I have researched slavery because of statements made about the Bible and slavery in recent posts. I re-read the recent threads on this forum and saw a pattern of circling arguments that do not advance forward. In among the round and round argument going on, I read some great posts and it is a shame that their comments get lost in the circling side of a debate.
I went on the internet to study slavery in the world in ancient times. Wikipedia has a series of articles on the subject of slavery including history by people groups and religious groups. I like that Wikipedia flags content that needs references or appears to be biased so one can tell to look for suspicious content. These flags do appear in some of these articles. I also looked at some of the reference lists to see what works had been done in the world on the study of this subject.
Slavery is prevalent in human history. For many today the thought of slavery is repulsive, however, the Wikipedia articles show it has been a way of life for much of human history and accepted by many in the world. The behaviors associated with slavery are horrific. We have some familiarity with slavery through stories in which we know that horrible things are done to slaves without consideration of having done something wrong. Even though slavery is now outlawed in the world, it is still practiced. I have seen news reports on the sex slave industry appear from time to time as well as stories of sweat shops, and the hiring of undocumented workers.
There are some codices from different ancient people groups that have laws regarding slavery. I would have liked to read the actual codices of these people groups but only found a few excerpts of which none were their slavery laws. It would be interesting to compare them as I think much would be revealed in regards to what was being protected by regulation; the slave practice or the slave.
Because I study the Bible from an overall view, I know the issue of slavery is only one Part of a bigger issue in the Bible. God did condone and codify slavery in the Bible. I have established from secular history there was a need for regulation. Many today are horrified that God would do this because they are not knowledgeable about the Bible and they think that God would do something in accordance with the current societal values they live in.
The questions I have seen on the "lists of Bible contradictions" websites include "why would God condone and codify slavery?" and "is this what a loving God would do?" In light of the fact that much of the world does not openly practice slavery today these questions would come up. While that is an honorable aspect of questioning there is another aspect of it when a website states their intention is to promote atheism.
Some people really want an answer they can ponder. Some think any answer is meaningless.
With that said, I'm re-stating that the slavery issue is a symptom of a bigger issue. For all the claims of good that humans make, the bad is still with us. Is anyone claiming responsibility for the bad? Can anything be done to stop the bad? Do laws stop the bad? God gave the codifications through the law covenant to prove to man that man cannot refrain from the bad and man cannot stop the bad by himself. The proof that man can't stop the bad also applies to laws that men make for themselves. Do laws stop repeat offenders?
When people ask why would God do this when it's wrong, my answer is it was always wrong. God did not change, however for awhile God condones some things such as divorce even though this was not what he wanted to happen. The reason cited by Jesus was the hardness of the hearts of men. Matthew 19:8 (kjv) "He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."
Do you think that humans can stop the bad? What do you think God should be doing to stop the slavery that exists today?
I went on the internet to study slavery in the world in ancient times. Wikipedia has a series of articles on the subject of slavery including history by people groups and religious groups. I like that Wikipedia flags content that needs references or appears to be biased so one can tell to look for suspicious content. These flags do appear in some of these articles. I also looked at some of the reference lists to see what works had been done in the world on the study of this subject.
Slavery is prevalent in human history. For many today the thought of slavery is repulsive, however, the Wikipedia articles show it has been a way of life for much of human history and accepted by many in the world. The behaviors associated with slavery are horrific. We have some familiarity with slavery through stories in which we know that horrible things are done to slaves without consideration of having done something wrong. Even though slavery is now outlawed in the world, it is still practiced. I have seen news reports on the sex slave industry appear from time to time as well as stories of sweat shops, and the hiring of undocumented workers.
There are some codices from different ancient people groups that have laws regarding slavery. I would have liked to read the actual codices of these people groups but only found a few excerpts of which none were their slavery laws. It would be interesting to compare them as I think much would be revealed in regards to what was being protected by regulation; the slave practice or the slave.
Because I study the Bible from an overall view, I know the issue of slavery is only one Part of a bigger issue in the Bible. God did condone and codify slavery in the Bible. I have established from secular history there was a need for regulation. Many today are horrified that God would do this because they are not knowledgeable about the Bible and they think that God would do something in accordance with the current societal values they live in.
The questions I have seen on the "lists of Bible contradictions" websites include "why would God condone and codify slavery?" and "is this what a loving God would do?" In light of the fact that much of the world does not openly practice slavery today these questions would come up. While that is an honorable aspect of questioning there is another aspect of it when a website states their intention is to promote atheism.
Some people really want an answer they can ponder. Some think any answer is meaningless.
With that said, I'm re-stating that the slavery issue is a symptom of a bigger issue. For all the claims of good that humans make, the bad is still with us. Is anyone claiming responsibility for the bad? Can anything be done to stop the bad? Do laws stop the bad? God gave the codifications through the law covenant to prove to man that man cannot refrain from the bad and man cannot stop the bad by himself. The proof that man can't stop the bad also applies to laws that men make for themselves. Do laws stop repeat offenders?
When people ask why would God do this when it's wrong, my answer is it was always wrong. God did not change, however for awhile God condones some things such as divorce even though this was not what he wanted to happen. The reason cited by Jesus was the hardness of the hearts of men. Matthew 19:8 (kjv) "He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."
Do you think that humans can stop the bad? What do you think God should be doing to stop the slavery that exists today?