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Certain authors of the Bible definitely supported slavery, yes. It was the only world they knew and imagining one without it was likely inconceivable.
But that doesn’t mean it was ever intended as an absolute eternal reality. It also does not mean God changed his mind, just that humans came to understand him more.
In the letter to Philemon, Paul instructs him to accept his former slave Onesimus (who by all legal standards was the rightful property of him) back into his home after he’d ran away, but not as a slave, as a brother in Christ. It’s likely Onesimus had even stolen things from his owner before he ran away, which Paul offers to pay back by himself. While he didn’t come right out and say “Slavery is bad”, we can see the idea of living by love leading to that idea. When reading the Bible, you should know that the moral commandments are evolving as flawed humans try to become more and more like God.
The Hell concept is not something I buy into. The Greeks actually invented that idea. I believe that every time the concept is mentioned in the Bible, it’s used rhetorically, using language and ideas that the audience would’ve understood at the time.
I strongly recommend you look into the work of Peter Enns. I recommend his book_*How The Bible Actually Works_* for anyone who’s believed the bad ideas about how the Bible is intended to be read. Additionally, Rob Bell is a great teacher for explaining how the Bible should be understood. I recommend his book _*Love Wins_* for anyone who’s been turned off from Christianity due to the idea that it’s all about making sure we aren’t tortured forever after we die.
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Certain authors of the Bible definitely supported slavery, yes. It was the only world they knew and imagining one without it was likely inconceivable.
In the letter to Philemon, Paul instructs him to accept his former slave Onesimus (who by all legal standards was the rightful property of him) back into his home after he’d ran away, but not as a slave, as a brother in Christ. It’s likely Onesimus had even stolen things from his owner before he ran away, which Paul offers to pay back by himself. While he didn’t come right out and say “Slavery is bad”, we can see the idea of living by love leading to that idea. When reading the Bible, you should know that the moral commandments are evolving as flawed humans try to become more and more like God.
The Hell concept is not something I buy into. The Greeks actually invented that idea. I believe that every time the concept is mentioned in the Bible, it’s used rhetorically, using language and ideas that the audience would’ve understood at the time.
I strongly recommend you look into the work of Peter Enns. I recommend his book