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Psalms 19:1-2
"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge."
##Old Testament
#####Exodus 21:20-21 (NIV):
"And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money."
##New Testament
#####Ephesians 6:5 (NIV):
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ"
#####1 Timothy 6:1 (NIV):
"All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves."
Yep. Real scripture, really in the Bible and needs to be understood.
Those scriptures are not really germane to the question though. I understand the scriptures you posted might seem strange.
Remember that the entire nation of Israel were slaves for hundreds of years in Egypt when they were brought out by God, rescued from that slavery, and set free.
1 Corinthians 7:21-23 NIV "Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings."
Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Then there's Philemon, an entire book of the Bible dedicated to Paul's letter to a slave owner looking for kindness when returning an escaped slave who converted to Christianity.
The Bible can be confusing and even contradictory at times when speaking from this or that person's point of view. We have Sunday schools where we wrestle with questions in an open forum, and I'm sure you'd be welcome as long as you were not antagonistic.
The bible is filled with contradictory passages. How can Ephesians 6:5 and Galatians 5:1 coexist as part of an allegedly true belief system?
They are speaking to two different situations.
Galatians 5:1 is talking about slavery to sin. The concept of being a slave to sin is a central theme in the Bible. Jesus pays the price to buy us out of that slavery, and the Father takes it even further, adopting us as sons and daughters. As John 3:6 says "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Ephesians 6:5 is regulating an existing practice in Rome, slavery. Much time is spent doing this in the Bible, with slavery and other things. He gives instructions to persons who become Christians while enslaved. He also gave instructions to their masters...
Ephesians 6:9 NIV "And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."
That's right. Then after the Israelites were freed, Moses, claiming to be speaking for God, gave them permission to take slaves of their own from the nations around them. Before that, they were told how merciless they could be when bludgeoning those slaves.
The Bible portrays this as moral behavior, and the excuses you've given me aren't convincing. I don't think there is any excuse for it, but I'm all ears if you want to give it a shot.
I won't "give it a shot". I don't believe in arguing people into believing - you believe or you don't. If you have as much information as you do and don't believe, I'm not likely to make a difference.
I will say I'm uncomfortable with some incidents in the Bible. The harsh lives before Christ, where slavery could be a mercy because the alternative was mass killing, is unfathomable to me.
I am grateful to not live in those times, but I wasn't argued into believing, and you won't be either. You know as much as you need to.