1. How sure are you that the guy Jesus healed was a slave? The word used "pais," IIRC) is so ambiguous that gay theologians claim it means he was the Centurion's live-in boyfriend. Thayer and Smith's lexicon lists these as possible meanings: a child, boy or girl, infants, children, servant, slave, an attendant, servant, specifically a king's attendant, minister. Slave is only one option.
BTW, you may have noticed that Jesus didn't condemn a lot of people who were obvious sinners. Take the woman caught in adultery for example.
2. Are you actually comparing the slavery the Greeks, Romans and Jews practiced with the chattel slavery practiced in the American South?
3. If chattel slavery is so cool with the Almighty, why did he whomp Egypt so hard prior to the Exodus?
4. If the Almighty is OK with slavery and slavery was a legitimate state's rights issue, would you support repealing the 13th Amendment returning the issue to the states? If not, why not?
5. Oh, and passages of scripture condemning slavery? Try this one. I'm not aware of many business operations that the Bible compares to adultery and sexual perversion.
You’ve posted several times to this thread since I answered your questions. Why haven’t you answered mine? Cat got your tongue?
Mat 8:5 translates the KJV servant [pais] as 'child, boy or girl, servant or slave'. In 8:9 we have servant [doulos] translated as 'a slave, bondman, man of servile condition'. In the corresponding account found in Luke 7:2 servant [doulos] translated as 'a slave, bondman, man of servile condition'. In verse 3 we have servant [doulos] as slave, in verse 7 we have servant [pais] as 'child, boy or girl, servant or slave'. In verses 8 servant [doulos] translated as 'a slave, bondman, man of servile condition', and in verse 10 servant [doulos] translated as 'a slave, bondman, man of servile condition'.
BTW, you may have noticed that Jesus didn't condemn a lot of people who were obvious sinners. Take the woman caught in adultery for example.
One of my favourite passages. God said that He sent Jesus not to condemn the world but to save it. But the Bible is replete with passages against adultery, murder, lying, whoring, theft, lust, etc, but no passage condemning a slave owner or slavery.
2. Are you actually comparing the slavery the Greeks, Romans and Jews practiced with the chattel slavery practiced in the American South?
What distinction do you see? How is a slave not a slave? They are captures of war or sold by others. Roman slaves were captured from across the kingdom. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery to the Midianites, then sold to Potiphar. Slaves in America were captures of war, or sold by Africans to yankee slavers.
3. If chattel slavery is so cool with the Almighty, why did he whomp Egypt so hard prior to the Exodus?
Why did He allow Egypt to hold them captive for hundreds of years? (Maybe so they would turn to Him again ;o)
As far as 'whomping' the Egyptians, God did so only when Pharoh refused to allow the Israelites to leave, not as punishment for keeping them in slavery.
4. If the Almighty is OK with slavery and slavery was a legitimate state's rights issue, would you support repealing the 13th Amendment returning the issue to the states? If not, why not?
Ahh, the persistent belief that every Southerner secretly desires to own another. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not favour repeal of Amendment XIII. I wish that colony of Georgia had never overturned it's laws against slavery. Do you favour repeal of the 13th? Slavery was not ended by the war (or else why have an amendment?) The states duly elected legislatures met and voted to end the practice, yet even today the inference is that Southerners have some secret yearning to own slaves. In case you've forgotten, yankees had slaves for hundreds of years, sailed the oceans to obtain them. New York City was replete with slaves at one time, as were many northern cities.
Perhaps you could explain why New Jersey and Delaware rejected the amendment in 1865. Did they secretly wish to own slaves still? And while we're on the subject of amendments, perhaps you could explain why by Delaware, Ohio, California and New Jersey all refused to allow blacks the right to vote?
5. Oh, and passages of scripture condemning slavery? Try this one. I'm not aware of many business operations that the Bible compares to adultery and sexual perversion.
The NIV translates 'andrapodistēs' as 'man stealers'. Strongs has it as a slave-dealer, kidnapper, man-stealer
It's a condemnation of unjust actions and theft, not a condemnation of slavery.
a) of one who unjustly reduces free men to slavery
b) of one who steals the slaves of others and sells them
Now back to the other original question, 'can you point to anyone/anything granting Abraham Lincoln the power to act as a moral surrogate for our Lord and Saviour?'