Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
            
             Slavery in the New World caused one of the greatest controversies of modern times. People have used the Bible to argue for and against this extremely inhumane practice. Few institutions in history have caused more suffering. A Slave is defined as "a human being who is the property of another and subject to compulsory labor, beyond the limits of the family" (Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics p.596). Slavery comes in different forms. Women in some societies are called slaves because they have almost no rights. People refer to whole nations of slaves living under totalitarian dictators or to the subjection of tribes or an entire peoples or to various forms of serfdom as enslavement but true slavery can only exist where there is freedom, where free men hold other men in bondage. Slavery has existed throughout known history and is still carried on today in parts of Africa and Asia. People have used the Bible to both support and condemn slavery. But what does the Bible really say about slavery? Parts of the Bible condone slavery while others show outright support for it; however these passages reflect the writings and customs of people, not of God. A true Christian would see the evils of slavery and rally against it instead of literally believing in the Bible as the absolute source of all truth.
             The first mention of slavery in the Bible appears in Genesis, when Noah cursed his grandson Canaan (and all of the descendants of Canaan) because Noah's son Ham had seen Noah naked (Genesis 9:25-27). In these verses, Noah curses Canaan after Ham, his son, sees him naked. These verses seem to send a highly immoral message. The curse does not punish the person responsible. It instead punishes the son of the perpetrator, and the son's descendants forever. In all probability, Canaan was nowhere in the vicinity of Noah's tent when the event happened. This was one of the favorite passages of theologia...