How does any of that make any “assertion” I have made in this thread “fail?”
Talk about a lack of evidence!!! Show me any evidence outside of scripture that anyone tried to make Jesus a King!
No we don’t…and I haven’t said we do. I am asking why he did not condemn it. It is reasonable to assume I am saying he did not think there was anything wrong with it…and I have said that. I have also given my reason for thinking that he thought there was nothing wrong with it.
I don’t know what that means…or what it has to do with the thread.
I am saying he did not condemn slavery. If you have any evidence that he did…furnish it.
I given you several citations about how Paul felt about slavery…and I’ve given you a citation to a passage that might make it clear why they thought there was nothing wrong with slavery.
I think that Titus 2:9 implies that slaves are to be submissive to their masters, and they should try to please them in every way, not contradicting them nor stealing from them, but expressing a constant fidelity by their conduct, so as to adorn in every way possible the doctrine of God our Savior.
People used the Bible to support slavery, and condemn slavery.
People use the Bible to support gay rights, and to condemn gay rights.
A thousand and one variants of Christianity have sprung up based on readings of the Bible.
And of course Jews have written volume upon volume of commentary and commentary upon commentary on what the Bible actually means.
I’m sure the fact that both plantation owner and field worker were equally slaves made the sting of the whip feel much better.
If Christianity condemned slavery in clear terms, how come it took nearly 1800 years for Christians to figure it out?
Here is the reason I think neither Jesus nor Paul thought there was anything wrong with slavery:
“Slaves, male and female, you may indeed possess, provided you BUY them from among the neighboring nations. You may also BUY them from among the aliens who reside with you and from their children who are born and reared in your land. Such slaves YOU MAY OWN AS CHATTELS, and leave to your sons as their hereditary property, MAKING THEM PERPETUAL SLAVES. But you shall not lord it harshly over any of the Israelites, your kinsmen.” Leviticus 25:44ff
That passage quotes what the god they both worshipped had to say about slavery. The god they worshipped…said there is nothing wrong with slavery.
That is why I think they thought there was nothing wrong with slavery.
The only way I can think of Jesus being excused is if he did condemn slavery, but those words got edited out by the Gospel writers. They figure they could get the slaves by offering pie in the sky after they die, and they wouldn’t get the rich slave owners if they actually condemned slavery, so marketingwise it didn’t fly.
But it is more likely he didn’t care since everyone was going to go to heaven soon anyway.
I don’t know quite to make of this post, but I think you have a point.
(kind of…)
If Jesus had a global message, whose horizon was well past the immediacy of day to day life (including those experiencing life as slaves…) then “going to heaven” was the permanent remedy.
In other words, he knew full well that society needed fireman.
But he was sent to teach fire prevention.
And he couldn’t/wouldn’t let a fire (including many of them!) distract him from that message.
(and, in fact, the prevalence of social injustices made his need to stay focused on his real assignment that much more important)
That, by itself was a very new idea. The “policy” up to then had been more retrubutional - especially in the Roman Empire. After all, Rome could be ruthless. Crush your enemies. See them driven before you …"
These were the people who, not content with conquering Carthage, had leveled the entire city, salted the earth, and exterminated every last one of them. This was a time when mercy was still regarded as weakness and foolhardiness. Enemies were meant to be destroyed.