Recently, a flutter of passion ignited in ‘Merica, regarding the use of the Confederate flag on government buildings. There have been a handful of shooting where blacks were killed by whites, the whites proclaiming justification because blacks are lessor, should have kept slaves. #BlackLivesMatter has been making its rounds through social media because of things like this and shootings that occur where white cops are killing blacks for no apparent reason.

The whites claim the flag is history and should be flown, blacks find it oppressing and a symbol of the superiority of whites and that blacks should still be slaves.

One trip to the south will show you that most, both black and white, are still living the Civil War. Sadly.

As with most hatred, I find it ridiculous that someone could feel that their life matters more than theirs and forcing someone to do something against their will. Especially when it’s based on old antiquated views – views like we find in the bible.

July 1, 2015 Bill Maher (@billmaher) posted on Twitter “if we remove everything that was pro slavery, gotta take down the Washington Memorial. On the bright side, we could get rid of the bible.”

While Washington did have slaves and there are conflicting accounts on how his slaves were treated, at the end of his life, his personal slaves were to be set free. It is a chickenshit act, if he really wanted to free them then why didn’t he do something about it while alive?It was a different time, people had slaves working on their estates. But still.

Lincoln was always against slavery, but it was sanctioned by the Constitution, it gave clauses to protect the institution of slavery. It also gave the Southern states the right to count slaves for the purpose of representation in the federal government. More slaves, more power in the government. (taken in part from history.com regarding Lincoln and Slavery). Therefore at the time, slavery was condoned and supported by our country.

A comment on Bill Maher’s Tweet that said, “The bible wasn’t pro slavery. Read again. But some did use the bible and misinterpret to read as if it did”

Men use the bible to get what they want? No…. it can’t be true….

So this person is asking Bill Maher to read his bible again because the what the bible says is not what the bible means. ??? Then why should I read it again? The bible uses the word ‘slave’ condones it and it describes how they should be treated.

The word slave is used numerous times, and instruction is given on how to treat them, even in Exodus 21 how the Jews should treat their fellow Jews that have been enslaved by them.

The bible also speaks of concubines. These were women who lived with a man, but did not have the status of wife because of her status as a slave. They could easily be taken as there was no dowry needed or to provide the man with children when their wife was barren. Essentially a sex slave.

Judges 19/20 tells of the Levite who tosses his concubine out the door to service all the men of the town so that he is kept safe and the men rape and beat her so badly that she crawls herself to the doorstep only to die there. The next morning, he sees her lying on the doorstep and he kicks her, “get up”. Realizing she is dead, he takes her body home and cuts it up, sends the pieces of her out to the other tribes and starts a war against their own brother.

Do you consider that woman to be a wife or servant or slave?

Keep reading this god approved and righteous story in Judges, ironically after the war there aren’t enough women to service the men, so the men go up to another tribe, lay in wait until the women come out and they kidnap the women and keep them for themselves, women forced to marry these barbarians as sex slaves in order to repopulate the tribe of Benjamin again.

It’s one of my favorite stories in the bible.

No wonder they needed rules on how to treat slaves.

I quoted Ephesians 5 & 6 – one scriptural instance of ‘slaves’. These passages are on how masters should treat their ‘slaves’, BUT it also an admonition of how ‘slaves’ should view their masters. The writer of Ephesians, the apostle Paul, was writing a letter or epistle while in prison (someone kept against their will?). It was to advice to keep love and unity alive in the face of persecution. Further, while it was given in real life context, masters and slaves actually living at the time, it also foreshadowed the relationship between master (god/jesus) and the non-Jewish believer (you).

This fellow tweeter then mentioned that we can’t understand the word ‘slave’ because we try to understand it in our present day English.

So, out of the approximately 55,000 +/- verses in the bible, the only word that can’t be understood is the word ‘slave’? Everything else is translated perfectly and can be counted on to be the actual words of god? The bible is full of parables, metaphor, dreams, fairy takes and bullshit, so what is actually happening, which is made up or foreshadowed? (all of it). How am I to interpret the bible?

I will use a commonly used theme in the babble, “God is all powerful, omnipotent and omniscient.” The bible has been re-written, translated and found to have scriptures and whole books taken out (Council of Nicaea (possibly added too!)). How can we know that ANY of it has been re-written correctly, translated perfectly and that everything the authors wrote is true? If we are to live our lives following this book, then the book should be perfect. Correct?

God inspired men to write the bible, “ALL scripture is inspired by God,profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17

If God can inspire men to write bible but can’t control how it will be read in a new language, what does that say? Is he not powerful enough to control his word? What would be the point of inspiring the authors and making sure that the bible has survived thousands and thousands of years if it were not still gods will and understood that way? We should just disregard the bible and just live like god wants us to… how are we to know what god wants if we are not told? We are told, we just can’t question it or interpret it.

So for someone to say that a word used in the bible cannot be translated into our present day english for understanding, then I have to assume that ALL the words cannot be translated correctly and that god has neglected his work of making sure that everyone in the world can use this for profitable doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. All powerful.

Israelites were taken as captives (slaves). God let this happen. He was teaching the Jews a lesson in humility and how to be a good slave to god – submit to god. Seems like god is ok with slavery at this point.

My twitter friend then tells me again ‘Go back and study – your only regurgitating what you’ve been taught.’

No, I have rejected all I have been taught and read the bible free of slant.

Gen 40:8 Interpretation belongs to god not man.

So how can we know exactly what god means? We can’t sit around and chew the fat about what we think he means. We cannot know the mind of god – so why write a fucking book? The translation into my language is wrong, I can’t meditate on what these scriptures mean to me because I can’t interpret what they mean. We cannot know the mind of God, even though God’s bible is how you’re supposed to live, isn’t the bible the mind of God then? As an atheist I can read the bible logically and interpret it, only believers have to be slaves of gods message, whatever that message is because we can’t know the mind of god and can’t interpret it.

Therefore any discussion on the bible is void because we cannot interpret it and we cannot know the mind of god.

Sometimes Christians will use the term found in Ephesians, ‘slaves’ of Christ willingly. “Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, not by way of eye service, not just when they’re looking as men pleasers, but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.”

There you have the introduction of the phrase “slaves of Christ” Christians are told to be always in the service of the Lord, working as slaves, obeying what god has said. Christians will also tell you that they have a choice, it’s not a ‘slave’ like we’ve known here in America, bought and sold, forced to work, beaten… But the comparison is right. Work as a slave. Do what your told and don’t question, don’t rebel. Work as a slave and you will be eventually set free (7 times 7, 6 heads, 2nd coming, mark of the beast, whore of babylon) which ever prophecy you like to think of – Matthew 24:26 ” Not even Christ knows the hour or day… only god knows…” but look busy cause you’ll never know when it will happen, then why all the terrible warnings (we can’t interpret these) keep your head down, don’t ask questions, work like a slave for god and when it happens you’ll be golden.

Only recently (why now?) the word ‘servant’ has been to “translated” from the word slave, (KJV uses slaves) but taken in the context on how they were to be treated it still seems that these people were bought or taken through debt, willed to others by death or won through war to work for a master unwillingly.

This doesn’t sound like an almighty god, as usual it sounds like misogynistic men saying god spoke to them and justified what they wanted, justifying their horrendous behavior.

Man makes god in his image.

But my friend will tell me, “no Ma’am, (ma’am???) read it again, you are not interpreting it correctly”.

She would know best of course, God always agrees with her.