Why do you suppose Jesus never condemned slavery?

I don't intend to get into petty squabbling with you. Your comment about being close-minded suggests your moral-intellectual superiority. What a crock of sh*t. It's not me with that problem, it's you.

God, what a loon. You posted that I must be close-minded if I can understand you, but don't to play your stupid games. That is a suggestion of your moral and intellectual superiority.

Your next stupid insult, to the effect that everything is about inferiority and superiority to me was answered by me when I said it's not me with the problem, it's you, I have no interest in attention whores. Find another victim for your moronic games.

Ahhh...so you think it was because Jesus was not good at multi-tasking.

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Ahhh...so you think it was because Jesus was not good at multi-tasking.

No, I think we are the ones with that problem.
For the most part, we can’t even finish the first one.
So I guess your real complaint is that his priorities were wrong.
Take it up with him.

So you are saying that Jesus has so much to say and so...that he could not take the time to say, "Slavery sucks! Don't own slaves, don't buy slaves, don't sell slaves. EVER?"

1 Corinthians 7
Live Your Calling
…20Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. 21Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you, but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. 22For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.…

Matthew 19
The Rich Young Man
(Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30)

16Just then, a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”

17“Why do you ask Me about what is good?”e Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18“Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, 19honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’f ”

20“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”

21Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

22When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

23Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Ephesians 6:9
Slaves and Masters

5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would show to Christ. 6And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men,

…8because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 9And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

According to the Bible Jesus never said he needed a wee wee.

Are we to assume that during his short life he never went to the lavatory.

To quote Derek and Clive he was probably misreported, he never said said “Take up thy bed and walk,” to some poor sod who was perfectly happy being a cripple he said, “Where’s the ******* bog? I’m dying for a ****.”

...Why do you suppose Jesus didn't condemned slavery?...

Frank Apisa wrote:

So you are saying that Jesus has so much to say and so...that he could not take the time to say, "Slavery sucks! Don't own slaves, don't buy slaves, don't sell slaves. EVER?"

Jesus' economic positions were controversial and difficult to understand. Corinthians was written by St. Paul, but his position acknowledges the reality that it is not always possible to gain freedom, yet he notes there is spiritual freedom in Christ for slaves, as well as slavery to Christ/God/HolySpirit for free people:

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1 Corinthians 7
Live Your Calling
…20Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. 21Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you, but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. 22For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.…

And doesn't this next story imply giving up all slaves and other wealth and serving the poor?

Quote:

Matthew 19
The Rich Young Man
(Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30)

16Just then, a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”

17“Why do you ask Me about what is good?”e Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18“Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, 19honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’f ”

20“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”

21Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

22When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

23Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

There there is this quote from Ephesians where it says that masters should simply realize that they are equal to their slaves in God's eyes and thus realize that they are all servants of the Lord.

So the idea is that everyone, whether slave or free, should serve the Lord and so whatever economic cooperation may happen within the institution of slavery is only a temporary evil of this world where people are enslaved to materialism and debt in various ways.

In other words, let's say you are in debt and you have to work for wages that will never be sufficient to get you out of debt. In that case, you are not going to get free, but Jesus is saying that you should look at your work as service to God, e.g. if you work in food service, you are serving hungry people, for example. God honors the work you do taking care of His children, even if you are forced to do it due to debt that you can't escape. In other words, whatever work you do as a king, free person, or employee/slave; is what it is regardless of the status you hold in performing it.

Quote:

Ephesians 6:9
Slaves and Masters

5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would show to Christ. 6And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men,

…8because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 9And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

According to the Bible Jesus never said he needed a wee wee.

Are we to assume that during his short life he never went to the lavatory.

To quote Derek and Clive he was probably misreported, he never said said “Take up thy bed and walk,” to some poor sod who was perfectly happy being a cripple he said, “Where’s the ******* bog? I’m dying for a ****.”

That is all very interesting. But I have a question for you:

Why do you suppose Jesus never condemned slavery?

So you are saying that Jesus has so much to say and so...that he could not take the time to say, "Slavery sucks! Don't own slaves, don't buy slaves, don't sell slaves. EVER?"

You are saying he was not good at multi-talking with that response.

So...want to try again?

I was looking for an opportunity to quote Derek and Clive.

What we know about Jesus, if he existed, is based primarily on 3rd/4th hand accounts of what was said.

He could have said all sorts of things that weren’t reported.

Maybe it just never came up, what with all the other **** going on.

Frank Apisa wrote:

That is all very interesting. But I have a question for you:

Why do you suppose Jesus never condemned slavery?

Did you actually read everything I posted, or did you just ignore it as repeat your original question to disrespect me?

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and answer by saying that Jesus told the rich man to give up all his possessions and wealth and follow Him if he wanted to be perfect, but I believe He knew that the man would not be able to do that, so that is when He made the famous statement about it being harder for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.

Unless you produce every good and service you consume/use by yourself, you are relying on labor from other people to provide you with the lifestyle you are accustomed to. You may think that everything you own and have done for you is paid for with money, therefore you are not using any slave labor, but the reality is that wage labor is just a modern way of regulating labor obligations. People are somewhat more free to choose how and when they work now than in slave times of the past, but they are still obliged to work and often to submit to scheduling and contractual stipulations that are non-negotiable from the perspective of their employer and/or union boss.

So even today, Jesus would tell people that if they really wanted to be perfect, they should give up all their wealth and possessions and live like John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, i.e. free of slave labor; but the reality is that most of us work for others and consume the things and services others produce in jobs they work at because they can't afford not to; so there is the other perspective expressed in the book of Matthew, which is that we are slaves to God, whether we are free or employed; and so in whatever role we happen to be in we should regard our work in terms of service to God, i.e. try to serve God and do right by Him in whatever way(s) you can, given the position that you are in.

Now if you go back and actually read all the Bible quotes I posted above, you will see things like St. Paul's statement that if you can live free, it is good to do so, but for those who can't they should do the best they can in the situation they are in. So you ask well why can't every master set every slave free, and the answer to that goes back to Jesus telling the rich man to give up all his wealth and possessions, but because he couldn't do it, he is going to go on consuming the fruits of slave labor because how else could he remain rich?

So what you may be expecting is that Jesus should have proclaimed condemnation for people who wouldn't renounce all their wealth and live poor, like St. Francis, but Jesus doesn't condemn sin, He forgives it and redeems us with salvation through His sacrifice. So you just have to do the best you can to humble yourself economically and accept that you probably aren't going to become perfect, so just keep confessing and repenting and doing your best to live in a way that honors God/holiness in how you consume and how you work with other people, treating them as equals in Christ.

Does that answer your question?

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So you are saying that Jesus has so much to say and so...that he could not take the time to say, "Slavery sucks! Don't own slaves, don't buy slaves, don't sell slaves. EVER?"

You are saying he was not good at multi-talking with that response.

So...want to try again?

No, what I’m saying now is that you are a phony. You pretend to have studied and carefully considered the book while pretending not to know the obvious answers to your own questions.

Jesus' instruction on how to do everything his Father expected of us, fulfill all the law etc, were clear. He said all of that would be accomplished in following the 'two great commandments'. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten what they are even if you can’t remember what you had for dinner.

If that isn’t the ultimate multitasking example, I don’t know what is.

What convinces me is the projection.

You accuse all of avoiding the question while you avoid the answers.