Slavery

Slavery is a topic often thrown at Christians by skeptics to try and prove an inconsistency in either God’s nature or in Scripture.  “How could a righteous and good God endorse the evil of slavery,” the skeptic may ask.  “After all, the Old Testament doesn’t just allow for slavery.  It actually endorses it and gives laws directing how slaves should be treated.  Is this the loving God you keep telling me about?”

It’s  true.  The Bible does endorse slavery and tells how slaves are to be treated.  But, let me ask a question here at the start:  “Is slavery always evil?”

According to the log of Christopher Columbus’ physician, when Columbus arrived in the Caribbean archipelago he found the local natives, the Caribs, were cannibals invading other islands, capturing prisoners for meat.  With some tribes, they actually raised them like cattle and “harvested them.”

Columbus saw enslaving the Caribs as the most efficient way to end their cannibalism.  Once enslaved, they were evangelized ending their dietary preferences.  Was enslavement to save the barbaric slaughter of thousands of indigenous people evil?  My point, of course, is that slavery is not always evil or even the wrong thing to do.

Now let’s look at slavery in the Bible.  Most of the Old Testament laws concerning slavery are found in Exodus chapter 21.  Bear in mind that this was a different time and a different culture.  There were no government welfare programs, no prisons or jails.  The legal system was very simple and very direct.

Most slavery in the Old Testament is not like that of the pre-Civil War South.  Let’s look at the Israelites first. They could sell themselves as slaves in order to support their families, and as such, they were fed and clothed by their masters.  The slave was released after six years. He was to be treated well (Lev. 25:43).  If a poor master were to beat the slave to the point of losing an eye or even a tooth, the slave was to be freed.  So, masters needed to be humane.

Crimes were often punished by slavery (Ex. 22:1-4).  An Israelite who could not pay his debts was expected to work as a slave for his creditors.  After the debt was paid, he was to be released.  When a slave was released after his term, he was often given gifts by the master (Deut. 15:12-14).

On now to slavery as it pertains to those captured during war.  Those slaves were not granted release after six years as the Israelites were.  These slaves could be beaten severely, and sometimes they would be beaten to death.  Their death was not considered of the same value as the life of Hebrew slaves.  If a non-Hebrew slave was killed by someone other than their master, the price of the slave was to be paid to the master.

Now, that all sounds perfectly horrible.  How could God allow such things to happen even to foreign enemies?  But, what exactly was the alternative? 

Normally, most survivors of war were slaughtered.  The Israelites, however, would place captives into their society as slaves rather than killing them all.  Realistically, the Israelites couldn’t allow them to simply be set free in order to rejoin the enemy forces and attack once again.  They couldn’t let them run free in the lands controlled by Israel or they might regroup and start the battle from within.  No, the sensible thing was to enslave them so the masters could control their actions and keep an eye on these people. 

So far as beating the foreign-born slaves, captive enemies were not likely to work willingly to please their masters.  At time, no doubt, physical persuasion would be necessary rather than allowing freeloading.  It was still preferable to the death they would have faced on the battlefield.

Slavery in the New Testament was a Greco-Roman custom, not endorsed by the Bible.  However, the New Testament teaches equality between the Christian master and the Christian slave.  They are told, as well, to treat one another humanely and with respect.

It was the Christians who put and end to slavery in Europe and in the United States.  While it is true that many Christians believed slavery was approved of just as many Bible critics do today, in fact the New Testament taught human equality which eventually resulted in an end to the legal slave trade.

So, don’t fall for the A Loving God Could Never Allow Slavery argument from the skeptics.  It doesn’t take into account all the facts.