Hello Meister,

Thanks for taking the time to respond, my friend.

The Bible expresses one consistent attitude toward slavery from beginning to end: it's a capital offense.

Exodus 21:16 makes slavery illegal at every level. Kidnapping a person to make them a slave or selling them warrants the death penalty. Merely possessing a person merits the death penalty.

Everything that comes after must be understood in light of this foundation.

Exodus 21:2-11 does not allow for women to be permanent slaves. It does discuss the bride price, where a woman's family receives a dowery when she is given in marriage. Yet even in that, Exodus 21 requires that she be treated extremely well, or she is freed from her new family.

Deuteronomy 15 and 23 provide excellent clarifications, yet even without them, Exodus forbids slavery and any form of abuse.

Now let me be clear: I completely agree with you that Christians throughout the years have twisted the Scriptures to support slavery. I completely agree that theologians have warred over these verses.

But ultimately, it comes down to what the Scriptures say. We know that people will disagree, as they do about everything. We know that people will fight to maintain their sinful pre-dispositions, as they do about everything.

But our concern is what the Bible itself declares.

Scripture is clear from the very start of the Law: slavery is a capital offense.