Theistic morality

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Sure...but in what sense. Certainly in the sense that it was tolerated. Not necessarily in the sense that it is accepted as a good thing.

Sorry to but in,but that is a bare faced lie or willful ignorance..

Christians not only acceped and condoned slavery but argued it was the will of God for centuries.By definition,the will of God cannot be anything but good.


Most recently it was in the Southern USA. Slave owners argued slavery was the will of God right up to the civil war. One of the more common justifications was an appeal to Genesis and "the children of Ham".

Genesis 9:25-27: "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japeth live in the tents of Shem and may Canaan be his slave'.

Slavery was simply a fact of life in Biblical times and not considered a social evil, but social necessity.IE a a good thing. All sacred books reflect the cultures of those who write them.


It's ironic because early Christianity appealed especially to the weakest and most marginalised people: women and slaves.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Googling "Biblical justification for slavery" got 216000 hits. I've only posted three examples.

The term Hamitic originally referred to the peoples believed to have been descended from the biblical Ham, one of the Sons of Noah. When Ham dishonors his father, Noah pronounces a curse on him, stating that the descendents of his son Canaan will be "servants of servants". Of Ham's four sons, Canaan fathered the Canaanites, while Mizraim fathered the Egyptians, Cush the Cushites and Phut the Libyans.[1]

During the Middle Ages, this was interpreted to define Ham as the ancestor of all Africans. The curse was regularly interpreted as having created visible racial characteristics in Ham's offspring, notably black skin. According to Bernard Lewis, the sixth-century Babylonian Talmud states that "the descendants of Ham are cursed by being Black and are sinful with a degenerate progeny."[2] Both Arab and later European and American slave traders used this story to justify African slavery.[3][4]

In fact, the Bible restricts the curse to the offspring of Ham's son Canaan, who occupied the Levant, not to his other sons who are supposed to have populated Africa. According to Edith Sanders, this restriction was increasingly emphasised by 19th century theologians, who rejected the curse as a justification for slavery.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamitic#Curse_of_Ham




[/quote]Slavery in different forms existed within Christianity for over 18 centuries.[citation needed] In the early years of Christianity, slavery was a normal feature of the economy and society in the Roman Empire, and this remained well into the Middle Ages and beyond.[1] Most Christian figures in that early period, such as Augustine of Hippo, supported continuing slavery whereas several figures such as Saint Patrick were opposed. Centuries later, as the abolition movement took shape across the globe, groups who advocated slavery's abolition worked to harness Christian teachings in support of their positions, using both the 'spirit of Christianity', biblical verses against slavery, and textual argumentation.[2]

The issue of Christianity and slavery is one that has seen intense conflict.[dubious – discuss] While Christian abolitionists were a principal force in the abolition of slavery, the Bible sanctioned the use of regulated slavery in the Old Testament and whether or not the New Testament condemned or sanctioned slavery has been strongly disputed. [citation needed] Passages in the Bible have historically been used by both pro-slavery advocates and slavery abolitionists to support their respective views.

Although slavery is now universally condemned as a crime against humanity, it was customary in antiquity, and taken for granted as part of the economy and society of the time.[3] The Bible does not regard it as an abomination, and regulates its practice,[4] and occasionally compels the enslavement of others.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_slavery

The Bible clearly approves of slavery in many passages, and it goes so far as to tell how to obtain slaves, how hard you can beat them, and when you can have sex with the female slaves.



Many Jews and Christians will try to ignore the moral problems of slavery by saying that these slaves were actually servants or indentured servants. Many translations of the Bible use the word "servant", "bondservant", or "manservant" instead of "slave" to make the Bible seem less immoral than it really is. While many slaves may have worked as household servants, that doesn't mean that they were not slaves who were bought, sold, and treated worse than livestock.



The following passage shows that slaves are clearly property to be bought and sold like livestock.



However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)

http://www.evilbible.com/Slavery.htm