In case you missed it, Life After Christianity had this to say;
Atheists are not the only one making this claim. An entire movement known as the Black Hebrew Israelites are saying the same thing.
Let’s talk about history first. Everyone had slaves in their history of many different races. Today, in Africa, slave trade still exists, including white slave trade. We don’t have slaves in the United States today because white people killed other white people for owning black slaves in a Civil War.
Now, let’s address the Bible. The Bible was written by people of Middle Eastern and African descent. Portions of the New Testament were written in Europe, but they were written by a Jew from Jerusalem.
If the Bible was written to enslave black people and empower white people, it failed miserably at it’s goal.
From the Bible itself;
“But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”
(Galatians 3:25-29 ESV)
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
(Matthew 28:18-19 ESV)
I missed where the writers of the New Testament created a racial hierarchy. What I did see was where the Apostle Paul condemns those he calls “enslavers” in 1 Timothy 1:10 as “lawless and disobedient.” I guess you didn’t see that. It pays to read and understand the holy book of the religion you’re criticizing before you criticize the religion.
But wait, there are verses in the Bible that regulate treatment of slaves, right?
Yes.
The slavery regulated in the ancient world looked very different from the human trafficking practiced in the United States. In the small communities people lived in, they would sell themselves to wealthy individuals as tenants and servants so that they wouldn’t starve to death.
In the ancient Jewish community, said wealthy individuals were commanded to release their slaves every seven years.
Additionally, none of the verses which regulate slave treatment commend the practice of owning slaves nor does the Bible encourage its readers to go out and accumulate slaves for themselves.
I challenge you to find a verse in the Bible where an individual is praised for owning slaves.
I challenge you to find a verse in the Bible where slaveholding is praised as an honorable practice.
I challenge you to find a verse in the Bible where white people are exalted to sainthood and black people are condemned to slavery by virtue of their skin color.
