Does the Bible Condone Slavery?

Now, Contending for the Faith. In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here’s this week’s question: “Dear Dave and Tom, Here are a couple of questions for you: I recently heard an author on TV say that a major reason that it took so long for this country to get rid of slavery was because most of the slave owners were Christian and the Bible condones slavery.

“On another note, but in a similar vein, the Bible seems to condone supporting oppressive governments. At the very least, it’s hard to get away from the idea that the Bible contributes to humanity’s enslavement of its fellow man. What do you say about this?”

Dave: Pretty tough question, and of course, you’ve had a little time to think about it. I’m caught here without any preparation.

Tom: Well, Dave, we can go right to the Bible, but in my understanding of history—now I didn’t have a chance to get into to this in any depth, but I do know this: When it comes to the removal of slavery—you know, I think about Wilberforce in England, and in this country, I can’t remember the man’s name, but I think he may have had a Quaker background, at least a biblical background, to some degree—and these were the forces behind, really, removing slavery in this country. So, what can we say? They were using the Bible, but this questioner says many were defending slavery on the basis of the Bible.

But in any case, you know, as I’ve been through the Bible, in no way does it condone slavery.

Dave: The Bible certainly would not lead you into slavery. The Scripture says, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: The Bible does recognize that there were slaves.

Tom: Right.

Dave: And it does not tell the slaves to have an uprising—rebel—and it tells the slave owner, or the master…and, you know, there are shades and varieties of this. A Christian who was the master of a slave would treat them as his equals in Christ—brothers and sisters in Christ. Now he is maintaining their life. He is responsible for their salary, or their wellbeing, for their clothing, and so forth. Everything comes from him, actually. And in those days, what was the alternative? You didn’t start a democracy in the Roman Empire. But the Bible does say that the master is supposed to love and treat those under him as believers in Christ, if they are.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: And he is to treat them with kindness and with compassion. He’s not to lord it over them. He’s not to mistreat them, okay? Then it also tells slaves—and that would go for employees today, you know—what you are doing now is you are serving God. Act in loyalty, in conscientious behavior; give your master on the job—that would go for today—a good day’s work and so forth. So, the Bible talks about both sides. But as you said, the Bible does not condone slavery. It does not say this is the way it ought to be, and, in fact, if anyone would follow the Scriptures, it would lead to a deliverance of slaves. It would be the end of slavery. And you pointed to some instances where that was the result. In fact, it was the Bible that brought about deliverance from slavery.

Tom: Mm-hmm. But, Dave, what about oppressive governments? You know, I find it interesting that the Apostle Paul in Romans 13—he is talking about submitting to governments. And the thing I find interesting about that is who was the government? In other words, who was the Caesar at the time? It was Nero—the most oppressive, you know, of all the Caesars, and certainly with regard to Christianity, he persecuted Christianity left and right.

Dave: Mm-hmm.

Tom: Yet, Paul writes this under—not in his own flesh but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Dave: Right. Of course, what Paul does say in chapter 13 is that the government is supposed to be the administer of God’s justice. And they weren’t.

It’s very interesting, Tom, because there are some segments of the church which are very much involved in political/social action. As sympathetic as I am toward that, I don’t find that in the Bible.

For instance, Jesus had every opportunity—as you mentioned Paul. But let’s go back to Jesus. He had every opportunity. Should we pay our taxes? We have Christians today who won’t pay their taxes because some of that money is used for improper purposes. Well, it certainly was in the days of Rome. Jesus said, “You render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Now, He made a clear distinction between church and state.

Islam, of course, unites them. It is a religious government. But Jesus—when they talked about Herod, he didn’t make an uprising against Herod. I do not find anything in the Gospels that would indicate that Jesus organized a protest against the corrupt government of Herod or of Rome, or that Paul organized the early Christians to do that. Now, that’s something for us to think about, because our job as Christians is to preach the gospel. And if I was a slave in a slave society, or if I was a slave owner in a slave society—we must do unto others, as you would have them do unto you…

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: …as the Scripture says. So, it’s something to think very carefully about, before we start a revolution.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: And the Bible talks about obedience to masters—giving them a full day’s work and so forth. And that’s something for Christian employees and employers to think about today.

Tom: Dave, the last thing…you know, as I read these verses—and I’m like anybody else: there are things that sort of upset my flesh…and I say “my flesh”—my carnal way of thinking—but I have to look at this, and I try to look at this…and as I grow in the Lord, I try to look at it from God’s viewpoint. That takes some doing. That takes some growth and maturity and so on. But that’s what we really started talking about in the first segment. This is His Word. We have to conform ourselves to see things His way, not the way of the flesh.

Dave: This is a huge subject. I am sure we will get criticism from both sides. We didn’t cover it all...

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: …but, we could go back and point out that the freeing of the slaves is what God did when the Israelites were the slaves in Egypt. And I think that principle carries all the way through. But it’s how it is done, and in obedience to Him, not in our own way.