"If the Bible is from God, why didn't God abolish slavery?"

Diving head-first into the hardest questions

Sep 07, 2022

Hello again, friends! It’s been a quiet summer on this blog, as I’ve been far busier than I anticipated. But it’s time for things to resume.

I have several books in the works that I’m eager to share with you. First up is book whose working title is Exodus 21: The World’s First Anti-Slavery Declaration.

Common knowledge today claims that the Bible condones slavery. It’s one of the most frequent objections to Christianity: how can you call God a God of love if He tolerates slavery?

I’ll post the rough draft of each chapter to this blog. As I do, I really want your help!

This is an incredibly important yet divisive topic. Bring up slavery or racism in any conversation and the tension rises immediately.

I want to handle this well, bringing out all the beauty of the Scriptures into this tension. I’ll so my best to do it sensitively, winsomely, and well.

But I need help.

You all see things I don’t see. You hear things differently, which helps me see how others will hear them. You think of questions I haven’t. You push back and prod and poke, and in the end everything comes out stronger.

You’ve made my last two books stronger. The Quest for Christmas and Quick Help would not be what they are today if not for you. The comments made on this blog and the emails you sent in helped improve them both dramatically.

So I appeal to you for help. Let’s make this new book as strong as it can be. Let’s shine some light in the darkness.

Thank you all!

Chapter 1: Why Would You Dare

“If the Bible is from God, why didn’t God abolish slavery?”

It’s a fair question.

The Bible claims that God is love. It presents God as a loving Father who creates humanity as His children. It even claims that God loved the world so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for everyone.

It sounds great.

Until you encounter slavery in the Bible.

It begs the question: if God is love, why didn’t He abolish slavery? If God is a loving God, wouldn’t He hate slavery? Wouldn’t God make slavery illegal if He really loved everyone?

Press the matter from the other direction and it becomes even worse. A God who condones (or commands) slavery is not a God to be worshiped. How could you view God as good if He commands people to enslave others? How could you worship a God who treated humans like animals?

People’s perception of slavery in the Bible is a difficult hurdle for many. For some, it’s a reason to hate the Bible. For others, it’s a question that doesn’t seem to have an answer.

As a pastor and author, I discuss the Bible with people of all kinds — believers and skeptics, old and young, the jaded and the hopeful. I hear these questions from people all across the board. The common belief is that the Bible endorses slavery, leading many to reject it. Every quotation that follows is from a real conversation I’ve had over this topic:

“The Bible clearly endorses slavery. And, yes, slavery was and still is a cruel practice.”
“I’m so sorry that your religion distorts your thinking so badly that you can’t accept what the bible ACTUALLY SAYS. Biblical slavery was utterly abhorrent, and any decent god would have outlawed it completely, rather than laying out exactly how you practice it.”
“The Bible says to take slaves from other lands. Any outsider is a slave, is property, can be passed down as property, and treated however the master wants.”

Given such animosity, why should we dare to dive into it? What can we possibly hope to accomplish? As Christians, why should we dare to stick our necks out for such a divisive and difficult matter?

We dare because it’s worth it.

We dare because people are worth it. Too many have been hurt for too long by what they believe the Bible says. We need to clarify these words and begin healing these wounds.

We dare because God is worth it. His Word has been slandered far too long.

Finally, we dare because your soul is worth it. Slavery in the Bible is such a powerful issue that it can push people away forever. We shouldn’t let a single soul fall away because of lies. We must bring the truth, letting God speak for Himself, and letting His words captivate like none other.

Imagine a gemstone, glorious and radiant, but buried in layers of mud and muck. Over time the muck hardens and the gem looks like a lump of dirt, worthless and pointless. Many glance at it, see nothing but the muck, and reject it entirely.

But if you pick it up, it doesn’t feel like dirt. Its weight is far too heavy, far too substantial, to be a clump of hardened mud. That might intrigue you, leading you to wash the muck away. As you, the pure beauty of the gemstone begins to shine forth. Once it’s uncovered, it captivates every eye. Its pure, radiant beauty proves to everyone what it truly is.

That’s what this book aims to do.

The Bible has been buried under layers of lies, distortions, and biased translations. Over the years, these falsehoods harden. The common cultural perception of the Bible treats it as dirt, worthless and pointless to modern society.

But when you pick it up and start reading, it doesn’t feel like dirt. The weight of its beauty and wisdom feels far too substantial for it to be pointless. That might intrigue you, leading you to study deeper, washing the lies and distortions away. As you do, the pure beauty of the Word of God begins to shine forth. Once it’s uncovered, it captivates every heart. The pure, radiant beauty of the Bible proves to everyone what it truly is.

Let’s begin.