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Slavery - yes or no?

nnmartin

nnmartin

Well-Known Member
Is slavery a good or bad thing?

bad for the slave for sure, but what about for the master?

it must be quite nice to have a group of slaves - free labour, people to look down upon, free entertainment and the like plus surely an immense ego boost.

Now I know this thread has been done before but what really is the Biblical stance on this one?

this is one area of the Bible that seems to me a major flaw.

How is it possible for Jesus and other such figures not to condemn slavery outright?

How about Spartacus, was he a hero or villain?

Why should a slave repect his master instead of attacking him?

Why did the composers of the Bible not just remove these sections?

is it ever acceptable to keep a slave?
 
dyanaprajna2011

dyanaprajna2011

Dharmapala
No one should have the right to kill another human being. But in the case of a slave, if he has the chance to break free, I think he should take it. Slavery is never ok, ever. There's not one instance where it can be even remotely moral. And I think Spartacus was a hero, for this very reason.
 
Bob Dixon

Bob Dixon

>implying
I know "everyone already knows" this, but I still think it's worth pointing out:

"Slavery", in the Bible, does not usually mean the same thing it means today. In cases where it does, it's portrayed negatively.

That is all.
 
Marble

Marble

Rolling Marble
nnmartin said:
bad for the slave for sure, but what about for the master?
Click to expand...
It is bad for the master too.
Because who wants to do the inconvenient things when you can avaoid them?
This way the masters become, lazy, incompetent, and ultimatelly dependent upon their slaves, even if they do not realize it.
And power corrupts.
 
nnmartin

nnmartin

Well-Known Member
Bob Dixon said:
"Slavery", in the Bible, does not usually mean the same thing it means today. In cases where it does, it's portrayed negatively.

That is all.
Click to expand...

what is the difference then?

as far as I can remember, the slaves in the Bible were the same as what we would call slaves today. Even the NT seems to support this.

this is one part of the Bible I would have to choose to disregard although this of course opens a whole Pandora's box of contradictions.

some people say the 'slaves' were in fact only indentured servants but I'm not so sure about that - true or false?
 
tumbleweed41

tumbleweed41

Resident Liberal Hippie
nnmartin said:
what is the difference then?

as far as I can remember, the slaves in the Bible were the same as what we would call slaves today. Even the NT seems to support this.

this is one part of the Bible I would have to choose to disregard although this of course opens a whole Pandora's box of contradictions.

some people say the 'slaves' were in fact only indentured servants but I'm not so sure about that - true or false?
Click to expand...
From what I read, I can find no positive ethical or moral treatment in these "rules".

Leviticus 25:
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
When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property.

Exodus 21:2-6
If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free, then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the door-post and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

Exodus 21:7-11
When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
 
T

Tristesse

Well-Known Member
nnmartin said:
Is slavery a good or bad thing?
Click to expand...

Bad.

nnmartin said:
bad for the slave for sure, but what about for the master?

it must be quite nice to have a group of slaves - free labour, people to look down upon, free entertainment and the like plus surely an immense ego boost.
Click to expand...

Well, it depends on whether or not you value freedom as a moral standard. And if you do, then you cannot justify slavery as a morally good thing. Plus, what would prevent you from being enslaved?


nnmartin said:
Now I know this thread has been done before but what really is the Biblical stance on this one?
Click to expand...

Easy. Slavery is perfectly ok, according to the bible.

nnmartin said:
this is one area of the Bible that seems to me a major flaw.
Click to expand...

Good.

nnmartin said:
How is it possible for Jesus and other such figures not to condemn slavery outright?
Click to expand...

They were living in a different time. Their morality hadn't catched up to where we are today.

nnmartin said:
Why did the composers of the Bible not just remove these sections?

is it ever acceptable to keep a slave?
Click to expand...

Why remove something you deem morally acceptable? And no, it's never morally acceptable to own a slave.
 
T

Tristesse

Well-Known Member
Bob Dixon said:
I know "everyone already knows" this, but I still think it's worth pointing out:

"Slavery", in the Bible, does not usually mean the same thing it means today. In cases where it does, it's portrayed negatively.

That is all.
Click to expand...

Thats assinine. How is it morally ok to be permitted to beat a slave or own another human being as property? As dictated by the bible.
 
K

Kerr

Well-Known Member
nnmartin said:
bad for the slave for sure, but what about for the master?

it must be quite nice to have a group of slaves - free labour, people to look down upon, free entertainment and the like plus surely an immense ego boost.
Click to expand...
Why does it matter if its good for the master to have a slave? Its not good for the slave. Thats all that matters.
 
Viker

Viker

Häxan
Humans aren't property. Slavery is sick. Doesn't matter if they're being beaten harsh, lightly or not beaten at all. Enslavement is stupid.
 
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