ancient Israelites were chosen to receive God’s law and also used as a tool of judgment. The Lord did indeed directly command the Israelites to kill in the recapture of the Promised Land from the Canaanites – nations of people who were infilrated by Nephilim. This is the only time in the Biblical history where The Lord commands a war of aggression. And it was for the purpose of preserving the human race and the bloodline that would lead to the Messiah. We have to take the time to read, study and understand before we quote things out of context, which, with all due respect, you have done in several instances.
For example, your quoting of Judges Chapter 21: m
This is a very erroneous interpretation of this passage. In the entire book of Judges, Israel as a nation is in constant rebellion against God. They then entered into a civil war with 9 tribes joining war against the tribe of Judah. This was not instructed by God at all. As part of this war, the tribes made an oath to not let any of their daughters marry a Benjamite (so the tribe could die off). This is all before chapter 21. When we get to the chapter in question, the war is over, the tribe of Benjamin has been reduced to 600 men hiding in the hills and the other tribes have now regretted their decision. They now want to make peace and bring Benjamin back into the fold. BUt since they took the oath about their daughters, they are bound to it and the dilemma of Benjamin’s men having no children remained. So the solution the tribes chose themselves was to conquer a city of the heathen nations, take their virgin daughters and give them to the Benjamites to take as wives. NONE OF THIS WAS GOD’s PLAN. The passage you quote is not God speaking but the leadership among the tribes. God specifically told the Israelites not to marry any women from the enemy nations in Canaan. But the people at this point because of their sin and spiritual blindness were doing their own plans. Hence the book ending with the verse: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
So for you to try and portray this account as God ordering the Israelites to take women “for sex” is just incorrect on numerous levels. You ripped a few verses out of context without regard for what was actually taking place.
The same is the case with the marrying of women who were prisoners of war. These rules were included in the law because of the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites. It was not God’s original intention. Jesus confirmed this when He discussed the bill of divorcement allowed in ancient Israel. God is against divorce. Christian marriage only ends by death. Yet divorces were allowed to ensure fair treatment of women in light of the sinful behavior taking place. These laws that are supposedly “oppressive” were trying to ensure some actual support for women instead of them losing their chastity and having no one ever speak to them or means of income/self-sustenance.
Finally – I would just say that Jesus has already fulfilled the law – He did it on the cross by fulfilling every Messianic prophecy of the Old testament. So try and say that you are a believer in Christ, but throw out the hundreds of prophecies He fulfilled, including the very giving of His life on the cross, is contradictory to the faith. We are to seek the whole counsel of God. And if something seems confusing or out of place to us, humble ourselves and pray to The Lord for understanding, rather than indicting the BIble. It also helps to attend a Bible-believing church where you can be fed and grow in the knowledge of the Word and Jesus Christ.
I hope and pray you will reconsider the trustworthiness of God’s Word before throwing most of it away.
I do not believe God told any one to kill, if he told people not to murder in the 10 Commandments, and then told people that only he will kill and showed them his power in Egypt that he can specifically target first born sons and kill them if he so chose, and to KEEP THEIR HANDS CLEAN OF BLOODSHED.
In fact he told them he would send Hornets and Bees to drive the Canaanites out so they could have their homes and land without bloodshed.
Exodus 23:28: I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
In our day, where we have Science, people know the mental trama that happens after wars. We know how psychologically damaging it is to take someones life, nevermind thousands of people. It warps your thinking.
A God know created humans and knows their suseptibility to Mental Trama, Post Tramatic Stress Disorder would NEVER in a Million Years tell anyone to go kill people, after he’s already shown them that he has the POWER to deal with any person, any nation at any time, and at the snap of his finger he could simply command the life he’s lent them to leave their bodies.
At one Point a single angel killed 186,000 soldiers. I think God doesn’t needs anyone to kill, and it is the demonic warped thinking, the Jews were seduced by, that caused them to kill off the Canaanites, and not let God do it, and then Kill Jesus when he came to set them straight…
Here in this battle, quoted in its entirety from verse 1, to capture the context fully, God is providing the battle plan for the Israelites from beginning to end. And they went in and slaughtered the people of AI via an ambush under God’s direct instruction. They seized the city under God’s direct instruction. The battle was to commence and succeed when Joshua lifted his spear at God’s direct instruction. The Lord does indeed instruct His believers to wage war at times that He sees fit. No concern for the trauma of battle, etc. Israel was used at times as a tool of God’s judgment. The Assyrian empire was used as a tool of God’s judgment. As were the Babylonians. God can use whatever means he sees fit to bring His Will and purpose to pass.
Beginning and End, what you are misunderstanding from my comment is I do not believe these accounts were given by God. I believe the writers simply ‘wrote’ that God told them or gave them detailed plans on how to kill off nations of people.
Sure the bible we have today says that they said that God told them to do those things, but what we see from God, and the whole point of the 10 plagues on Egypt was for God to show the Israelites his Might, in that they will NEVER need to lift a finger to defend themselves.
So, they lied to history by writing in these defamatory statements against God, that God ‘told’ them to go kill people, when God already said he’d send in the Hornets to drive them out.
The issue is, they didn’t want to wait for God to act on their behalf, so they came up with War strategies on how to take other peoples land ahead of the appointed time and then wrote in their books and documents that it was God who told them to do it.
Killing in the name of God has been happening for thousands of years. I think its ignorance that people believe 100% every single word in the bible as pure historical fact.
Just because the Israelites say God told them how to ambush and sack cities doesn’t mean God actually said that to them.
I support that God didn’t say these things, due to the fact that God had already told them how he was going to give them the land and sent them back into the Wilderness when they tried to take the land ahead of time.
He even told Moses twice that he wanted to wipe them all out and make a nation out of Moses decendants and he pleaded with God twice to spare them.
So if they were so adamantly against God, do you think they turned around and wrote everything accurate about what God told them to do?
It doesn’t add up. Then why show the Israelites his power to save them if he was going to have them take up military might and kill everyone off?
Why make them mentally deranged from all the killing and become bloodthirsty for more bloodshed, which we see through biblical history?
They were not supposed to kill, and were supposed to live a life of non-violence, like Gandhi. God was the one who would be their sword and shield.
They lied against God and perverted the bible.
In fact, the bible we have today is simply the Pagan version compiled by the Constantine’s Council of Nacea. Most of the books written with the accurate teachings, the inner circle teachings of Jesus to his living disciples, were destroyed, and the rest kept by the current Vatican.
Jesus gave many, many, teachings we will never see, and most of the teachings we see him saying in the bible, such as what you quoted from Matthew 5:17-18, I do not believe where his complete words, for he also said that if you love God with your whole heart soul mind and strength, and love as he loved us, we fulfill the law and the prophets.
Thats what he came to show.
So sure if you want to take his works in Matthew 5:17-18 literally, keep in mind, the current books of the bible are not what he was referring to. The 66 books, which can be divided into 6 sections, the mark of the beast 666, is NOT the ORIGINAL WORDS OF GOD. Only Some of the books contain some of the accurate passages.
The parable Jesus gave of the weeds in the wheat field show this. The current bible is a book of wheat which has been infected with weeds of false words and teachings.
This is why they said the broad and spaceaous road leads to destruction and only the narrow road, the one of reflection and discernment to sift through the falsehoods to find the hidden truth still left there by Gods Spirit to ensure the righteous will find the truth. Love your neighbor as Christ loved You, Love God with whole heart soul, mind and strength, would be found.
He that is seeking shall find, he that thirsts shall be quenched. He that yearns for truth shall find God, for it is in the bible, veiled by obscurity.
Well said! God didn’t say anything in the Bible at all, period. The Bible was made-up by ignorant, bigoted and superstitious Savages (who didn’t have a clue about the natural Laws of the Universe or how anything was formed) in an attempt to assert their “superiority” over others, and justify their inhumanity towards others. This explains why the Bible is full of Violence, Murder, Human Trafficking, Infanticide, Rape, Incest, Genocide, Slavery, Lies, Deception, Animal Mutilation and Bloody Human Sacrifices. It was written BY MEN who loved War, who had absolutely no problems stealing other people lands and resources, and taking their women and children into Life-long Sexual Slavery. They using “God” as their puppet to inject Fear with – and anyone who wanted out from under their control was Murdered, hence the obsession with the Death Penalty throughout the Bible.
Also in those days, many of the tribes were decendants of the nephilim like goliath of gath! So they were viciously evil ppl who wasn’t Gods creations, but the fallen one manipulations and they hated israel and their God so it was necessary for God to destroy them wen the time came for israel to forge ahead!
Really? And that included the ANIMALS as well? Were the Animals all EVIL as well that they had to be destroyed? What a load of rubbish! THINK before you write …
‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
We don’t need sherlock holmes to explain this. The bible sets guidelines on how should israelites obtain slaves. And whatever concept of slavery should we point out, it is but not human to treat your fellows like properties.
You mean the Hebrews who had just come out of 400 years of Brutal Slavery are now commanded to take Slaves for themselves? What utter HYPOCRISY! Do you seriously think a loving God would say that?
That’s because the bible is not of divine origin. Christians should accept that. The bible is a book of terror, not of love.
Correct. There is not one Evil that is not allowed in the Bible. It is the most Bloodthirsty book in all of Humanity’s History.
Dear B&E excellent article! Scripture truly does speak for itself. However i feel since this is your site and you are using it as a platform to spread the gospel you should stop allowing demons and nonbelievers have a voice to speak on the comments. At least on this website if a sinner wants to wage war against GOD and His servants so be it. But they shouldn’t even be given a voice on a site that spreads the gospel like this. KEEP up the good work.
Wow!! Well written!! So it wasn’t really like slavery which happened in America, but like people paying back their debts. Colleges now can benefit from that system, instead of students trying to find the way themselves and are bonded until death do they part.
Oh please, what a croak! The issue here is of one Human being OWNING another Human being. So you don’t approve of American Slavery but you DO approve of Biblical Slavery? What utter HYPOCRISY! I am sick to my stomach!
Do you realise the Commandments of the Bible are all TRIBAL? That means they only applied to Israel, and ONLY to the MEN at that. You could do anything you wanted to other Nations (as Moses and Joshua so clearly demonstrated by their Genocidal barbarity) without any consequence.
Having Sex with a woman WITHOUT her CONSENT is called RAPE. So please show me where a woman’s consent was ever required in the Bible for anything? It NEVER was. Women were nothing more than Cattle in the Bible. You could Rape a woman any time you wanted – and that goes for CHILDREN also – as there are NO Laws for the protection of Women, Children or Animals in the Bible.
The Bible was written by a Blood-thirsty Male Society, written FOR Men, BY Men. God had absolutely NOTHING to do with it!
I couldn’t agree more…!!!
Actually, there is protection. Rapist were to be put to death in the Old Testaments. America holds theirs prisoners from around zero to ten or more years, and let them go.
You probably didn’t read the Bible or forgot about Deuteronomy 22:25-27.
I have read ALL of the Bible many times. Rapists were ONLY to die IF the girl was Bethrothed to another man. If not, the girl had to marry her Rapist. Can you imagine anything more horrifying than having to marry your attacker and be abused by him EVERY DAY for the rest of your Life?
Perhaps it’s time that YOU read ALL of the Bible and not just the bits that you like.
Since you don’t know your Bible very well, I recommend you watch this ~
“… there are NO Laws for the protection of Women …,” but yet you would not consider this verse. You are the one that is refusing to see. Since you know the Bible very well, give me the verse(s) that states a woman is supposed to marry her rapist. And I’m not talking about when a man seduces the woman.
Why don’t you also read the verse immediately BEFORE the one you quoted?
“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he rapes her, you shall take BOTH of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deut 22:23-24.
You see if a virgin is RAPED in a TOWN then BOTH OF THEM DIE! Why? Because she did not “scream” loud enough for anyone to hear. How just!
Here is the verse on marrying your Rapist.
“If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his WIFE because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.” Deuteronomy 22:28-29.
If someone was to discover them, then of course they can obviously hear her screams.
If one of them was to tell what had happened, of course the man would be put to death, and the woman let free. But since the man might not tell what he did because he will die anyway, the woman would most likely be the one to tell.
What other way would this situation be found out?
Your second verses are for the protection of the woman again. In that culture, it was hard to impossible for a non-virgin to marry. Marrying means that they have a husband to provide for them – they could hardly provide for themselves. If the man was put to death, then they might simply live their life alone, serving others and really poor. In America, women can provide for themselves without depending on marriage. The rapist can die without it affecting her in a negative way.
thats a terrible rationalization and an admission that the bible does not condem rape in certain instances
It is your life. Make the decisions that you feel are best for yourself.
… and why should the rape victim be STONED TO DEATH, again?
And why wouldn’t the great God just tell everyone females who aren’t virgins anymore are still human beings capable of love, just like males who aren’t virgins anymore?
Oh, and why didn’t God just tell everyone that women should receive education and be able to work too? Be able to decide what they want to do without having to be submissive and obey anything their husbands say? Are modern women’s fredoom something that Christians should be against?
God tells people not to murder, steal, cheat on their spouse, lie with animals, you name it. Guess what? It happens anyway. You have questions? Jesus also tells people to treat one another how they want to be treated. You know, treating one’s wife or a girl/woman how you want to be treated. Guess what? Many, many don’t do it. What’s your point?
Do people really have to keep making their points over and over again to you? How exausting.
The point is:
GOD DIDN’T SAY WOMEN SHOULD BE AS FREE AS MEN. THAT WOMEN’S VIRGINITY ISN’T IMPORTANT. THAT THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO WORK AND ALSO RECEIVE EDUCATION.
THAT IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN IN THE BIBLE, EVEN LESS THE OLD TESTAMENT.
GOD DIDN’T CARE TO MAKE WOMEN’S LIVES EASIER BY SAYING THOSE SIMPLE THINGS/LAWS.
Understand now?
““If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he rapes her, you shall take BOTH of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deut 22:23-24.”
See that the rapist must be stoned to death because he violated ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE… it’s becauseof the husband’s pride, and not because he just violated a woman, be her married or not, to bring justice as women should have rights and not be trated like this.
Hi Mariana,
Thanks for your comments. As I have commented before there is no version of the Bible that lists “rapes” in Deuteronomy 22:23. You are citing someone who is giving misinformation. That verse is about two people who consensually have an extra-marital affair. It has nothing to do with the “husband’s pride” – it has to do with God’s law – that one man marries one woman and they are together until death.
So clearly, there is no intent to elevate men here. If a man forces himself on a woman, he was to be put to death. Nothing in the Bible demonstrates that women were given unequal treatment here. -B&E
YES THERE IS, read 22;25 carefully it says if an ENGAGED girl is rape the rapist must be punished! Key word ENGAGED. If 22:23 is refering to an extra marital affair then raping an unengaged girl must be perfectly okay!
you are also missing Mariana’s point-just like how you selectively quote the bible on slavery
Hi Tony,
What point am I missing? I’m not sure as to what you’re referring to.
And if I used Scripture out of context please- by all means list the passage and point out where. I am always open to Biblical correction. -B&E
no body here is being decetiful about history except you, you cherry pick certain parts of the bible about slavery whilst ignoring others. The slavery you mentioned applied to JEWS ONLY
Hi Tony,
Where does it say this? Where are the separate inhumane rules for foreign slaves? Please direct me to the Scripture and I’ll gladly read it.
Let’s say you are right (you are not):
How would someone know the woman was lying only because she didn’t scream? Doesn’t your god knows how rape works? How many victims get terrified and won’t even fight back because of the fear?
Why would a benevolent God order people to KILL one another? (that goes for cheating, children that disrespect their parents, people who work on the Sabbath and so on)
Do you agree that we should still kill people who cheat?
Dear B&E i believe this is an excellent article.i myself as a black male did an individual study between slavery in the Torah and chattel slavery are two entirely different things. Good work. However based of of your knowledge of the, Holy what do you believe the reasoning behind Exodus 21 concerning the death of a slave a day or two after a severe beating. Thanks look forward to hearing from your soon in Christ.
PERFECT BIBLECRITIC!!!
Thank You for good words, I am long time an Atheist too!!!
Thought this might help someone.
https://chaplapreneur.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/slaves-and-the-bible-part-1-colossians/