Blessed Love,

I have seen it mentioned (and with a condecending tones) the fact that the Torah has laws allowing slavery. I would just like to make one thing clear for those who would hear of such things and refuse the Torah on the sake of such ideas. The slavery condoned in the Bible is DEBT SLAVERY. Let's say, for example, you steal something worth 100 shekels. By law, you must repay 200 shekels. Now if you only have 100 shekels...you go into slavery for the person you stole from (at least I'm QUITE sure the punishment is twice that of which you stole...perhaps you should check on that one). Anyway, the point is that once that debt is repayed, the slave is free. If the "slave" does not want to go free, his ear is pierced with an awl to show his life-long dedication to his master (perhaps some were too weak to make on their own and liked being a slave). Isrealite slaves could be redeemed by their kinsman if one could pay the debt for the slave, and on the year of Jubilee, debts were negated. Furthermore, slaves were protected from abuse from the "master". If a master is to strike a slave and knock out his tooth, the slave must go free on account of his tooth; if the master puts out his eye, the slave goes free on account of his eye, and so forth. FURTHERMORE, if a master is to kill a slave, the master must still pay with his own life (remember, thou shalt not MURDER). So the slavery of the Bible was NOTHING like the slavery that the European enacted upon the African, or even like the slavery that ancient Africans would enact upon eachother. I hope this may have cleared something up, and if any if I mistated any of the facts, please bring it to my attention as it has been months since I have read those verses (I have trouble memorizing laws such as those since I have no means of practicing them). If you ask me, debt slavery is a lot better way of punishing a theif than throwing him in a prison.

Give thanks.