aj said:
The thing I don't understand about the bible is this. It was ok to own human slaves. The people that interpeted that as ok bother me. So its ok to own a You guys are the best. (as the early southern churches claimed). It is ok to take another persons freedom from them and use them as physical or sexual property. It according to these peoples interpetiation of the bible ok to beat a black person to death if they don't get there quota of work done for the day. I just can't believe that the people who wrote the bible were not biased by the practices of the time.Of the people I know who are religous 50% are really intelligent and don't belive in slavery and whatnot. The other 50% are lost and are looking for guidance. They have the IQ of a grapefruit. The other 50% of the people believe that the world is a old place and that man has been here for thousands of years. I believe in god but I question alot of the interpetaters of the bible. Why is it ok to own a You guys are the best. and stone someone to death yet havesting a stem cell deal is all holly hell. I guess I don't get it. I have read the bible the last 15 nights before I went to sleep and I sleep well at night. Lord forgiv me.
aj, show me one verse in the Bible where it says that it is OK to beat a slave to death if they don't meet their daily quota! Or for that matter, so me a verse that even comes 1/2 way close.
Ephesians 6:9... "And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."
Actually, as you can read for yourself, the Bible teaches that "masters" where to treat their slaves with respect & NOT to threaten them! I can't help what any early southern church taught, just like I can't help what the Roman Church did during the dark ages (including teaching a flat earth... they should've read the Bible more!!). I've said it before & I will say it again, sometimes the devil joins a church. Sometimes the devil steps into a pulpit. Sometimes hypocrites sit in the pews of churches. I can't help what those people do, or what they believe... all I can do is tell you what God says.
RE slavery... it was not ever supposed to be like "Roots". It was a commitment to work for someone for a period of time, sometimes for life. Actually even today, if you sign a contract to work for anyone or agree to work for them for a period time, you become a slave to them. Yes, you get paid for it, but slaves were given food, clothing, homes, etc. & many were taken care of rather well. You say it's not OK to be a slave, but if you have a loan with anyone, you are a slave. The Bible teaches that the borrower is a slave to the lender. Actually, most slaves were people who borrowed money & could not repay their debt. Yes, slaves could be sold, but so can your loans. Like I said, the Biblical version of slavery & what you have in mind are 2 totally different things. The Bible version is more like an extremely loyal employee.
Were there bad slave owners? You bet! Are there bad bosses today? You bet! Are there bad companies to work for? You bet! Doesn't make any of it right or OK, it's just the way it is.
The bottom line is this... The Bible never once said to believe on the early southern churches.... It never said believe on the southern slave owner... It never said believe on the preachers or deacons at your local churches... It never said believe on TJ when he posts on Steerplanet... What it does say is this... "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & you will be saved..." Believing on Christ is all that matters... so stop worrying about everyone else.
In the Book of Revelation, 7 churches were mentioned. Out of the 7, Jesus didn't like things that several were doing... He told the Church at Ephesus to repent! He told the Church at Pergamum to repent! He told the Church at Thyatira, in a round about way, to repent! He told the Church at Sardis to repent! He told the Church at Laodicea that He was about to spit them out of His mouth!!! The only 2 Churches that He didn't have anything against were the Churches at Philadelphia & Smyrna. 5 out of those 7 Churches had something going on that Jesus didn't like. Again, stop worrying about what Churches think & only worry about what Christ thinks... What He thinks is all that matters!!
aj, you keep bringing stuff up RE what a church member did or what churches have done in the past, but again, as I pointed out above, none of that stuff matters... the only thing that matters is what God says & if those church members or churches aren't living up to what God says, they are wrong. Church members, Churches, Preachers, Deacons, Sunday School Teachers, ETC, ETC, can all be WRONG. However, the Word of God is never wrong!
