So, I came across this quotation in another thread posted here on BN&R; it’s not a new idea:
Slavery was eradicated by faith!
This claim is one which I would like to discuss openly with you all; I understand that there are varying points of view on the topic, and I understand that my view might seem as though it were off-the-spectrum-nuts to certain folk; I hope that they can understand that they, to me, seem as far off beam as I must to them. One difference between our positions is this: the prevailing societal view is that they are right: slavery was eradicated by faith… which is to say that “they” (which could be you reading this right now) have a very large corpus of literary support from well-credentialed (if you count a Doctorate of Divinity as a good credential) men of yore (and yes, the weight of thinking from that patriarchal system has been from men, not women, over the years – don’t forget that the Buybull instructs that women should shut their faces in church and never be allowed authority over men in any capacity but specifically in spiritual instruction)… my view, whilst increasingly popular, does not have that weight of historical support.
Still.
Let’s unpack the claim:
Slavery was eradicated by faith!
First, what is this “faith”? I don’t think that anybody will disagree that the meaning here is certainly referring to YHWHism of some variety or another.
So… did human society veer towards emancipation of slaves on account of YHWH worship? Is that claim actually true? Has it met its burden of proof?
See, thing is, I’d argue that not only has the claim not met its burden of proof (despite a million apologetic hand-waving references to some hero such as Wilberforce), but in fact its opposite can be demonstrated to meet its burden of proof; that is to say:
1. The YHWHist scrolls declare clearly that slavery is commanded for by YHWH (at least once in history)
2. Fact 1. did not escape the notice of the millions of YHWHists involved at a time and place in history where slavery was being debated at the end of a muzzle (see quotations).
Quotations:
Jefferson Finis Davis
President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865
“[Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God…it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation…it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts.”
It [slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God…it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation…it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts…Let the gentleman go to Revelation to learn the decree of God – let him go to the Bible…I said that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible, authorized, regulated, and recognized from Genesis to Revelation…Slavery existed then in the earliest ages, and among the chosen people of God; and in Revelation we are told that it shall exist till the end of time shall come. You find it in the Old and New Testaments – in the prophecies, psalms, and the epistles of Paul; you find it recognized, sanctioned everywhere.”
So… do you actually honestly believe that it’s true that the worship of Lord YHWH was what softened society to emancipation? If so, I have a challenge for you today: instead of copy-pasting some nonsense commentary from some starry-eyed pontificator of spirituality and self-appointed crusader for Christ (a.k.a. a Christian apologist)… go and find some direct evidence of your claim… for instance, if you wish to bring Wilberforce into the picture, you must bring evidence of what the man said, wrote, thought and did… NOT a commentary on his thoughts made by a modern apologist.
Bring it. Evidence. We both know that you have no credible evidence that this Lord YHWH is real; do you have any credible evidence that all the good things in society have stemmed from the worship of this unevidenced Lord YHWH?
Andy Hood