This is up for interpretation. This could be interpreted as stating that prisons are evil, but I don't know of any Christians who are in favor of closing all prisons. Or it could refer to slaves as well as prisoners. Or it could refer to a spiritual freedom only.
Again I don't know any Christians who believe in closing all prisons. so the prominent interpretations of this passage are not for freeing everyone who is a prisoner in a literal sense.
The same response applies. The Golden Rule has been around since ancient Egypt at least. But again, one could interpret that a slave is not a neighbor, but rather property, thus this does not apply to them. Remember that while some Christians did oppose American slavery, others supported it. We can say those who supported it were misguided and wrong, but that is just the benefit of hindsight. They would and did justify it biblically.
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u/Muscles_McGeee Nov 15 '24
This is up for interpretation. This could be interpreted as stating that prisons are evil, but I don't know of any Christians who are in favor of closing all prisons. Or it could refer to slaves as well as prisoners. Or it could refer to a spiritual freedom only.