(July 6, 2016 at 9:06 pm)SteveII Wrote: Thank you for being polite. I appreciate it.
I understand your point. I think the difference in our interpretations is that I do not think mentioning slavery (a universally present system) is the same as condoning it. Jesus commanded very little in the way of dos and don'ts. Paul was all about the Christian life. We do get from Philemon the message that to do the right thing was to free the slave. But I understand your point that Jesus and Paul did not take the opportunity to condemn it.
My answer to that would be what if they had specifically said "Christians are not to own slaves because slavery is wrong". There would have been consequences (at the least political/law/possibly illegal repercussions, at the most resulting in loss of life) to such statements.
Anyway, I would characterize "reading between the lines" more like changing from the inside and seeing things through Jesus' eyes. It seems like we will have to agree to disagree.
Sooo...magic Bible vision? That's how you're doing this to yourself?
If you're the all-powerful moral compass of the Universe, and you're delivering your big message to humanity, and you pepper that book with passages that add up to say, "You may own, buy, beat, fuck, etc. your slaves as long as you're fair to them and don't kill them or knock out their eyes and teeth," and you at no point amend any of that during the rest of the message, then yes, that blunders right through "mentioning" slavery and smack into condoning it. I fail to see how you can call that anything else.
Verbatim from the mouth of Jesus (retranslated from a retranslation of a copy of a copy):
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. How can you see your brother's head up his ass when your own vision is darkened by your head being even further up your ass? How can you say to your brother, 'Get your head out of your ass,' when all the time your head is up your own ass? You hypocrite! First take your head out of your own ass, and then you will see clearly who has his head up his ass and who doesn't." Matthew 7:1-5 (also Luke 6: 41-42)
Also, I has a website: www.RedbeardThePink.com
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. How can you see your brother's head up his ass when your own vision is darkened by your head being even further up your ass? How can you say to your brother, 'Get your head out of your ass,' when all the time your head is up your own ass? You hypocrite! First take your head out of your own ass, and then you will see clearly who has his head up his ass and who doesn't." Matthew 7:1-5 (also Luke 6: 41-42)
Also, I has a website: www.RedbeardThePink.com