Support for slavery in the Bible

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Good Reply, might have to do some reading up, before and if I give a rebuttal.

 

Just wanted to comment on this one thing...


Why do some theists seem to think that the only options God could have when creating humans whom he desired love from is to either a) take away their capacity for free will or b) Create them so that God's own existence and love is not apparent?

I don't agree with this dichotomy. I know that my neighbor exists and I also know(in as much as one can know anyone) that he only has goodwill towards me. I have not lost my free will to choose to hate him or think he is a delusion of mine or whatever.
There is no reason why we could not have free will and still be able to "see" God and know he loves us through our own faculties(senses etc.).

An aside: Isn't there a contradiction inherent in a god who is allegedly "perfect" and yet needs or wants love or devotion from us? If one can be said to be perfect then that perfect entity should want or need for nothing.

 

Perfect would imply not lacking. Not wanting is a bit different story. To some extent depends on the point of view from which we evaluate perfection. Perfect love, for example, unselfish as we probably agree, may be construed as a unilateral unconditional devotion... or bilateral unconditional mutual harmony and compliance. Or both. My own humble opinion is that logic fits perfectness as much as dirty shoes fit Taj Mahal.

However, how does that relate to slavery in the Bible? Perhaps you relate God's perfection and almightiness to guiding his people through an evolutional process of change. Well, a revolutional process would wipe out free will. That would contradict one of the following: God's love or God's perfection at least in the shape in which it's construed by theologists, which means that if God's perfect and God's loving, therefore God loves perfectly, therefore eager to be loved back, but not exerting any sort of pressure to assure love being given back of a free consenting heart - the most precious gift so far as love is concerned. Well, God loves cheerful giver. As I said, paradoxically, that's why there's sin, evil and hell.

 

But Chev', that doesn't answer my question above. Why does revealing your existence(as God) rob anyone of free will? My mom does not hide her existence and I seem to have free will in deciding whether I love her or not.

 

'nuff said