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	SD! : SD! Wiki : Bible Slavery : history This article is part of the SD! Wiki hosted by Seek Discipline! Bible Slavery Slavery is an important and consistent theme throughout the bible beginning with a prediction to Abraham that his people would spend 400 years in slavery. Abraham's great grandson Joseph is sold by his brothers and transported to Egypt by Arab cousins so that in slavery the Israel tribes develop. The next book of the Torah/Law begins with Moses leading his people out of this slavery but the Law endorses and makes full provision for slavery to continue. In the New Testament slavery is a ever present cultural reality and writers do not in any way challange this reality. Rather St Paul calls himself a "slave". Jesus is said to have "learned obediance" Heb5:8 and St Peter advises aspiring leaders to "humble themselves" 1Peter 5:6. While religion members are to "submit" Heb 13:17 Most of the founders of Christianity experienced slavery or captivity especially in the early centuries. More recently an English slave captain, and once himself a slave of a woman; John Newton preaching in London began an a Slave Abolition movement and this created considerable tensions especially in USA as this matter was debated from the Bible by Christians. The Bible can be interpreted differently especially as civilisational changes take place in human culture. One recent example of this was The Family (Children of God) who used 1Cor 6:20 to sanction and develop the sexual prostitution of family members in the early 80s. Since the 19th century Bible believing Christianity has looked forward to "endtimes" what Jesus refers to "as in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man" therefore there is an expectation of well developed slavery based upon a negative view of developing difficult circumstances. The 19th century view of "rapture" sees true believers going directly to heaven in the worst period while a more traditional approach found forexample in the story of Esther sees bible believers living through the experience, which in this particular story involves the sexual skill of a Persian Queen while previously a Jewish King Solomon had shown an unsurpassed skill. Therefore seen from a nonmoralistic context the Bible is a continuing source of inspiriation and debate. This article is published under the terms of the GFDL. People with profiles on Seek Discipline! can improve this article: see the SD! Wiki help page for details.