Few aspects reveal the profound depravity of mankind more than the institution of slavery. By treating people made in God's image as commodities to buy and sell, this barbaric system has persisted nearly from the start of human history, continuing its brutal exploitation and abuse to this day.
Slavery is a system of oppression. Slavery is inconsistent with the divine purpose for man at creation [Dominion], it is incompatible with the concept of man as the image and likeness of God [Genesis 1.26-28] and it conflicts with the position of the believer who is in Christ [1 Corinthians 7.23]. Therefore, slavery is not benign, in fact, it is the symbol of that institution from which man is set free by the new birth.
Galatians 4:3 [NASU]
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God
Slave theology has created a doctrine of slavery which contradicts that presented by Scripture. The purpose of this slave theology is to justify American slavery by:
➢ Justifying American slavery by falsely equating it with the regulated institution established in the Law of Moses.
➢ Using the argument from silence of the prophets, apostles, and Jesus, regarding the pagan practice of slavery in their day to prove that the institution was outside the scope of the gospel and Christian sanctification.
➢ In this way, the bible teachers and Christians justify the permanent separation of the oppressed from the continually compounding proceeds of their stolen labor, while commanding their silent acceptance of the continued exercise of oppression in its more advanced forms.
Slavery Is Oppression
Deuteronomy 23:15–16 (KJV 1900) 15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
Israel, the nation in which God resided, was apparently a nation of refuge for any escaped slave. In this passage, to return an escaped slave is equated with oppression. To fail to return a slave to his master was not considered a crime. Not only are the Jews commanded not to return him to his owner [if he were merely an employee, why would he need to escape?], but neither are the Jews permitted to oppress him by re-enslaving him or exploiting his vulnerability in other ways.
Slavery is oppression. The Jews were oppressed as slaves in Egypt. God delivered them from slavery without compensation to the Egyptians.[190] On the contrary, the Jews plundered the Egyptians on their way to freedom [Exodus 12.36]. God regulated the institution of slavery in Israel. In so doing, he removed the oppressive elements from it. Gentile slaves could be held as property, even intergenerationally [Leviticus 25.46], but they could not be obtained by kidnapping, or as stolen property.[ccii] Slaves could not be injured or raped without severe consequences.[191]
God regulated in the Law human systems which were harmful to mankind if left unregulated, such as polygamy [Exodus 21.10-11], divorce [actually regulated by Moses, Deuteronomy 24.1-2], and manslaughter [Numbers 35.22-29, 32]. God’s regulation of slavery within Israel was an alternative to worse alternatives that existed amongst the Gentiles. Slavery in the Bible as regulated by God for Jew or Gentile, kept the institution as a solution for the situations described above, while removing the sinful elements. God does not regulate sin, he prohibits it. It was an imperfect solution applied to sinful men, but it was not, in the form commanded by God a sin, or oppression. God did not create a situation where Jews were free to commit sin against Gentile slaves. On the other hand, the Gentile slave system that God replaced, was denominated by the abuses that the Law of Moses discouraged. An example of these abuses is readily found in American slavery, which was founded upon men stealing, the theft of labor, rape, and severe forms of violence.
Revival and Nationbuilding A Biblical Guide for Black Nationbuilding Richard G. Walker
Oppression and Slavery
Slavery is a system of oppression. Slavery is inconsistent with the divine purpose for man at creation [Dominion], it is incompatible with the concept of man as the image and likeness of God [Genesis 1.26-28] and it conflicts with the position of the believer who is in Christ [1 Corinthians 7.23]. Therefore, slavery is not benign, in fact, it is the symbol of that institution from which man is set free by the new birth.
Galatians 4:3 [NASU]
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God
Slave theology has created a doctrine of slavery which contradicts that presented by Scripture. The purpose of this slave theology is to justify American slavery by:
➢ Justifying American slavery by falsely equating it with the regulated institution established in the Law of Moses.
➢ Using the argument from silence of the prophets, apostles, and Jesus, regarding the pagan practice of slavery in their day to prove that the institution was outside the scope of the gospel and Christian sanctification.
➢ In this way, the bible teachers and Christians justify the permanent separation of the oppressed from the continually compounding proceeds of their stolen labor, while commanding their silent acceptance of the continued exercise of oppression in its more advanced forms.
Slavery Is Oppression
Deuteronomy 23:15–16 (KJV 1900) 15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
Israel, the nation in which God resided, was apparently a nation of refuge for any escaped slave. In this passage, to return an escaped slave is equated with oppression. To fail to return a slave to his master was not considered a crime. Not only are the Jews commanded not to return him to his owner [if he were merely an employee, why would he need to escape?], but neither are the Jews permitted to oppress him by re-enslaving him or exploiting his vulnerability in other ways.
Slavery is oppression. The Jews were oppressed as slaves in Egypt. God delivered them from slavery without compensation to the Egyptians.[190] On the contrary, the Jews plundered the Egyptians on their way to freedom [Exodus 12.36]. God regulated the institution of slavery in Israel. In so doing, he removed the oppressive elements from it. Gentile slaves could be held as property, even intergenerationally [Leviticus 25.46], but they could not be obtained by kidnapping, or as stolen property.[ccii] Slaves could not be injured or raped without severe consequences.[191]
God regulated in the Law human systems which were harmful to mankind if left unregulated, such as polygamy [Exodus 21.10-11], divorce [actually regulated by Moses, Deuteronomy 24.1-2], and manslaughter [Numbers 35.22-29, 32]. God’s regulation of slavery within Israel was an alternative to worse alternatives that existed amongst the Gentiles. Slavery in the Bible as regulated by God for Jew or Gentile, kept the institution as a solution for the situations described above, while removing the sinful elements. God does not regulate sin, he prohibits it. It was an imperfect solution applied to sinful men, but it was not, in the form commanded by God a sin, or oppression. God did not create a situation where Jews were free to commit sin against Gentile slaves. On the other hand, the Gentile slave system that God replaced, was denominated by the abuses that the Law of Moses discouraged. An example of these abuses is readily found in American slavery, which was founded upon men stealing, the theft of labor, rape, and severe forms of violence.
Revival and Nationbuilding A Biblical Guide for Black Nationbuilding Richard G. Walker