Does the Bible Approve of the Practice of Slavery?
I am certain I will write on various theological and apologetic topics multiple times, in no small part because many issues overlap one another. As a matter of fact, I've already repeated myself multiple times throughout several posts. Many times a topic will need to be addressed again because it keeps popping up. And other times, it will be summarily addressed, and then covered again later in more detail after having been fleshed out.
This may be one of those cases of the latter. While this is certainly no case of a knee-jerk reaction, it is a fairly off-the-top-of-my-head piece of work. Perhaps I will add a more thorough treatment another time.
First, I'd like to provide an outline/list handling of the topic that I found quite good, and I must give it its proper credit: Patricia A. Lovric via Facebook. Then I'd like to provide some of my own quick thoughts (Note: I recently discovered the following comes pretty much directly from a gotquestions.org article).
Here is what the Bible has to say about slavery:
1-God created all men equal (Proverbs 2:22; Ephesians 6:9; Galatians 3:28; Acts 17:26; Romans 2:11). However, sin introduced all forms of evils like slavery.
2-Slavery in Biblical times was very different from the slavery that was and is practiced in many parts of the world today. The slavery in the Bible was not based exclusively on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin.
3-In Bible times, slavery was a form of employment. Abraham said that the heir of his wealth was his servant Eliezer of Damascusas (Genesis 15:2-3) before he begat Issac.
4-Slaves were set free by the Mosaic law after seven years of service (Ex. 21:2-4; Lev. 25:39-43; Dt.15:12).
5-People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families (Leviticus 25:47-49). Some people actually chose to remain slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their masters (Deuteronomy 15:16-17). In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else.
6-To protect slaves from cruelty, God made it unlawful for runaway slaves to be returned to their masters (Deuteronomy 23:15-16). Thus, God made cruelty to slaves costly to their owners. And slaves had the freedom to choose where, and with whom (a gentler owner), they wanted to live.
7-God forbade oppressing the slaves (Deuteronomy 24:14). And God provided legal protection to slaves (Exodus 21:20-27; Leviticus 25:44-46)
8-God even commanded that the servants not work on His Sabbath day (Exodus 20:10). And He also commanded servants to participate in the annual feasts (Deuteronomy 16:9-17).
9- Both the Old and New Testaments condemn the practice of “man-stealing” which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death (Exodus 21:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, slave-traders are listed among those who are “ungodly and sinful” and are in the same category as those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, adulterers, liars and perjurers (1 Timothy 1:8-10).
10-God judged Egypt for enslaving the Hebrews (Exodus 13:14). The plagues of God that poured out on Egypt demonstrate how God feels about racial slavery (Exodus 7-11).
To these I would add a couple of points. The first is not as directly applicable here, but still can be helpful to keep in mind generally regarding the Bible. There are many things the Bible records but does not condone. The Bible records the murders and adultery committed by David, but certainly does not condone them. That is precisely why conditions and restrictions were set on the practice of slavery/servitude. The Bible records that fallen man did indeed enslave others, but it also records that God was displeased with it. Bond servitude is a different matter and should be viewed differently.
Closely related to that is the second point, and here it is very applicable to this issue. Most of what God has done and will do in the world is accomplished through the natural unfolding of human history. The supernatural is used sparingly. I believe it has a great deal to do with His hiddenness, but that's a topic for another day. For example, the war on drugs has been ineffective to say the least. Simply outlawing or forbidding something isn't very effective (anyone else thinking of the forbidden fruit right about now?). However, what if the hearts and minds of all those who use drugs were to be changed? The demand would dry up. In the same way, it was Christianity's effect on the hearts and minds of the Europeans that put a halt to the Atlantic slave trade. God has said many things are wrong; there's a handy list of ten readily available in Scripture. I'm pretty sure those forbidden or unlawful acts have been and are performed millions, if not billions, of times over, practically daily.
Daryl Davis has convinced 200 Ku Klux Klansmen to give up their robes simply by befriending them. Protestors can line up at clan rallies and shout all they want; it's not very effective. Daryl Davis has demonstrated that we have the most influence in a person's life via a personal relationship. It's how we get to a person's heart. Once people enter into a personal relationship with Christ, they begin to understand the infinite value of every human being. It is thusly that their hearts are changed and all kinds of sin, not just slavery but certainly slavery too, can find a termination point in the individual's life and in the larger society.