Slavery is evil and God is good, so surely the Bible condemns slavery, right? Surprisingly, it doesn’t. The OT regulated how slavery could be practiced in Israel, while the NT regulates the behavior and attitude of both slaves and masters alike.

Does this mean God is pro-slavery? No, not necessarily. After all, God regulated divorce in the OT despite the fact that He considered divorce to be morally evil (Mt 19:7-8). So it does not follow that because God regulates X, God approves of X.

Just as creation reveals God’s true perspective on divorce, creation reveals God’s true perspective on slavery. When God created human beings, He created us in His image (Gen 1:26). That means we have intrinsic value. All of us. And when God created human beings, He did not create classes of human beings. He did not create some free and create others as slaves.

Humans invented slavery, not God. The practice is both ancient and ubiquitous. Like divorce, slavery was so pervasive in human culture that God knew it could not be eliminated merely by outlawing it. Human hearts were too depraved to act according to God’s moral idea. Sure, God could have made a moral point by condemning and prohibiting slavery in Israel, but given the condition of their hearts, this would not have made a moral difference. They would have practiced slavery anyway. What God could do, however, was regulate the way they practiced slavery to at least bring some level of moral improvement to this evil practice. With both divorce and slavery, God was moving humanity toward His moral ideal incrementally rather than in one fell swoop.

This helps to explain what is otherwise an inexplicable historical reality: The abolitionist movement was led by Christians. If God and the Bible were pro-slavery, why did Christians the the first group of humans to lead the charge to outlaw slavery in any meaningful and lasting way? Their justification was not social, but theological. They recognized that God’s permission for slavery was not tantamount to God’s approval of slavery. They recognized that God’s moral ideal can only be found in creation, and recognized that NT theology undercuts the very basis of slavery itself.

I am exploring this very complex and difficult issue right now on my podcast. One of the things I argue is that the practice of slavery in Israel was very different from the way slavery was practiced elsewhere (including historic America). The purpose of slavery was different, how slaves were obtained was different, how long they served as slaves was different, and how they were treated was different. Listen at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1958918/episodes/18827434, or wherever you get podcasts.