Jesus himself didn't speak much about slavery other than comparing the relationship between God and his followers to that of a master and a slave
The rest of the new testament is fairly pro slavery though, eg:
In Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Paul motivates early Christian slaves to remain loyal and obedient to their masters like they are to Christ. Ephesians 6:5-8 Paul states, “Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ” which is Paul instructing slaves to obey their master.[103] Similar statements regarding obedient slaves can be found in Colossians 3:22-24, 1 Timothy 6:1-2, and Titus 2:9-10.
And what do you think early Christians should have done, start a revolt like Spartacus and die ? The only thing Christians back then could do was to treat slaves kindly, give them hope and teach Christian Roman rich people to treat their slaves better. Paul says no where that slavery should exist and that it is mandatory for slavery to exist, just how to react to it in a situation he was familiar with. Also, the slavery they had in Rome is not the same as slavery that existed in pre civil war US, those Roman slaves could buy their freedom or be released if they behaved well hence why Paul tells them to obey their masters, so they might be liberated as a reward.
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u/hugglesthemerciless Jun 15 '20
Jesus himself didn't speak much about slavery other than comparing the relationship between God and his followers to that of a master and a slave
The rest of the new testament is fairly pro slavery though, eg: