Michael Patrick Leahy , author of Letter to an Atheist

Weekly Column for April 29, 2007

Why Atheists NEED the Bible to Endorse Slavery

Since the publication of my book, Letter to an Atheist, many atheists have felt compelled to show me every possible verse in the Bible that refers to slavery, and throw it out as "evidence" that the Bible endorses the type of chattel slavery legally recognized in America until 1865, triumphantly claiming such "evidence" shows the moral failings of the Bible. This is a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to undermine the core values of Christian faith, and leaves me marvelling at the depths to which the dogmatic true believers of atheism will go to make themselves feel intellectually and morally superior to those of us who profess our Christian faith.

One passage from the Old Testament in particular causes uninformed atheists to exult in their own self annointed righteousness:

Exodus, Chapter 20, Verses 20-21 reads as follows:

"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property."

"See, see !" cries the atheist.

Your God endorses slavery, because he clearly recognizes that the slave is the property of the master.

Such an approach to the Bible is simply a fishing expedition to find that evidence of holy immorality, and use it to justify the atheist's world view, or perhaps lack of world view.

Many atheists suffer from what I call "the Logic of the Lonely Mind." For the atheist, the Bible is simply a set of logical rules, to be understood in the black and white letter of the law spelled out in the English words of the translation of the Bible currently in posession of its owner. Not a thought is given to the original meaning of the original language in which the passage was written, nor to the true meaning of the terms used, nor to the context of the passage. Hence, the lonely mind of the atheist cannot see, does not wish to see, all the factual evidence that does not support his or her religion of "non-belief", a religion that ultimately is rooted in the atheist's narcissitic elevation of his own moral and intellectual superiority over that of all believers.

Applying any of these basic tools of analysis to the passage in question yields a completely different conclusion for the rational person who is a seeker of truth.

Consider first the preceeding passages of the same chapter.

Exodus 21, Verses 2-3 states:

"If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing."

This verse leads us to the next obvious difference in Old Testament and American slavery of the 17th through 19th centuries. American slavery was permanent and racially based. Old Testament slavery, though it could in certain circumstances be permanent, was often not, and was most definitely not racially based.

But perhaps the simplest and most powerful response to the atheist looking for Biblical endorsement of slavery is this -- the new covenant between Man and God made with Christ's sacrifice is described in the words of the New Testament, not the old. Christians look at the Old Testament as a collection of stories that set the stage for the coming of Christ, not as an irrefutable guideline for life. That the Old Testament acknowledged slavery is true. That it endorsed slavery in a few passages is an argument that can be made, but not with a great deal of strength. But even if such an endorsement were to be conceded, it would be irrelevant. Any thinking Christian, reading the life of Christ, and following the Golden Rule, knew that the Bible and the teaching of Jesus were completely opposed to slavery.

Copyright 2007 by Michael Patrick Leahy

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