Making Sense of Slavery

An objection often raised by your garden variety skeptic has to do with slavery. "Why," they ask, "would God allow slavery? Isn't slavery an evil institution?" When it gets right down to it, this objection isn't that difficult to overcome. In fact, the skeptic often doesn't care if you answer his objection effectively; He simply moves on to the next one. That being the case, you can consider this post something for your own edification or for the rare person who is asking honest questions. We will look briefly at slavery in the Old Testament first, then we will move on to the New Testament.

The first thing we should do in addressing slavery in the Old Testament is to point out that slavery in Biblical times was not quite the same thing as the experience we had here in America. People often sold themselves into slavery in order to pay debts, and even then many had a degree of freedom. For instance, some of them could own property. Also, in the Ancient Near East (when and where the OT was written) the rights a master could exercise over his slave were regulated by concerns for human rights and social justice.

In another striking difference from Western slavery, the slavery of the Old Testament was installed to help the poor rather than the slave owner (see Lev. 25.35-43). Hebrew slaves were to be freed every six years, and when they were released their masters were to send them out with gifts to get them started on their way. Female slaves enjoyed even greater privileges than male slaves, as they were granted freedom in situations men were not (Ex. 21:10-11). Great care was taken in the Mosaic law to make certain that people were not being mistreated. Punishments for killing a slave were the same as the punishments for killing anyone else, which shows that slaves were given basic human rights.

In the New Testament the situation is different. The Roman institution of slavery was not as humanitarian as that of the Hebrews, but it is interesting to learn that some men, like Pallas, actually sold themselves into slavery in hopes of advancement in society. Apparently if you were purchased by a high ranking individual your chances for upward advancement increased. This obviously was not the case in America.

Another thing that is vital to understand regarding the New Testament and slavery is that the number one concern for a Christian is not his or her personal freedom, it is the declaration of the Gospel of Christ. If I am a slave and a Christian my first concern is to have a good testimony before my master so I can represent Christ to him. My own personal 'rights' are secondary. American Christians (and non-Christians) often have this idea turned on its head. We seem to think that becoming a Christian should leave us free to pursue our own ends, but our ends need to conform to God's. Sometimes this could mean remaining in a state that is unpleasant to our earthly sensibilities. That being said, Paul does encourage slaves to gain their freedom if they can. They can be of more use for the Kingdom of Christ that way. Keep in mind as well that many slaves during that time had two options: slavery and death. In similar situations most of us would choose survival.

It is evident, then, that the slavery objection does not carry the weight a skeptic might suspect. A little historical and biblical study will show that once again God's goodness and justice are vindicated.

There are two essays upon which I heavily relied for this post:

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslave.html
http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslavent.html