Well, back now. And may I say,
@cvanwey , it's been a pleasure seeing you handle this issue! There's little for me to add, but I would like to point out one thing.
@Halbhh refers to "progressing" the Old Testament laws. The idea being that God does disapprove of slavery, but wished to guide humanity away from it gradually.
Yeah. Great plan, God.
Do Christians never seem to notice that God is really, really bad at doing the things He means to do? I mean, it's like every time he tries something he gets it wrong. He created a perfect world; it immediately went wrong. He tried to establish a society; it ended with His having to sweep it all clean by drowning almost every living thing; He decided to incarnate, to come down to His people to set them straight; they promptly killed Him. He commanded his disciples to spread His word around the world; and now, after two thousand years, most humans are
still worshipping false Gods, or none at all, and the ones who are Christians are splintered into literally thousands of factions, many of whom consider the others to be heretics, and who have spent centuries saying bloody wars against each other.
To take slavery as an example:
So, slavery is a big part of human society. And God, of course, knows that it's wrong. What does He do? Well, He could simply work a miracle and stop it. He did similar things to free his people from Egypt. Or He could establish rules against slavery, backed up by His divine power. Or, He could at least
tell people that slavery is wrong.
Now
@Halbhh seems to think it's wrong of me to "judge" God, or to "tell Him what to do". A d, of course, I'm not an omnipotent and omniscient being. But halbhh is the one who said God has a plan, and if he says it worked, then he is judging God to have been successful; in this sense, we are all allowed to "judge" (as in "form an opinion on" God). And apparently the plan was this:
1. Establish laws
encouraging the worst forms of slavery. Say nothing at all showing disapproval of slavery.
2. Allow the system of slavery to prosper for centuries.
3. Come down in the form of Jesus and
not say anything directly against slavery (you notice that neither Jesus not God are any about expressing their opinions on things they disapprove of; but never slavery).
4. Hope that humans will figure it out for themselves, based on the vague and impractical fast-food advice that Jesus imparted.
And how did that plan work out?
Well, we had centuries of slavery in Biblical time, and centuries after; and then we had the modern trade, which flourished, partly because of the commandments endorsing slavery in the Bible. And of course if any of the Abrahamic religions ever want to start up the slave trade again, they know that God approves of slavery.
In short? Centuries upon centuries of the most appalling abuse of fellow humans by people who believed in God.
Saying that God disapproves of slavery or that He has a plan to stop it is, quite simply, pure projection. Where in the Bible does God say "slavery is bad"? No -
you think that slavery is wrong, and you think that God is good, so you think that God just also think that slavery is wrong. But He never says that, and the stories in the Bible show the opposite. Don't try to make God your puppet. Let Him speak for Himself.
Exodus 21: best your slaves as much as you like, says God. Just don't kill them.
I'd say it's time for you to face facts and admit that God approves of slavery, but I'm simply not sure if you can. Can you still be a Christian if you think God can do evil?