Does the Bible Condone Slavery?

Many critics of Christianity argue that the Bible must be immoral because it condones slavery. It is true that the Old Testament (OT) law that governed the life of Israel allowed for a form of slavery. It is also true that the New Testament (NT) writers did not speak out directly against slavery as an institution in the Roman Empire. What is a holistic, biblical way of understanding slavery for Christians today?

Slavery in the Old Testament

The practices allowed in OT Israel were different from the enslavement of West Africans enslaved during the Transatlantic slave trade period. The two forms of slavery actually have little in common.

In general, slavery in ancient Israel was a voluntary provision to support the destitute. If a person was in financial debt, the debt could be paid off by becoming a servant in the household of a wealthy landowner. In most cases, the person himself initiated the arrangement by offering his services. The protections of the OT law for the poor and powerless were designed to make this as rare an occurrence as possible. It was a temporary arrangement. Once the debt was paid, the servant was free. Even if the servant was not able to repay the debt, all debts were forgiven – and thus all servants set free – every seven years. In this arrangement, slaves had numerous rights and were protected by the law from being harmed or abused. Based on the memory of Israel’s own experience in slavery in Egypt, God required them to treat their servants humanely.

Transatlantic Slavery Is Not in Mind in the Bible

In Transatlantic slavery, by contrast, West Africans were forcibly kidnapped (Exodus 21:16 forbid this for Israelites). Both their person and their labor were considered the property of the slave owner. The slave owner’s rights over slaves – and their offspring – were complete. They were subject to rampant physical violence and abuse. The death penalty applied if a master killed a servant. If a master caused any kind of permanent damage to a servant, that servant was given immediate freedom. Slavery in North and South America was motivated by the economic advantage it provided for the elite. In the OT, slavery was motivated by a desire to find a way to help the poor.

Slavery in the Roman Empire Was a Unique Institution

Slavery in the Roman Empire was not regulated by the OT provisions. Slaves made up anywhere between one-third to one-half of the Roman Empire’s population. People became slaves by military conquest, indebtedness, and birth. The owner had the right to use a slave as they saw fit, including the right to punish slaves severely. Many slaves performed manual labor. Yet others attained wealth and social status.

In contrast to the slavery of West Africans in the Americas, slaves in the Roman world had legal rights. They could own property and save money. They could lodge legal complaints about mistreatment. Slaves often had more social mobility than the free poor, and people often became slaves voluntarily to increase their chances of a better life. Setting slaves free was widespread, frequent, and often expected. Freedom was not always an advantage and slavery was not always a negative experience.

A Biblical Worldview Ultimately Undermines Slavery

Jesus never spoke to the institution of slavery, either to challenge or defend it. But the Apostle Paul laid a theological foundation that in time undermined slavery and led to its demise in the Western world. Galatians 3:26-28 argues that our identity in Christ transcends any social distinctions like “slave” or “free.” Ephesians 6:5-9 points out that Jesus is Lord over all relationships, and both masters and slaves are accountable to him. In the context of Ephesians 5:21, both masters and slaves are to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 7:21, Paul urges slaves to become free if they can – which they often could. 1 Timothy 1:9-10 clearly denounces slave trading. And in Philemon 8-21, Paul urges Philemon to free his slave Onesimus, who had come to faith in Christ.

Slavery in the Bible Must Be Limited to Its Appropriate Contexts

Sadly, the Bible was used to justify slavery during the Transatlantic period. But this is a misuse and manipulation of scripture. The Bible does not sanction the kind of slavery practiced in the Americas. In the OT, it was a social institution strictly regulated for the people of Israel and was not meant as a template for any other situation. In the NT, it was a Roman institution – not a Christian one – with which the early church had to contend. The NT strongly encouraged the church to move away from slavery and explicitly condemns certain elements of slavery, such as racial targeting, slave trading, deprivation, and cruelty – the very elements that made Transatlantic slavery so evil.

The Bible’s emphasis on conscience-based decision-making suggests that choices about master-slave situations were not to be solved by a broad proclamation, but by individuals in their unique situations living in a non-Christian society that relied upon slavery. Ancient documents indicate that some Christians literally sold themselves into slavery to purchase the freedom of others, while some churches collected money to buy slaves’ freedom.

A holistic biblical worldview for Christians today is ultimately inconsistent with slavery.