This episode was aired as a 10-minute segment on September 3, 2019 (7:00PM) at 702 DZAS' Tanglaw sa Landas ng Buhay of Back to the Bible Philippines
The argument goes: the God of the Bible condones slavery, murder, child abuse, sexism and rape because the Bible itself provides the literary evidence that such is the case. The reason why this is an important argument is because tactically it uses the Bible against itself. Maraming verses na pwedeng pag usapan dito pero I have chosen a few of the most difficult passages for each. We will tackle these verses one at a time today and the next episodes. In this episode we will begin sa slavery and talk about Exodus 21:20-21 that says, “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.” Hindi na po tayo maglalagay ng provenance ng argument na ito sa episode na ito kasi the argument is weighty enough. And I can assure you that the prevalence ng verses na ito sa mga rhetoric ng atheists at skeptics ay napaka dominant.
If it is true that these verses support the idea that the God of the Bible condones slavery . . . because the Bible itself provides the literary evidence that such is the case, then it is fair to account that the Bible is an immoral book. Ang nais daw i-communicate ng Exodus 21:20-21 ay kinakatigan ng Diyos ang pambubugbog ng mga slaves imbes na ito’y ipagbawal. So either daw hindi ito alam ng mga believers kaya naman kailangan lang daw natin magbasa ng Bible para talikuran natin ang ating pananampalataya dahil sa immorality nito; o di kaya’y alam natin ang mga verses na tulad nito subalit nagbubulag bulagan tayo at pinipili lang natin ang dapat paniwalaan. In both cases, Christianity would then be a ridiculous idea.
To navigate sa verse na ito we just need to put a few things in place. First we need to notice that this is a penal law* and the law is given against the abusive master. “Penal law means statute enacted and enforced by the State in its own name and which imposes penalties for the conducts that are prohibited by the state.”✝️ Notice that capital punishment is meted to a master who murders his/her slave; and that indictment isn’t meted if the master didn’t murder his/her slave. Alam natin na pinagbabawal ng Diyos ang pagmamalupit sa mga slaves. Notice also that this was a law -- not a divine endorsement. Siguro ‘yung mga congressmen na gumagawa ng batas are the closest to this explanation. When Congress enacts a law penalizing “child trafficking” Congress is not endorsing child trafficking. Ganon lang po kasimple. In the same way, God here is codifying a law that would mete penalty to an abusive master. What seems to be noticeable ay put under context ay ‘yung pamamalo kasi mukhang sa unang instance may kaparusahan ito kapag namatay ang slave; pero ‘pag hindi namatay, walang capital punishment na mangyayari. Kailangan nating linawin ang dalawang bagay dito. Una, ang word na “slave” ay galing sa Hebrew na “obed” which means servant. It is a word not to be understood in the sense of the African trans-atlantic slave trade and the antebellum slavery in the US na napanood natin sa mga peliklang Amistad o yng 12 Years a Slave. It is more to be understood as “indentured service” o sa tagalog ay nangongontrata o nangungupahan. “slavery was more like a form of indentured servitude, or like a live-in maid or butler. Some compare it to a social class, and with good reason: A person who was financially broke could become a “slave” for a set period of time, and work to pay off debt, or to have guaranteed housing and care. This was actually a good thing, and it did wonders to keep the “homeless” population under control. If you were broke, no problem–just go be a servant for a while.”‡
Mas malapit ang idea ng OT slave sa mga players ng NBA na may draft pick or trades and at a given amount of time mag-eexpire din ang contract niya; then lilipat na naman siya sa panibagong amo. Another to note is that sa OT hindi masama ang pagdidisiplina sa pamamagitan ng pamamalo. Moreover, ang “rod” is full off meaning sa Israelites. Si Joanne Davidson gives a comprehensive overview ng kahulugan ng “rod” sa OT sa kaniyang article na “The Biblical Rod The "Rod" or "Shebet": An Indepth Examination.” §
Another issue to point out is the prepositional phrase “for the slave is his money.” This is just to emphasize the indentured nature of the work of the slave; that he is under contractual obligation as a hired servant.
So does Exodus 21:20-21 support the claim that God has no sympathy for the slave? These verses argue otherwise for they are penal laws against masters. the verses delineate penalty mistreatment of slaves. Kumbaga kung may mga mangyayari na gawin ang mga ito ng mga masters and such and such happens, these are the penal laws in place and it includes capital punishment.
We deal with this issue seriously kasi it creates a false idea na ang Diyos ay malupit sa nangangailangan, at hayok sa pagmamalupit sa mga maralita. Nehemiah said, “They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not forsake them.” God is a God of kindness. And consequently the greatest expression of that kindness is the person and work of Christ because Christ is kindness. In Titus 3:4-6, Paul explains, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
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* For a discussion of the OT penal law read “Law and the Legal System in the Old Testament” by Gordon Wenham to be found here https://www.the-highway.com/law2b_Wenham.html.
✝️ https://definitions.uslegal.com/p/penal-law/
‡ https://www.revelation.co/2013/06/09/bible-says-its-okay-to-beat-your-slave-as-long-as-they-dont-die-exodus-2120-21/
§ The Biblical Rod The "Rod" or "Shebet": An Indepth Examination; http://joanneaz_2.tripod.com/positivedisciplineresourcecenter/id4.html
Ang episode na ito ay naka pattern sa 4H Apologetics method na dinivelop ng inyong lingkod. Ang pagbabasa at pagsusuri nito ay isa sa mga paraan upang lalo kayong masanay sa 4H Apologetics kung ito ang inyong pakay. Mahalaga na tayo'y manood o makinig ng mga "big game" apologetics na hatid ng mga tulad nila Ravi Zacarias o William Lane Craig subalit baka tulad ng panonood ng NBA o PBA marunong tayo mag appreciate pero 'pag tayo na ang gagawa ay nangangapa tayo. Pagyamanin natin ang ating sarili sa tungkuling ito ng pag-a-apologetics.
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