Christianity - Does it Sanction Slavery?

Christianity Sanctioning Slavery

Now consider the question of Christianity sanctioning slavery.  Such arguments that postulate such as being so take a slanted if not critical view of Christianity and of the Church.  Such a view is found in the source referenced at the end of this posting and prompts this discussion.  One would not be surprised that the writer chooses a few Scriptures from across several hundreds of years and from two cultures in his attempt at making his point. 

While it is true that no one can legitimately argue that slavery was unknown to those of Judeo-Christian faiths, there is much more to be considered in the discussion.  For example, one must exercise some caution in viewing the cultures of the Old Testament and of the Greco-Roman period with 21^st Century eyes, attitudes, and assumptions.

Aristotle and Slavery

Not unimportant to the discussion is this.  Often those who reject Christianity or at least seek to disparage same will hearken back to the Greek Philosophers such as Aristotle.   

It is interesting that he endorsed slavery believing that some are born to be slaves and some born to be freemen.  He called those born to be slaves as “living tools.”  Thus they were little more than chattel to those who thought similarly.

 He was not alone for Plato and Homer thought similarly.  I wonder why the critic of Christianity does not seek to invalidate the thinking of the Greek Philosophs based upon the same criterion?

Christianity Ended Slavery

While the antagonist points to Christianity and in doing so seeks to decry its relationship with the slave trade, at least it was those of Christian persuasion who actively worked to end slavery.  To be sure they were opposed by others who named themselves as Christians.  Certainly such is one of the failing of 19^th Century Christianity.

It should be noted that slavery existed long before Christianity came upon the scene of history.  Not only did it predate Christianity, it also predated the inception of Judaism.  In fact slavery was such a common practice in the cultures in which Judaism and Christianity were located, that it found few if any critics outside Israel and the Church. 

Truth be told it was those of Quaker belief and conservative Christians who took to heart and then to action the notion of equal treatment of all which is found in the Scriptures but conveniently ignored by those who make such claims against Christianity.  It was slavery as in other matters, when the pulpits of America and of other western countries thundered with messages that decried the evils thereof that things began to change. 

Such was not without precedents throughout history.  For example, one of the Apostle Paul’s personal letters, Philemon, was written for the purposes of the restoring of a relationship between two fellow Christians one a slave the other a master.

The Influence of Judeo-Christian Ethics on Government

As well it should be noted that it is nations whose governmental ideals were built upon Judeo-Christian ethics that ended slavery.  Such cannot be said for other government systems.  An example is found in and among several Muslim countries where at his writing there is an active slave trade.  Curiously the secular atheists make no criticism of those so involved.  It must be that they are too busy criticizing those who were instrumental in the abolition of such.

Current Slave Trade

Such selective focus and the lumping of all Christians into one monolithic “glump” is neither fair to the discussion nor is it logical.  It is tantamount to saying that because some doctors are inept all doctors are inept.  No one would accept the logic of that argument, so too those who lump all Christians together and then heap blame upon them for some misdeed or another are not logical.

However, there is a greater problem and that is the degree to which the secularist ignores the current slave trade.  It is well and good that one point out the failings and evils of the Church in the past but would it not be more profitable for such efforts to be expended in seeking the end to slave trade today?  

Whether it be the slave ships, fishing off of the coasts of Africa, the Christians being sold into slavery by Muslims, or those held in bondage for sex trade purposes, slavery does exist today.  Does this deplorable situation not deserve attention by those who level such accusations against the historical church?  Once again we might well have an example of one's biases blinding such a person to present realities.

The Secularist’s Mixed Message

A certain disconnect exists among those who criticize the Church for not acting earlier.  On one side there is the notion that it is wrong to interfere with the culture in which said Church is located.  The modern manifestation of that is in the separation of church and government movement.

On the other hand, those same voices are critical of the Church for not taking a more militant stand against slavery in the Greco-Roman period.  The reality is that slavery in that culture was far different than it is today.  For example, one reads about the treatment of slaves in the Old Testament and it is clear that such treatment is to be within certain limits.

Background

To see the list of subjects to be discussed in this series see my blog (Christianity – Is it a Faith Driven by Fear? http://alviesthots.blogspot.com/2012/11/christianity-is-it-faith-driven-by-fear.html).  Contained within that blog is a reference, 20 Reasons to Abandon Christianity and in that reference is a list which is the springboard from which this subject has been discussed.

The Most Heinous Slavery Ever Known To Man

The most heinous slavery ever known to man is not the human trafficking of young girls, the enslavement of Christians by Muslims, the enslavement of Africans by Westerners, the enslavement of American Indians by those of other tribes, or any of a number of other periods when one peoples enslaved another people.  Read on and you will find out the enslavement that underlies all others and thus is the most heinous unknown to most men.

Perhaps you have notice that people will sacrifice much in order to achieve freedom and stability.  It may be in some kind of transaction, it might be in relationships, it could be in some emotional issue, it might be in a health issue, it could be in any of a number of other venues in life that people seek freedom and stability.  Some have even referred to it as closure.  This is such an important issue that many will even suffer the loss of materials goods, physical capability, position, etc. in order to find the peace of freedom and stability.

The reason may well be found in the word tension.  In fluid and changing situations there is a loss of control and an attendant loss of freedom and stability.  That need for stability creates a certain tension and often that tension is found to be difficult if not intolerable.   Of course knowing that to be so, there are those who for some pathological reason or another, go about seeking to disrupt and control others by creating and fostering tensions in the various relationships venues of their lives.

Yet there can be a solution to the instability and tension and it is all found in two questions or conditions.  First is the question of the trustworthiness of the person with whom one is in relationship.  The second is in the type of relationship one has with that person.  Of course the most trustworthy relationship is a genuine relationship and such a relationship can be no more genuine than when it is with Jesus Christ as Lord.  Be aware that there are a number of facsimiles but only one genuine.

Then assuming it is a genuine relationship, the question then is what is the quality of that relationship?  For it to work properly, the relationship must be one of implicit trust. 

The epitome of a trust relationship is to give another complete control of one’s life, material goods, relationships, and even the internal faculties, to include beliefs, attitudes, and thought processes. 

 The only place that such a relationship can be found to be completely and totally trustworthy is in one’s relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is as the one who comes to Him humbles himself, surrenders to Him as Lord.  The actual word is for Lord in the Scriptures means master or one who has supreme or ultimate authority.  Now to name Jesus Christ as Master means to acknowledge Him as an owner and, well you guessed it that makes the genuine, real deal, follower of Jesus that which He owns.  Said another way the follower becomes His slave—the slave that He bought with the sacrifice of His own life.  Thus we have the reason for His sacrificial death on the Cross.

Is this a mystery or what?  Just to think that Jesus, who is described as God living among us in our humanity, gave His life in order to buy us back from our own enslavement to sinfulness and evil.  Such is beyond our comprehension.  Some would argue what me enslaved?  Yes, for our measure is against a culture that is enslaved and thus it is normal and therefore other than the condition is unknown to us.

So here is the genuine pathway through instability and tension.  It comes when we do not own ourselves but are owned by the benevolent Master—the one who cared so very much for each of us  with a genuine love--a selfless love that He left His place of royalty and came to earth, became a man, lived among people like us, and then gave His life to pay for our sins and failures.  In doing that He redeemed (bought back from slavery to sin) each who would name Him as Slave Master and commit to be His slave.

So what is the most heinous slavery?  It is the slavery that underlies all that is evil, all that we see that is wrong with culture, religion, relationships, etc.  This enslavement to sinfulness is indeed unknown to most for man is so surrounded by sinfulness that it is the norm, not the exception.  It is the slavery that enslaves those who have not found the freedom that is available to the one who has become a slave of Jesus Christ.

Go Ahead Disparage Christianity and the Church but first...

Go Ahead Disparage Christianity and the Church but first would you mind listing for me what organization or movement has accomplished...the freeing of slaves?  Even today there are people who at the threat of their own personal safety are doing what they can to stop human trafficking.

Maybe you know of and can list organizations or movements that have elevated women.  How many Muslim countries have women heads of state, in fact how many non-Christian countries have women heads of state?  One maybe two from time to time, but not many!  Or here is one, how many places other than in countries with Christian histories do we find women leading major corporations?

Oh, do not forget about the elevating of women in the family and in the society.  Does any other major religion require of the adhering husband to love and honor their wives?  Can you think of one?  How about Islam, does it demand of its children that they honor and obey their parents--no, no, no, not just young girls, no you male children that includes you obeying the mother.  Any takers on that one?

Where did the notion of hospice houses that led to hospitals and hostiles originate.  It was the tradition of Christians to take the aged, in-firmed, sick, mentally disturbed, other outcasts of society (including female babies who were left to die of the elements), and wayfaring travelers into their own homes and treat them and care for them as if they were family.  This care they provided even to pagans who opposed the Christian faith!  Then in 325 AD at the Council of Nicea the Pope required that every city that had a Cathedral also have a hospice for the reasons already listed.

How about education?  It was Christians who though persecuted for doing so educated the factory children of largely pagan Europe.  Oh and where did the Great Enlightenment (an oxymoron to be sure) begin?  On the foundations of those educated in Cathedral Schools and Universities which were originated to train men for Christian service.  World wide compare the number of people educated because of Christianity with the number educated by or for any other religion.  It is not uncommon to find people today who can recite the Qur'an but not read it.  It is not common today to find that to be so with the Bible.

Oh and then there are those who say such outlandish, even slanderous things such as, more people have died because of faith in general and Christianity in particular than for any other reason (they conveniently look past the USSR, China, and other communist countries that have slaughtered millions of people).  Or here is another, Northern Ireland Christians and Catholics.  How many died?  Now compare that to the number who died because Muslims cannot get along with their brother Muslims.

Go ahead tout the superiority of Buddhism, Shinto, Taoism, Hinduism, and the currently sacred, do not disparage Muslim religion. Go ahead and believe that all roads lead to god--they do but problem is it is not the god you think nor the God who is!  Go ahead and look past that last 2,000 years of Christian history and what responsible Christians and responsible groups of Christians have accomplished for one reason alone.  Certainly do not consider that many hundreds of thousands if not millions have left home and security and have gone and in going suffered greatly at the hands of these other faith groups and other godless people.  Don't forget to disparage those who packed all of their worldly goods in their casket and then sailed for foreign lands knowing that they would never to return to their homeland and even be buried on foreign shores.  Call them misguided since they went not because they were trying to earn their way into paradise--eternal bliss or believed in some kind of Karma experience.  No, not at all, not in a million years! They did not do these things because they feared the wrathful vengeance of a vengeful God (sorry Muslims).  They did these things because they wanted to obey the Holy Scriptures and in doing so please only one person--their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.  Problem is that if you are not in the same relationship with Him you will never understand them nor will you understand Him.

Even many of those who went on the Crusades, though mistaken in what they did, did so for no other reason than to seek to please their Lord, Jesus Christ.  So while you are busy being critical of Christianity and its adherents, seeking to dig up dirt on them, just remember that you would not be enjoying the blessings you do if it was not for them and the sacrifices they made to lay the groundwork that they did.

You remember that the next time you have a sick kid in the ER, or you help in your child's classroom, or you stop at a hotel in your travels, or you give blood at the Red Cross, or someone you know benefits from going to AA, or...