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[-] BrotherL0v3@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Thanks for the comment. If I may quibble:

and at the time they had many slaves[...]

If memory serves, the Mosaic laws are said to be delivered to the Jews 90 days into their wandering in the desert after crossing the Red Sea. Which means that the people who received these rules about slavery were all recently freed former slaves. Unless they immediately started re-enslaving each other while wandering the desert with manna raining from heaven and water springing up from the rocks, I would think that none of them owned slaves.

[...]something that they wouldn't be willing to change. Instead of this, God commands how to treat these slaves.

That line of reasoning has never sat right with me.

God doesn't want people to kill. He knows people will do it anyway. He doesn't say "Make it quick and painless when you kill someone." He says "Thou shalt not kill."

God doesn't want people to steal. He knows people will do it anyway. He doesn't say "Only steal from people who are well off and can afford to lose some possessions." He says "Thou shalt not steal."

I cannot imagine the guy who tells people to cut some skin off the end of their penis has any problem with making big asks of people.

EDIT: Upon further reflection, I regret the way thus comment targets believers more than it does the problem in question. See: https://lemmy.world/comment/12608950

[-] Broken_Orange_Juice@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Thank you for the quibble. I'm not the most informed on all these topics, and still growing in my faith and knowledge. The reason why I'll always argue for God despite not having all the answers is because I've had a personal experience with him, and as such will always strive to find an answer the aligns with God's existence, the same God as that in the Bible.

[-] BrotherL0v3@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Sure! And to be clear, my goal is definitely not to just challenge your faith. The most devout Christian I know IRL is also one of my closest friends.

The reason I feel compelled to jump on biblical slavery apologetics is the impact I worry it can have on people's views and actions in the present day. Slavery still exists, and I fear that arguments defending the slavery that existed under Mosaic law are eerily applicable to modern day trafficking in persons. That it wasn't as bad as the trans-Atlantic slave trade, that it was just indentured servitude, or implicitly that slavery is less reprehensible than murder or theft or lying.

All this being said, I do think the tone of my initial comment and first reply to you was unduly harsh. It comes across more as making fun of Christians than anything else, and that's not cool. I apologize for that, and I'll edit those two linking to this comment to reflect that.

[-] Broken_Orange_Juice@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

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.

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this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
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