A few weeks ago I had an really interesting conversation with three male JWs who were loitering around a trolley at the west end of Princes Street in Edinburgh.
I managed to completely avoid giving any hint about my JW past and focussed on why they thought the bible was a reliable moral guide. I used the subject of slavery to illustrate my concerns.
One of the three was in his early twenties, knew a lot about his own beliefs but nothing about the real life and it was difficult to get through his thought-bubble. The second one was in his 60s and not very bright. He just kept resorting to cliches and fallacies. The third man, Andrew, was in his 40s and unusually intelligent. He quickly grasped my arguments. He accepted the crucial difference between Hebrew and non-Hebrew slavery. He humbly admitted he had no answer to my challenge but promised to research it and get back to me. I suggested we continue the conversation by email to which he readily agreed. He fired off a quick message immediately to confirm he had the correct address.
I waited a couple of weeks and sent him a message to try to encourage further dialogue but I think I can now safely say he isn't getting back to me. Hopefully he has something to think about. Being unable to answer a question is discombobulating for a cult member. Here is my email - the idea may be useful to others.
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Hello Andrew
How are you? I enjoyed our conversation on Princes Street a couple of weeks ago. I don’t want to hassle you but I think it would be good to continue our discussion when it’s convenient for you.
From my perspective the main point of our disagreement was whether the bible is a reliable source of moral guidance. I believe the bible does contain material that is interesting and useful but it also advocates conduct and attitudes that ought to be rejected.
Specifically we looked at the topic of slavery in the Old Testament. We agreed that there is a distinction to be made between slavery of fellow Hebrews and slaves that were taken from other nations. The former was an arrangement to alleviate poverty, the latter was about the taking or purchasing of another human being who became the possession of the slave-owner.
The key texts we considered were Leviticus 25 and Exodus 21.
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. Then, too, it is out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. You may even bequeath them to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another. – Lev.25:44-46
If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies at his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, he survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for he is his property. – Exodus 21:20,21
From these verses we see that non-Hebrew slaves were unequivocally regarded as personal property to be inherited along with other possessions and who could be punished as their owner saw fit – as long as death did not follow immediately from a beating.
Your initial response on this point was to suggest that god did not approve of slavery but that he tolerated it, much as he tolerated divorce.
I wonder whether on reflection you still find this to be a compelling defence. How trivially easy would it have been for god to instruct the nation of Israel that no man should ever take another human as a possession? This is such an obvious moral precept that it seems incredible that it did not occur to god when he was dictating a perfect Law through Moses. How inconvenient would it really have been for Israelites not to take foreign slaves? If only they had been instructed accordingly.
Imagine we had walked a few yards along Princes Street to Waterstones where I had directed you to a fantastic new book that I suggest is a perfect guide for life. You notice that some of the early chapters contain instructions on how to obtain and treat your slaves. If I tried to persuade you that you could safely overlook those pages and focus on other parts of the book because the author was amazingly wise in other regards, how convinced do you think you would have been? That really is the sort of dilemma others have when they see yourself and your colleagues promoting the bible.
I hope this summary of our conversation agrees with your recollection and that I have represented your position honestly. I look forward to continuing our conversation when you have time.
Best wishes
Bill