No objection to permit and regulate  Your very civil discussion evidences one that often grows very heated with  extremes being expressed Part of the problem is the concept of slavery which is often more evocative than analytical and what we mean by Bible and what we mean by support  As stated and as Lv  verse indicates the legislation concerning slaves coveys more of permission rather than a transcendent moral imperative such as Thou shalt have slaves The closest thing to the latter is in Dt  but it is not slavery there that is necessarily commanded but the subjection of surrendered cities in the context of their wars of conquest which were to be made tributaries states In the second case that of cities who fought and were defeated militarily the women and offspring became Israels but it is possible that the women became wives Dt  and i think her kids would then stay with her   In any case i think it is right to state that the OT sanctioned slavery that of its regulated forms as is stated here under the OT section And under the NT  physical slavery is never a requirement but Christian conduct is required for both slaves and owners in doing their work And which requirements i believe if read fully and in context including Pauls requirements for Philemon and his counsel to slaves to obtain freedom along with all that is required of Christians that it makes the abolition of slavery when other factors allow it more conducive to the expression of the Christian ethos of love than even tolerance of a greatly modified form of slavery So would the theocracies of Europe  Meanwhile the focus of the church was mainly not directly social reform of the world but over the issues of the heart which determined how ones conduct in the world was manifested nor was deliverance from ones station in life the primary but not exclusionary focus but ones attitude in it      As far as the reference to Lev  to support that anti abolitionist used numerous Biblical passages that permit and regulate the practice of slavery i think simply referring to the proved OT section in the article would do and or one or more of the works of such men On the other hand to say that all abolitionists could do was to refer to the spirit of Christianity  rather than to quote the Bible  is misleading   ACondensedAntislaveryBibleArgument httpdocsouthunceduchurchbournebournehtml and  God Against Slavery  by Rev George B Cheever DD httpmedicolegaltripodcomcheevergvshtm  main site has many abolitionists resources for just a couple may help in this