The Bible Advocates Slavery

Since this is my final round, I will provide a condensed argument for the NT, and then answer my opponent's questions. . http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com... The meaning of the word ‘ebed' is debatable, since it denotes persons in subordinate positions as well as actual slaves occupied in production. Therefore, it should be translated as either slave or servant, similar to ‘doulos' in the NT. All of the verses I have mentioned in the previous round still stand. The New Testament: 1. The New Testament and slavery are incompatible, due to Jesus purchasing everyone with his death on the cross. "Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men" 1 Cor 7:23 2. Jesus commands equality (Matt 7:12; 22:39) 3. All of the NT and OT laws are now two commandments: love God with all your soul, and love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt 22:37-40; Romans 13:8) 4. The NT could not oppose slavery, because it was rampant during that time period, and if it were to, it would incite millions of slaves to come against their masters (similar to the Spartacus incident), which would lead to much bloodshed. Instead, the NT teaches that change is to take place from the inside out. 5. Jesus came to offer freedom through submission to him as Lord. (Col 3:22-24; 1 Tim 6:1-12) I did not say ‘just' designed, I said designed. It was, in fact, originally designed to serve the poor. "One verse to rule them all" Lev 25:35-43 is not one verse. Let me expound upon it for you. Lev 25:35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 adds up to 9 verses, not one. "Most were limited to 6 years in length" I agree with your point. Therefore I change ‘most' to ‘some'. Concerning Lev 25:43,46 and Deut 15:13,18, Hebrews were also considered as ‘slaves,' so the point you are trying to prove is moot. You "utterly fail" to understand this simple fact. Since some Hebrews were considered as ‘slaves,' I can say that at least some slaves were not given harsh treatment. Exodus 21:20 proves my point that there were boundaries around the punishment of slaves. Answer this question; could slave masters in America be punished for killing a slave? No, they were considered as property and it did not matter how they treated them. This is one of many points in which I show that the OT institution was indentured servitude and not slavery. Even if I were to include the next verse, it would still prove the point that masters were given boundaries about how they could treat their slaves. "What does Lev 25:23 have anything to do with servants being part of god? " The Lord was speaking to Moses (v.1) and told him that the "land is mine" (v.23). Again, some Hebrews were also in the category of ‘slaves,' therefore, according to Lev 25:42, they are God's ‘servants': "For they are my servants. " The second part of it says that they should not be sold into slavery involuntarily. Concerning Lev 25:39 and the other verses you mention, you are still proving that some were considered as ‘slaves,' are you not? "Slaves could have own property" 2 Samuel 19:17; Ziba, a servant of Saul's family, owned 20 servants. Also, I point to Hebrew ‘slaves' and how they were given liberal gifts by their masters (prev round). "could prosper and buy own freedom" From source from previous round: "The first case is that of war captives in Deut 20. The scenario painted in this chapter is a theoretical one that apparently never materialized in ancient Israel. It concerns war by Israel against nations NOT within the promised land. Since Israel was not allowed by God to seek land outside its borders (cf. Deut 2.1-23), such a military campaign could only be made against a foreign power that had attacked Israel in her own territory. By the time these events occurred (e. g. Assyria), Israel's power had been so dissipated through covenant disloyalty that military moves of these sort would have been unthinkable. " "maintained any family/property they had before entering into servitude arrangement. " Lev 25:39-41. "And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him," Concerning 2 Samuel, source? . http://www.stempublishing.com... Ziba- Originally a servant or slave of the house of Saul. Anchor Bible Dictionary, David Noel Freedman (main ed. ), DoubleDay:1992 "Thus, according to 2 Samuel (19:17), Ziba, a slave of Saul's family," We have conflicting sources, so I guess I will remove it from my argument then if you can prove your source exists. 1a. The Ten Commandments were specifically directed toward the OT. I think people who follow Judaism follow them as well, but I am unsure. The Old Testament was given only to the children of Israel. The laws were written for our learning (Romans 15:4). We recognize it now through the Holy Spirit and by faith in Jesus. 1b. see above arguments 1c. Deut 10:19: "Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. " The verse is not referring to when the Israelites were guests in Egypt, but when they were slaves. 1d. the term sojourner has many meanings, what about ger toshav? 1e. still indentured servitude 2a. okay fair enough 2b. what question? The one at the end? They were property of and wholly subject to their masters, so yes. This is a stark contrast though from the OT. Now answer my 2 statements from rd. 3. 3d. stealing someone means taking them against their own will, does it not? 3e. I quoted a verse from Philemon in rd 2 at the end and asked you a question from it, you answered with "The same way that Jesus told THE slave to work even harder for his master" in rd 2. THE slave. Jesus never appears in Philemon. You are wrong. Why are you trying to deny it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Old Testament describes indentured servitude and not slavery, and the New Testament does not advocate, or speak in favor of, slavery, but promotes equality and hope. While the Bible may address slavery, it does not advocate it. My opponent has to prove without any reasonable doubt that the Bible advocates slavery, and I have shown ample evidence to prove that there is reasonable doubt. Resolution Negated.