http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=5496
Did Paul Endorse Slavery?
Thousands of years prior to the establishment of the Lord’s Church, and
long before Paul addressed the conduct of Christian slaves in the first
century, various forms of slavery were commonplace. In fact, virtually
every ancient civilization used slaves.
1 Slavery was prevalent enough in Babylon in the 18
th century B.C. to be mentioned numerous times in the Code of Hammurabi.
2 The Egyptians enslaved hundreds of thousands of Israelites in the 16
th
century B.C. (Exodus 1; cf. Numbers 1:46). Historians estimate that, by
the time Paul wrote his New Testament epistles in the first century
A.D., five to eight million slaves resided within the Roman Empire,
3 including 15-25% of the total population of Italy.
4
“Slavery”—A Broad Term in the First Century
The English term “slave” is translated from the Greek word
doulos. Some translations use the term “servant” (or “bondservant”), but
doulos
is best translated “slave” (especially since “in normal usage at the
present time the two words [“slave” and “servant”—EL] are carefully
distinguished”).
5
So what is meant by “slave” or “slavery”? Americans often envision
ancient slavery as the kind of oppressive bondage that was popular among
many slave owners in North America in the 18
th and 19
th
centuries, when millions of Africans were stolen from their homelands
and shipped across the Atlantic. Certainly, some first-century slavery
was similar, but often it was quite different. For example, slavery in
New Testament times was not based on race. Many foreign soldiers and
their families became slaves after being captured during times of war.
6
What’s more, “[s]ome became slaves because they could not pay back the
money they had borrowed. The government would also take people into
slavery if they could not pay their taxes. There were also many cases of
poor people selling their children as slaves to richer neighbours.”
7
Consider the fact that the ancients would likely interpret certain
modern American practices as forms of “slavery.” For example, hundreds
of thousands of Americans who work, labor nearly one-third of every year
for the government. That is, Americans are
forced by the government
with the threat of fines and imprisonment
to pay over 100 days wages to local, state, and federal governments
every year in the form of taxes. Many Americans hand over more money to
the government each year than they spend on food, clothing, and shelter
combined.
8 According to irs.gov, U.S. citizens who fail to
pay government-mandated taxes can be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to
five years. And what about the military draft—“the practice of
ordering people by law to serve in the armed forces”?
9
To this day, all 18-25-year-old males in the U.S. are required to
register with the Selective Service System in case of “a crisis
requiring a draft”
10—a draft in which thousands or millions
of men would be forced to go to war, and possibly die for their country,
whether they wanted to or not.
Please understand, I am not suggesting that we should defraud the
government, or that we should refuse to submit to its authority if the
draft is reinstated. I am simply suggesting that “slavery” was broadly
defined in the first century. When people ask questions such as “Did
Paul endorse slavery?” we must understand that there were various kinds
of slavery in the first century, including some forms that resemble
certain practices today which may be generally accepted and morally
justified.
Define “Endorse”
Did Paul “endorse” slavery? The word “endorse” means “to publicly or
officially say that you support or approve of (someone or something).”
11
To endorse is to advocate or champion an idea, a thing, or a person.
Did Paul “endorse” slavery? Did he champion it or publicly promote it as
one advocates a particular product or political candidate? No, at least
not the kind of slavery most people think of when they hear the term.
In truth, Paul specifically condemned “kidnappers” (
andrapodistais)
or “menstealers” (KJV) as lawless and insubordinate individuals who
practice that which is “contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:10).
Danker, et al. defines this kidnapper as a “slave-dealer.”
12
Far from endorsing such activity, Paul groups these men-stealing, slave
traders with murderers, liars, and other ungodly sinners (1 Timothy
1:9-10).
Yet, five chapters later Paul wrote: “Let as many bondservants [
doulos,
slaves] as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all
honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be
blasphemed. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise
them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who
are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things”
(1 Timothy 6:1-2). What did Paul instruct Timothy to teach the various
Christian slaves in the first century? To respect, honor, and even serve
their masters (i.e., to set a good example of Christianity before
them).
Paul Endorsed Godly Submission, Not Sinful Forms of Slavery
Paul’s instruction for slaves to honor their masters is perfectly
consistent with the rest of God’s Word regarding all Christians
submitting to those in positions of authority. To the Christians living
in the heart of the Roman Empire, Paul taught: “Let
every soul be
subject to the governing authorities…. Render therefore to all their
due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom
fear, honor to whom honor” (Romans 13:1,7; cf. Matthew 22:21).
13
Similarly, Peter wrote: “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to
governors…. For this is the will of God…. Honor all people. Love the
brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:13-17). Was the Roman
Empire corrupt in many ways? Certainly. Was a Christian’s submission to
Rome a blanket endorsement of the Empire? Not at all. But Christians
were (and are) to be humbly compliant.
God expects all Christians to have a spirit of submission. Children are
to submit to their parents (Ephesians 6:1-3). Young people are to be
submissive to older people (1 Peter 5:5). Wives are to submit to their
husbands (1 Peter 3:1-2). Members of local churches are to submit to
their overseeing elders who rule over them (Hebrews 13:17; Acts 20:28).
Local shepherds are to submit fully to the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter
5:1-4). In short, all Christians, including those in leadership
positions, are to “be submissive to one another, and be clothed with
humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1
Peter 5:5). And, yes, God expects His people to humbly “submit…to every
authority instituted among men,” whether to kings or to slave masters
(1 Peter 2:13,18, NIV).
Submission for a Higher Purpose
God did not create the practice of slavery. Furthermore, Paul’s
inspired instructions regarding a slave’s submission to his master were
not given because God favors a master over his slave (Galatians 3:28),
or because He simply wants some people to have harder lives than others.
The specific purpose that Paul gave for Christian slaves submitting to
their pagan masters was “so that the name of God and His doctrine may
not be blasphemed” (1 Timothy 6:1).
Imagine if Christian slave after slave in the first century became less
submissive to their masters as they learned more about the equality of
all mankind (Genesis 1:26-27). Consider how the reputation of
Christianity would have been greatly tarnished in the eyes of the
unbelieving world if Paul explicitly taught that all slaves should be
set free. As William Barclay noted: “For the Church to have encouraged
slaves to revolt and rebel and rise against their masters would have
been fatal. It would simply have caused civil war, mass murder, and the
complete discredit of the Church.”
14
God, in His infinite wisdom, commands all men to do their best to make the most for the cause of Christ
in whatever situation
they find themselves. “Let each one remain in the same calling in which
he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about
it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in
the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is
called while free is Christ’s slave” (1 Corinthians 7:21-23). Whether a
person becomes a Christian while in slavery or in a terrible marriage,
God wants His people to change from the inside out and have a positive
spiritual impact on others.
Be obedient to parents,
husbands, governing officials, and yes, even slave owners. “Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven”
(Matthew 5:16). Rather than giving people reasons to curse Christ and
His doctrine, be obedient to all those in positions of authority “for
the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13). Be honorable at all times so that you
may “put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” and “by your good
works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter
2:15,12; cf. 3:1-2). In short, “humble yourselves under the mighty hand
of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 2:6).
Taking Paul’s Teaching to Its Logical Conclusion
Over time, with the spread of Christianity (cf. Acts 19:10,26; 21:20)
and with increasing numbers of slave masters becoming Christians, the
physical lives of many slaves would have improved dramatically. As slave
owners with honest and good hearts learned (1) to love the Lord with
all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and (2) to love their
neighbors (including their slaves) as themselves (Matthew 22:36-40),
they would give up “threatening” (Ephesians 6:9). As Christian slave
owners contemplated treating others how they want to be treated (Matthew
7:12), they would give their slaves “what is just and fair,” knowing
that they, too, had a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1). As slave owners
submitted to Christ, they would be transformed by the Gospel, learning
to be “kindly affectionate” to everyone (Romans 12:2,10), including all
those who served them. In short, far from endorsing sinful slavery,
Paul’s teachings,
taken to their logical conclusion,
would eventually lead truth-seeking masters and government officials to
help bring an end to any kind of cruel, sinful captivity.
15
Endnotes
1 “History of Slavery” (no date),
History World, www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac41.
2 “Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon” (no date), https://archive.org/stream/cu31924060109703/cu31924060109703_djvu.txt.
3 Walter Scheidel (2007), “The Roman Slave Supply,” p. 6, https://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/scheidel/050704.pdf.
4 Scheidel, pp. 3-6.
5 Frederick William Danker, William Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich (2000),
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago), p. 260.
6 John Simkin (2014), “Slavery in the Roman Empire,”
Spartacus Educational, http://spartacus-educational.com/ROMslaves.htm.
7 Simkin.
8 Scott Greenberg (no date),
Tax Foundation, https://taxfoundation.org/tax-freedom-day-2016-april-24/.
9 “Conscription,”
Merriam-Webster.com, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscription, emp. added.
10 “Who Must Register” (2008), Selective Service System, https://web.archive.org/web/20090507213840/http://www.sss.gov/FSwho.htm.
11 “Endorse,”
Merriam-Webster.com, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endorse.
12 Danker, et al., p. 76.
13 All bold text in Scripture quotations has been added for emphasis.
14 William Barclay (1956),
The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Philadelphia: Westminster), p. 141.
15 For a more extensive response to questions regarding
slavery, and especially slavery in the Old Testament, see Kyle Butt
(2005), “Defending the Bible’s Position on Slavery,”
Reason & Revelation, 25[6]:41-47, June, https://www.apologeticspress.org/pub_rar/25_6/0506.pdf.
Sometimes
statements differ because they are contradictory. The fact is, nothing
can both be and not be for the same person, place, or thing, at the same
time, and in the same sense (cf. Jevons, 1928, p. 117; Aristotle, 3:4).
It is impossible for a single door to be completely shut and completely
open at the same time. It is contradictory for a man to say, “Yesterday
I never left my house to go to the store,” if indeed he did leave his
house yesterday to go to the store. Differences in stories may very well
be the result of lies and contradictory statements.
