"The passages giving permission to own slaves, and permission to beat them to the point where they cannot move for two days, are obsolete. Even worse, there is no way that such behavior could be moral at any time or in any context." Are you aware that God's own Son, Jesus Christ, had the flesh flayed from His body in repeated floggings? Are you aware that He was sinless, and was nonetheless tortured thus? By wicked, foul men who deserved not to kiss His feet?
Did you know that He was then butchered with nails driven through His wrists and feet, and hung by these wounds to die in agony?
God allowed this to be done to His one perfect Son, but in "your world", you feel that God should prevent such things from happening to those who spit on His Word, and on His Son?
I return to your plea that we be "reasonable" here. You come across like a bag of self-centered opinions which are not worth the foul breath that bleats them.
Please cite the Biblical chapter and verses which give slave-beating permission, so that we can study and discuss them in context. That's reasonable, isn't it?
You asked js to "...cite the Biblical chapter and verses which give slave-beating permission...."
I'm in no way agreeing that these cites indicate that God created slavery, but js has already posted them in post #1524 (I believe).
The Bible acknowledges the existence of slavery (the choice of mankind, not a command of God) -- God permits mankind to choose (our free-will). If we didn't have choice, we'd be nothing more than automatons. In the words of Norman Geisler, Ph.D.: "Love never works coercively."
I hate it that mankind instituted slavery, but I love it that God has (1) given rules for proper treatment of servants; and (2) given us a Savior to redeem us from the stoopid evil choices of man -- in other words, sin.
Also, please see my post #1499, for further discussion of this issue.