Does the Bible really condone slavery?
No.
But this is another common argument
by those who try to discredit the Bible saying,
why would you read that book
when it endorses the evil practice of slavery?
And the answer is because it doesn't.
You see slavery as we would know it
from the 18th and 19th century
with the West African slave trade
is referring to forced bondage.
When an individual is taken against their will
because they're viewed as inferior
to be sold as livestock without pay or hope of liberation.
A practice that the Bible not only condemns
but also views as a capital crime punishable by death.
Exodus 21 verse 16 says,
The Bible however does condone indentured servitude
also known as being a bond servant
when an individual is forced under a contract
to pay off a debt that they owed.
A person can also place themselves under a contract
to pay for something that they want.
In either case, they could only work for six years
and on the seventh they were allowed to go free
whether they paid it off or not.
The Bible is pro-liberty as proven by the fact
that Jesus Christ paid our sin debt
in order to liberate us from the penalty of sin.