mesquite wrote:Talkactive wrote:Here is what Wikipedia inform about slavery in the Scriptures, which was strictly regulated and merely a form of social ordinance/welfare, totally different from kidnapping of people for slavery and the cruel and evil way slaves have been treated, e.g. the Jews in former Egypt and black people in America.
Oh really, just a form of social welfare? I'll ask you the same question I asked neo's other buddy
here. Is your deception intentional or out of ignorance? For someone that quotes scripture as much as you two do I can only assume intentional.
Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way.
Please explain to me what you see that is different in that description from what was practiced in the early days of the US.
First of all I like to state that God is against every form of slavery and that is also my view, as I stated in a previously post, even religious slavery. Only because we have got our free will, with a possibility to choose between evil and good, an universal question, it was necessary to make regulations or laws, like we have laws today based at much from the Scriptures and it's quite interesting to notice what Solomon wrote about control over others in Eccleasiates 8:9.
8:9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
It has never been Gods intension and meaning that slavery should occur and maybe you can understand the principles in and when Jesus he said to the Jews, that it was only because of their stone hearts that God had admitted them to divorce from their spouses, which wasn't alloved from the beginning.
So there is a big difference between kidnapping persons to be sold for slavery, without any regulations as it was in e.g. Egypt and the former US, opposite those at the time of the Scriptures, with clear regulations as stated in the Scriptures, who have ended up in or put themself and their family in situations where they have to labour for others, (like mostly of us today have to do) to be able to pay back, take care of their families, to get a place to live and food to survive, instead of today get coupons or other forms of social welfare without any obligations.
Will you pls. describe and define how you look at and observe slavery, since there are many forms of slavery, e.g. you can be a slave of your own demands, gambling, sex, alcohol, drugs, stuffs and money or even at the company you work for, or people or cooperates who have lend you money.
In our part of the world, for some hundred years ago, if someone was unable to pay his/her depts, the court ruled that people has to go to prison and in this situation, they was definitely cut of from paying of their depts, take care of and pay the expenses for their families, opposite those mentioned in the Scriptures, which got a possibility to work and pay of their debts, a place to live and food and was free after a certain period.
What unfortunately is valid, are that there have always been humans who have treated other humans cruel and evil without compassion and love, thereforer we need laws and regulations, but the Scriptures promise that this will be brought to and end in the future, physical and religious slavery.
It is therefore interesting to se and have in mind what Isaiah wrote in chapter 65:20-25 and John in Revelation 21:4 opposite all the unjustness in the world.
65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
65:23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
This is what the Scriptures promise for the future and I believe that this hope is better than every promise political and religious leaders have been and are going to give and I'm not defending slavery in any form but in the meantime we have to deal with troublesome situations which we have put ourselves in or others have created which brings us in a certain situation or a form of slavery, even that we like to call ourselves free agents under responsibility.
