In Reply to: The Torah and Slave Ownership - Part IV, V and VI posted by Student on October 12, 2006 at 15:19:46:
From reading all the posts I see 3 main different views:
(1.) According to the above author the Torah (the Old Testament) is still relevent & accurate & tho slavery is no longer practiced in civilized countries & was only acceptable in Israel millenia ago, the OT laws can still make sense to our modern minds, as the interpretations of the rabbis show.
(2.) The Old Testament was only for a time, a make-do covenant to help the Jews survive realistically in a world where widespread war & slavery were common. Since the coming of the New Testament the OT is passe' & we don't need to worry about explaining the elements that strike our modern sensibilities as cruel or brutal. Believers are happy the NT has changed things for the better.
(3.) The Bible is not divinely inspired so this debate about OT slavery regulations is proof that the OT was merely written by men.
There may be move views. I'd go for view (2.)