Is owning slaves a sin.

[JoeBandy]

Originally Posted by houston

all white men are created equal

whhhaaaaatttt???

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by houston

All WHITE men are created equal

In the context of the day, this was true.
However, the context was enlarged to also fit black men, then enlarged to fit women as well.
The quote stands on it's own as being prescient.

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

Good point.
So, let's put this in a more personal frame.
What would you have done if you had inherited slaves.
Many states had laws prohibiting you freeing them, so as a Christian what would you have done?

Which states?

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Amanah

So if you were a Christian during the slavery error, you would not have seen the bible as being against slavery?

It is hard to believe that enlightenment thinkers who believed the following would have not considered slavery to be wrong.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The man who wrote that owned slaves.

[houston]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Which states?

When in Rome

[Aquila]

The Bible allows for "slaves" or "servants". But under Mosaic law these were typically more like indentured servants than "slaves" in the early American sense. They were not to be abused and I believe that after 7 years they were eligible for citizenship in the land of Israel.

Slavery as we know it in the Americas was a brutal, inhumane, abomination against God. Nothing in the American slave trade reflects the biblical idea of servitude.

Given the nature of the church, slavery becomes problematic for the Christian. In Christianity there is no distinction between race, gender, age, or status of rank, royalty, or servitude. All are equal in God's sight. And so, the Christian ideal will naturally lead to a society wherein servitude doesn't exist and all are free.

Slavery, like polygamy, and the subjugation of women, were cultural evils that were tolerated. These things are not the Christian ideal.