Does the Bible turn a blind eye toward slavery? Does God condone this type of behavior? Is there a difference between slavery as we think of it today and slavery as described in the Bible? In this video from J. Warner’s “Quick Shots: Fast Answers to Hard Questions” series on RightNow Media, J. Warner answers this common question related to the claims of Christianity.
To see more training videos with J. Warner Wallace, visit the YouTube playlist.
For more information about the reliability of the New Testament gospels and the case for Christianity, please read Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. This book teaches readers ten principles of cold-case investigations and applies these strategies to investigate the claims of the gospel authors. The book is accompanied by an eight-session Cold-Case Christianity DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.
Eileen
December 19, 2020 at 6:32 am
Thanks for the podcast. This whole argument about the Bible and slavery is an example of how history was changed. Notice in conversations with Jesus in the Gospel, slave holders, like the Roman Centurion, used the word “servant”, not slave when referring to domestic help. When we think of a “servant” and a “slave”, we conclude that the servant is voluntary help and that slave is not. In Jesus’ time, voluntary servitude, a condition we would call slavery, was quite common. What is not really known in modern times is that in the Roman Empire, voluntary servitude (“slavery”) was not a permanent condition. Typical contracts were 10 years, at which time the slave holder had to free the slave or provide a way out of this condition, something that was not true in the American South. Sometimes, if the slave was fortunate enough to be in the service of an important Roman official, the slave was granted Roman citizenship upon manumission, something coveted but very hard to get for all but the most well off (yes, bribery was frequently involved). However, once granted, you could not lose it, except for conviction of state crimes.
Jim
December 20, 2020 at 11:34 pm
This was a very well thought out and articulated answer to a question that has been been asked for years.