yguy

I didn't mean that they would try to escape within a few years of being here, but that, having attained sufficient wealth, as some did by the 1900's, they would go back to the land of their fathers. They didn't, because they knew it would be a step backwards.

I didn't say there was NO difference, but that the line between the two is not as razor sharp as is commonly believed.

Doctor X

Other than it disproved your contention?

Furthermore, slaves were not "free" to "choose" to serve unwillingly. They were . . . you know . . . SLAVES. The punishment for not serving? Three guesses, and one is not an "all expense-paid trip to Tunisia, contraceptives supplied."

As for "prisoner more free than guard" it is a myth propagated by guards to keep the prisoners from revolting.

The reason slavery was not forbidden is because the writers of the commandments liked and accepted slavery.

Period.

"Johnny? Tell him about his wonderful consolation prizes!"

"A year's supply of Turtle Wax! The Hermeneutical Home Game! Rice-a-Roni, that San Fransisco treat!"

--J.D.

wade-w

yguy: Ever hear of Liberia?

Doctor X

No . . . is it in the Bible? [Right, stop that!--Ed.]

--J.D.

sophie

yguy, Slavery is endemic to the nature of fallen humanity. He might as well have forbade them from breathing.

When man shall rise up against man, human against human, slavery shall end right...


However slavery sinks deeper than one may imagine, and as such as a rectification principle it would have benefited humankind to a far greater extent if it was suggested it be abolished as a principle of the high cou.

sophie

yguy : You ever heard of a raiding party, where one African village would raid another free society to procure the flesh for the mighty, who would then sell them.

Abel Stable

Some attributes of humanity's "fallen nature":
murder
adultery
slavery
homosexuality
stealing
lying

God can speak against and forbid all of these except for slavery. Why?
This is apparently as clear as you can get: "While everyone has the potential to commit either sin, people who have actually murdered someone aren't that easy to come by, and adultery has been eschewed by many."
You are talking around the issue. I am hardly convinced of anything.
I don't want to be a slave, nor do I want to own any, nor do I want anyone else to be a slave. How have I escaped my fallen nature? I might as well stop breathing, right?

yguy

Yes, I had forgotten about that. What percentage of blacks freed after the Emanicpation Proclamation emigrated there?

yguy

No one has a conscious desire to be a slave. However, the minute one starts to crave a sense of security from anyone or anything, one manifests that desire. If, for instance, you've ever stayed in a job or relationship you hated because you feared the consequences of breaking free, you were acting like a slave. If you can't speak up to a boss, spouse, or even your own child, you're a slave. If you are the person your spouse or child is afraid to speak up to, you're the slavemaster. Whether any of this fits you I obviously have no idea, but my bet is that if you look within, you will find that at least once in your life you were either a slave or a master.

yguy

I'm aware that some of them were captured directly rather than purchased through local chieftains...but just what gives you the idea that any of those societies were free? At least some of those who were captured were likely part of a tribe that had captured and enslaved other blacks. I think the innocent victims here were fewer than is commonly believed.