Seven great myths of organized religion considered

Recently I ran across a website that intrigued me. It began, “Over the centuries, billions of people have fallen prey to religion run amok. How many Jews and Gypsies suffered in Nazi concentration camps while churches in Germany turned their heads? How many people were murdered in the Crusades during the middle ages--in the name of God?” I expect that I will soon be reading some of the old arguments I have seen, not against religion, but against Christianity, which is the true target. They used as teasers leading statements and questions like:

·        Some religious leaders seem to tell us that we’re not smart enough or good enough to discover God on our own.

·        If God is good and perfect, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world?

·        How can anyone rely on the Bible for answers, if it’s just a loose translation of ancient myths anyway?

·        How can we trust a religion that has advocated slavery and the subjugation of women throughout history?

The website made an offer to expose the seven great myths of organized religion. I signed up to hear from them what they think the seven great myths are. And since the Bible says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” (1Peter 3:15-16) I plan to answer concerning the Christian faith.

I propose, as their arguments come into my website to address them and share the answers with you, my faithful readers and friends. That is, unless they get wise to me and discontinue their messages. But if the arguments keep coming I think it will be worthwhile to address them for the sake of being equipped to witness to others. I hope you will find this of interest, and as always your feedback is appreciated.

Myth # 1 -  If God is so good and perfect, why is there so much evil in the world?

            Right from the start let us make it clear that such a charge can only be made against the God of the Jews and the Christians. There are three great monotheistic religions in the world. The first two I have just named and the third is Islam. Only Jews and Christians have a claim to goodness for their God. The god of Islam was invented from the tribal moon god worshipped by Mohammed’s family, and all of his attributes are actually in the negative.

            Such a charge of goodness cannot be made against the gods of other religions. Other religions are polytheistic, they have many gods. Even Mormonism is polytheistic because it claims that, while there is a god that has to do with this world, there are gods that have to do with other worlds, and that man can himself become a god with worlds to rule. In a polytheistic culture you cannot make a claim to goodness in one god alone because a person has to deal with a multitude of gods in one way or another. A good example of this was the Greek culture, whose gods and goddesses exhibited all the frailty of humanity, and they had the power to afflict mankind and manipulate men for their own purposes. Scripture denies the evil attributes of mankind being part of the character of God.

            The Bible has an explanation for sin and death being in the world. The explanation is The Fall of Man, who was placed in charge of the earth. The whole, from Creation to Fall, can be found in the first three chapters of Genesis. In short man has no farther to look for the suffering in this world than himself. Of course, we like to blame Satan, the tempter, for it. He might have been the facilitator, but he did not have the power to bring sin and suffering into the world until man gave it to him by disobedience to God.

            Organized religion, that is organized Christian religion, proclaims the goodness of God because God is good. His original Creation was a testament to that goodness. The sentient beings that He made, angels and men, were also made with the power of choice. This too is a testimony to His goodness. They had the ability to choose the good, which means they also had the ability to choose that which is evil. You cannot have the possibility of doing one if you do not have the ability to do the other. Scripture tells us one-third of heaven chose to rebel, and the total of mankind that will choose evil is not yet known. While the course of man is being worked out on this earth, God because of His goodness, does restrain evil, otherwise it would be a literal hell on earth.

            The argument that if God were good He would stop all that is going on misunderstands the character of God’s righteousness. That is because man cannot have any righteousness of his own that can possibly measure up to God’s standards. Since man has lost his power over the earth God must not only redeem it to Himself, which He did at Calvary, but also must demonstrate His righteousness. It is in God’s righteousness, not his own, that man is supposed to walk. Had Adam done so mankind would not have fallen.

            The fact that there is so much evil in the world is a tribute to man’s evil, not a lack of goodness on God’s part. The fact that God continues to deal with man and restrain evil in this world instead of just annihilating everything and starting all over is a tribute to His goodness. In various cults built around both Jewish and Christian teachings there have arisen people with divergent beliefs and teachings about God. They have been the tools of Satan many times to darken man’s understanding of the true nature of the Living God. The fact that these false teachers have existed and continue to exist is a testimony to the unholy activity between the fallen beings that followed Satan and men. Like the plethora of religions that abound in the world, false religion that is sometimes labeled Christian, shows Satan’s interest in corrupting true worship by perverting understanding.

            The goodness of God existed before the Fall of Man and it will exist after God has completed His program of redemption. It is not dependent on the circumstances of this world because it is part of the very nature of The Eternal, God Himself. This is a fundamental truth that those who criticize God’s goodness do not understand.

 Myth #2 – Every religion claims they are the only way to God.

             The idea that every religion claims they are the only way to God is absolutely untrue. Most of the world’s religions believe that many roads lead to God, which is the statement that is really untrue. Let me explain:

            The majority of the world’s religions have origins in other religions. The eastern religions have ties that go back to ancient India, and fundamentally they are offshoots of one another.  Many religions are not trying to achieve salvation the way westerners understand it from the influence of Christianity. Some are actually trying to reach a condition of “nothingness” and others are trying to reach a state of some kind of bliss. Usually this is based on some ideas of reincarnation and progression of the soul over time. Usually these religions are tolerant of their relatives. They all come from satanic inspiration.

            The copycat of Christianity and the origin of a great deal of religious influence comes from the ancient Nimrod worship instituted by Semiramis. She was a remarkable woman who was both Nimrod’s wife, and his mother, being once married to his father. Out of the worship, which she developed after his death, many of the world’s religions find either their origin or influence. The best book ever written bringing the body of knowledge together on this subject was called “The Two Babylons”. Though it is now a very old book it has never been improved upon to document those religious origins, and it continues to remain in print by the grace of God.

            There are a number of religions centered around Christianity that says there is no salvation outside of them. Some of these groups we picture as denominations or churches, and others we call by their rightful name cults. The Bible does not tell us there is only one religious body through whom you may get to God. The Bible teaches that there is only one Person through whom you might get to God the Father. That Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. A group within Christendom that claims they are the only way is more likely to be a cult than a presenter of the truth.

            There are some within Christendom that teach there are many roads to God and that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is but one of them. These are apostate concerning the faith if they ever truly knew it. The Bible makes it clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Name given among men whereby ye might be saved. And Jesus made it clear that no man gets to the Father (God) except he comes by him. So salvation, the way to God, is not by a particular group but by a Person. What group of Christians a person belongs to says what they believe about what Scripture teaches, but in genuine Christianity there is only one way of salvation, embraced by all.

 Myth #3 - Religious leaders tell us that we are not able to discover God on our own.

             Most religions have priests who in one form or fashion are supposed to be the possessors and caretakers of knowledge beyond that which belongs to the average person. This may be the reason for a generally held belief that all religious leaders claim we are not able to discover God on our own. It has an element of truth. But, when these myths are asserted they are usually in criticism of Christianity, and there we find a different view of God as One who reveals Himself to man.

            This is not to say that some, within the broad term Christendom, have not sought to claim they are the possessors of special knowledge or powers beyond that which is available to the average believer. Such claims have nothing to do with the clear teaching of the Bible, which is the sourcebook for genuine Christian beliefs as well as the guide to the discovery of God. It is for the protection of their power over men that some organizations have sought to discourage men from the study of the Scripture apart from the interpretations they produce. (Jehovah’s Witnesses are a good example of this.) They claim that it cannot be understood without their special interpretation. But claiming such a thing does not make it so.

            The Apostle Peter in his epistles asserted something that is very important; something that makes an important divergence between the position of cults in man’s search for God and the teaching of Scripture, the biblical position of doctrinally correct churches. Peter asserted that every believer is a priest. Technically this is called the Priesthood of the Believer. Since worship is going to be the occupation of Christians in eternity and we are called to bring forth spiritual sacrifices beginning with ourselves in life, man could be nothing else. But if every believer is a priest, then there is no special class that harbors either secret knowledge or powers that can be called Christian.

            The knowledge of God lies in a Book available to all. The fact the Book teaches the way of God, that is often contrary to the teachings of men, has resulted in many, over the years, who wanted to read that Book for themselves being put to death. With the invention of the printing press the bloodshed increased as those who wanted to keep power over people went so far as to burn alive people whose only crime was to desire that all men be able to read the Bible. Such places as Smithfield in England are infamous for the honest souls that died for the love of God and truth there. (Most Christians are unaware of the history of the attempted suppression of God’s Word.)

            The Bible teaches three revelations of God to the average man: First, and most importantly you have the revelation of God in the Word, written and physical, the Lord Jesus Christ being the physical revelation of the written Word or the Word Incarnate. Then you have the revelation of God in Creation and finally you have the revelation of God in the history of His dealing with men in the world. Which brings us back to the Bible for it helps us to identify the evidences of God dealing with men in history. If God did not intend that every individual would have the opportunity to move into a personal and individual relationship with Him, He would not have walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden and He would not have made it possible for every human being to have direct access to Him through prayer.

            The idea religious leaders are particularly holy above their fellows is pure bunk. Those God calls to be servants to others among his people should have the kind of spiritual mindedness that serves as an example to others. But we have seen many times that when a professional group of priests or ministers are formed it is not long before they contain a great many who are neither holy or worthy examples to their brethren in any form. Often times, when we judge religious leaders by the Word of God and what they say and do we discover they have less genuine communication with the Almighty than the average faithful believer in the pews. People with hearts seared with sin are no more than blind guides who can only lead other blind people into the ditch.

            It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict men of sin so that they might repent and discover God through salvation in Jesus Christ. The part men have in this is to proclaim the good news. Men, religious leaders, are supposed to have a part in the development of people by teaching and preaching the truth to those who believe. But the Bible teaches men are supposed to try what they hear from men by the Scripture. In short, the teachings of men are not to be accepted at face value just because a certain person, perhaps one with a title, proclaims it. We have a term for people who try the teachings of men by the Word of God as they are supposed to do. They are called Berean Christians.

Myth #4- How can anyone rely on the Bible? It is just a loose translation of myths.

             If one were talking about the Holy Books of other religions than Judaism and Christianity I would be inclined to agree with them. It is always interesting to me how people will pick out Christianity in particular to make such claims about their book and never bother to challenge other religions where it is true. I think this might be because Satan puts it into their hearts to do so. You see, we are talking about the one religion you can go to that is from the True and Living God as opposed to other religions, which did not have God as their source, you have such attacks. Where you have religions that did not have God as the source their “holy books” are credited with being holy books and origins are pretty much ignored.

            The Bible is literally true. That is what it asserts for itself and that is what I believe. It is not blind belief, as some would have you to suppose. The evidences of archaeology and geology are actually on the Bible’s side, though the world has tried mightily to disguise that fact. It is not a collection of myths and fairy tales though some religions have made myths and fairy tales about events honestly recorded in the Bible. One of the evidences of this is the complexity and fantasy involved in copycat accounts as opposed to the honesty and simplicity of biblical accounts. I want to tell you something about that because you will hear it other places if you have not already. Some people will say that the more complex stories of those alternative or copycat accounts are the older because they are the more complex. That works contrary to how stories evolve anywhere else. Stories always go from simple to more complex in their telling as more things are added. The people who want to discredit the Bible make claims that nowhere else in human activity is true. Reason alone testifies the Bible is correct and those who make false claims about it are wrong whatever their motivations.

            It is possible that some reading this will say that they heard a religions leader from the Christian faith say the Bible has myths and fairy tales in it. Most likely when you hear such a thing it will be an attack on some or all of the material contained in the first twelve chapters of Genesis. Well these days it is not hard to find people who make their living off the Christian religion while they are working to destroy it, but when you hear them saying such things you must remember their saying so does not make it right. Why are these first chapters of the Bible under such vicious attack you might say? The reason is that all the great doctrines of Christianity have their foundations laid in those chapters, including the promise of a Messiah, a Savior. If those chapters do not stand as literally true the religion does not stand. This makes the Christian faith unique from all others. Its book has to be literally true and its assertions literally true or there is no valid faith to believe in. (I can show you a multitude of faiths whose writings are demonstrably untrue that continue rolling right along.)

            There is one other thing I must point out and that is the difference between “modern versions” of the Bible and the old standards now under attack. Modern versions are different from each other and radically different from the Bible known by the church of past centuries. They contribute to the claim the Bible is nothing but a collection of myths and fairy tales, not to be believed. They do this first of all by their contradiction with their fellows and by their reason for being, the claim that previous versions (the old standards) were not accurate. The truth is that it is the modern versions that are not accurate. They are first of all based on manuscripts rejected by the early church, and represent the minority or exception to what survives from the early church, and modern versions are not even faithful to the documents they claim to spring from. They create confusion and add to the myth that Christianity is based on a collection of myths and fairy tales even in their marginal notes. I am going to stick with what I can have confidence in as the Word of God. 

Myth # 5 – How can we trust a religion that has advocated the subjugation of women throughout history?

             The myth that Christianity has been for the subjugation of women throughout its history is the one myth that usually goes unanswered. I admit that I did not look forward to dealing with this issue myself even having previously written a book (The Exalted View of Marriage subtitled Seeing Marriage Through God’s Eyes) that addressed the subject. Let me tell you why people are unwilling to respond to this myth and in doing so I will also explain some of the error contained in it:

(1) First of all people do not like to respond to this myth because they are ignorant of both history and the Bible. It is in the Old Testament that women in Hebrew society are elevated in status, being accorded rights beyond those enjoyed by surrounding peoples. It is in the New Testament that women are found playing a key role in the establishment of the early church. Most people are ignorant of this and being ignorant of the first part they are not equipped to explain the implications of the facts to others.

(2) Secondly, people do not like to approach this subject because of the virulent attitude on the part of the ones often making the claim. Those who embrace this myth usually do not come to the subject either to learn or debate, they come to pronounce and attack. In short, people raise this issue already imbued with a spirit of rebellion and controversy and it is a waste of time to try to talk or reason with them. For my own part, I have gotten to the point where I do not waste time on willfully ignorant people. Once they are identified, I press on to find those who sincerely want to know the truth, leaving the rebellious and unbelieving to stew in their own juices. Such attitudes are not part of the Spirit of God and people who have them need one message and one message only, “ye must be born again.”

(3) Third, in keeping with the aforementioned spirit of rebellion, this issue is often raised as an attack on functions of men and women within the church. It has never been uncommon for people to want to change things from how they were divinely ordered. The little Book of Jude addresses this when it says “But these speak evil of these things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”  (Korah) (verses 10-11) This spirit of rebellion has done much harm to Christianity both within and without just as Jude said it would. People who use this myth as a weapon in a fight for position within Christianity would do well to study the particular sins of the people mentioned and apply it to themselves.

(4) Fourthly, people do not like to respond to this myth because they are likely to be accused of being misogynists themselves. No one likes to be accused of being something they are not, quite apart from having a dislike for controversy. The spirit of the day is that when someone does not like what a person is saying they accuse them of prejudice or hate. Standing for the truth is neither prejudice or hate, but the accusation is used as a tool to silence the voices of reason. It has been used quite effectively in the past and shows no sign of abating as we enter the twenty-first century.

Next we will compare Christianity with other religions in this matter:

            It is important that we compare the Christian religion with other religions when we discuss the myth Christianity has advocated the subjugation of women throughout its history. It is as important as the historical fact that everywhere Christianity has gone the status of women has actually improved in their societies. You see the actions of a social group are a testimony to the religious beliefs that dominate the thinking of that group.

            Since we are now once again in open conflict with Islam for the hearts and minds of men and women, let us consider Islam first. If you were to go to the Internet and research Islam and misogyny you would find that a great number of women within the religion have found voice to point out its shortcomings. Just the week prior to this writing, I learned that a tribal (Islamic) council in Pakistan had sentenced a women to be gang raped because her uncle had committed adultery. Now what convoluted thinking would cause a person who had no part in the crime to suffer for the crime of a relative? Islam is replete with such anecdotes. But for those who would claim these to be but aberrations I need only to point out the status of the most blessed women in the hereafter according to Islam. They are accorded the privilege of being onlookers as their husbands cavort with a bevy of virgins for eternity. (As I write this two American missionary ‘Christian’ women are being detained in the United Arab Emirates. When I lived in Turkey I learned that it was not uncommon for women locked up in that country to be forced to have sexual relations with whoever came in just to have food to eat and a blanket to keep them warm.)

            You can go to the Hindu religion and discover women being immolated alive on their husband’s funeral pyres. Of course they might consider that preferable to the possible future that might await them in Hindu society, especially before the British came. Still it is not uncommon for young girls married from different villages and clans and brought into extended Hindu households to be treated shamefully and abused, especially by the other women in the family clan that all live together. Hindus in India sell their daughters into marriages to Muslims, who then take them into other countries, divorce them, and sell them into slavery. I could go on, but we have already established the superiority of Christianity over Hinduism concerning the status of women.

            I could discuss the cruelties of the Japanese toward women, or the subject of female circumcision that occurs in some societies, and not just African societies either. I could talk about the ancient North American Indian custom of women cutting off fingers as a sign of mourning when their husbands died. In China, the number of women has actually declined to the point there is a shortage of women to marry into the next generation. The state religion of China is communism and they have limited the number of children a family may have so sons are preferred. Female babies are often aborted or abandoned. I have a friend who has a daughter working in China. She is striving to establish an orphanage. The children in it will be mostly female or males born with defects and abandoned by their families. I could go on and on about Asian societies where Confucianism and Buddhism, among others are the norm. But I think I have made my point.

            Then we can come back to more modern religions such as Mormonism, which presents a good façade, especially in its picture of the family. Do you know the future blessed status of the most fortunate of women according to Mormonism? She gets to spend eternity producing spirit children for her god husband, along with his other wives, so the offspring can progress to become little gods and populate their own worlds. Enough said about that.

            What is the future state of women in Christianity? They are now part of the bride of Christ, as are their saved husbands, and they are now Sons of God. The eternal state sees women occupied with worship just like men. Gender differences of function are in this world only. A thing we will now focus on.

            Most people do not know that the Bible is the grand epic saga of all time. It is the story about the Great King who loses a portion of His kingdom and recovers it once again. Within that story, which runs from Genesis to Revelation, are accounts that are epics and sagas within themselves, and unlike such accounts written by men, this one happens to be true. One of those stories is the Bridegroom seeking to redeem a bride unto Himself. The Bridegroom is Jesus and the bride is the Church. The adventure runs the entire length of the Bible, from at least the third chapter of Genesis to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19. But many of those who know about this already often do not understand that the biblical teaching of relationships between men and women and the roles of men and women within the church upon this earth are intended by God to be a reflection of the great saga of the Bridegroom and the Bride.

            There have been some who, not understanding what the were reading have gone so far as to deny the greater saga, and the truth that the Church is intended to be the Bride of Christ. (This is the specific reason why the Lord Jesus unlike most rabbis was unmarried during His earthly ministry. He was involved with espousing a bride.) Everything about the roles men and women play in the church, and the way they are supposed to conduct themselves toward one another in marriage is about reflecting the grand saga. Men are supposed to conduct themselves toward their wives as a reflection of the relationship of Christ with the Church, even to the point of the ultimate sacrifice for them. Women are supposed to conduct themselves unto their husbands as though it was Jesus to whom they were married. Likewise within the church roles are to be gender specific, and the qualifications for serving in positions of service strict.  All is a retelling in the conduct of life and ministry of the Bridegroom and the Bride.

            The benefit of living this model of relationships is that people have great contentment and happiness. But Satan, hating the revelation of God in man, seeks to sow discord in marriages and confusion in the churches. You might say these two things are special areas of emphasis for him, and that he is even the author of the myth that the Christian religion subjugates women. Since most people do not seek to follow biblical teaching either in their marriages or in the conduct of the church, he has found fertile ground in which to work with the consequence that divorce even among professing Christians is growing. The rebellious spirit toward God’s plan for men and women only results in sorrow and heartache like every other point of man’s rebellion, but I think this area is particularly onerous.

            The history of the Christian religion has been that when women moved in their rightful roles within the church, they have been like Deborah of the Old Testament with her consequent impact upon the chain of human events. You will find women being powerhouses in the missionary societies of the faith; you will find them leading the way in the great benevolences that have so marked the movement of Christianity throughout the world; you will find them at the solid core of both fledgling and established churches throughout the world maintaining this generation while preparing for the next.

 Myth # 6 – Religion is the opiate of the masses.

             Several people have said this or words similar to this throughout history, but Karl Marx, I believe, is most often credited with being the originator of the popular expression we hear today. What it means is that religion is a drug that makes people complacent and willing to accept the status quo as the “will of God.” This could not be further from the truth. If there is an opiate for the masses it is games and diversions. That was the tool by which ancient Rome distracted it masses while its leaders indulged in excesses, and games and diversions, where people focus on things that matter no more than a moment is the means people are encouraged to not pay attention to things going on in the world today, and, more importantly they neglect to pay attention to the condition of their souls.

            Is there a basis for such an assertion? Yes. Religious institutions have often sought to garner such power that they could dictate and people would obey. In the past even kings have been known to stand outside the palace of the religious leader, barefoot in the snow, pleading for forgiveness, because the power of the pope had proven greater than the power of the king. It was simply a matter of influence over people. Today, in some parts of the world religion, albeit false religion, has tremendous power over people. Saying that would make it seem as if I am arguing against my own assertion, but my goal is to be honest with you completely, otherwise I cannot hope for you to see the rightness of my explanation.

            Religion is a tool of power where people are compelled by what they believe to act in certain ways. That is no opiate. Even the atheist, whose religion is “there is no god other than himself,” is compelled to act in certain ways if he truly believes what he says. So religion is a compelling force whether it is true or false religion, not a mind numbing force that robs people of volition. People act on the basis of what they truly believe. The Christian religion similarly compels action on the basis of belief. This is why society changes where Christianity goes and it declines when the true faith diminishes.

            Some religions do require their practitioners to “empty themselves” contrary to the Christian religion which is about “being filled.” Religions that require emptying are indeed about hopelessness and can go so far as the establishment of caste systems such as existed in India, from which people cannot escape. Once again, it sounds as if I am arguing against myself doesn’t it? Actually I am not because such systems require dedicated work for them to be maintained, kept from breaking down. If people were not occupied sustaining that which is false they would not be so resistant to the truth of the Christian Gospel when it is preached. Have you ever thought about that? The more they are involved in sustaining the false, the harder it is to present that which is correct.

            Satan knew the power of religion. That is why he has worked so hard to help mankind create false ones. Where false religion abounds so does misery. This is why Marx incorrectly concluded that religion was an opiate I think, when actually it was just the opposite. He got it wrong, but then so have a lot of other people. The devil was no doubt pleased with that too. Where Christianity has gone schools, hospitals, and other institutions of benevolence and social change has followed. This requires action and an unwillingness to accept things as they have always been. These things are the result of belief in certain Christian truths. One has but to look and see where the bulk of good deeds originate and consider the dominate influence and heritage that has predisposed people to action to realize religion, and particularly Christianity is no opiate but rather a great force in the lives of men and women.

 Myth # 7 – The Christian religion has advocated slavery throughout its history.

             There is a difference between advocating a thing and dealing with it. I want to make that point very clear from the outset. Christianity has had slavery in its midst; it has had adherents who were slave owners; it has had ministers who favored slavery. None of that means the religion itself advocated slavery. In fact, Scripture recognizing the fact of slavery lays down rules of treatment for fellow human beings, which makes no difference between people, where they be bond or free. It did require the slave, who became a Christian, to serve his master with a sincere heart, as doing service unto the Lord. The Old Testament required that slaves be treated in Israel in a manner superior to any idea of care that their neighbors ever held within their cultures. But, if you want to go to religions that advocated slavery you must look somewhere else than at Christianity.

            Let us consider for a minute how people become slaves. It is important that we do so because slavery has existed at least since man began to multiply and spread out upon the earth after the flood. People become slaves in one of several ways: First of all people become slaves by conquest, either through wars or raids upon neighboring tribes. Secondly, people become slaves through debt. A great many people are enslaved that way today, but the system is so sophisticated now they do not realize it. Third, people are sold into slavery. Children are sold and sometimes people sell themselves into slavery to improve their own lot in life. And fourth, you have generational slaves, people who are born into slavery as the descendants of others who were already slaves.

            Slavery is a fact of life in this world and much as people hate to admit it, there are some forms of slavery that still exist in the United States covertly, even as slavery still exists in other parts of the world openly. The fact of its existence within the society does not mean it is condoned by the society, and dealing with the reality of slavery by giving instruction in the Scripture for correct treatment of slaves does not mean slavery is advocated. Today in the world, Christians are often taken and forced into slavery in such places as the Sudan. Islam practices a form of subjugation of Christians called dhimmitude, which is one step short of slavery, when it is not outright enslaving Christians. For me, the charge that Christianity advocates slavery when the truth is plain is a shameful one to make.

            Slavery is an idea that has an evolutionary ideal as its basis when we consider forced slavery. Forced slavery says it has a right to subjugate certain people because the practitioner is better or more advanced than the ones they enslave. To believe in evolution inevitably must lead people to the conclusion that some human beings, of which race the whole of humanity are a part of regardless of skin color or origin, is not as evolutionary developed as they are. Though the forced slaver might not recognize that in himself, he is in fact an evolutionist. As such he cannot believe what the Scripture teaches about the origins of man.

            The argument will finally come back to why did not Scripture simply ban slavery? I think that I understand the reason why this did not happen and I will share it with you. All a slaver can do is hold the body in bondage and he can only hold that as long as a person lives. The word of God sets men’s minds and hearts free to serve the Almighty and it is more concerned with the eternal than the temporal. Also, it has been a fact that where the Gospel has gone slavery among Bible believers has been either diminished or eradicated. In countries like England and the United States where Christianity once held sway, slavery to exist at all, must be an underground practice, the increase of which we are seeing as a testimony of those nations turning away from God.