Cassidy M. answered • 05/26/19
Expert Editor & Essay Writer
It can be difficult to reconcile our understanding of God as perfectly good with some unsavory things that happen in the Bible. While we probably cannot fully understand this issue during our time here on earth, there are some things that can help us grapple with questions like this one.
First, we need to remember that our modern American concept of slavery is very different from the slavery that occurs in the Bible. In America, when we hear "slavery" we are thinking of chattel slavery. Unfortunately, the American system of property ownership without an acknowledgement of human rights for the slaves is undocumented anywhere prior to the trans-Atlantic trade. Some American slave owners used the Bible to justify their horrendous treatment of black Americans, and they were wrong. (If you are interested in reading more about that, google "David Walker's Appeal." He was a black abolitionist who wrote some powerful stuff about why 19th century Christians were wrong when they tried to justify slavery with the Bible. You can read his entire Appeal online.) While Biblical slavery was no walk in the park, keep in mind that what you are picturing is probably not what the Bible is referring to.
Second, we need to remember that while the Bible offers moral instruction, it is also a historical document. The people who wrote the books of the Bible weren't always thinking "I am writing something that millions of people will read for centuries." Instead, they were writing to specific people during a specific time. If you consider the context the Bible was written in, it can be easier to understand that the social and legal elements don't always need to be taken literally. It is possible to consider the Bible completely true while also understanding that some things were written for people who lived during a very different time, and that we should try to understand the moral lessons behind what is being taught without literally following the laws letter for letter. The Bible isn't saying "slavery is a good practice." Instead, it is saying "people living during this time when slavery is a reality should treat their slaves this way." It takes into consideration the fact that humans of the Biblical age were sinful and had slaves (and did many other unsavory things too! The Old Testament is full of laws that sound strange to us today, but were meant for the Israelites of the past.)
Finally, we should understand that Jesus gave us a new set of moral teachings to follow in the New Testament, and that those teachings are centered on love and mercy. When Jesus came, he fulfilled the Old Testament laws. That doesn't mean he got rid of them - it means that he completed the covenant God had made with the Israelites and started a new covenant with modern-day believers. This covenant centers around the idea that if we believe in Jesus and his resurrection, we can have the free gift of salvation. While sharing this good news, Jesus also said a lot about how we should treat other people. What he said makes it very clear that God wants us to love others, which definitely does not include enslaving another person. Human beings are imperfect and slavery throughout the centuries is an indicator of that, but in spite of our broken nature we should always strive to do better.
I hope this helps a little! Let me know if you have anymore questions about the Bible or Christianity.
