New Testament Instruction

[agnosticatheist]

Has ALL instruction given to Christians in the New Testament applied to ALL Christians from when it was written up to the present?

[2timothy316]

I can't think of any commandments that were to have a time limit or expire before the final day.

[agnosticatheist]

I can't think of any commandments that were to have a time limit or expire before the final day.

Thank you for your input!

If what you are saying is true, that would mean that African American slaves who were Christians and who escaped, and non-slave Christians who helped them escape, disobeyed New Testament instruction. You sure that's a road you wanna go down? Lol

Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. (1 Peter 2:18)

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear (Ephesians 6:5)

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything (Colossians 3:22)

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them (Titus 2:9)

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants[a] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. (1 Timothy 6:1-2)

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 3 by agnosticatheist]

The Christian bible does tell slaves to submit to their master but also christian slave owners to treat their slaves kindly. Christians have never had license to abuse anyone.

JW

[2timothy316]

There never was a commandment that one must own slaves. Only that if one did back in those days what people know as the 'Golden Rule' didn't exclude anyone. Slaves would have been included.

Colossians 4:1 "You masters, treat your slaves in a righteous and fair way, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven."

[agnosticatheist]

There never was a commandment that one must own slaves. Only that if one did back in those days what people know as the 'Golden Rule' didn't exclude anyone. Slaves would have been included.

Colossians 4:1 "You masters, treat your slaves in a righteous and fair way, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven."

You either missed the point, or intentionally ignored what I said.

I listed some verses that instruct slaves to submit to, obey, and/or respect their masters. If a slave escaped, they were disobeying those verses.

Any non-slave who helped slaves escape would be participating in their disobedience and would be held liable by God for helping them escape.

One of the verses i listed instructs the reader to teach slaves to be subject to their masters in EVERYTHING. This directly addresses non-slaves. Any non-slave who helped slaves escape would be disobeying that verse.

If you want to talk about the golden rule, the slave owners shouldn't have kept people as slaves, because I highly doubt that they would want to be kept as slaves. And yet, the verses I listed permit the practice of slavery. Shouldn't Jesus and the rest of the New Testament writers have prohibited slavery?

So what if there was never a commandment TO own slaves? The New Testament still PERMITS slavery.

In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites they could have slaves, and in the New Testament, we have Jesus upholding the practice of having bondservants (people bound to service without wages; slaves are included in this type of servitude), and the verses i have listed in this thread (which came from writers who were supposedly inspired by God to write what they wrote), so clearly God has no problem with slavery...Slavery is morally wrong, so shouldn't God be condemning it and prohibiting it rather than permitting it?

[2timothy316]

[Replying to 2timothy316]

You either missed the point, or intentionally ignored what I said.

The verses I listed tell slaves to submit to, obey, and/or respect their masters. By escaping, the slaves were disobeying the verses i listed.

Any non-slave who helped them escape would be participating in their disobedience and would be held liable by God for helping them escape.

One of the verses tells the reader to teach slaves to be subject to their masters in EVERYTHING. This directly addresses non-slaves. Any non-slave who helped slaves escape would be disobeying that verse.

Not ignoring, you're not seeing the big picture here as related to Christians today. That is what you're concerned with right? Or are you concerned with the way of life 2000 years ago? When people were just being introduced to this new way of Christian thinking.

Also please show the verse that says, "One of the verses tells the reader to teach slaves to be subject to their masters in EVERYTHING." I am quite sure your missing more of the scripture or paraphrasing it wrong entirely.

[bluethread]

Slavery is morally wrong, so shouldn't God be condemning it and prohibiting it rather than permitting it?

What makes slavery morally wrong? I am not saying that it isn't morally wrong at his point, I am just asking you to connect the dots.

[agnosticatheist]

Not ignoring, you're not seeing the big picture here as related to Christians today. That is what you're concerned with right? Or are you concerned with the way of life 2000 years ago?

We weren't talking about 2,000 years ago, we were talking about african americans escaping from slavery in America.

Also please show the verse that says, "One of the verses tells the reader to teach slaves to be subject to their masters in EVERYTHING." I am quite sure your missing more of the scripture or paraphrasing it wrong entirely.

It was among the verses I originally listed. The verse was Titus 2:9.

Here's Titus chapter 2, ESV: "2 But as for you, teach what accords with sound[a] doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you."

[agnosticatheist]

Slavery is morally wrong, so shouldn't God be condemning it and prohibiting it rather than permitting it?

What makes slavery morally wrong? I am not saying that it isn't morally wrong at his point, I am just asking you to connect the dots.

You keep forgetting that I am not going to have a dialogue with you on this site anymore.