by George Sidney Hurd
-- The following is an exerpt from my book, The Ways of God: As seen through the Eyes of a Conservative Restorationist. One of the New Atheist’s favorite points of attack is the issue of slavery in the Bible. They argue that, since God does not outright prohibit all forms of slavery, then He must approve of it. Also, based upon the presupposition that all forms of slavery are immoral, they argue that our God is therefore also immoral, since He did not prohibit its practice. An unhelpful tendency among some Christian apologists is to gloss over the issue, saying that the only form of slavery permitted in the Bible was voluntary indentured servanthood in which the slave or servant signs a contract, agreeing to serve a master for a determined amount of time in order to work off a debt. As we will see, there were also other forms of slavery in the Bible which involved involuntary servitude. But does God’s permission and regulation of slavery in any way imply His approval of it? Are all forms of slavery immoral, as the New Atheists imply, or merely the abuses of slavery which often accompany the practice? Contrary to what Bible critics would have us believe, God’s regulations of slavery do not make Him complicit to the practice. Furthermore, His laws are designed to minimize the suffering caused by the economy of this present age which is governed by Satan in such a manner as to necessitate the continuance of inequities similar to slavery, even to the present day. As to the allegation that God approves of slavery because He doesn’t outright prohibit it, we have already seen that His regulation of certain practices, such as polygamy, divorce and slavery should not be seen as tantamount to His approval of them. In order to see God’s ideal for mankind, we must look back at how it was in the beginning before man fell into sin and rebellion. In the beginning man was free and Adam and Eve enjoyed a harmonious complementary relationship, tending the garden and governing over the earth. It was only after the fall that hard labor became necessary (Gen 3:19). Along with that came sinful selfish-ambition and power struggles in which men sought to conquer and dominate others (Gen 3:16). As with divorce, God hates slavery, and only permits it due to the hardness of men’s hearts. Indeed, in the New Creation, which He began with the resurrection and ascension of Christ, all are being restored as it was in the beginning, where there is no longer discrimination according to race, sex, or social status: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:28-29) Here we see that the end-result of the New Creation is the abolition of all inequality and every form of discrimination which exists in our fallen society. Some attribute the abolition of slavery to secular humanism. However, even though the advocates of slavery – ignoring the truth as it is in Christ, made use of the Bible to justify slavery, we see that historically it was the Christians, and not the secular humanists, who were the leading influences in the abolition of slavery. The historian Robert Kenney, although not himself a Christian, states: “Hume, Voltaire, and Kant saw the African – the non-European generally – as beyond the category of human to which the European belonged. Race concerned them (particularly Kant) only to the extent that it could show the superiority of the European. It was not the philosophies of Paris or Edinburg or East Prussia who fought slavery…it was from the Evangelical Revival that the loudest claims for what we now call racial equality came.” (emphasis mine) [i] Without justifying the abuses of so called “Christian” slave owners in the south, their abuses pale before Nazi Germany’s exploitation and slaughter of millions of Jews and other “less evolved” non-Aryan ethnic groups only a generation after the abolition of slavery in concentration camps, working them to death without adequate food or clothing. Less than a century after slavery had been abolished in the western world by applying biblical principles such as we see in Galatians 3:28-29, other countries who were influenced by atheistic secular humanism worked millions of their own people to death under the most inhumane conditions behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains. The only way to equality and dignity for all is through the gospel truth that we are all equal in God’s eyes - not through the secular humanistic and evolutionary world view held by the New Atheists. Also, it is misleading to label all forms of slavery or servanthood as immoral. It is the abuse of slavery which is immoral, and the provisions in the Law of Moses were all designed to prohibit such abuses. If just one of the prohibitions in the Law had been observed, the new-world slavery that we are familiar with would have never been possible: “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.” (Ex 21:16) Under this provision of the Law of Moses alone, not only would the slave-traders who kidnapped African men, women and children to sell as slaves in the west have been executed, but those who bought them knowing they had been kidnapped would have been put to death as well. Certainly, if just this one fundamental law against kidnapping and selling men as slaves had been in force between the 16th and the 19th centuries, the dark history of slavery in Europe and the United States would have never existed. And, to the chagrin of the Bible’s critics, it was largely due to such passages of Scripture that slavery was finally abolished. In reality, many of the forms of slavery or servanthood permitted under the Law of Moses are still practiced to some degree today. We still must serve someone in today’s system – otherwise we would starve to death. Most of us look forward to the day when we can finally retire. In Spanish the word for “retire” means “to enter into jubilee” (jubilarse). Jubilee in Israel occurred every 50th year when slaves received their freedom. The difference is that today we no longer call it slavery, although some aptly refer to themselves as “a slave of the system.” The primary form of involuntary slavery in Israel was a penal servitude similar to today’s prison system. Criminals were often sold into slavery in punishment for their crimes until they served a sentence commensurate to the crime (Ex 22:3). Our armed services also bear some resemblance to slavery in the milder sense of servanthood. The draft system is often employed in time of war, obligating able young men to serve time in the armed forces with little more than room and board. Here in Colombia random checkpoints are set up where young men are taken on the spot and forced to serve military duty. Some might argue that it is an immoral practice, yet it is necessitated by the greater evil of subversive guerrillas. It is deemed a necessary evil in order to avoid the greater evil of a tyrannical communist dictatorship similar to what our neighbors in Venezuela have been subjected to. However, God did not obligate men to go to war against their will since it was He who fought on behalf of His people (Deut 20:1-8). In some professional sports the team managers will sell or buy players who must sign a contract similar to the indentured servitude of the Old Testament. Some would counter that that doesn’t apply since they are rewarded for their service. However, indentured slaves also received certain benefits in exchange for their servitude, albeit less lucrative. Some today who do not pay their debts may have their wages attached until they pay what they owe, in a sense obligating them to serve their debtors as was done to those who did not pay their debts under the Law. Much of what is called slavery in the Bible was voluntary, or at least consenting, and so a more appropriate translation for the Hebrew and Greek terms in such contexts would be servanthood rather than using our stronger word slavery. Many newer translations take this into account, translating ebed and doulos as servant rather than slave when it is obvious that the servitude was not involuntary. It was common for the poor to sell themselves as indentured or contracted servants in exchange for room and board. Others sold themselves or family members because it was the only way to pay off their debts. While it was forbidden to kidnap and sell anyone as a slave, Israel was permitted to buy those of the other nations who offered themselves as slaves. And once they were purchased, they became their permanent property (Lev 25:44-46). However, God forbade them from subjecting their own Israelite brethren to hard labor as common slaves. They were to be treated as a hired servant or visiting sojourners. Also, Israelites could not be sold to another, and they were to be released, along with their lands and all their debts, on the Year of Jubilee, which was once every 50 years. While foreign slaves were slaves for life, Israelites were only under obligation to serve for a maximum of six years, and on the seventh year they were to go free (Lev 25:39-43). While it seems harsh to put foreigners to do hard-labor like cultivating and harvesting crops, etc., it is not altogether unlike what we see today in the United States where people from poorer neighboring nations offer themselves out of necessity to do the hard tasks which most North Americans are either unable or unwilling to perform. One state outlawed this practice, arguing that it was taking away job opportunities from U.S. citizens. But they soon discovered that outlawing foreign labor was folly. They were unable to find workers willing to bear the heat and the long hours bent over working the fields. They had a hard time getting the crops planted on time and when harvest time came, much of the harvest was lost because they couldn’t get workers to harvest the crops. Having to work by the sweat of one’s brow is a result of the fall which only the most prosperous have been able to avoid and even they are not without their share of burdens and trials. While we see in Scripture that, generally speaking, the people and nations who serve God prosper, Jesus told us that as long as we are living in a fallen world the poor will always be with us (Mark 14:7). Some of the poor are poor simply because they are not willing to work, but most of them do not have the resources or the time available in order to learn a profession that could change their social status. And if all the poor became educated, who would work the fields? Jesus said that the poor would always be with us, not because that is God’s design but because their poverty is a necessary evil in a fallen world. That is simply how Satan’s world system works. However, Jesus says to the poor: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” (Luke 6:20-21). As far as God’s eternal kingdom is concerned, wealth and ease in the present does not guarantee future blessedness. Quite the contrary, Jesus continues with some strong words of warning to those who are wealthy but not rich towards God, saying: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:24-26). We will be surprised to see that many who are now first will be last and many who are least now will be the greatest in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:48; Matt 19:30). When Satan incited the fall, he took dominion over the earth from Adam and Eve and therefore, although God is ultimately in control, Satan is the god of this present evil age (2Cor 4:4; Gal 1:4). God could have easily put an end to Satan’s dominion over the earth – especially in light of Christ’s triumph over him in the cross. However, God has a purpose in allowing evil, suffering, inequity and injustice to continue in this present age. We can only be perfected in suffering. Even Jesus was perfected in that which He suffered (Rom 5:3-4;1Peter 4:1; Heb 5:8). Rather than accusing God of being immoral and unjust for permitting the continuance of evil and suffering, as if He were the cause and source of evil rather than Satan and mankind being the culprits, we should seek to understand His ways and walk in them, that we may be perfected in suffering in this present evil age, thereby coming to know Him as He really is. While it is true that God permits inequity and suffering in this present evil age, including slavery, in order to develop in us eternal virtues, He will not allow us to be tempted beyond measure (1Cor 10:13). His laws concerning slavery were not designed to eliminate slavery but to protect slaves from the excessively inhumane abuses common to that time. A brief consideration of the slavery laws given by God through Moses makes it clear that they were designed to restrict excessive abuses in a less-than-ideal fallen institution. Punishment prescribed for mistreatment of slaves. (Ex 21:12,20,26,27) “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death… 20 And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property… 26 If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.” (Ex 21:12,20,26,27) Verses 20 and 21 are New Atheist’s favorite go-to texts. However, they usually quote them alone, out of their context. It says that if a man beats his servant to death with a rod he will be punished, but if the servant lives a day or two without dying, he will not be punished because the slave was his property. They usually don’t quote verse 12 which prescribes the punishment for voluntary manslaughter: “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” This punishment for voluntary manslaughter was given way back in Genesis 9 where it says: “Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” (Gen 9:6). Since both slave and free equally bear the image of God, their lives are precious in God’s eyes and therefore, in order to protect the sanctity of human life, whoever voluntarily takes the life of another human being was subjected to capital punishment. Verse 21 says: “Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.” In the case of voluntary manslaughter, the slave-owner beats his servant until he is dead. However, when he gives his slave a severe flogging that was not intended to kill him, even though he later dies as a result of the flogging, it isn’t considered murder but rather involuntary manslaughter and therefore wasn’t punishable by death. In this case his punishment was that he lost a slave. In Israel slave-owners could punish insubordinate slaves but they were not permitted to cause permanent damage or take their lives, as was the case with the surrounding nations of that time. Traditional translators misrepresent God as a slave-owner chopping a rebellious slave in half in Matthew 24:50,51: “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two (dichotoméo) and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt 24:50,51 NKJV) This rendering presents Jesus as condoning the willful brutal murder of a servant by his master, which would be a gross violation of the Law of Moses and also Genesis 9. That God would Himself administer a punishment more severe than that which He permits in His own Law is a misrepresentation of God all too common with the Traditionalists. Strong’s defines dichotoméo as, “to bisect, i.e. (by extension) to flog severely.” That the analogy given by Jesus did not refer to a master actually cutting his servant in half is evident since, after his initial punishment, he is seen to still be alive. Taking this into account, several translations render it as “punish” or “punish severely.” “and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” (Matt 24:51 RSV) “and he shall scourge him severely and shall appoint his part with the actors on the stage of life who play the role of that which they are not. There, in that place, shall be the lamentation and the gnashing of the teeth.” (Matt 24:45 An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest) The illustration Jesus used here was of a wicked servant that had been left in charge of the master’s estate while his master went on a journey. While the master was away the slave beat his fellow subordinate slaves and spent the rest of his time partying with the master’s money. When the master returned and saw what he had done, he punished him severely and segregated him. Jesus wouldn’t have used this illustration and applied it to God’s punishment of the wicked if the flogging of wicked rebellious slaves were not at times necessary and permissible under the Law. We need to embrace the fact that, in the presence of evil, God’s love is often severe and correctional and is not always cruciform, as the Progressives would have us believe. We must also keep in mind that many of the slaves assigned to hard labor were not your average citizen but were criminals who had been sold to pay off their debt for crimes committed. Having spent nearly three years in correctional institutions, I am aware of how firm and severe most criminals must be treated in order to maintain some semblance of order. It would be naïve to think that hardened criminals could be managed using a passive cruciform love. Nevertheless, the Law punished the slaveowners for any treatment of slaves which caused them permanent damage. We already saw that the punishment for willfully killing a slave was the death-penalty. Additionally, they were only permitted to punish them by lashes on the back that, although painful, would only cause temporal damage. If they caused any permanent damage that resulted in a blind eye or even a lost tooth, the slave-owner was punished by having to let the injured slave go free: “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.” (Ex 21:26,27) So, we have seen that although God permitted slavery as a necessary evil in a fallen and culturally primitive society, His laws were designed in a manner that prohibited the unmerited or excessive mistreatment of slaves as seen among the nations surrounding them. However, Israel’s laws concerning slavery were not God’s ideal. God’s ideal is seen in Genesis before the fall. The regulations given in the Law were just a step in the direction of restoring all mankind to oneness with Himself, where there will no longer be any distinctions based upon race, sex or social status. The New Testament takes us another step further toward this final restoration in its counsel to masters and slaves. The New Covenant principals set forth therein laid the foundation for the abolition of slavery, which was another leap forward in the direction of the final restoration of all. [i] Kenny, R., The Lamb Enters the Dreaming, p.74 
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