Metaphoreus
This is semantics, and nothing more
What the hell, guys? What the hell?
But on the topic of missing points:
Whatever basis a person has for believing that the Bible is true is obviously a basis for believing that God was telling the truth when He said those things in the Bible that the person accepts as true. Of particular import is the testimony of the Bible's authors as to God's doings. In this way, we benefit from the history presented therein in being able to build up a trust in God, knowing that He has shown Himself trustworthy in the past.
Of course, you no doubt noticed when you read the passage to which you are referring that nowhere is the woman called the man's property, so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea of "ownership" from. This was concubinage, not slavery (and could be a parental relationship, if the purchaser intended the woman for his son.)
*Trick question. The answer is yes:
This is a fair cultural criticism from a modern standpoint, but it doesn't go to a moral issue. So long as her well-being is being furthered--and that's what these protections are meant to ensure--then what is the problem?Dude Abides said:But where's the part where the woman gets to decide whether her well-being is being furthered?
What does it matter what "most people think"? If morality is determined by what "most people think," then slavery of whatever sort was absolutely moral at whatever time during which it was generally accepted. And if that's the case, then you have no complaint against God, since slavery was perfectly moral.Dude Abides said:It seems you missed the point. Most people think slavery - the ownership of one human being by another - is inherently wrong, even if one form of ownership is crueler than than another.
But on the topic of missing points:
Metaphoreus said:to say "slavery" evokes images of ownership of persons, abuse without recourse, dissolution of families, and similar horrible practices from the recent West. But the "slavery" referred to in the Bible was utterly different, as anyone who bothered to read the article I linked to a couple of weeks ago would have understood.
Metaphoreus said:In the West, slaves were considered property in exclusion to their humanity; there were no legal or ethical demands upon owners as to how to treat their slaves. In the OT, slaves are referred to as their owner's property in Exodus 21:21. The literal translation of the word translated as "property" in that verse is "silver." This is consistent with Israel's notion of property as relating to economic output only (See Lev. 25:14 - 16, 23, 39, 49 - 53.) (In other words, the slaveowner did not own the slave, but his services.)
Metaphoreus said:Since OT slavery did not relate to ownership of persons so much as their labor, it would be disingenuous to try to argue that God supports slavery as ownership of the person on that basis. This difference in conception is key: if I own your person, I can kill you with impunity; if I only own your labor, then you still have rights that can be asserted against me.
So what was the point I missed again?Metaphoreus said:the selection nowhere states that the slaves are "property first and foremost." Indeed, as everything I've said above should make clear, that was far from the truth in the OT generally, and far from true here. "Property," in this verse, is translated from the word ksph, which means "silver." The KJV translates it as "money." Considering the compensatory framework of these two verses and their parallel in v. 18 - 19, it's clear that the master does not need to compensate anyone for the lost services of the slave, since the loss is his own.
This is a genuinely amusing question. It's so simple and child-like that I can't help but admire it.Nocebo said:Why do people believe God is good as opposed to bad? Perhaps he has been lying all along.
Whatever basis a person has for believing that the Bible is true is obviously a basis for believing that God was telling the truth when He said those things in the Bible that the person accepts as true. Of particular import is the testimony of the Bible's authors as to God's doings. In this way, we benefit from the history presented therein in being able to build up a trust in God, knowing that He has shown Himself trustworthy in the past.
I completely understand.Arthrus said:due to midterm exams I can't commit to any proper discussion for a week or so
I completely understand.Arthrus said:nor am I sure if this is a thread I want to spend a lot of time in
As JGS pointed out, they could. Contrary to what JGS said, however, they could also sell themselves to foreigners:Arthrus said:why doesn't God want the people of Israel treated that way? What if an Israeli person wanted to be purchased, as you suggest foreigners could choose?
Now, there certainly were differences between a Hebrew slave and a foreigner-slave. These differences were the result of the special place occupied by the Israelites in God's plan; He wanted them to behave differently from the surrounding cultures and to treat each other differently than they treated foreigners to emphasize that unique place.Leviticus 25:47 - 49 said:If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan, he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
And I disagree.Arthrus said:the Bible is an awful book that should never be used as reference material for anything.
Why say subservient ownership? Is there any kind of ownership where the owner is the subservient to the property?* Anyhow, ownership is a concept that means how persons relate to one another with regards to some property. In the case of Western slavery, that property was another person; in the case of OT slavery, that property was the labor of another person. In the modern world, a kind of ownership exists between a husband and wife, since they have (or at least should have, in most cases) exclusive rights to one another's sexual services. Additionally, spouses owe each other a duty of support, so to some extent own the labor of each other. You could also say that parents "own" their children, since they have certain rights with respect to their children that other persons do not have.Dude Abides said:subservient ownership
Of course, you no doubt noticed when you read the passage to which you are referring that nowhere is the woman called the man's property, so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea of "ownership" from. This was concubinage, not slavery (and could be a parental relationship, if the purchaser intended the woman for his son.)
Why does it matter what humans today think?Dude Abides said:Why does it matter what human beings back then thought?
Why does violating fundamental concepts of human equality and dignity make something wrong? Who chose human equality and dignity as the gold standard for morality? Whose concepts of human equality and dignity are we discussing? Why theirs?Dude Abides said:Slavery is wrong because it violates fundamental concepts of human equality and dignity.
Never?Dude Abides said:I think most people are able to hold both that war is sometimes justifiable but that slavery never is.
U.S. Constitution said:Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
This is another cultural norm, and not morality. The superiority of men over women was merely one way of many to organize society; women could easily have been considered the authority in a household. Or they could have been considered as having equal authority. Why didn't the Bible do that, though? Specifically, why didn't the Fifth Commandment sayjdogmoney said:The idea that a man should be superior to a woman is not true.
And why didn't Paul writeHonor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
What a patriarchal old fool!Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise--"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
I've lost track.Ashes1396 said:what are we talking about again?
Take your time. As though I'd have any right to complain about someone not responding right away!jdogmoney said:[Metaphoreus, I swear I haven't forgotten. I'm working on it.]
*Trick question. The answer is yes:
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.