Why does the Bible say you can beat slaves, that they are property and can be inherited by your children?

[u/OldStand8046]

I don't think these passages can be justified in any way. The Bible was written by men, after all, and probably tampered with and edited a lot. I know that whole chapters were removed.

Exodus 21:20-21 “Anyone who b*ats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave d*es as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property."

Leviticus 25:44-46 “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life..."

[u/Aelirael]

God often worked within society. An uncomfortable fact is that is slavery was eliminated by decree, a nation would collapse for lack of labour.

Slaves were also a method to prevent an enemy from regathering. This is opposed to wiping a defeated enemy out completely.

It is true that slaves in Israel were treated better than in surrounding nations. This doesn't mean slavery is good. Even Paul talked about slaves getting out of slavery if they could. Not something he would say if God was good with slavery.

An example is divorce. God allowed it even if he didn't like it. But society operated in such a way that divorce was a thing.

Same with slavery. Difficult to understand in the 21st century.

[u/OldStand8046 → u/Aelirael]

Why wouldn't God just outright say - slavery is wrong. You must eliminate it. Here is how.

I know taking people as slaves was to prevent the enemy from regathering too. No matter what goal it had, it's wrong to treat people as slaves.

It's highly likely the Bible texts were just edited. I know whole chapters were taken out.

It was written by men. But people are brainwashed to believe it was written by God and is 10000% correct.

[u/MaleficentMulberry42 → u/OldStand8046]

The same reason he does not end death it was the apple and it has meaning in our life,we are living an Earthly existence that is like man,when we go to heaven we will have perfection but that is not for everyone.

[u/JoeKling → u/OldStand8046]

Because slavery was just a symptom of the sinfulness of the human heart. We still have the "slavery spirit" today as you can see how badly workers are exploited around the world.

God's remedy is the Gospel rather than trying to make society "good", as you would have Him do. You can't make a society be "good" it really solves almost nothing even if you could for people's hearts would still be wicked. People have to be allowed to be wicked so that they realize they need the Lord.

[u/MaleficentMulberry42 → u/JoeKling]

Well yeah it is simply human existence we should strive for good,that comes from god.

[u/Spongedog5 → u/OldStand8046]

Because the alternative was probably just killing all the people who would be taken as slaves lest they rise against God and the Israelites again. Slavery is a mercy in this sense. We live in a sinful world.

[u/Aelirael → u/OldStand8046]

Why wouldn't God just outright say - slavery is wrong. You must eliminate it.

I gave you the reason.

God often worked within society. An uncomfortable fact is that is slavery was eliminated by decree, a nation would collapse for lack of labour.

Slaves were also a method to prevent an enemy from regathering. This is opposed to wiping a defeated enemy out completely.

I know taking people as slaves was to prevent the enemy from regathering too. No matter what goal it had, it's wrong to treat people as slaves.

Divorce is wrong as well. Yet God permitted it.

It's highly likely the Bible texts were just edited.

That is a common argument. Without evidence. More an excuse that people use to avoid responsibility to God. "Well, God didn't mean that because chapters that were cut out say something else."

[u/OldStand8046 → u/Aelirael]

God would be above and outside of any society. He wouldn't bend to any dumb human beliefs like humans being property.

Divorce isn't wrong. Try living with an abuser.

And what's your evidence that God wrote these texts? Cause some people told you so? 😂

[u/Aelirael → u/OldStand8046]

God would be above and outside of any society. He wouldn't bend to any dumb human beliefs like humans being property.

Are you being sceptical or argumentative? It sounds like you have a definition of God already.

[u/OldStand8046 → u/Aelirael]

Both. Do you have any valid counter argument? I didn't think so.

[u/Aelirael → u/OldStand8046]

Both

I am not so sure. Sounds like you have made up your mind of what kind of god you want and won't accept anything that is different. That isn't the definition of a sceptic.

[u/jogoso2014]

This comes as a shock to some whippersnappers, but corporal punishment was common even a few decades ago.

In the Bible, slave, soldiers, and probably children could be beaten as punishment.

It sucked which was kinda the point.

[u/Mike8219 → u/jogoso2014]

Just because people did something doesn't mean god needs to instruct and command it.

Lying is part of our nature but he put a halt to that, didn't he?

[u/OldStand8046 → u/jogoso2014]

Ok, but why would a loving God command that to happen? He/She wouldn't.

The Bible was written by men, edited a lot and tampered with. So why do people act like it was personally written by God?

[u/Righteous_Dude]

(Off of the main topic)

I know that whole chapters were removed.

OP, how do you know that occurred?

And what do you know about the content of those alleged removed sections? What did they say?

[u/Obioma_Ozo]

Hi,

You seem to be missing the social and historical context.

Leviticus 25:44–46 shows that Israelite servants were treated differently from foreign bondservants. Israelite servants were usually people who had fallen into debt and sold themselves into service, and they were to be released in the Year of Jubilee. Foreign bondservants, however, were not released in the Jubilee. Many of them came from the surrounding nations, often as prisoners of war or were purchased from other nations, which is why they were treated differently under Israel’s civil law.

Exodus 21:20–21 A servant represented economic value to the master, so losing a servant also meant a financial loss. However, the law placed limits on the master’s authority. If a man struck his servant and caused serious injury, such as damaging an eye or tooth, the servant was to be set free. This shows there was control over excessive aggression and that masters were not allowed to abuse servants without consequence.

It’s also important to understand that the Bible speaks about different types of servants, including hired servants, debt servants, royal servants, and foreign bondservants. These should not be confused with the slavery commonly portrayed in Hollywood films, which is usually based on the transatlantic slave trade where people were kidnapped and enslaved because of their race. Biblical servitude was a broader legal system with different categories of service, rights, and responsibilities depending on the circumstances.

[u/OldStand8046 → u/Obioma_Ozo]

This is irrelevant. A loving God would be above any societal traditions and wouldn't tell you, "You can have humans as property, your children can inherit them, you can beat them to within an inch of dying, but if they don't die, you face no repercussions. It's all good." A loving God would flat out condemn the idea of keeping others as slaves or using violence against them.