sugarhitman

Critics and christians (those who did not comply with scriptures) believes that the bible condoned the Western Slave Trade. But I have found some major differences they are:




1. The curse of Ham was directed against the Canaanites, the Ethiopian Nubian peoples are not Canaanites, they descended from Cush, not Canaan. And the curse against Canaan was a prophesy showing he would be a servent to his brothers, not a right or support for forced slavery.


2. Scripture forbids the Kidnapping, and (forceful) selling, and holding of slaves:
'He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand shall be put to death." Exodus 21:16 The Western Slave Trade was one of kidnapping forceful selling and holding of men women and children.


3. Slaves who were injured by their masters were to be set free:
"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 Gee, I wonder how many slaves were maimed and injured in America?

4. Runaway slaves were not to be given back to their masters;
"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 Petty-Rollers were employed to capture and send back into slavery those slaves who desired freedom.


5. The rape of women whether slave or free was condemned. The raping of slaves by their masters in America was prevalent.
"But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field and the man force her, and lie with her then the man only that lay with her shall die." Deut. 22:25-26



And lastly but certainly not least was this commandment given to ALL CHRISTIANS by Jesus Himself:

"You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them (harsh rule) and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servent. And whoever of you desires to be first SHALL BE SLAVE OF ALL. FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE......." Mark 10


"You call Me Teacher and Lord and you say well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. FOR I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE THAT YOU SHOULD DO AS I HAVE DONE TO YOU." John 13. Christains are not to rule anyone with brutality and hardness for such goes against the example of Jesus (according to the text ofcourse



According to the evidence given the Western Slave Trade was not biblically supported. Those who chosed to interpret OT slaves laws to support Western Slavery did so out of greed....and not because the text says so....because it does not. :wave:

Toto

So a different type of slavery was Biblically supported, and the Bible does not oppose slavery, and Biblical verses could be used to support all sorts of slavery. . .

Your point?

chapka

You may have found differences between biblical slavery and American slavery. But, realistically, the reason people have a problem with the Bible on the slavery question isn't in the details; it's that the Bible pretty clearly doesn't have a problem with chattel slavery in general.

Are you saying that you don't have a problem with slavery as long as the slaves are captured in a war or purchased and not beaten?

Julian

The OP is absurd and foolish, obviously, and I won't waste a lot of time on this kind of nonsense. I will give just one example. Notice how sugarhitman points out that rapists are punished byt taking a line out of context? Let's look at the whole thing:

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23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her,
24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl 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.

Julian: Wow, so if she was raped in town then she gets put to death because no one heard her scream. In other words, if a guy covers her mouth or gags her, then she gets stoned to death. Very reasonable.

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25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, 27 for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.

Julian: This is the example from the OP.

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28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,
29 he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

Julian: This is my favorite. If you see a really hot woman and she is not betrothed, then all you have to do is rape her, then she is forced to marry you! I mean, what woman wouldn't be thrilled to marry her rapist?!?


The OT has to be the foulest, nastiest, meanest book ever written. I never read it anymore because it makes me too angry. Anyone who praises the OT is more like a monster than a human being. I see no other way that one can endorse much of what's in there.

Julian

sugarhitman

If the Jews were not allowed to kidnapp then establish a forced slave market then how would they get slaves? According to the text people often sold them selves into slavery to pay off debts or simply because they were too poor. Such slavery is in fact hired servitude. And these people had rights in Israel where outside of Israel they had no rights at all. It was not barbaric like the Western Slave system. Involuntary Slavery is condemned in the Bible. Those who said scripture supported this are in gross error. :wave:

Chris Johnston

This is absolutely true, and the sad part is that so many evangelicals are mining the OT for their religious practice. Many hard-line evangelical churches seem more Jewish than Xian. This is part of what is fueling CUFI (Xians United For Israel) that has such an inroad into the Bush admin.
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Julian

Wrong, again. I suggest that you actually read the OT before blurting out error after error. Let's look at the slavery issue:

Forcible circumcision: Genesis 17:12-13
Giving slaves to others: Genesis 29:24,29
Slaves are simple possessions: Exodus 20:17
Born into slavery, no way out: Exodus 21:4
You can beat your slaves, but if you beat them to death, make sure that it takes them a couple of days to die: Exodus 21:20-21
Just make sure that you don't rip out an eye or break his teeth, because then you have to let them go. You get to keep his wife and children, of course: Exodus 21:26-27
You can have sex with your slave, just make sure you whip her later: Leviticus 19:20
Oh yeah, all those heathens and strangers in other lands and in your land, they can all become slaves: Leviticus 25:44-46

And on and on. The OT thinks that slavery is excellent, condones it, justifies it, and encourages it. The above was just a quick list. If I had the stomach I could easily make a list 10 times longer with even more atrocities on it. And they call that 'the good book.'

Julian

sugarhitman

A Moderater should at least be able to know the difference between different words. But let me point them out to you.


" If a damsel that is a virgen be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and LIE with her, then you shall stone them with stones.....because she cried not (meaning she did not resist, it was mutual) and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife..... This says nothing about rape, it was mutual sex between two people...this was Adultery.

Verses 28-29 NOT ABOUT RAPE I dont know what bible you are using that translates to lay hold of (TAPHAS) into rape but to the Hebrew text! Whenever rape is being commited in the OT CHAZAQ or ANAH are used. To lay hold of is translated from TAPHAS, not CHAZAQ OR ANAH. Anyways rape was not accepted in Israel. When David's son raped his daughter Tamar, "She said no my brother do not FORCE (ANAH) me FOR SUCH A THING IS NOT DONE IN ISRAEL." Rape was not done in Israel because it was against THE LAW. You are confused. :wave:

makerowner

I'd like to refer you to the letter to Philemon.

chapka

Leviticus is actually pretty clear about this: it's okay to buy slaves as long as they're of a different race from you.

Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly. Leviticus 25:44-46.

Also, I'd like to know how you square your assumption in the OP that the rules that apply to free women also apply to slave women with Leviticus 19:20, stating that someone who has sex with your female slave shouldn't be punished, but the slave woman must be whipped.