The Bible both prohibits certain kinds of slavery, and permits other kinds, and so does our own U.S. Constitution by the 13th Amendment, which abolished only certain forms of slavery.
- The Bible condemns kidnapping as a capital crime, and kidnapping is what fueled the African slave trade of the 1500s to 1800s, therefore the Old and New Testaments (Ex. 21:16; 1 Tim. 1:9-10; etc.) condemn slave trade kidnapping and therefore, the teaching of Scripture condemns virtually the entirety of American slavery.
The Bible shows the wickedness of enslaving a race of people by kidnapping, through the Israelites bondage to Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians.
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The Bible speaks of a form of servitude as punishment for crime (Ex. 22:1-3), for unpaid debt (Lev 25:39), and as a deterrent against warfare.
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The Bible teaches that Hebrew slaves are to be released in their seventh year (Ex. 21:2), and at the year of Jubilee, and that they could be redeemed.
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The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution did not abolish slavery but retained justifiable slavery, which is moral, biblical, and avoids the tragedy of widespread bankruptcy and epidemic incarceration. Amendment XIII [1865] "Section 1--Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…"
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Scripture prefaces commands of kindness toward slaves with a reminder that the Jews were slaves in Egypt (Lev. 25:42); do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
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Because of Israel's national covenant with God, the Mosaic Law allowed foreigners to sell themselves as permanent slaves (Lev. 25:44) to the Jews, and they could also sell their own children (Lev. 25:45) to the Hebrews, which culturally seems unjust today, but this did deliver children from unfit parents. Also, in ancient times, mere survival was often nearly impossible, and scriptural regulations for polygamy and slavery would have mitigated the death rate.
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The New Testament teaches equitable treatment of bondservants: Col. 4:1; Eph 6:9.
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Yes, historically and tragically, Christians have justified ownership of black slaves, and yet, it was practicing evangelical Christian abolitionists like William Wilberforce and Harriet Tubman who heroically led the first to end slavery.
-Pastor Bob Enyart
Denver Bible Church & KGOV.com
