(February 8, 2014 at 12:16 pm)Sword of Christ Wrote: The abolitionists were Christians inspired by the teachings of Christ and genuine empathy for their fellow man, it was Christianity that helped to pave the away toward the abolition and other great social progress and human rights. These are all religiously inspired values and you share in them yourself as much as you like to deny their source.
Which teachings were those?
Was it Ephesians 6:5, where Jesus says "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ."
Or was it in 1 Timothy 6:1-2, "Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful."
The abolitionists were motivated by their natural empathy, not because of any Bible teachings.
The slave holders used the Bible to justify slavery.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
