Does the Bible Support Slavery?
Today the Biblical objection that seems to be growing and really taking hold, is the idea that the Bible supports slavery. To me it seems like every atheist I speak to now a days makes this claim. A search on YouTube or the internet will produce thousands of videos and articles using scripture to make this claim. I've watched call-in shows on YouTube where every Christian caller gets clobbered by the atheist host on the subject of slavery. To date I've only seen a handful of Christians handle this question properly.
And to be honest, there are some verses of scripture that are very difficult to put into perspective. Let's look at the toughest verse and the one that atheists like to use the most so we can understand what it means to take something out of context, legal context in this case. Exodus 21:20-21 “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property." Using this verse, the atheists claim that an Israelite was permitted to beat a slave to the point of near death and go unpunished. And frankly if you only read this verse and know nothing else of the legal context in which it is framed, they have a strong case for their claim. Because it states clearly "if he remains alive he shall not be punished."
Now let me use today's legal code to help the reader understand what is happening here. If a man was to beat his wife and the wife dies, the man will be charged with murder, but if she does not die he will not be charged. This statement is framed in the context of murder charges and rightly so, this man should not be charged with murder if she doesn't die. But obviously there are other charges that can be brought against the man for beating the wife, because we have an extensive legal code. Like this example, there are still other laws that applied to the beating of your servant that are not mentioned in this verse but mentioned throughout scripture. This verse is clearly talking about murder charges because it opens with the statement, if he dies he will be punished, presumably for murder. All the previous verses are discussing crimes that are punishable by death. So Exodus 21:20-21 is clearly in the context of capital punishment and therefore when it says, "shall not be punished", it's clearly stating that he should not be punished for murder.
As an example Exodus 21:26-27 which is only a couple of verses after the one in question states, "If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth." So clearly there are penalties for murdering your servant and for beating your servant.
One article in the Huffpost claims Jesus endorsed beating slaves because of a parable found in Luke 12:47-48. But of course this was a parable to make a larger point, not an actual event or a prescription. But truly if you read from verse 45, the servant that the master beat was beating other servants while the master was away. So on two counts this claim is false.
The slavery of the Hebrews was not like the slavery of the last few centuries. It was not based on race like the African slave trade, rather quite often it was an economic system that provided for those who couldn't provide for themselves. The Bible prohibits man stealing or kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) where, like the African slave trade, people were captured, gathered up and offered for sale. This was punishable by death in Exodus 21:16. Colossions 4:1 required just and fair payment to slaves, therefore it's a relationship more akin to an employment contract rather than “racial” slavery.
Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
When discussing issues like slavery, it is important to understand the historical context. Unlike the 21st Century, back in ancient civilization there were no civil court systems, human resource departments, employment opportunities, minimum wages or customer service representatives, which is the standard many secularists use when criticizing the Bible. When they left Egypt, the Israelites were a band of the worst kind of barbarians. During ancient times women were very dependent on men who could plow, build and hunt. Many men and women had to sell themselves into slavery just to stay alive because they did not have the means to produce enough food and shelter. Abolition at that time would have meant mass starvation.
Now while the Bible prohibits forced slavery, it does permit slavery on a limited bases. Leviticus 25:45 says, "Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property." Now while this verse allows the Israelites to partake in buying slaves this was a voluntary practice for the slave and the owner. We know this because as mentioned Exodus 21:16 states, “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death." which prohibits forced labor or forced slavery in all its forms. Furthermore, Deuteronomy 23:15-16 did not allow someone to return a slave if he ran away, “You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him". The implication here was that if the slave was not happy he could run away and go free. Of course the idea of buying and selling is akin to the African slave trade but the fact that these people were paid a fair daily wage, makes it more like an NFL player's contract in which they can be sold and traded at the team's discretion.
Ground Rules for Discussing Slavery
Before an honest discussion can take place on this subject, it is important to understand the historical context of the scriptures in question. Below is a list of factors that can be agreed on by almost all historians and can put these scriptures into the proper historical context.
The Bible and Slavery
While the Old Testament does allow slavery, only under Jewish law is there a deliberate attempt to safeguard the slave against brutality. As far as we know, the Hebrew laws were the first ever to attempt to give slaves some rights and protection, despite the fact that they may not be as proper as we would like in the 21st Century.
Some will conclude that the Bible does not speak out against slavery, but that is just not true. Verses like love your neighbor and your enemy include slaves, women, concubines, and foreigners. The Bible is full of laws and commands that help the poor and the destitute, and each one of these verses that the atheists point out must be understood in the context of the entire Bible, not just in view of one verse. In 1 Timothy 1:8-10 slave traders are listed among the ungodly and sinful.
Code of Hammurabi
The only historical comparison we can make to Biblical laws can be found in the Code of Hammurabi or Babylonian law code which is dated 1772 BC. The difference in the way it treated women and slaves is substantial. More importantly, the way it administered justice was very unlike the Mosaic Laws which required an equitable penalty. It contained 282 laws, of which here are some excerpts.
The death penalty is imposed on robbers in general (Law #22) and those caught stealing a slave (Law #15) and if an adopted son says to his father, “You are not my father” his tongue should be cut off (Law #192). Half the sum was imposed for hurting another man’s slave as the amount of hurting a freeman (Law #199 ); if a son strikes his father, his hand would be cut off (Law # 195); the broken bone of a freeman was worth three times (Law #198) that of the life of a maid servant ( Law # 214) and a slave (Law #252). Penalties were imposed on innocent people. For example, if a man kills a woman, the man’s daughter shall be put to death (Law #210), and if a builder builds someone a house and it falls and kills the son of the owner, then the son of the builder should be put to death (Law #230).
The Bible comparison
You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you. Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin (Deuteronomy 24:14-16).
If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight (Deuteronomy 25:1-3). If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth (Exodus 21:26-27).
Conclusion: Under Mosaic Laws, slaves, women, and criminals received new found protections, while the Code of Hammurabi placed little value on slaves and women and includes maiming individuals as a means of administering justice.
Abolition and Christianity
It is no coincidence that the West took the initial steps to abolish slavery, long before it was outlawed in the East or anywhere else in the world. And it is no coincidence that every movement to abolish slavery was driven by Bible believers. The first priest ordained in the Americas Bartolomé de las Casas (1484-1566) was the first person of his time and the only person of his century to denounce the traffic of black slaves, and although Indian slaves had advocates such as theologian and philosopher Francisco Marroquin (1499-1563) Bartholomew was the most outspoken, writing books, letters, and treatises while presenting his case to kings, statesmen, clergy, and powerful commanders. For almost fifty years, he articulated the Biblical understanding of human rights, religious freedom, and the relationship between salvation and social justice.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833) introduced the Abolition Bill in Parliament almost every year between 1790 and 1807 when it was finally passed into law. The Abolition Bill ended slave trade on British ships, although slavery remained a reality in British colonies. He was convinced that full emancipation was the next step, but his poor health limited his influence. Abolition in American was driven by the Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and especially the Quakers, who organized the first abolitionist societies including the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the Society for the Relief of Free Negros Unlawfully Held in Bondage. They succeeded by making Biblical arguments against slavery.
Articles
Doesn't the Bible Support Slavery Bodie Hodge, Paul F. Taylor
The Bible and Slavery, Kyle Butt, M.Div.
Did God Condone Slavery Amy K. Hall
And to be honest, there are some verses of scripture that are very difficult to put into perspective. Let's look at the toughest verse and the one that atheists like to use the most so we can understand what it means to take something out of context, legal context in this case. Exodus 21:20-21 “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property." Using this verse, the atheists claim that an Israelite was permitted to beat a slave to the point of near death and go unpunished. And frankly if you only read this verse and know nothing else of the legal context in which it is framed, they have a strong case for their claim. Because it states clearly "if he remains alive he shall not be punished."
Now let me use today's legal code to help the reader understand what is happening here. If a man was to beat his wife and the wife dies, the man will be charged with murder, but if she does not die he will not be charged. This statement is framed in the context of murder charges and rightly so, this man should not be charged with murder if she doesn't die. But obviously there are other charges that can be brought against the man for beating the wife, because we have an extensive legal code. Like this example, there are still other laws that applied to the beating of your servant that are not mentioned in this verse but mentioned throughout scripture. This verse is clearly talking about murder charges because it opens with the statement, if he dies he will be punished, presumably for murder. All the previous verses are discussing crimes that are punishable by death. So Exodus 21:20-21 is clearly in the context of capital punishment and therefore when it says, "shall not be punished", it's clearly stating that he should not be punished for murder.
As an example Exodus 21:26-27 which is only a couple of verses after the one in question states, "If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth." So clearly there are penalties for murdering your servant and for beating your servant.
One article in the Huffpost claims Jesus endorsed beating slaves because of a parable found in Luke 12:47-48. But of course this was a parable to make a larger point, not an actual event or a prescription. But truly if you read from verse 45, the servant that the master beat was beating other servants while the master was away. So on two counts this claim is false.
The slavery of the Hebrews was not like the slavery of the last few centuries. It was not based on race like the African slave trade, rather quite often it was an economic system that provided for those who couldn't provide for themselves. The Bible prohibits man stealing or kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) where, like the African slave trade, people were captured, gathered up and offered for sale. This was punishable by death in Exodus 21:16. Colossions 4:1 required just and fair payment to slaves, therefore it's a relationship more akin to an employment contract rather than “racial” slavery.
Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
When discussing issues like slavery, it is important to understand the historical context. Unlike the 21st Century, back in ancient civilization there were no civil court systems, human resource departments, employment opportunities, minimum wages or customer service representatives, which is the standard many secularists use when criticizing the Bible. When they left Egypt, the Israelites were a band of the worst kind of barbarians. During ancient times women were very dependent on men who could plow, build and hunt. Many men and women had to sell themselves into slavery just to stay alive because they did not have the means to produce enough food and shelter. Abolition at that time would have meant mass starvation.
Now while the Bible prohibits forced slavery, it does permit slavery on a limited bases. Leviticus 25:45 says, "Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property." Now while this verse allows the Israelites to partake in buying slaves this was a voluntary practice for the slave and the owner. We know this because as mentioned Exodus 21:16 states, “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death." which prohibits forced labor or forced slavery in all its forms. Furthermore, Deuteronomy 23:15-16 did not allow someone to return a slave if he ran away, “You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him". The implication here was that if the slave was not happy he could run away and go free. Of course the idea of buying and selling is akin to the African slave trade but the fact that these people were paid a fair daily wage, makes it more like an NFL player's contract in which they can be sold and traded at the team's discretion.
Ground Rules for Discussing Slavery
Before an honest discussion can take place on this subject, it is important to understand the historical context of the scriptures in question. Below is a list of factors that can be agreed on by almost all historians and can put these scriptures into the proper historical context.
- Slavery was widespread and practiced by every ancient civilization.
- There was no legal or economic system to protect slaves in ancient civilizations.
- There were no prisons, police force or other methods of enforcing the law.
- Slavery was often necessary for individuals and families to avoid starvation and quite often they sold themselves willingly to survive.
- The Jews were a group of barbarians and therefore new laws were designed to bring civility to a lawless nation.
- Bible revelation is progressive. Divorce is allowed in Deuteronomy 24:1 and divorce is subsequently prohibited in Matthew 19:8.
The Bible and Slavery
While the Old Testament does allow slavery, only under Jewish law is there a deliberate attempt to safeguard the slave against brutality. As far as we know, the Hebrew laws were the first ever to attempt to give slaves some rights and protection, despite the fact that they may not be as proper as we would like in the 21st Century.
- Deuteronomy 23:15 protects the slave who has escaped, while chapter 15:12 and Exodus 21:2 requires the release of slaves after seven years.
- Deuteronomy 24:14-15 you should not oppress the slave and pay him a fair wage daily.
- Exodus 21:7-11 protects female slaves from unjust treatment and provides redemption.
- Deuteronomy 16:14, Leviticus 25:6 tells the Israelites to treat the slave as extended family.
- Colossians 4:1 elevates the slave to something of an employee, as it requires the master to give the slave that which is just and fair.
- Exodus 21:20 requires capital punishment for anyone who kills a slave.
- Ephesians 6: 9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
- Philemon 1:16 Paul urges Philemon to welcome his run away slave as a brother not as a slave.
Some will conclude that the Bible does not speak out against slavery, but that is just not true. Verses like love your neighbor and your enemy include slaves, women, concubines, and foreigners. The Bible is full of laws and commands that help the poor and the destitute, and each one of these verses that the atheists point out must be understood in the context of the entire Bible, not just in view of one verse. In 1 Timothy 1:8-10 slave traders are listed among the ungodly and sinful.
Code of Hammurabi
The only historical comparison we can make to Biblical laws can be found in the Code of Hammurabi or Babylonian law code which is dated 1772 BC. The difference in the way it treated women and slaves is substantial. More importantly, the way it administered justice was very unlike the Mosaic Laws which required an equitable penalty. It contained 282 laws, of which here are some excerpts.
The death penalty is imposed on robbers in general (Law #22) and those caught stealing a slave (Law #15) and if an adopted son says to his father, “You are not my father” his tongue should be cut off (Law #192). Half the sum was imposed for hurting another man’s slave as the amount of hurting a freeman (Law #199 ); if a son strikes his father, his hand would be cut off (Law # 195); the broken bone of a freeman was worth three times (Law #198) that of the life of a maid servant ( Law # 214) and a slave (Law #252). Penalties were imposed on innocent people. For example, if a man kills a woman, the man’s daughter shall be put to death (Law #210), and if a builder builds someone a house and it falls and kills the son of the owner, then the son of the builder should be put to death (Law #230).
The Bible comparison
You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you. Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin (Deuteronomy 24:14-16).
If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight (Deuteronomy 25:1-3). If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth (Exodus 21:26-27).
Conclusion: Under Mosaic Laws, slaves, women, and criminals received new found protections, while the Code of Hammurabi placed little value on slaves and women and includes maiming individuals as a means of administering justice.
Abolition and Christianity
It is no coincidence that the West took the initial steps to abolish slavery, long before it was outlawed in the East or anywhere else in the world. And it is no coincidence that every movement to abolish slavery was driven by Bible believers. The first priest ordained in the Americas Bartolomé de las Casas (1484-1566) was the first person of his time and the only person of his century to denounce the traffic of black slaves, and although Indian slaves had advocates such as theologian and philosopher Francisco Marroquin (1499-1563) Bartholomew was the most outspoken, writing books, letters, and treatises while presenting his case to kings, statesmen, clergy, and powerful commanders. For almost fifty years, he articulated the Biblical understanding of human rights, religious freedom, and the relationship between salvation and social justice.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833) introduced the Abolition Bill in Parliament almost every year between 1790 and 1807 when it was finally passed into law. The Abolition Bill ended slave trade on British ships, although slavery remained a reality in British colonies. He was convinced that full emancipation was the next step, but his poor health limited his influence. Abolition in American was driven by the Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and especially the Quakers, who organized the first abolitionist societies including the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the Society for the Relief of Free Negros Unlawfully Held in Bondage. They succeeded by making Biblical arguments against slavery.
Articles
Doesn't the Bible Support Slavery Bodie Hodge, Paul F. Taylor
The Bible and Slavery, Kyle Butt, M.Div.
Did God Condone Slavery Amy K. Hall