[Vision2020] Wrong About the Bible: Slavery

[Ralph Nielsen]

You're the one who is dodging, Tony. Just go back and read what I  
said. I have never claimed the Bible was consistent from cover to  
cover. That is what dishonest preachers claim. That is why Xians like  
to pick out particular verses or stories to prove their pet  
prejudices. That is why Doug Wilson and his friends want to have  
homosexuals killed by the government. That is why the majority of  
Idahoans don't want same-sex couples to have the same rights as other  
married people. That is why millions of Americans want to have  
creationism and so-called intelligent design taught in public  
schools. And so on...

But the Bible is consistent on at least one subject: nowhere does it  
condemn slavery. That is precisely why Andreas jumped on me.

As for translations into English, they are usually made from Hebrew  
and Greek texts, not from previous translations thereof. But entire  
books have been written on this subject.

Ralph

On Feb 3, 2007, at 12:26 PM, Tony wrote:

> Boy Ralph, and I thought I was agile.  Andreas was quite clear that  
> he did not think it likely that a volume with so many authors,  
> compiled over so many years, redacted and translated several times,  
> could reasonably be expected to be consistent from cover to cover.   
> It is precisely this character of the Bible which has you so  
> frequently in a twist as you offer conflicting passages to  
> Christians in an effort to undermine what they claim to find  
> therein.  Neither Andreas nor I have made any statements as to the  
> Bible's position on slavery.  If that is your focus at this moment,  
> please direct your question to the appropriate person.
>
> Best,  -T
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ralph Nielsen"  
> <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
> To: <Vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Cc: "Andreas Schou" <ophite at gmail.com>; "Tony Simpson"  
> <tonytime at clearwire.net>
> Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2007 11:42 AM
> Subject: Wrong About the Bible: Slavery
>
>
>> Tony, just what is it that Andreas said about me that you so  
>> "wholeheartedly and enthusiastically" agree with? I showed that  
>> slavery is approved of throughout the entire Bible and he accuses  
>> me of "trashing the Bible." I didn't call him names but simply   
>> challenged him to prove me wrong. And I throw the same challenge  
>> at  you, Tony. I would like to keep this thread as a scholarly  
>> discussion, not a barroom fight.
>>
>> If you know of any book, chapter or verse in anybody's Bible that
>> condemns slavery, I would like to hear about it.
>> Ralph
>>
>> Tony tonytime at clearwire.net
>>
>> Sat Feb 3 08:45:15 PST 2007
>>
>> Having argued with Andreas on so many occasions, it gives me an  
>> odd  pause to
>> find myself in wholehearted and enthusiastic agreement with him.   
>> But after
>> reading his retort to Ralph regarding the Bible, all I could think  
>> was,
>> YEAH!  What he said!
>>
>> OK Ralph, your turn.
>>
>> -T
>>
>> Andreas --
>>
>> I don't think you're being fair here. I know perfectly well that the
>> Bible is not a unitary text--whichever Bible you wish to discuss:
>> Jewish (both Torah and Tanakh), Catholic, or Protestant. It is people
>> like Wilson who make that claim.
>>
>> If you know of any book, chapter or verse in anybody's Bible that
>> condemns slavery, I would like to hear about it.
>>
>> Ralph
>>
>>
>> Ralph --
>> >
>> > You're making the same counterfactual assumption to trash the Bible
>> > that Doug does to support it: that the Bible is itself a unitary
>> text.
>> > The argument that dozens of authors, recorders of stories, and
>> > redactors had the same intentions when writing over thousands of
>> years
>> > is a non-starter; the argument that the Bible is complete and
>> > infallable is extrabiblical. Saying that the Bible 'supports' or
>> 'does
>> > not support' something is nonsense: no book that contians both the
>> > axioms 'eye for an eye' and 'turn the other cheek' can be  
>> considered
>> > to have any internal textual unity.
>> >
>> > There are threads within the Bible that condone slavery (though not
>> > the form of intergenerational racial slavery we had in the United
>> > States), threads that are suspicious of it, and threads that  
>> condemn
>> > it. Contra Doug Wilson, the abolitionist movement was, at its  
>> core, a
>> > Christian movement -- and it found its textual support, as all
>> > Christian movements do, in the Bible.
>> >
>> > -- ACS
>> >
>
>