Explore: Did Religion Justify Slavery?

  

    We know that several slave owners and those in favor of slavery were often very religious. We see this evidence everywhere from the religious names of slave trade boats to the churches that funded the voyages to capture slaves. Does this mean that the Bible actually viewed slavery in a positive manner or did they just make it up as they go?

    Let's take a look at a very special quote from the Bible in which people thought that it was so powerful that it could justify slavery. A Prophecy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Genesis 9:18-27 KJV - And the sons of Noah, that went forth

What’s interesting to me about this section is that depending on what version you read, you get completely different vocabulary. In the version I cited, the King James version, the term “slave” is not used. When we look at the Christian Standard Bible however, the results are a little different. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+9%3A18-9%3A27&version=CSB The story is nearly the same but in this version, Canaan is actually named a slave rather than a servant. I believe that the reasoning for this is due to the translation of the term slave and for the “popularity” that the term began to receive. We know however, a slave and a servant are not the same.

    The reason why this is relevant to the justification of slavery becomes a little more clear. The Bible was not a manual; it doesn’t just state “This is right, that’s wrong, this is good, that’s bad” we interpret things based on our cultural background. So of course if someone grew up during a point in time where slavery was normal, a quote that calls someone a “slave” relates to their definition of slave which is far different from just a “servant”