Slavery in the Bible

       Slavery has got to be one of the most immoral things a person can do, yet slavery is rampant throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. The Judeo-Christian Bible clearly approves of slavery in many verses, and it goes so far as to tell people how to obtain slaves, how hard you can beat them and when you can have sex with the female slaves.

      Many Jews and Christians will try to ignore the moral problems of slavery by saying that these slaves were actually "indentured servants" or "prisoners of war". Many translations of the Bible use the word "servant", "bondservant" or "manservant", instead of slave to make the Bible seem less immoral than it really is. While many slaves may have worked as household servants that does not mean that they were not slaves who were bought, sold, raped, beaten and treated worse than livestock. The following Old Testament verses prove that slaves are clearly property to be bought and sold like livestock:

       Leviticus 25:44-46 – "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."

       Exodus 21:20-21 – "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property."

     Numbers 31:17-18 – "Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man."

You would think that Jesus Christ and the New Testament would have condemned slavery, but slavery is still approved of in the New Testament, as the following verses prove:

     Ephesians 6:5 – "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ."

       1 Timothy 6:1-2 – "All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them."

    Colossians 3:22 – "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord."

In the following verses, Jesus Christ clearly approves of beating slaves, even if they didn't know they were doing anything wrong:

    Luke 12:47-48 – "Jesus Christ says, "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

For more proofs read Dan Barker's Godless book or visit the EvilBible.com website.