They know their church's interpretations of the Bible, but they don't know the underlying text. This is ironic since many Christians claim that prima scripura or sola scriptura is important to them. Sola scriptura clearly states that interpretations of scripture have less authority than the scripture itself. [2] [3]
This isn't even a debate, the Bible has very clear support for slavery. [2]
In the Old Testament, foreign slaves could be held as life-long personal property (ie. chattel slavery), see Leviticus 25:44-46. Foreign slaves who were female were treated especially harshly, see the last three paragraphs here.
The New Testament is slightly less clear about its support for chattel slavery, however there's still extensive discussion of exactly when and how a slave could be freed, suggesting that someone could be enslaved for long periods of time.
| Bible | context |
|---|---|
|
1 Samuel 18 1 | David and Jonathan meet and immediately form a close bond. |
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1 Samuel 20:41 | Jonathan has discovered that his father, King Saul, intends to kill David. David needs to flee to survive, and the two don't know how long they'll be apart, so they're saying their tearful goodbyes. Some commentators point out that the culture in the Middle East at the time allowed for social kisses between close friends and family. Other commentators feel there might be sexual tension here. Either way, homophobes carry a Bible that unmistakably talks about David kissing another man. |
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2 Samuel 1:26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. | Jonathan has died in battle, and David is grieving and eulogizing him. |