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Slavery In The Bible: Is Freedom A Right?

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Freedom: A Right? “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (US 1776). Every American knows these words, and few question them. But is this equality as obvious as it seems at first? Is this Biblical truth, or is it born of the Enlightenment philosophies that so inspired the Founding Fathers? This is Biblical truth. God did indeed create all men, and women, equal, and gave them all rights. If this is so, why, then, does God put provisions for slavery in the Bible? Although the Old Testament permitted slavery in some circumstances, it certainly does not condone it. In the Old Testament, a few laws are set out on slaves. “When you buy a …show more content…

“Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters… Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 3:22, 25 ESV). In Philemon it says that Paul sent Onesimus, an escaped slave, back to his master Philemon, “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother” (Philemon 16 ESV). Matthew 7:12 (ESV) says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Although these verses say clearly that slaves should not insurrect, it is also clear, especially in the last two verses, that slavery is bad and should not be part of society. Freedom is indeed a Biblical topic, but in the era before the Enlightenment, people mostly just accepted the traditions they were taught. The Enlightenment encouraged people to think for themselves. That led to people examining the Bible, not just accepting whatever they were told about God’s truth. In turn, people started expressing Biblical principles such as freedom. The Enlightenment did not create these concepts; it merely spread and “popularized”

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