With slavery in the US the problem is complex and i for one have put a lot of time into it without coming to any firm conclusions.
People on both sides of the debate made considerable appeals to scripture in support of their position. One could even, with strategic selection of passages, make a case that scripture opposes economic exploitation in all forms. An interesting example here might be the OT prohibition of usury, or rules regarding forgiveness of debts when suing poor people.
But, that just highlights one of the things that makes examination of scripture so difficult for me. The fact that Biblical scripture can be used to support just about any position one takes is to my mind a knock against it. One cannot make a similar claim about, say, Buddhist or Taoist scripture.
no subject
People on both sides of the debate made considerable appeals to scripture in support of their position. One could even, with strategic selection of passages, make a case that scripture opposes economic exploitation in all forms. An interesting example here might be the OT prohibition of usury, or rules regarding forgiveness of debts when suing poor people.
But, that just highlights one of the things that makes examination of scripture so difficult for me. The fact that Biblical scripture can be used to support just about any position one takes is to my mind a knock against it. One cannot make a similar claim about, say, Buddhist or Taoist scripture.