What IS good, and how do we determine it?

[Randy Carson]

Before I wrap it up here, I also want to once again point out that the most important thing to remember are a couple of Jesus' greatest commandments: Love your neighbor as yourself, and love your enemy. Does it really make sense that a person who tells us to love everyone like ourselves, including our worst enemies, would condone treating people like property?

Excellent point, CL. They cannot see the forest for the trees.

I, too, went to the site rob linked to, and I read a good portion of it. I had the same reaction you had...both that site and rob have missed the point completely. No surprise there. This forum is populated largely by folks who either got little to no Christian education when they were growing up (like rob, for example) or have spent years in churches with really incomplete (and erroneous) theology.

Notice the following taken from evilbible.com:

The following passage describes how the Hebrew slaves are to be treated.

   If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years.  Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.  If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterward, only he will go free in the seventh year.  But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him.  If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.  But the slave may plainly declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children.  I would rather not go free.'  If he does this, his master must present him before God.  Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl.  After that, the slave will belong to his master forever.  (Exodus 21:2-6 NLT)

rob seems to have missed the part where slavery was limited to six years. Not exactly the kind of slavery we had in this country, was it? And the primary purpose of such slavery was to pay off debt. IOW, it was a means by which those who were poor could SURVIVE.

evilbible goes on to make much of the fact that the male slave might become a slave for life, but this was AT HIS OWN CHOOSING. Again, not what the movie "Twelve Years a Slave" portrayed of slavery in the US, is it?

If the Catholic Church's position on slavery past and present are of REAL interest to rob, he can Google till his heart is content. The truth is out there.

CL, do you see how this Whack-a-Mole game is played? First, the gang took issue with pedophile priests. Then, after I offered some agreement but also defense of the more hypocritical outrage, the Magdalen Laundries became the topic du jour. I countered that. Next, we're here dealing with slavery and the "God is an immoral monster" theme. Tomorrow....

Well, you get the idea. That's job security for us apologists, I guess. So much ignorance, so little time.