The Bible and Slavery

[NguyenKimPhat]

Dear CAF,

I am a devout Catholic, but I did not know how to respond to an Anti-Christian claim that stated that the book of Deuteronomy supported slavery, and it is because of the book of Deuteronomy that many Southerners during the Civil War era had slaves. The person of the claim stated that many “Bible Beating Baptists” owned slaves back in the Civil War Era because the Bible stated that slavery was good. Can anyone please help me answer this? Where exactly in the book of Deuteronomy does it state about slavery being okay? Does the Bible support slavery?

 

[zach_dunn]

Here’s something I found from Deuteronomy . . .

Deuteronomy 24:7
“7 If a man is found stealing one of his brethren, the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.”

That doesn’t sound like endorsing slavery to me . . .

 

[PlipPlop]

Here’s something I found from Deuteronomy . . .

Deuteronomy 24:7
“7 If a man is found stealing one of his brethren, the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.”

That doesn’t sound like endorsing slavery to me . . .

Leviticus 25:44-56
Exodus 21:2-8

I don’t think Deut. says anything about slavery, however. There are far more incriminating things they could have told you about.

So, yes, the Bible does condone slavery. However (WARNING: what follows may not be in line with the Catholic Church), I believe that the Bible is flexible enough to mean different things to different cultures and times.

No one would have followed Christ in ancient times if He had spoken out against slavery.
Even 200 (or 100!) years ago, very few people would have followed Him if He told them that they had to treat all people with respect.

You also have to understand that the Bible is very, very old. It’s not unbelievable that someone who wanted to have slaves slipped that into the Bible.

tl;dr: Yes, the Bible condones slavery, but you probably wouldn’t be a Christian if it didn’t. It may not have been God’s will at all, but a result of human corruption.

 

[zach_dunn]

Leviticus 25:44-56
Exodus 21:2-8

I don’t think Deut. says anything about slavery, however. There are far more incriminating things they could have told you about.

So, yes, the Bible does condone slavery. However (WARNING: what follows may not be in line with the Catholic Church), I believe that the Bible is flexible enough to mean different things to different cultures and times.

No one would have followed Christ in ancient times if He had spoken out against slavery.
Even 200 (or 100!) years ago, very few people would have followed Him if He told them that they had to treat all people with respect.

You also have to understand that the Bible is very, very old. It’s not unbelievable that someone who wanted to have slaves slipped that into the Bible.

tl;dr: Yes, the Bible condones slavery, but you probably wouldn’t be a Christian if it didn’t. It may not have been God’s will at all, but a result of human corruption.

To be fair, I would say the Old Testament condones slavery seeing as the New Testament does not. Contrary to what you’ve said (“very few people would have followed Him if He told them that they had to treat all people with respect.”), the New Testament does tell us to treat all people with respect:

Galatians 3:28
“28 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.”

Philemon 16*
“16 [N]o longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”

This is semi-comparable to the Old Testament condoning divorce:

Matthew 19:3-8
“3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’ 4 He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one”? 6 So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.’ 7 They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ 8 He said to them, 'For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.’”

This is also true of slavery. As Christians we are to treat all people as God’s creatures, we are all made in the image of God which gives all humans equal dignity.

• That was my first time ever quoting Philemon! :extrahappy:

 

[Petergee]

1. No doubt there were a few slave-owners in the 19th century who, in response to rebukes by Christian leaders, tried to claim that their unChristian exploitation of their fellow men was defensible by trying to twist some out-of-context quotes from the Bible (I don’t think it was Deuteronomy though). That only goes to show what nonsense and evil Christians can get into when they cut themselves off from the Apostles and their successors who GAVE us the Bible and are its only truly reliable interpreters. It is possible to justify just about any sin by misusing the Bible in this way.
2. The Bible certainly never MADE anyone support slavery or own or trade slaves.
3. The Bible, even the Old Testament, condemns slave TRADING.
4. Slavery in the Holy Land in Old Testament times was very different to slavery in 16th-19th century America where slaves were treated as sub-human and had no rights at all. The slaves mentioned in the Bible were either captured enemy soldiers who had been fighting against Israel, or they were voluntarily working to pay off a debt. Jews were forbidden to mistreat slaves. Jews were punished if they injured, sexually assaulted or killed their own slave. A Jew could keep a slave for a maximum of seven years, at the end of which he had to free the slave and pay him a fair price for the work he had done. Every 50 years, all slaves in Israel were freed and all debts cancelled. And nobody could be “born a slave”. A child born to slave parents was born free.
5. The Church has worked against slavery from the beginning. If not for Christianity, slavery would still be common. Slavery is found in all non-Christian human societies and cultures. The only places where slavery has been abolished have done so under the direct or indirect influence of Christianity. The popes have unequivocally condemned the enslavement of Africans by Europeans since before Columbus sailed.
6. Christians, especially Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, have been far more often the victims of slavery than its perpetrators.

 

[Cristian_B]

Dear Kim,

The idea of slavery at that time (or at least, what a slave was for the Jews) was not the same as it is for us today. When we think of a slave we think of him as less than a human, but the Jews’ slaves were as human as they could be. Let me explain: slavery was not because of racial, hate or indifference (like in our times); it because of justice. If you had a debt you could not pay, you were sold as a slave to the one you had the debt (like in a parable Jesus told). Of course, you still were a human, and that is way the Bible teaches us how to treat our slaves and how the slaves should behave. The seventh year you were freed, so it wasn’t that bad. The Bible condemns the racial slavery,etc. (for example when black people were slaves, they were not because of justice, but because they were thought to be less than human, animals; another example could be roman’s slaves because they were treated like animals, while the Jews did not do that.) I’m not very good an English (since I’m not English) but I hope you understand this.

 

[GrahamAPhone]

Leviticus 25:44-56
Exodus 21:2-8

I don’t think Deut. says anything about slavery, however. There are far more incriminating things they could have told you about.

So, yes, the Bible does condone slavery. However (WARNING: what follows may not be in line with the Catholic Church), I believe that the Bible is flexible enough to mean different things to different cultures and times.

No one would have followed Christ in ancient times if He had spoken out against slavery.
Even 200 (or 100!) years ago, very few people would have followed Him if He told them that they had to treat all people with respect.

You also have to understand that the Bible is very, very old. It’s not unbelievable that someone who wanted to have slaves slipped that into the Bible.

tl;dr: Yes, the Bible condones slavery, but you probably wouldn’t be a Christian if it didn’t. It may not have been God’s will at all, but a result of human corruption.

Slavery back then was nothing like slavery in the south.
slavery then was more like indentured servants, and was not fueled by racism.

 

[Nita]

God did permit the Israelites to have slaves - but He established regulations regarding their treatment. Granted, it was not equal rights with the Israelites (else it wouldn’t have been slavery!!), but it did establish, so to speak, “slavery rights” – something that may have been unheard of before. (I’m no history expert, so that last is speculation.)

The book of Exodus is a good place to go to read some of these regulations. Here is a link showing the occurences of “slave” and “slaves” in Scripture. It gives the passage briefly, showing the book, chapter, and verse.

vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/JL.HTM (slave) Note Exodus 20 especially

vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/LT.HTM (slaves)

 

[sidbrown]

God did permit the Israelites to have slaves - but He established regulations regarding their treatment. Granted, it was not equal rights with the Israelites (else it wouldn’t have been slavery!!), but it did establish, so to speak, “slavery rights” – something that may have been unheard of before. (I’m no history expert, so that last is speculation.)

The book of Exodus is a good place to go to read some of these regulations. Here is a link showing the occurences of “slave” and “slaves” in Scripture. It gives the passage briefly, showing the book, chapter, and verse.

vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/JL.HTM (slave) Note Exodus 20 especially

vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/LT.HTM (slaves)

Was slavery OK at one point in time, but not OK at a later point in time?

 

[Nita]

Was slavery OK at one point in time, but not OK at a later point in time?

Yes – as culture changed, laws changed accordingly. In some of the earlier cultures, to suddenly set slaves free would probably have been cruel, leaving them without a source of food and shelter.

It seems to me that slavery was not forbidden, even in the early New Testament times. St. Paul’s words in the epistle to the Ephesians are the basis for this opinion.

Ephesians 6:5-9 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ; not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Masters, do the same to them, and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Note that St. Paul does not tell the owners/masters that they must free their slaves.
But, in the New Testament we know that Jesus teaches what we do to the least of His brethren, we do to Him. Thus, St. Paul teaches masters to treat their slaves in the same manner as he has just called on the slaves to treat their masters.

 

[Gift_from_God]

Biblical slavery does still exist today. We just call it community service today. Slavery back then was meant to be probation.

 

[sidbrown]

Yes – as culture changed, laws changed accordingly. In some of the earlier cultures, to suddenly set slaves free would probably have been cruel, leaving them without a source of food and shelter.

It seems to me that slavery was not forbidden, even in the early New Testament times. St. Paul’s words in the epistle to the Ephesians are the basis for this opinion.

Ephesians 6:5-9 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ; not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Masters, do the same to them, and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Note that St. Paul does not tell the owners/masters that they must free their slaves.
But, in the New Testament we know that Jesus teaches what we do to the least of His brethren, we do to Him. Thus, St. Paul teaches masters to treat their slaves in the same manner as he has just called on the slaves to treat their masters.

Does that then mean that the teaching of the Catholic Church has changed on whether slavery is morally wrong or not?

 

[Nita]

Does that then mean that the teaching of the Catholic Church has changed on whether slavery is morally wrong or not?

The Church didn’t “teach” that slavery is morally good/right.
Historically, when slavery was part of the culture, *what the Church taught *was that you must treat slaves properly. (cf. the Ephesians passage).

 

[sidbrown]

The Church didn’t “teach” that slavery is morally good/right.
Historically, when slavery was part of the culture, what the Church taught was that you must treat slaves properly. (cf. the Ephesians passage).

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. (Ephesians 6:5)
Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

 

[sidbrown]

The Church didn’t “teach” that slavery is morally good/right.
QUOTE]
I thought that Pope Gregory XI, excommunicated the Florentines and ordered them to be enslaved if captured.

 

[peary1]

I don’t know about Deuteronomy, but this is what I found in Leviticus 25:44-46: “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.”

Some anti-Catholic propagandists have maintained that a Council of Cardinals met in Holland in 1457 and endorsed slavery, but I have not found any evidence of this, or even why the Cardinals would meet as a group in Holland anyway.

A good read is found at NewAdvent with regard to the Church and slavery down through the ages:

newadvent.org/cathen/14036a.htm

 

[sidbrown]

I don’t know about Deuteronomy, but this is what I found in Leviticus 25:44-46: “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.”

Some anti-Catholic propagandists have maintained that a Council of Cardinals met in Holland in 1457 and endorsed slavery, but I have not found any evidence of this, or even why the Cardinals would meet as a group in Holland anyway.

A good read is found at NewAdvent with regard to the Church and slavery down through the ages:

newadvent.org/cathen/14036a.htm

It is true that Popes have condemned slavery, but it looks like Popes themselves held slaves and Catholic clergy held slaves. Further, it looks like at least one Pope considered slavery to be morally acceptable because according to:
the Papal Bull Romanus Pontifex (1454):

…We [therefore] weighing all and singular the premises with due meditation, and noting that since we had formerly by other letters of ours granted among other things free and ample faculty to the aforesaid King Alfonso – to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit…

 

[patrick457]

I thought that Pope Gregory XI, excommunicated the Florentines and ordered them to be enslaved if captured.

You must understand that there is often a difference between the ‘official’ position and what people actually do. We humans have a fallen nature; many of us say and do not practice.
Of course, slavery (as defined in the period) was still a part of many societies in the Middle Ages, declining when serfdom became widespread but not completely disappearing, persisting longer in Southern and Eastern Europe.

Yes, the medieval Church did succeed in protecting the rights and well-being of slaves, and many did the best they could to help them (St. Eloi in the 7th century bought British and Saxon slaves from traders to set them free, for example), but it seems that little, if any, attempt was taken at the time to abolish the institution itself. There are various reasons for this. One was economic: slavery had been the basis of a sound economy for centuries in Rome, which declined as serfdom became popular. However, with the onset of the Black Death which killed many serfs, there was a need for more forced labor; slaves were the only answer to this.
Another reason was social. Slavery was practiced for centuries that many people just accepted it as one of those immovable facts of life - in the Middle Ages itself, many things were considered ‘immovable’; to attempt to deviate from the course that society has set would be considered exceptional and probably frowned upon. Unlike today, freedom and liberty did not mean much; there were classes, ranging from the nobility to the peasantry.
To try to abolish something so deeply entrenched in ancient society overnight was very much like waking up one day and finding out that any use of vehicles or electricity had been made illegal during the time that you slept.

 

[patrick457]

Further, it looks like at least one Pope considered slavery to be morally acceptable because according to:
the Papal Bull Romanus Pontifex (1454):

…We [therefore] weighing all and singular the premises with due meditation, and noting that since we had formerly by other letters of ours granted among other things free and ample faculty to the aforesaid King Alfonso – to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit…

Ah, it traces itself to a belief common in some circles during the Middle Ages that because Muslims are descended from Ishmael, Hagar’s (Abraham’s slave) son, Christians, who are descended from Sarah’s (Abraham’s wife) son Jacob/Israel through the Jews, are permitted to enslave Muslims.
Would this belief be correct in modern times? No.

 

[Nita]

I thought that Pope Gregory XI, excommunicated the Florentines and ordered them to be enslaved if captured.

A directive issued by a Pope to deal with a situation/s is not the same thing as the Church putting forth a “teaching” regarding faith and morals that is to be considered infallible - and therefore unchangeable.

The Pope made a judgement regarding what he considered would be the proper response to a situation. (We all do that daily.) An important part of the process of judging is to examine whether our response is in conformity with God’s will as expressed in Scripture and Church teaching - does it contradict existing teachings. If there is no binding teaching regarding one of the aspects involved, then one cannot be said to be disobedient in that aspect (in this case, the morality of slavery). Judgement needs to be made so that it in conformity with those *aspects that are regulated *by Church teaching.

From your subsequent post:

…We [therefore]** weighing all and singular the premises with due meditation**, and noting that since we had formerly by other letters of ours granted among other things free and ample faculty to the aforesaid King Alfonso – to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit…

1. We have considerations today in making decisions as to whether or not to enter into combat. They had theirs.
2. Countries today make decisions as to how to handle prisoners of war - eg. jail, execution – and how to rule the conquered populace.