"Does God support the practice of slavery?"

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"Does God support the practice of slavery?"

Exodus 21:1-11 Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Exodus 21:20-21 When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.

In Exodus 20, God hands down his 10 commandments to Moses and the Israelites. This would seem like a good time to address the practice of slavery, something that has cropped up in previous chapters; however, slavery is not mentioned in the 10 commandments (though in some translations the 10th commandment states that you should not covet a neighbor's slaves, while other translations say servants - both cases being equated with property). Even more distressing is the fact that in the chapter that immediately follows, God hands down laws regarding the treatment of slaves. This includes specifics about how to hold a married slave's wife and children hostage in order to retain ownership over them indefinitely and how to force a slave woman into marriage with yourself or one of your sons. Are we to assume that God supports the practice of slavery under these specifications? Obviously Christians today would not support the described practices. What better opportunity to reject the practice than when God handed down the laws that his chosen people should follow? The Israelites were literally escaping their own enslavement, why then would God allow the practice to continue, and not only allow it, but give explicit instructions for how it should be carried out? Why not abolish it entirely and unequivocally? If God is all-knowing and all-seeing, wouldn't he have been aware that many of these verses would later be used to justify slavery?

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"Why did God kill all of Egypt's firstborn?"

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"Why did God kill all of Egypt's firstborn?"
Exodus 12:29-30 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

This is a particularly difficult passage to stomach. The bible tells us that the ultimate punishment Egypt will face for their enslavement of the Israelites is the death of every first-born child in Egypt. The only way for Pharaoh to prevent this is to release the Israelites from bondage. However, God has made it clear that he already knows what Pharaoh will choose to do, as God himself has "hardened Pharaoh's heart". It would appear that there was never any choice to be made. The pain and suffering inflicted upon Egypt would seem to serve no purpose, as Pharaoh couldn't have made another choice even if he wanted to. Is this fair? Untold numbers of children were killed by God, for a crime they did not commit, and the only person that could have prevented their deaths (Pharaoh) was stopped from doing so by God himself. Is this a just punishment?

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"Why does God allow people to be disabled?"

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"Why does God allow people to be disabled?"

Exodus 4:11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?"

In Chapter 4 of Exodus God takes responsibility for making people deaf, dumb, or blind. If God intended them to be disabled, why do we attempt to heal them with our modern treatments. Does this subvert his purpose? Why would God want to make someone disabled in the first place? If disabilities are a result of Original Sin, why are some people disproportionately affected, even from birth, with terrible disabilities? If God is good and can control who is sticken with disabilities, why doesn't he ever heal them? Some claim that God does heal the sick and disabled, not just in the past, but still to this day through the power of prayer. If that is the case, why are there some types of disability that have seemingly never been miraculously healed? For instance, why doesn't God heal amputees?

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"Why did God bless the house of a slave owner?"

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"Why did God bless the house of a slave owner?"

Genesis 39:5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.

In this verse Joseph has been purchased and enslaved by an Egyptian and is so beloved by God that, for the sake of Joseph, he blesses the house of Joseph's owner. Why wouldn't God use this opportunity to do something about the practice of slavery? Joseph's owner only seems to benefit from his purchase and ownership of Joseph. Does God support slavery? Why, when choosing to intervene, does he decide that blessing the house of a slave-owner is the best way to demonstrate his love for Joseph? Is it ever made clear why it was necessary for God to let Joseph remain enslaved?

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"Why did God kill Onan for refusing to inseminate his dead brother's widow?"

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"Why did God kill Onan for refusing to inseminate his dead brother's widow?"

Genesis 38:7-10 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.

We don't know what wickedness Er was guilty of to warrant his killing, but there are some very confusing events that follow. Judah tells Er's brother Onan to marry Er's widow and give her children. Why does God kill Onan for spilling his seed on the ground rather than inside his dead brother's wife? God wasn't even the one who originally asked Onan to do this. Is there anywhere else in the Bible that informs us God expects this behavior with a punishment of death for disobedience? How was Onan to know that God would find it wicked? We are also not told if Er's widow had any say in the matter. Why is God, or at least the author of Genesis, seemingly unconcerned with the wife's wellbeing or consent in this scenario? Even if this practice was necessary to the culture of the time, why would God not condemn it?

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"Why did God send bears to kill a group of 42 children for mocking Elisha?"

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"Why did God send bears to kill a group of 42 children for mocking Elisha?"
2 Kings 2:23-24 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” And he turned around, and when he saw them, che cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

At first glance this seems to be an inordinate response to the boys' mean-spirited mockery. Did the children deserve to be killed in this fashion for mocking Elijah? Why did God choose bears for this task? Couldn't he simply strike them dead on his own and spare the boys the torture of being torn apart by bears? More importantly, did they deserve to be killed at all?

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"Why did God tell Abraham to kill his own son?"

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Genesis 22:1-2 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.

Genesis 22:9-12 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.

We are told that Abraham was ordered by God to sacrifice his own son.  As Abraham is about to strike Isaac, an angel tells him to stop and that God now knows he is fearful of him, so he spares Isaac.  Why did God need to test Abraham at all? Up to this point Abraham has been extremely loyal. Why did God need to test him in this way? As an omnipotent being, wouldn't he have already known if Abraham was fearful of him?  Why is it important that Abraham fears God?  Why did God choose human sacrifice as the test? Does God support human sacrifice? If he does not support human sacrifice, why would he want a follower who would willingly do such a thing even if commanded to? Abraham obviously believed that his God could and would demand such a sacrifice.

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"Why did God make all of the women in Abimelech's kingdom barren?"

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Genesis 20:14-18 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

In this verse God made all the women, including the slaves, barren as punishment for Abimelech's crimes. This seems unfair to the women, considering that they did not choose for Abimelech to kidnap Sarah. Why is it just for God to punish one group of people for the actions of someone else? Why wouldn't God punish Abimelech alone?

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"Why did God turn Lot's wife into a pillar of salt?"

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"Why did God turn Lot's wife into a pillar of salt?"
Genesis 19:24-26 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

This seems like a rather harsh punishment for simply looking back on Sodom, which was formerly her home.  Did she really deserve to die for this? Why did god choose a pillar of salt? Why not a tree, or a rock, or simply just kill her?

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"Why did God command Abraham to circumcise his slaves?"

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Genesis 17:12-13 Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised.

Why does God command Abraham to do perform circumcisions? This seems especially unjust towards an adult slave who apparently must relinquish themselves to genital alteration in addition to a general lack of physical freedom. Why doesn't God discourage Abraham from owning slaves in the first place?

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