ABC:Luke 12

Verse 47: Is Slavery Okay? (FFRF)

Dan Barker of FFRF claims there is a contradiction here and makes the following comments (italicized):

“ Should We Own Slaves?

Leviticus 25:45-46 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

Genesis 9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Exodus 21:2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

Joel 3:8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Luke 12:47-48 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

vs.

Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to lose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Matthew 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Pro-slavery bible verses were cited by many churches in the South during the Civil War and were used by some theologians in the Dutch Reformed Church to justify apartheid in South Africa. There are more pro-slavery verses than cited here. ”

See Slavery. The Old Testament Law required that those who enslaved and sold others were to be put to death. (Exodus 21:16) The Bible also commanded that escaped slaves be sheltered from their masters. (Deuteronomy 23:15-16) Slaves injured in the most minor ways, such as loss of a tooth, were to be freed. (Exodus 21:26-27) In the case of Leviticus 25:46-47, this was part of a system to free slaves from the Middle East, because slaves purchased from other nations were freed along with all they owned twice each century, at regular 50-year-intervals known as Jubilees. (Leviticus 25:8-10)

As such, ancient Israel was unique among the ancient world in designing a system that made it profitable for Israelites to perpetually purchase and then free slaves, so that slaves would constantly be freed from the surrounding slave-capturing nations. Rather than perpetuating slavery like the nations around it, it served as a beacon of abolition in the ancient world, with a system designed to continually free slaves. Hebrew slaves could be purchased from other nations, but not enslaved, and after six years would go out free, per (Exodus 21:2). Furthermore, they were not to be treated as slaves but employees. (Leviticus 25:39-43) They could be freed every seven years, and be released from all debts along with their families and belongings at the 50-year Jubilees. If reading Exodus 21:7 in context it is apparent that betrothal, not slavery is being referred to. Verses 8 and 9 specifically mention betrothal. Indeed, the passage describes protection for betrothed wives, to ensure they could not be exchanged to others, had to be treated as daughters, and would be allowed to leave if not treated honorably. (vv. 8-11)

Israel disobeyed God by sacrificing their own children alive to idols (see Destruction of the Canaanites) and oppressing the poor including orphans, widows, and immigrants by stealing their homes and impoverishing them. (Ezekiel 22:7, Malachi 3:5, Isaiah 3:14) As such, God punished the wicked nation by sending them into captivity in Babylon and other nations. (Joel 3:8) In spite of this, He delivered Israel each time. It was because Israel was persecuting the poor and children, rather than letting the oppressed go free and break every yoke as commanded in Isaiah 58:6, that God subjected Israel to captivity. God had warned Israel that if they oppressed widows and orphans, He would destroy them and make their own wives widows and their children orphans. (Exodus 22:23-24)

Since the New Testament, opposition to slavery has been motivated by the Bible's teachings in Philemon and elsewhere, that Christians should treat one another as a family; and slaves should be freed. In the early United States, Quakers from William Penn's Province of Pennsylvania were the primary force opposing slavery. Roger Williams' Colony of Rhode Island, run by the Baptists, established the first anti-slavery organization in the U.S. The radically Christian Quakers would prove the primary opponents of slavery throughout early America, figuring prominently in William Penn's Province of Pennsylvania, along with Roger Williams' Rhode Islanders. Christian churches played a prominent role in the Underground Railroad, just as they would do so a century later during the 1950s-60s civil rights movement. The Quakers were the earliest to assist escaped slaves in gaining freedom, with George Washington complaining they had attempted to liberate one of his slaves, but numerous other denominations were involved in the Underground Railroad as well. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Christian beliefs led her to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was a primary source of anti-slavery sentiment leading up to the Civil War.

Verse 51

TheThinkingAtheist.com claims the Bible is wrong about the following passage, and makes the following comments:

“ Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Part of the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Honor your parents.

Matthew 15:4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

Curse your parents and be executed.

Matthew 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

What, exactly, happened to "Honor your father and mother?"

Luke 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Division, parent against child.

”

Notice that Jesus nowhere contradicts the commandment to honor one's parents, He simply prophesies that because of Christianity division of families will occur where the families of Christians persecute them. In other words, this has nothing to do with a commandment, but rather Jesus prophesying that Christians would be put to death for their belief in Him. Had TheThinkingAtheist.com observed the passage's context, they would have noticed this, e.g. the verses immediately preceding Matthew 10:35-37:

“ Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ”

When read in context with proper reading comprehension it is very obvious Jesus was never saying one shouldn't honor their parents, but warning His disciples they would be put to death for believing in Him, see especially Matthew 10:22 which sums it up, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Jesus told His disciples to flee into other cities if persecuted (v. 23), told them "the disciple is not above his master" and if they hated Jesus they'll hate His followers also (vv. 24-25), that Christians should not fear those who can kill the body but not the soul (v. 28), that God watches over even the number of hairs on our heads (vv.30-31), and that those who deny Jesus under such persecution He will deny, and those who confess Him He will confess. (vv. 32-33)

The entire chapter, read in context, shows the subject was persecution Christians would endure, even from their own families, and certainly not a commandment to disobey one's parents and one of the 10 commandments. Jesus elsewhere reaffirmed that children should honor their parents, see also Matthew 19:19; Mark 7:10, and 10:19.

“ Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

Luke 18:19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

John 8:49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.

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