The Tiger and the Elephant

In the third commandment of the ten commandments, it says to not covet thy neighbors man servants. That is a nice word for slave. They were considered property, so the more you had the more wealthy, so according to the bible the northern states during the U.S. civil war were breaking one of the commandments. Because many of the classes that have owned slaves throughout history, have always thrown up the jealosy excuse to people that want to end it. This very commandment has very oppressive connotations, because it sees any one that tries to free themselves out of their system is just "jealous" this belief implies that jealousy is the motive and brushes away the oppressive system that they are being attacked for.

Talulah

It might hold more weight to say that what slave owners saw wrong with the North and their desire to end slavery were teachings in the New Testement.
Slaves were told to be subject to their masters, there are many many examples relating Christianity to a form of slavery (slavery to God) and the 'shackles' of sin, all symbols of slavery. The wicked slave/good slave analogy's, slaves deserving to be beaten for their transgressions (like Christians are punished) Read Philemon and the Gospels, (sorry don't have a bible at work to give you good examples. So, slave owners thought that Northern abolitionists were breaking God's commands by helping to free the slaves, and that slavery was a practice obviously condoned in the bible (I believe the bible has nothing bad to say about slavery, modern day ideas are just a sign of people's rationalization attempts with something this more enlightened society has realised it wrong)

The Tiger and the Elephant

Talulah

The wording of it, is mainly what I am talking about. The fact that it says that you shouldn't covet thy neighbors man servants. Means that like all pro slavery people throughout history they too use the common term (covet) or (jealosy) to brush off their opponents. THis also means that this was obviously not written by any slave or oppressed peoples. Slave owners of all kinds consider it stealing when you attack what they call property, and according to them their slaves are property, so to them it is stealing and coveting when someone attacks their practices of what they believe to be their property.

This also shows that the bible like all religious books are a tool for the oppressor and for the benefit of the oppressor and not for the oppressed.

Talulah

I understand where you are coming from, just don't know that I am with you on the 'covet' wording. Are you saying that people believed that those who wanted to end slavery were coveting property instead of having a human beings best interest at heart?
That property idea does irk me though, being a woman, the radical feminist that I am

The Tiger and the Elephant

Telulah

I am not saying that they were property, I am saying that this word "covet" can be applied to whatever by law is considered property, and to many people in the south it was stealing or theft when people were conducting the undergroung railroad etc. I don't think it was stealing, I am only showing how this law like many other biblical references can and has been used to justify their economic condition or whatever property laws are in place to help a group of people. I also meant that by calling it jealosy or coveting someone elses goods, is usually an accusation upon the peoples under oppression to ignore their issues. More recently many people actually believe that the reactions of people toward the U.S. are because their jealosy of our riches or freedoms, or people call strikers jealous of the business owners, or people call women who want equal freedoms only jealous of the male domminated society. THis wording as it has been used throughout history and in the bible only brushes off a serious look at the problems. So by calling it coveting in the bible only gives excuses for later people in history to use similar excuses for similar problems.