Let’s explore the topic together:
1. In the OT, God gave multiple commands establishing slavery (both in general terms and in specific instances)
2. In the OT, God says that the OT laws are forever
3. In the NT, Jesus says that he is NOT abolishing the law
4. In the NT, Jesus reaffirms that the Mosaic Law will remain in effect to the end of time
And that, you might think, would be that… open and shut case…
… but at this point, Christians love to bring up “love your neighbor” as if this instruction effectively outlaws slavery… well, let’s explore that together.
I think Christians are often under the illusion that Jesus introduced the concept of “love your neighbor”… but according to the Bible that’s simply not the case… let’s take a little look at Leviticus 19:9-18
Various Laws
9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse a person who is deaf, nor put a stumbling block before a person who is blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.
15 ‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. 16 You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people; and you are not to [a]jeopardize the [b]life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.
17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
It’s clear here that when the Lord says “neighbor” He means “a son of your people”, given the way the verse says the same thing twice in slightly different words (which is a common literary device in the Torah).
And since we’re already in Leviticus, let’s stay there for a moment and look at where God explicitly lays out rules about slavery (chapter 25):
44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you.
45 You may also acquire them from the sons of the foreign residents who reside among you, and from their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession.
46 You may also pass them on as an inheritance to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another.
So… God had already commanded that people could keep slaves AND that they should love their neighbor as themselves… so you cannot argue that these things are incompatible unless you concede that God, in the story, hands down self-contradictory rules.
Now… let’s see what Jesus, according to the Bible, actually said about slavery (Luke 17:5-10):
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 But the Lord said, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.
7 “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’?
8 On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’?
9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
10 So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ”
That doesn’t sound like “don’t keep slaves” to me…
So…
According to the Christian Bible, can I own slaves?
I suppose that you could, potentially, argue that I may not unless I’m a Jew on account of both God and Jesus having been speaking specifically to Jews… but at that point you’re pretty much ditching the entire Bible in terms of moral instructions for gentiles… including the “best” bits that Christians love to pretend their religion is all about, such as loving your neighbor…