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Slavery

Updated: Aug 14

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A common objection to Christianity and Judaism is that the Bible cannot be trusted because it appears to condone or endorse slavery. Those who take this position use verses from the Old and New Testament to support their claim. They use passages like Leviticus 25:44-46, (1) and the New Testament’s call to slaves to obey their masters (Eph. 6:5, Col 3:22, 1 Tim 6:1-2, 1 Pet 2:18) to support their position. However, a fair and accurate reading of the Bible does not lead to this conclusion.


It is important to note that slavery did not begin in the Bible. It has existed throughout history and, unfortunately, persists in modern forms today. (2) It has existed as far back as the Mayans and Aztec empires, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. It was, in fact, the norm. The Hebrews themselves were slaves in Egypt, and even when the New Testament was written, a large portion of the population were slaves. (3) In those societies, the slaveowner had absolute control over the slave, who had no rights. (4) It is in this context that the Bible’s passages about slavery are written and should be considered in understanding and applying the text of Scripture.


A discussion on the biblical position on slavery must, first and foremost, address the Biblical position that every human has equal value. In contrast to ancient cultures like Egypt and Assyria, which viewed only the king as an 'image' of God. (5) the Bible teaches that all humans, male and female, are created in God’s image (imago Dei). (6) This gives every human equal dignity and value and unites all of us in one race—the human race—through our common descent from Adam. (7)  Therefore, no matter a person’s status, everyone is equal and any practice, including slavery, which treats another human as a lesser being is in direct contradiction to the Word of God. Using that framework and other portions of Scripture, Christians advocated and finally achieved the abolition of the centuries old practice of slavery. 


The Old Testament neither explicitly permits nor prohibits slavery but regulates its practice. There are specific passages that regulate how a person becomes a slave. (8) The treatment of slaves was regulated, and all slaves were to be treated fairly, since they had the same value as their master since they were a creation of God. (9) God Himself treated slaves as equal in value. For example, God appeared to Hagar, Sarah’s slave, as He did to Abram, promising that her son Ishmael would become a great nation (Gen. 21:18).


The New Testament also affirms the value of the slave in asserting that there is no distinction between humans. We are told that “[t]here is neither Jew nor Greek, … neither slave nor free, … neither male nor female” because we “are all one in Christ Jesus." (10) Therefore, slaves are given equal value and standing in the Church, undermining any distinctions that may have existed in society. As a vivid example of this we see Paul’s concern for Onesimus, a runaway slave, in his letter to Philemon, Onesimus’ master. Paul tells Philemon to receive Onesimus “no longer as a slave, but…as a beloved brother” in the same manner as he would receive Paul, (11) who was a free man and apostle. 


Other teachings of the New Testament are also antithetical to slavery. Jesus commanded us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39, Mark 12:31) and “in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12; also, Luke 6:31). Since we would not choose slavery for ourselves, we should not accept it for others.


Some argue that the New Testament’s command that slaves should obey their masters is the same as support of slavery. However, the New Testament letters were written to educate Christians and therefore address (among other issues) the need for believers to be a good witness of Christ. (12) Therefore, when the New Testament tells slaves to obey their master, it is not to affirm slavery, but in every case the stated purpose is “in reverence for the Lord” “so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.”(13) This is no different than the instruction to submit to governing authorities, or for masters to treat their slaves fairly, “giving up threatening, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” (14) The objective is for Christians to represent Christ well in whatever circumstance they find themselves. 


Some argue that the Old Testament’s failure to explicitly forbid slavery implies its approval. However, the Bible regulates practices, such as divorce, that God disapproves of. For example, divorce is regulated in the Old Testament (Deut. 24:1-4), but the Bible also condemns divorce and says that God hates it (Malachi 2: 14-16). How then do we reconcile the two? Jesus directly addresses this question in Matthew 19:3-8, stating that divorce was permitted in the Old Testament because “of the hardness of your hearts, … but from the beginning it was not so.”  Correspondingly, it was God who created man and woman in His image, the one who gave every person equal worth, a value that is present throughout the Bible. God also hates oppression. (15) Therefore, even though he may have regulated slavery, the evidence points to His doing so not out of approval but more likely because of the hardness of men’s hearts. 


Ultimately, the Bible is not a book of rules, nor one that covers everything to which God objects. Rather, God revealed Himself in the Bible to make Himself known to us, to establish a covenant with us, and to tell the story of our redemption. The moral law is a reflection of those purposes and a guide to God’s character.  While the Bible does not address every issue God opposes, it reveals enough about His character and expectations for human treatment that Gregory of Nyssa, a Christian, became the first known advocate against slavery in the mid-300s A.D. (16) While it took many more centuries for society to accept the abolition of slavery, it was using this very Scripture that this abolition was championed and finally achieved by Christians. (17)


Notes:


  1. And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover, you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. You may bequeath them to your children as inherited property; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor. Leviticus 25:44-46, NKJV.

  2. Kate Hodal, “One in 200 people is a slave. Why?” The Guardian, 25 Feb 2019, www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/25/modern-slavery-trafficking-persons-one-in-200

  3. Ian Paul, “What was slavery like in the NT world?” Psephizo, 20 Sept 2019, www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/what-was-slavery-like-in-the-nt-world/

  4. Id.; Ian Paul, “What was slavery like in the NT world?” Psephizo, 20 Sept 2019, www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/what-was-slavery-like-in-the-nt-world/

  5. “The Image of God.” Thirdmill, https://thirdmill.org/seminary/lesson.asp/vid/220

  6. Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, 21

  7. Acts 17:26

  8. For example, Hebrews were allowed to sell themselves into slavery, which served as a relief from abject poverty. Hebrews were also allowed to obtain slaves from the surrounding nations. Kidnapping to enslave someone was punishable by death (Ex. 21:16, Deut. 24:7).  

  9. See, for example, Job 31:13-15: If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant, when they complained against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

  10. Gal. 3:28 NKJV. This is repeated in Col. 3:11: where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Col 3:11. NKJV.

  11. Philemon 1:17. NKJV.

  12. For example, 1 Pet 2:12: having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. NKJV.

  13. Col. 3:22, 1 Tim. 6:1. NKJV.

  14. Rom. 13:1: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God; Col. 4:1. NKJV.

  15. See, for example: Isaiah 1:17 (Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.); Jeremiah 22:3 (Administer justice... Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed.); Micah 6:8 (What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.); Proverbs 14:31 (Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.)

  16. Gregory of Nyssa, “In Ecclesiasten Homilae – The Start of Homily IV.” earlychurchtexts.com/public/gregoryofnyss_ecclesiastes_slavery.htm

  17. “How Christianity Ended Slavery.” Inspiring Philosophy, 6 June 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA0-21H1TtU



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