The Immorality of God - Slavery in the Old Testament

[athrock]

Damn, girl. Is this really that hard? You keep trying to force a false dilemma on me, but I have already stepped between its horns.

What God revealed to the Israelites was that which they could handle at that time. And it was progress toward a higher standard. Would you care to concede that progress, btw?

Moral standards for slavery in the ancient world were all over the map.  Hebrew slavery standards weren't so much a step forward as a lateral move into more of the same.  

Can you document this, Jorm? Cause it sounds like puffery to me.

Tell you what, you do your homework...come up with some examples of how other ANE civilizations had laws pertaining to slavery that were so similar to those of the Mosaic Law as to be virtually indistinguishable, and I will concede that the Hebrews were simply making a "lateral move".

Deal?  

And you here are trying to sidestep the immorality of your god by claiming that a little immorality isn't a bad thing so long as its justified by a small amount of progress.  You haven't stepped between the horns.  You've just stepped in the shit. Teaching the Israelites a slightly immoral set of slavery practices is still immoral.   What 'progress' the Israelites made does not morally offset the cost to foreign slaves as well as Hebrew ones.  If that isn't clear to you, I don't think you grasp the nature of morals.  A good done to one set of people does not make a harm to another set of people moral.

If you had been what Ex-Lax insists was a SEX-slave in the ANE, Jorm, would you have preferred to be the wife of an Israelite who was bound by Law to treat you well or that of a pagan Canaanite who might offer your children as burnt offerings to his false gods?

(I am seriously hoping you have the courage to answer truthfully with all of your forum buddies watching.)