Does the Bible support American chattel slavery?
Does the Bible support American chattel slavery? Absolutely not. In fact, it destroys its very foundations, by (1) teaching that kidnapping slaves is sin, (2) by teaching a very different slavery system than American chattel slavery, and (3) by teaching that slave and master are one in Christ Jesus.
For the passage in the Bible that calls servants to obey their masters (which I know is just a selective part), I'm learning that slaveholders would use that to justify slavery. But isn't that one of those "well the Bible is advocating/excusing slavery" type passages?
To those who say, “People used the Bible to excuse slavery, so the Bible is bad,” I say (facetiously), the Bible says we should only eat locusts.
Obviously the Bible doesn’t really say that; but that’s the point. People can say that the Bible means a ton of things; but that doesn’t mean it’s true. No matter what people might say the Scripture teaches, the Bible speaks for itself. We must simply understand it rightly.
Just because American slaveholders used the Bible to justify chattel slavery doesn’t mean the Bible actually justifies that system; in fact, the Bible condemns it explicitly.
1 Timothy 1
8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
Of all people, Christians must be clearly opposed to the evil that humanity perpetuates. To fail to do so is to misrepresent God.
Stealing someone and then shipping them across the ocean to be sold as a slave is evil. God hates such sins, and those who who perpetuated such evil stand guilty.
Subjugating peoples to slavery because of the color of their skin, and treating them subhuman rather than those made in the image of God, destroying those for whom Christ came to save is evil. God hates such sin, and He will judge them fully.
Taking advantage of those who are needy and desperate instead of caring for them is cruel and wicked. God hates such oppressors and He will bring their sins to justice.
Does the bible say anything else about the morality of slavery, or does it just talk about the relationship of slaves and masters bc that was normal?
“Slavery” looks different depending on the time period and locale. For example, [in the ancient Roman Empire][2], “[b]esides manual labor, slaves performed many domestic services, and might be employed at highly skilled jobs and professions. Accountants and physicians were often slaves. Slaves of Greek origin in particular might be highly educated.” Also, “Roman slavery was not based on ideas of race.” I’m not defending Roman slavery; I’m just using it as merely one example of ancient slavery that was very different than American chattel slavery.
The slavery of Bible times was very different from American chattel slavery as well. In Leviticus 25:35-55, God establishes the law concerning slaves. In verses 35-38 God commands that if “a countryman of yours become poor…then you are to sustain him…that he may live with you” (25:35). This is a law of great compassion, premised upon the fact that God Himself freed the Israelites from being slaves in Egypt (25:38). It is evident that this would be a temporary situations, for God speaks then about what to do if “a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you” (25:39). In this case, the Israelites were to treat their brothers as hired hands (25:40) until the year of jubilee, not “with severity” (25:43). In other words, they should be treated well, and when the year of jubilee (every 50 years) came about, the Israelite slave was to “go back to his family, that he may return to the property of his forefathers” (25:41).
While it may seem odd to our modern ears, this system of slavery was motivated by mercy. This kind of slavery was salvation from destitution. Slaves with a righteous master had a safe place to live with a caring family, guaranteed food and shelter, stable employment, and hope for the future. Contrast that with being a freeman but homeless, destitute, and starving. Remember, there was no welfare, no government services, no homeless programs; the only people who could help would be your (merciful) neighbors.
Deuteronomy 15:12-15 speaks of another situation beyond poverty that might cause someone to sell themself into slavery: debt. If I am in debt to someone, and have no means to pay it back, I can sell myself and my time to make restitution. In Israel, debts were forgiven every seven years, and thus on the seventh year, the slave would go free. But the Israelites were commanded, “When you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today” (Deuteronomy 15:12-15). Such generosity is astounding isn’t it? What is the foundation? “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you.” Of all people, the Israelites should have been the most compassionate to slaves.
A modern equivalent of this slave system might look like this: would you rather be tens of thousands of dollars in debt, “enslaved” to the bank for the rest of your life, subjected to crazy interest rates, with no line of credit to buy a car, a house, or go to school, and no way to pay off that debt, OR would you rather work for a master for 6 years and work off that debt, all the while being provided food, shelter, job training, etc.? If those were my two choices, sign me up to be a slave! It is better to be humbled for a short time than be the lender’s slave (Prov 22:7) for life. (Given how many people and families are crippled by debt today, this system sounds pretty good! I have a friend who took only a few thousand dollars in credit card debt in college; it took like over 12 years to pay it off! And consider that some dentists start their careers with over half a million dollars in debt!)
But Deuteronomy 15:16-17 continues and says, “It shall come about if he
[the slave] says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door basically, give him an ear-piercing], and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.” This is how well masters ought to treat their slaves, so well that they would love you and voluntarily choose to be your servant forever. The ideal master treated his slaves so well that they would rather be slaves than free! What a great love!
Leviticus 25:44-55 continues with commandments about slaves taken from the pagan nations. These were to be treated differently than the Israelites, primarily because God has a particular love for people. The pagan slaves may be “permanent slaves” (25:46). Again, this rubs against our modern sensitivities, but is it American chattel slavery? No. Notice what the next verse says. “Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family…” This implies that even pagans who had become slaves had social mobility, so much so that they could be freed and prosper enough to be able to purchase their own slaves. That is a far cry from American chattel slavery.
So those that look at Old Testament slavey and used that to justify American chattel slavery are guilty of willfully twisting the Scripture. They read only the verses that gave them power, rather than submitting to the entire counsel of the Scriptures. They ignored that the Old Testament was written to Israel, not America! (But that’s an entirely separate issue, so I won’t get into that).
But what about the New Testament? Paul wrote in Colossians 3:22-4:1,
22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
4:1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.
In the Roman Empire, slaves became Christians. That’s why Paul gives these commands to them, for them to obey. But notice the balance: a proper respect for authority is commanded to both the slaves and the masters. Earthly masters have a “Master in Heaven”—and He sees all.
Paul also wrote to believers who were slaves, “Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” (1 Cor 7:21-23). Here Paul levels the field; slaves are not inherently inferior to their masters, nor visa versa. It is not sin to be a slave. The slave is the Lord’s freedom; the freeman is Christ’s slave. Yet Paul also commends slaves to seek their freedom if they could. (Again, yet another example of how ancient Roman slavery was not same as American chattel slavery!) Being a slave had inherent disadvantages that Paul considers to be undesirable (although not sinful), so it was better to not be a slave if at all possible.
Lastly, I’ll mention the letter to Philemon. Paul wrote this to a man named Philemon who was part of the church in Colossae (the same church that received the book of Colossians). Previously, Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, had run away from Philemon. Yet, Onesimus had somehow bumped into Paul in Rome, become a Christian, and now was being sent by Paul back to Colossae, probably as the mailman for the letters of Colossians and Philemon. Paul says this to Philemon: “For perhaps [Onesimus] was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, _no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, _especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord” (Philemon 1:15-16). In this, Paul doesn’t argue for the abolition of the slave system; in fact he argues for me. In the Christian church, slaves and masters are brothers and sisters. That causes the foundations of slavery—those who are powerful control those who are not—to crumble. As he wrote in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
There’s a lot more to say about this (entire books have been written!) but I hope that will suffice.