(June 28, 2016 at 10:34 pm)RetiredArmy Wrote:(June 28, 2016 at 10:23 pm)SteveII Wrote: And I look for reasonable discussions to have and I just don't see this going that direction.
What did you expect? You excuse slavery as a necessity of the times. It's wrong today, it was wrong when Exodus was written. The morality does not change. Was man not enlightened enough to see this? Ok, that's possible. But an all powerful, all knowing god would know better. Except this god of yours DIDN'T know it was wrong then (supposedly). So yeah, it's hard not to look down on someone who says slavery is ok under certain circumstances, based on a book of myths.
Like I just said above, it was going on for thousands of years before and thousands of years after Exodus 21. God regulated it for the people of the time. You have to ask the question was it more merciful to regulate it or prohibit it? What happens to the poor? There was not social safety net. What happens to the conquered survivors? They have no means of making a living, caring for their children etc. There are fates far worse than these customs.
The article I posted spoke about how these customs were not the same as our recent bout with slavery. It was unlawful to go grab people and make them slaves. It was not based on race. There were guidelines about how much a slave could work. From the slave's perspective, I imagine it would range from resentful to grateful a worse fate did not occur. There is also the analysis of basic needs being met. We think a basic need is freedom. I am not so sure that even ranked in the top 10 in the the ancient harsh world.
