- Jul 8, 2019
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Please show me in scripture where a slave bought from the surrounding people can leave at any time? It says they can be enslaved forever. You are talkin about Hebrew male slaves not non Israelite slaves.Hmm, not difficult really, particularly as I referred to this in my commentary. Imagine for a moment you fall into the water, whether you are pushed or accidentally tripped (Best Goon voice, "He's fallen in the water!"). You have no choice in that, it is true, but from that moment on you have choices about staying in the water - you can just get out, you can swim around, you can ask for help - but everything you do is a choice - even staying in the water forever.
That is highly immoral to force someone to say they believe something they do not. No one can choose to believe something they are unconvinced of. They may fake it to get out of being a slave but that would mean they would have to lie to do it. Conversion by force is immoral. The moral thing would be to not make slaves of them ion the first place. This is the point you are missing in my opinion.Now that is a very simplistic analogy, which I put in just so I could quote the Goons, let's try another. You have been sold to a Hebrew master. After six months of work, your master starts a conversation with you:
Master: "You know I paid good money for you, but you have the opportunity to gain your freedom"
You: "I do? How?"
Master: "Worship the almighty God of the Israelites, then you will be subject to the laws we have for slavery. That means you go free at the next Sabbath Year, or earlier if you can pay back what I got for you"
You: "I'm an atheist. I don't believe in any gods and nothing you can say will change that mind"
Master: "Not even your freedom."
You: "How can I be free if I am forced to believe in a God I don't believe in."
Master: "Nobody is forcing you to do anything - it is your choice"
You: "I will not do it"
7 years later:
Master: "Well, you missed your last opportunity at freedom, the offer is always there for you to join us and come under our laws."
You: "Never, you are just using Pascal's wager on me!"
Master: "Who?"
You: "It doesn't matter, I'll never convert to something I don't believe is true."
Master: "Probably just as well then"
You: "I've been reading your law and I want to know why you don't beat me."
Master: "Why, do you deserve to be beaten? I see nothing wrong in your service, you are now making me lots of money and you have the opportunity to leave. What possible reason could I have to beat you."
You: "Your laws tell you to beat me."
Master: "No they don't!"
You: "It says, 'if a master beats his slave and..."
Master: "Hold on, it says "If", it is not a command to beat slaves nor is it any kind of encouragement or do you think that if I beat you and you lose a tooth or an eye you will gain your freedom?"
You: "Help, help. I'm being repressed!" [I couldn't resist the Monty Python reference]
Anyway the point is that the ONLY thing you have no choice about is becoming a slave in the first place. After that, under Hebrew law you had a choice ever day about your future, either a) remain a slave forever, or b) become a convert to YHWH and remain a slave until the next Sabbath when not only were you given your freedom, but enough goods to set yourself up to ensure your future.
Which do you choose? slavery for the rest of your life or freedom and abundance. The Lazy and the committed opt for the first, the opportunistic opt for the second.
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