The way I look at it is in several ways. First of all, the prescriptions about slavery in the OT were only temporary–a means to bring some semblance of law, order and a greater sense of mercy to an already violent and cruel society. These laws were never meant to be permanent. God was leading humanity, step by step, to a more civilized, humane and loving way of dealing with each other, hence all the teachings in the OT about having mercy on others; having mercy on the poor, the weak, etc…Many people conveniently ignore these verses.
There are a number of serious problems with this. There’s nothing to indicate these were temporary instructions. Remember that Exodus 21, where the bulk of instruction on slaveowning comes from, is part of the same announcement as the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. We wouldn’t say those were temporary.
Also consider that even if we pretend that these were temporary instructions, just the time from Exodus to Jesus is so many years of misery.
God is said to know all, not only past, present, and future but all possible worlds. Yet, you say that he chose to institute slavery to a people that held no slaves and were recently slaves themselves to institute law and order. We know there are many ways to institute law and order without using slavery. It certainly doesn’t lead people to make his people more civilized or humane. And as I said above, the vague calls for mercy are no match for the specific calls to allow for harm to slaves.
Secondly, even though Jesus didn’t say–“Thou shall not own another human being!”–he did say, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” ~snip~
If he didn’t want people to treat others like slaves, then it makes no sense why he in the person of the father said slaveowners could do just that. Not only that but a slave could be killed since they are merely property.
Thirdly, the Bible is full of teachings on what human beings are not supposed to do and yet we do them anyway. (Murder, theft, adultery, fornication, etc.)
That just makes my point. Saying “No slavery!” won’t eradicate slavery, but it will reduce it. And it will tell those considering it and those participating in it that God sees it as wrong.
In fact, it would be better if God was silent on the matter of slavery. At least then believers could say that just because God doesn’t say anything against it doesn’t mean he’s for it. But he did, in great detail, say how one could do all these horrible things to slave and it’s not a sin,
It’s that same call to treat everyone like a brother or sister in Christ that is prevalent throughout the history of the last 2,000 years, taught by both the Church and the Bible. (Several popes condemned the slave trade, for instance.)
Many popes have endorsed slavery and there are many Church writings saying so. There have been some in the Church against it (or against the slave trade but not slave ownership and slave breeding), but it didn’t say unequivocally denounced it until two millennia after its formation.
