I find the point you mentioned about slavery being less reprehensible than murder or theft or lying quite interesting, since my understanding of the Bible is that all sin is weighed the same, being that the wages of sin is death. Not entirely sure how the slavery that existed under Mosaic law quite worked, but I don't think it could be justified in any way. Don't worry about your previous comments, I certainly didn't take them that way! Glad to have a respectful back and forth on a topic like this.