How can we hold the bible up as a moral compass when it so explicitly endorses and codifies the rules for SLAVERY? [Spirituality & Religion]

@Stefan136

Well i'm in total agreement that slavery is bad news for a number of reasons.
But i'm not in the awkward position that christians are of believing that the bible is an infallible moral compass even while it explains the rules for who you can own as property and how you must treat them.

@Pikachu I personally do agree that slavery is bad, ONLY when it stays as a permanent thing. But having to go through some humiliation in our lives is important to develop humbleness and nimbleness. Without it, the normal lifestyle will appear like a starting point and we'll delve into a self-destructive pathway, thinking it's the cost for achieving "the greater goal". Because of this, hardship (which is the better word rather than slavery, or that's how I like to see it) is important to make a person confident and aware of the limitations in the world.

@Stefan136

Sure...i guess. But i'm not really seeing what that has to do with biblical slavery and what that says about the moral integrity of the bible.

@Pikachu they will tell you, that's a distant past.

@Stefan136 Being reduced to a subhuman not considered worthy of basic rights is not a form of "humbleness" that helps a person grow. It's a form of abuse and can result in either crippling self esteem problems or violent rebellion. In my case it's the latter. Having been told for most of my childhood that I was nothing but a dirty fucking sand nigger with no rights made me an aggressive psychotic lunatic for most of adolescence. I still sometimes struggle with homicidal urges because of it.

@Pikachu You're taking the bible's content way too seriously.

@BlueMetalChick That's why I said temporarily, most of your childhood is an abnormal amount of time, and that is not what I meant by humiliation. That IS abuse. I'd say maybe having to do chores instead of expecting others to do them for you, learning responsibility, learning how to deal with other people and treat them with respect, that sorta thing, not being called a sand nigger. That's just fucked up.

@Stefan136 There's a fundamental difference between slavery and being told to do chores and have menial responsibilities, is the point I'm trying to make.

@BlueMetalChick Yeah I understand, that's why I specified that the preferred word for me is "hardship". But back in the days, the Bible stating slavery perhaps wanted to reinforce this kind of thought process. That's why I often said I don't take the religious books seriously, they will warp your mind worse than a quantum physics book.